April 24: National Panchayati Raj Day is being observed; facts to know

• National Panchayati Raj Day is being observed today, i.e. on Saturday, April 24, 2021. The day is observed annually on the day to celebrate the Panchayati Ray system in India.

Observation of the day provides an opportunity to leaders and others to directly interact with the representatives of the Panchayats or village heads from all across the country. It is an opportunity to recognize and appreciate the good works done by the Panchayat leaders.

Interestingly, the National Panchayati Raj Day 2021 is unique in itself as today Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA scheme through video conferencing. On the occasion, 4.09 lakh property owners were provided with their e-property cards, which also mark the rolling out of the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme for implementation across the country.

Prime Minister also conferred the National Panchayat Awards 2021 on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj day. Around 74,000 Panchayats are participating in the National Panchayati Raj Awards 2021.

The Prime Minister also transferred the award money (as Grants-in-Aid) through the click of a button, ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. The amount was directly transferred to the bank account of the Panchayats concerned in real-time. This is being done for the first time.

National Panchayati Raj Day 2021: Facts to know

• The first National Panchayati Raj Day was announced in 2010 by the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. On the day, he mentioned that if Panchayati Raj institutions functioned properly and locals participated in the development process, the Maoist threat could be countered.
• The annual celebration is done in order to commemorate the historic day on which the Constitution Act (73rd Amendment) passed in 1992. However, it came into existence a year later on April 24, 1993.
• Therefore, National Panchayati Raj Day is commemorated to celebrate the inception of decentralised power.
• In 1957, a Committee was formulated which focused on the evolution of Panchayati Raj in India. Balwantrai Mehta was the chairman of the Committee. As per the Committee's report, it recommended a decentralised three Panchayati Raj hierarchy. It includes:

1    Gram Panchayat at the Village level

2    Panchayat Samiti at the Block level

3    Zila Parishad at the District level

• In 1953, the Rajasthan Panchayat Act was enacted and village Panchayats were established throughout the state. With this in 1959, Rajasthan became the first state wherein Panchayat Raj System was executed.
• The first elections under the Rajasthan Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads Act, 1959 were held in September-October 1959. With the already existing Panchayats at the village level under the Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953, the three-tier scheme of Panchayati Raj began functioning on October 2, 1959.