Panchayat Level Research Articles

Rythu Bharosa Kendram: Rejuvenating the Indian Rural Economy

Rythu Bharosa Kendram (RBK) serves as one stop shop for all of the needs of farmers at the Panchayat level. They offer services like e-crop booking for crop insurance, an agricultural input store, farmer knowledge centers, a technical advisory team, YSR Rythu Bharosa, Polambadi (Farmer Field School), CCRC cards, D-Krishi Seed distribution, and others. The objective is to study the extent of adoption of technologies and services of RBKs by the farmers. The present study is conducted in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh state as it is has significant area under crop cultivation. Multi stage simple random sampling technique has been adopted to select the sample farmers for the study. The data was collected from 75 respondents by personal interview method and analyzed using statistical analytical techniques such as Mean scale value and adoption Index. The study revealed that the majority of respondents 58.67% adopted technology at a medium level followed by low adoption 26.67% and high adoption 14.67% levels. The study concludes that RBKs are vital in serving farmers, with moderate adoption levels influenced by farmers’ age and education.

Political Awareness Among Elected Members Of Village Panchayath- A Case Study Of Gurupura Village At Dakshina Kannada District

In the modern age of development, local government has the greater responsibilities to play. The elected representative are to be the agent of positive change at their level. For this, Elected representatives are to be more sensible towards the socio-economic and other aspects. Although local government in India is subject of the State government, the seventy-third and seventy-fourth amendments to the Constitution of India now make it obligatory for the state government to organise local bodies, to hold regular election to them and to give them appropriate finances. Political awareness means access to political information, political participation, media exposure, interest in politics and education with political information being the best indicator over all. The Political Awareness and Political Participation are the parameters to assess the success of democratic system. There are two forms of political participation such as active and passive. The study of the political awareness and participation among the elected members at the gram panchayat level enabled to derive the efforts done by the external agencies in this regard. The study is restricted to one of the gram panchayat of Gurupur village in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka

Political Awareness Among Elected Members Of Village Panchayath- A Case Study Of Gurupura Village At Dakshina Kannada District

In the modern age of development, local government has the greater responsibilities to play. The elected representative are to be the agent of positive change at their level. For this, Elected representatives are to be more sensible towards the socio-economic and other aspects. Although local government in India is subject of the State government, the seventy-third and seventy-fourth amendments to the Constitution of India now make it obligatory for the state government to organise local bodies, to hold regular election to them and to give them appropriate finances. Political awareness means access to political information, political participation, media exposure, interest in politics and education with political information being the best indicator over all. The Political Awareness and Political Participation are the parameters to assess the success of democratic system. There are two forms of political participation such as active and passive. The study of the political awareness and participation among the elected members at the gram panchayat level enabled to derive the efforts done by the external agencies in this regard. The study is restricted to one of the gram panchayat of Gurupur village in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka

Public Perception Regarding the Role of Harithakarma Sena in Waste Management at Panchayat Level

Abstract: The study looks into how well Haritha karma sena has contributed to the waste management and sustainable development. Kudumbasree mission of the Kerala Government has started the Harithakarma sena as a way to eradicate poverty and facilitate women empowerment throughout the state. This initiative was formed in response to the waste management crisis in Kerala and it aids in the promotion of sustainable waste management practise at the grassroot level. This study is a tool to understand the perception of public about the role of Harithakarma sena in waste management and promotion of sustainable development. The most crucial problem faced by Kerala state was waste accumulation and lack of waste management and practices. Therefore, the study itself is an evaluation from the public about the effectiveness and implementation of Harithakarma sena. This study’s methodology is based on quantitative research. Questionnaire will be used to gather the data. The study provides light on the degree of improved public health that Harithakarma sena members have attained since joining the team. The respondents have acknowledged that the role of Harithakarma sena is influential in promoting sustainable consumption patterns among the residents. The issue of electronic waste should be given an emphasis. Each Harithakarma sena unit must pay attention to the numerous variables that contribute to sustainable development in the area

Problems and Prospects of Elected Women Representatives at Grass Root Level in Kerala with Special Reference to Palakkad District

It’s been decades after implementing the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution. The capacity-building measures taken by the Government aim to develop the Elected Women Representatives at the Panchayat level to lift them to societal needs and to adapt themselves to the forefront leaving behind all the difficulties they faced in the past which will make them completely competent to be a leader. Local Governance had remarkable progress after the inclusion of women into the mainstream of politics. Here, attempts are made to analyze the socio-economic and political profile of the Elected Women Representatives and the problems faced by the elected women representatives at the individual level and institutional levels in the Palakkad district of Kerala.

