The impact of the 73rd Amendment in rural India is very visible as it has changed power equations irreversibly. Accordingly, the Government of India decided in consultation with the States to celebrate 24th April as National Panchayath Raj Day.

The Ministry of Panchayath Raj will be holding a day long National conference on the occasion of the 3rdNational Panchayath Raj Day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on Tuesday. On this occasion, best performing Gram Panchayaths would be conferred with” Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Purskar, 2012, while another 170 Panchayath Raj Institutions (PRIs) comprising of three -tier Panchayaths would be facilitated with Panchayath Sashaktikaran Puraskar for their exemplary work under the Panchayath Empowerment Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS ).  During the conference, the five different groups of delegates would be discussing the topics such as (i) Gram Sabha and People’s Participation, (ii) Devolution of 3Fs i.e. Funds, Functions and Functionaries (iii) Issues related to Women (iv) Agriculture, Rural Development and Livelihood and (v) Management of Forest Produce/Natural Resources.

Approximately 1500 delegates such as State Ministers for Panchayath Raj, Senior officials from State Government Panchayath Raj Departments, States elected representatives (ERs) from the three tiers of PRIs, the national award winning Panchayaths as well as representatives from SCs/STs and Women would attend the National Conference.

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24th April, 1993 has institutionalized Panchayath Raj through the Village, Intermediate and District levels Panchayaths. This date thus marks a defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level. The impact of the 73rd Amendment in rural India is very visible as it has changed power equations irreversibly. Accordingly, the Government of India decided in consultation with the States to celebrate 24th April as National Panchayath Raj Day. Ministry of Panchayath Raj organises National Conference on 24th April every year to commemorate the National Panchayath Raj Diwas.