Gandhinagar: The govt said on Wednesday that Gujarat ranks foremost among all states in the “frontrunner” and “performer” categories of panchayats in the panchayat advancement index (PAI) that was released for the first time earlier this month. National Panchayati Raj Day is being observed on April 24, Thursday.
“Out of a total of 2,16,285 validated gram panchayats across the country, 346 panchayats from Gujarat have been classified as ‘frontrunner’ and 13,781 as ‘performer’, the highest in both categories nationwide,” an official statement said on Wednesday.
Telangana secured the second position with 270 ‘frontrunner’ panchayats. In the ‘performer’ category, Maharashtra ranked second with 12,242 panchayats, followed by Telangana with 10,099. As per PAI data for the year 2022–23, out of the total 2,55,699 gram panchayats in the country, 2,16,285 submitted valid data. Among them, 699 were identified as ‘frontrunner’, 77,298 as ‘performer’, and 1,32,392 as ‘aspirant’ panchayats.
Quoting Gaurav Dahiya, state nodal officer for PAI and additional development commissioner of the state panchayat department, the statement said, “This accomplishment reflects Gujarat’s strong commitment to grassroots development and localisation of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Gujarat’s panchayats have set a notable example of data-driven planning and effective inter-departmental convergence.”
The PAI is a comprehensive assessment tool that measures the progress of over 2,50,000 gram panchayats against the localised SDGs. It evaluates performance across nine themes: poverty-free and better livelihood panchayats, healthy panchayats, child-friendly panchayats, water-sufficient panchayats, clean and green panchayats, panchayats with self-reliant infrastructure, socially just and secure panchayats, panchayats with good governance, and women-friendly panchayats. The assessment is based on 435 local indicators and 566 data points.