Optimizing Crop Yield Estimation through Geospatial Technology: A Comparative Analysis of a Semi-Physical Model, Crop Simulation, and Machine Learning Algorithms

This study underscores the critical importance of accurate crop yield information for national food security and export considerations, with a specific focus on wheat yield estimation at the Gram Panchayat (GP) level in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh, using technologies such as machine learning algorithms (ML), the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model and semi-physical models (SPMs). The research integrates Sentinel-2 time-series data and ground data to generate comprehensive crop type maps. These maps offer insights into spatial variations in crop extent, growth stages and the leaf area index (LAI), serving as essential components for precise yield assessment. The classification of crops employed spectral matching techniques (SMTs) on Sentinel-2 time-series data, complemented by field surveys and ground data on crop management. The strategic identification of crop-cutting experiment (CCE) locations, based on a combination of crop type maps, soil data and weather parameters, further enhanced the precision of the study. A systematic comparison of three major crop yield estimation models revealed distinctive gaps in each approach. Machine learning models exhibit effectiveness in homogenous areas with similar cultivars, while the accuracy of a semi-physical model depends upon the resolution of the utilized data. The DSSAT model is effective in predicting yields at specific locations but faces difficulties when trying to extend these predictions to cover a larger study area. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers by providing near-real-time, high-resolution crop yield estimates at the local level, facilitating informed decision making in attaining food security.

Verification of WRF model forecasts and their use for agriculture decision support in Bihar, India

Weather forecasting with high spatial resolution become increasingly relevant for decision support in agriculture and water management. Present work is carried out for verification of IMD-WRF Model rainfall forecast with 3 days lead time over Nalanda, Supaul and East Champaran districts in Bihar, India. The model’s skill up to a lead time of 3 days is evaluated with panchayat level daily in situ observations for Monsoon 2020 and 2021. Results show good agreement of forecast and observation throughout the domain and particularly over Supaul district, where about 70% of rain and no-rain days are correctly predicted for all panchayat. Also, FAR is <.3 in 90 percent of the panchayat and HK is also found >.25 in almost all places. This evaluation supports the use of WRF model forecast in agriculture up to 3 days in advance. However the quantitative verification suggests that model output is more reliable for moderate rainfall

The Changing Trajectory of Participation and Social Interaction at the Grassroots: Perception of Elected Dalit Representatives

For formerly excluded and marginalised people at the grassroots level of politics, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act has opened up previously unimaginable doors of opportunity. Because of the 73rd Amendment, scheduled castes have gained representation in panchayats; nonetheless, they were unable to participate in decision-making, which is reserved for upper and middle castes. The numerical or percentage representation of dalits at the grassroots level is the most frequently used criterion for assessing their political participation in India. This does not foster proper comprehension since representation, in and of itself, does not provide evidence of participation in a meaningful way. It is pointless for them to participate at the panchayat level unless the institutions in which they participate accept them openly and give them the authority to exercise influence over the outcome of the decision, thereby promoting their integration into mainstream society. Against this backdrop, the primary objective of this research is to identify the impact of political participation on the processes of changing the trajectories of social interaction among dalits at the grassroots level.

Depiction of Nikshay-IDs of notified TB cases on google map for presentation of density of TB in district Kupwara, J&K

In India, TB infects more than 30 percent of its population which is called latent TB infection. The essential source for spread of TB infection is the case with active TB disease. To decrease the burden of Latent TB infection, the best level of prevention is the secondary prevention by screening and diagnosing active TB disease and treating such cases to reduce the source of infection in the community. The importance of such google map has been increased many folds under the circumstances of achieving the Gold Medal by the district Kupwara for elimination of Tuberculosis. Because after achieving such award the general public as well as majority of stakeholders of NTEP in Kupwara have become more reluctant which may adversely affect the NTEP in the District. Seeing is believing, so google map with real time add-on cases of newly notified TB cases w.e.f. 1st January 2023 may become an effective tool for convincing the general public and the secondary and tertiary level stakeholders of NTEP to accept the reality of ongoing threat of TB at the village & panchayat level about the need for continuation of their contribution at individual level as well as community level so that incidence of TB can be further decreased in comparison to the incidence of TB in 2015. It is expected that such visual depiction of TB density may create awareness in the community for the enhancement of activities to fight against TB by its early diagnosis and treatment.

