Latest news with #PanchayatiRajdepartment
Time of India
18 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Nat'l consultation to empower sanitation workers in Jodhpur
Jodhpur: A two-day national consultation titled "Samvaad evam Manthan – Empowering Sanitation Workers for Skills, Safety and Dignity" concluded here Friday. The event was jointly organised by the Panchayati Raj department of the state and UNICEF, Rajasthan. Aimed at empowering sanitation workers, the conclave witnessed participation from representatives of 10 states – Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha, and Bihar – including UNICEF officials, senior state govt administrators, civil society members, and sanitation worker representatives. The deliberations at the conclave revolved around the critical role sanitation workers play in the operation and maintenance of rural sanitation assets under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin Phase-2 – including toilets, soak pits, and drainage systems. tnn
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Panchayat delimitation faces delays amid political pressure
Jaipur: The Rajasthan govt has failed to meet its June 4 deadline for finalising the list of gram panchayats and panchayat samitis following the delimitation process, throwing the state's electoral timeline into uncertainty. The Panchayati Raj department, which received 3,000 proposals for new gram panchayats and 115 for panchayat samitis, is struggling to complete the reorganisation process due to intense political pressure and local interference. This delay has cast doubt on the implementation of the 'One State, One Election' initiative, with both panchayat and municipal polls scheduled for later this year. A senior official from the panchayati raj department, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the situation as "tumultuous," citing frequent political intervention when attempting to follow established population norms for panchayat body formation. "For instance, proposals are being pushed for creating panchayats in areas with insufficient population and inadequate distances, and when we try to correct this, we face pressure from above," the official said. Earlier, PCC president Govind Singh Dotasra accused RSS and BJP of running a parallel delimitation process and pressuring officials for political gain. He specifically named Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, former BJP state president Arun Chaturvedi and ex-minister Rajendra Rathore as key figures allegedly influencing district officials involved in the delimitation process. Talking to TOI Thursday, opposition leader Tikaram Jully criticised the state govt's handling of the situation and said, "They have murdered democracy in the state." He pointed out that even the Chief Minister's home district of Bharatpur has not held Zila Pramukh elections for one-and-a-half years now. The Rajasthan High Court had also sought the govt's response regarding the postponement of elections in over 6,000 gram panchayats and the appointment of sarpanchs as administrators. Currently, Rajasthan has 11,253 gram panchayats and 352 panchayat samitis. Attempts to reach panchayati raj minister Madan Dilawar for a comment were unsuccessful despite repeated phone calls.
Hindustan Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Tackling the bane: Public awareness drive against child labour in Lko on June 12
The state government has set an ambitious target of making Uttar Pradesh completely child labour-free by the year 2027. To achieve this, the state government has initiated coordination between key departments such as education, women and child development, Panchayati Raj, home, health, social welfare, rural development, urban development, and vocational education, all under the labour department, a spokesperson said. The government has devised innovative and concrete steps to address key challenges, including data scarcity and ensuring the retention of children in schools, which are critical in eliminating child labour and paving the way towards a more prosperous society. One of the major hurdles in eradicating child labour has been the lack of reliable data, as comprehensive statistics have not been updated since 2011 census. To address this, the Panchayati Raj department has been tasked with collecting data on working children and child labourers at the village level. This data will be shared with the labour and education departments, facilitating the implementation of targeted child labour elimination programmes. Additionally, district-level task forces will be established across all districts to expedite data collection with the help of local panchayats. Furthermore, in partnership with Unicef, the government will compile a booklet detailing the schemes of various departments that benefit child laborers and their families. This initiative will ensure that government assistance reaches every child and their family in need, supporting the broader goal of eliminating child labour in the state. Another significant challenge in eradicating child labour is the retention of children, who, despite being enrolled in schools, are irregular in attendance and are at risk of falling into the category of potential child labourers. To address this, the women welfare department's Bal Seva Yojana, sponsorship scheme, and child helpline are actively providing education and rehabilitation opportunities for these children. Re-implementing 'Naya Savera' scheme The government is considering re-implementation of the 'Naya Savera' scheme after a qualitative evaluation, with the aim of providing better opportunities to child labourers. To raise public awareness, a large-scale programme will be organised in Lucknow on June 12, World Day Against Child Labour, which will involve the cooperation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), employers, and labour organisations.
New Indian Express
09-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Odisha to include people with disabilities in MGNREGS, job cards by May 31
BHUBANESWAR : People with disabilities (PwDs) seeking work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) will be identified in a campaign mode and provided job cards by the end of this month. In a letter to all collectors, the department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) asked them to include all eligible and willing PwDs under the employment guarantee scheme by May 31. Besides, the collectors have also been asked to form village-level Divyang Shakti Groups that would comprise all MGNREGS workers with disabilities, by June 30. Aiming at financial security for all vulnerable groups of people, the Panchayati Raj department had last month asked collectors to bring PwDs, primitive and nomadic tribal groups, denotified tribes, women in special circumstances, senior citizens above 65 years of age, HIV positive people and internally displaced persons, under MGNREGA. As far as PwDs are concerned, persons (aged 18 and beyond) with benchmark disabilities, the severity of which is 40 per cent and above, will be considered as a special category of vulnerable persons for MGNREGA. Differently-abled persons as defined in the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 are also to be considered as disabled for inclusion under the scheme. As per the census-2011, Odisha has a population of 12.44 lakh differently-abled people. While MGNREGA aims to provide employment to all rural adults, the participation of differently-abled persons, including women, in the state's MGNREGA programme remains relatively low. The percentage of participation of PwDs in MGNREGS in the state stands at 0.3 per cent.
