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Gujarat has once again reaffirmed its commitment to grassroots development and sustainable governance, emerging as the top-performing state in the first-ever Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2022-23, released by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
The index, which evaluates over 2.16 lakh gram panchayats (GPs) across 29 states, places Gujarat at the forefront with 346 panchayats ranked as 'Front Runners'--the highest in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently prioritised rural development, aiming to transform villages into clean, modern, and inclusive spaces while ensuring that growth reaches every citizen. This vision took shape during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, laying the foundation for the state's rural transformation. Today, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat continues to strengthen its commitment to inclusive development and sustainable governance at the grassroots level. With this recognition, Gujarat sets a national benchmark for other states to emulate and reflects the state's robust commitment to rural transformation under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel. Gujarat's stellar performance in the PAI highlights the state's model of inclusive and sustainable rural development, which focuses on empowering gram panchayats to become self-sufficient and future-ready. Telangana (270 panchayats) and Tripura (42) follow Gujarat in the list of top-performing states. Out of the total 2.16 lakh gram panchayats assessed, 699 were ranked as Front Runners (score 75-90), 77,298 as Performers (score 60-75), 1,32,392 as Aspirants (score 40-60) and 5,896 as Beginners (score below 40). The nine SDG-aligned themes include poverty-free and enhanced livelihoods panchayat, healthy panchayat, child-friendly panchayat, water sufficient panchayat, clean and green panchayat, panchayat with self-sufficient Infrastructure, socially just and Socially secured Panchayat, panchayat with good governance and women-friendly panchayat. The Panchayat Advancement Index is expected to become a critical tool in identifying developmental gaps at the grassroots level and ensuring that every panchayat moves toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through evidence-based, targeted policy interventions. (ANI)
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