The Sanur gram panchayat has made news for being crowned the model gram panchayat by Google India. The gram panchayat, located in Karkala taluk of Udupi district, has won Rs five lakh. The gram panchayat serves as an excellent role model for other local bodies to emulate.
The public perception has often been that there is a lot of mud-slinging among members of gram panchayats, and that it involves a lot of politics. And in most cases, there is some truth to this thought. Most gram panchayats don’t concentrate on development. And then, there are gram panchayats which have no public participation and have not been able to focus on progress. But Sanur gram panchayat stands out. It has turned out to be a model panchayat, especially on the health, cleanliness, drinking water and basic amenities front.
The panchayat has 16 members and all of them are in uniforms. Computers have been put to good use in the panchayat’s offices. There are 15 committees including the Swaccha Grama Samiti, Western Ghats committee and forest committee that look into various aspects of development. These committees have been able to implement all their projects thanks to the support of the community. Resources are put together at the local level for the successful implementation of their various plans.
Sanur has a population of 6,382. The panchayat earns a revenue of Rs four lakh annually by way of building tax. From the last five years, every house in the village is supplied water by way of taps. The panchayat earns a revenue of nearly Rs six to seven lakh by way of water supply.
A huge tank under this gram panchayat’s limits was rejuvenated way back in 2005 by the then panchayat president Narasimha Nayak. The village gets its water from this tank. The tank is well-maintained, and cleaned once in six months. The water is tested for purity at least once in three months. Also, on other fronts too, Sanur is a great role model. All the cattle and stray dogs in the village are vaccinated too, to check spread of disease.
Why did the gram panchayat win the attention of Google?
According to Narasimha Kamath, the president of the gram panchayat, it was because the local body exceeded the government’s brief, and all members, cutting across party lines, participate in development projects.
