Terming panchayats as the lifeline of rural India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the Congress always discriminated against the panchayat bodies but the BJP has made concerted efforts to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system in India.
The prime minister was addressing a large crowd at a special event to commemorate the National Panchayati Raj Day at the SAF ground at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh on 24 April.
He said during the Congress regime at the Centre, the grant for panchayat institutions used to be less than Rs 70,000 crore. “After coming to power in 2014, our government has increased that amount to more than Rs two lakh crore,” he added.
He said that just around 6,000 buildings for panchayat institutions were constructed with the help of the Union government in the 10 years before 2014. “Within 8 years of our rule, the Union government has got more than 30,000 panchayat buildings constructed across the country,” said the PM.
He charged the previous governments with ignoring villages as they were not a ‘vote bank’, but the BJP government at the Centre has opened its coffers for rural development.
The PM called the Panchayati Raj a great symbol of the democratic system of governance.
The Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated each year on 24 April to mark the date in 1993, when the Constitution’s 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 came into force, leading to the creation of Panchayati Raj Institutions in rural areas of the country. This year is the 30th anniversary and the theme for this year is, ‘Sustainable Panchayat: Building, Healthy, Water Sufficient, Clean and Green Villages’.
During the function, PM Modi also handed over SVAMITVA Property Cards to beneficiaries, symbolizing the attainment of 1.25 crore property cards distribution under the scheme.
Modi conducted the ‘griha pravesh’ ceremony of 4.11 lakh beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) during the function. He dedicated water resources projects worth more than Rs 7,850 crore and rail projects worth more than Rs 2300 crore to the nation. He also flagged off three new trains.
During the event, the PM also went and stood on one corner of the stage for several minutes, as he watched a play and dance being performed by schoolgirls.