Government Earmarks Over Rs 7,000 Crore Under The RGSA Scheme To Strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions

In an effort to strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the country, the Centre has earmarked over Rs 7,000 crore under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) scheme for undertaking various initiatives to enhance the capabilities of the local governing bodies, reports Live Mint.

The Panchayati Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, In his reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, said the RGSA scheme aims at enhancing the capabilities of the ground level governance in delivering sustainable development goals for which financial support is provided to states and union territories.

"....The government has launched the centrally sponsored scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, which is being implemented for four years from 2018-19 to 2021-22 with a total outlay of Rs 7255.50 crore," the minister said in his written reply.

To improve the capacities of the elected representatives and functionaries of the PRIs and their functioning and effectiveness, making them self-reliant, the ministry has been providing programmatic support for the strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the minister said.

The RGSA scheme undertakes initiatives such as capacity building and training, human resource and training infrastructure support, strengthening of Gram Sabha, distance learning support, technical support, economic development and income enhancement.