Tirupati, Mar 29 (TNT) : Strong and empowered Gram Panchayats are key to ensuring effective rural development and delivery of welfare schemes, experts said at a webinar organised by the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India.
Delivering the keynote address, Venkatrao Y. Ghorpade , Working Chairman of the Karnataka State Panchayati Raj Parishad, said a nationwide debate is underway on whether the proposed VB-G RAM-G scheme, intended to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, would deliver the expected outcomes.
He said that irrespective of welfare schemes introduced by governments, benefits would reach rural areas only when grassroots institutions are strengthened.
Gopinath Reddy,Research Consultant at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad, said MGNREGS has played a crucial role in providing employment to landless agricultural labourers and reducing migration, but pointed out shortcomings such as failure to ensure 100 days of work and alleged discrepancies in data.
Devendra Babu, Honorary Professor at the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (MGRDPRU), Gadak, Karnataka, observed that the proposed VB-G RAM-G framework is largely similar to MGNREGS and cautioned that certain provisions could have long-term implications, particularly for Centre-State relations.
Moderating the session, D. Sundar Ram, Founder and Director of AGRASRI, said proposed changes in the funding pattern—from a 90:10 to a 60:40 Centre-State share—could significantly impact states.
Other speakers, including N. Sivanna, Honorary Professor at the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Development and Panchayati Raj University, Gadak in Karnataka and Dr Billava Narayana, Asst. Professor at the Centre for Multidisciplinary Development Research (CMDR), Dharwad, Karnataka, raised concerns over centralised control and its impact on local self-governance.
The webinar was attended by academicians and policy experts, who discussed structural, financial and governance aspects of rural employment schemes.
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