Gujarat: Dy CM Harsh Sanghavi urges Panchayat office-bearers to spend two hours daily listening to public, visit villages five days a week

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Tuesday urged elected Panchayat representatives to work at the grassroots level and dedicate themselves to serving citizens, saying power and position provide an opportunity to earn a place in people's hearts through service.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Tuesday urged elected Panchayat representatives to work at the grassroots level and dedicate themselves to serving citizens, saying power and position provide an opportunity to earn a place in people's hearts through service. According to the Chief Minister's Office, the closing ceremony of the 'Panchayat Sanskaran Karyashala' was organised for Panchayat office-bearers and held at the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. The workshop, held in the special presence of Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Purnesh Modi, featured various sessions on the functioning of the three-tier Panchayat system and coordination with citizens.

Addressing the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi urged the elected representatives to work at the grassroots level and serve the people with dedication. He said that power and position are not meant to remain on paper, but are an opportunity to earn a place in the hearts of citizens through service. He added that Gujarat is a leading state where District and Taluka Panchayat Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Standing Committee Chairpersons are directly engaged in dialogue and guided on their rights and responsibilities towards citizens. He said that citizens' concerns should be heard patiently and resolved positively. He urged office-bearers to spend two hours every day listening to the public and visit villages at least five days a week to understand and address local issues. He emphasised that during their tenure, priority should be given to preventing encroachments on properties under the District Panchayat, improving facilities and the condition of toilets in government schools, and addressing necessities such as cleanliness drives.

He added that all office-bearers should give priority to development works in the public interest. At the conclusion of the programme, he expressed his gratitude to Legislative Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Panchayat Minister Rushikesh Patel for organising the workshop, and extended his best wishes to all the representatives present to move forward with a commitment to public service. At the closing ceremony, Panchayat Minister Rushikesh Patel said that the holistic development of villages is essential to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Viksit Bharat @2047'. He said that elected representatives are directly connected with the people and must work to meet their expectations and ensure basic amenities such as drinking water, drainage, roads, electricity, education and healthcare.

He added that in the three-tier Panchayati Raj system, everyone from the Sarpanch to the office-bearers of the District Panchayat must work with transparency and accountability. Proper coordination between office-bearers and administrative officers is essential to accelerate development works. He strongly urged the representatives to engage in positive discussions with officials and ensure that the maximum benefits of government grants and schemes reach farmers, agricultural labourers and the poorest families in villages. Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Purnesh Modi said that the true assessment of elected representatives comes from the work they do for the people, not from any government CR. He urged representatives to keep learning and prepare a clear development roadmap for their constituencies. He added that elected representatives and government officials are like two wheels of the same chariot, making coordination and a good understanding of administrative rules essential for faster development. (ANI)