Gandhinagar, Feb 3 Quality standards in public-interest works will not be compromised at the village level, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on Tuesday, stressing that accountability and workmanship must remain central to rural development initiatives across Gujarat.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the ‘Gram Shakti Training Programme’ at the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Secretariat, organised by the Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training.
More than 260 sarpanches from villages in Banaskantha, Vav–Tharad, Mehsana, Patan, Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts of North Gujarat attended the programme.
Addressing the gathering, Patel said that villages formed the foundation of the country’s development and that rural works must be carried out with transparency, quality and responsibility.
“There will be no tolerance for any compromise in the quality of works undertaken in public interest,” he said, adding that true national development would be achieved only when development reached the last person in every village.
Referring to the Union Budget presented under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said it had been framed with a focus on duty and placed special emphasis on rural development.
He urged sarpanches, as heads of villages, to discharge their responsibilities by following the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas” and to ensure that government schemes and services reached all eligible beneficiaries.
Patel also called for planned utilisation of grants with 100 per cent targets through the Prime Minister’s saturation approach.
He encouraged sarpanches to prepare systematic development plans, involve youth in village development and use technology to improve the delivery of civic services.
Assuring support from the state government, he said sarpanches should work without fear and with dedication to build developed villages, leading to a developed Gujarat and, in turn, a developed India.
Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary said that implementing the Prime Minister’s vision of the ‘Gram Sachivalaya’ at the grassroots level was the responsibility of sarpanches.
He noted that development was not limited to physical infrastructure alone but also depended on dialogue and public participation.
He said stronger communication between gram panchayats and Gram Sabhas would reduce conflict and strengthen democratic foundations.
Panchayat and Rural Housing Minister Rushikesh Patel said sarpanches had been empowered to utilise a significant share of panchayat grants for village development planning.
He added that all villages in Gujarat had been connected by at least two roads under the Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojana and that the training programme would provide practical guidance on village administration.
Rural Development Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said funds from central and state schemes were being transferred directly to gram panchayat accounts and that proper utilisation of these funds could transform villages.
He also referred to increased assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and support for sanitation facilities through MGNREGA.
Experts at the programme briefed sarpanches on the role of panchayats in parliamentary democracy, the VB G-RAM-G rural development scheme, panchayat accounting rules and the rights and duties of sarpanches in Gram Sabhas.
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