Effect of spatial resolution of climatological data on streamflow simulations using the SWAT : A case study

Data quality always affects the accuracy of model output. Rainfall is the basic data required in hydrological modelling as rainfall to runoff conversion is the core of all such models. Regional modelling studies required high resolution spatio-temporal data and availability of data at appropriate resolution also greatly affect the modelling results. Therefore, efforts have been started to record climatic variables at finer resolution so that they will be useful for block level and gram Panchayat level studies. In this study, an effort has been made to identify the effect of using various resolution climatic data on streamflow simulation in the Kesinga catchment of the Mahanadi river basin. Three types of rainfall sets with spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25° and 1° × 1° from IMD and one set of recorded rainfall data of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Govt. of Odisha is used in combination with IMD 1° × 1° gridded temperature to simulate streamflow at the Kesinga gauging station using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) keeping other parameters constant. The three simulations were analyzed using NSE, R2, RMSE, PBIAS, P-factor and R-factor. The results depicted that IMD gridded rainfall data sets predicted similar flows compared to the SRC recorded rainfall data which proves the fairness of IMD gridded data is at par with the recorded rainfall data of SRC, Govt. of Odisha.

Role and struggle of women entrepreneurship in rural development in Panchayati Raj.

The main objective of democratic decentralization is to promote equal public participation in programs of rural development and to give them maximum autonomy. For this, provision of reservation was made in the Panchayati Raj system to provide proper representation to women and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and it has been given the status of a fully autonomous democratic body. Under this, Panchayats were entrusted with the rights related to making plans for economic development and social justice. Important responsibility of implementation of various schemes of economic development and social justice and schemes related to the subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule was also entrusted to the Panchayats. Panchayats have been given the right to absorb various types of work at the Panchayat level in order to mobilize the necessary economic resources for development, and have also been given the right to withdraw from them if necessary by forming various types of funds by the amount collected. .

Sen's Capability Approach and Women Empowerment in Governance

This paper tries to measure the level of empowerment of elected women representatives (EWRs) at the Gram Panchayat level in the light of Prof. Amartya Sen’s ‘Capability Approach.’ In this paper, the level of empowerment of EWRs or “agency” has been measured through Women Empowerment Index (WEI) on the basis of five types of ‘instrumental freedoms’ like, Social Opportunities, Economic Facilities, Political Freedoms, Transparency Guarantees and Protective Security. On the other hand, the ‘capability set’ or the “alternative combinations of functioning” of EWRs or “agency” has been assessed through Gram Panchayat Performance Index (GPPI). By comparing WEI and GPPI, the paper has assessed the level of empowerment of EWRs during the last two boards (2003-08) and (2008-2013) in West Bengal.

Socio-Economic Profile of Fish Farmer at Panchayat Level of Kawardha District, Chhattisgarh

The socio-economic basis study serves as a fundamental precursor essential for initiating or advancing any development endeavour. In order to gain insights into the socio-economic status of fish farmers at the grassroots level in the Kawardha region, Chhattisgarh, an extensive survey was undertaken. This survey entailed the random selection of twenty-one fish farmers from two distinct panchayats, who were subsequently interviewed in person utilizing a meticulously crafted and pre-tested structured schedule. Over a duration of two months, comprehensive data pertaining to various socio-economic indicators were meticulously collected from the fish farming community. The study meticulously examined and presented a myriad of socio-economic factors, encompassing family demographics such as size and age group, educational background, occupational status, expertise in fish farming, preferred methods of fish culture, utilization of fish feed, familiarity with fish diseases, family structure, housing conditions, pond dimensions, and sources of financial backing. The findings of the study underscored the critical importance of comprehending the socio-economic profiles of fish farmers in driving the progress of aquaculture enterprises. The focus was primarily directed towards elucidating the existing circumstances and challenges faced by fish farmers, with the intent of furnishing valuable insights to inform future governmental and non-governmental initiatives aimed at bolstering the welfare and productivity of the fish farming sector.

Transitions towards Sustainable and Resilient Rural Areas in Revitalising India: A Framework for Localising SDGs at Gram Panchayat Level

Twenty-first century rural development (RD) demands a new paradigm of sustainability capable of addressing the difficulties and leveraging on the possibilities, such as climate change, demographic shift, international competitiveness, and rapid technological progress. Amidst these challenges, it is necessary to have a guiding framework from a long-term perspective that aids the integration of current RD policies while allowing space for location and community-specific innovations for implementing sustainable and resilient development strategies. India has witnessed several schemes and programmes for RD with exclusive objectives, varied focus areas, and separate domains, resulting in compartmentalisation in policy frameworks and disjointed implementation. Such initiatives were also often ideated from an urban perspective when it came to peri-urban rural areas or offered a generalist rural perspective (when referring to other rural regions, including those nested in ecological zones, thereby disregarding their local relevance). Accordingly, this study proposes a synchronised SMART village framework to tailor existing RD approaches for sustainable transformations aligned with the sustainable development goals and with a possibility of scaling its applicability in the local context. We initially conducted a bibliometric analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the emerging transformative approaches to RD, such as smart village (SV). Though in its nascent stage, the SV initiatives in India primarily envision information and communication technology enabled transformations in rural areas, often forcing villages to establish the relevance of such interventions. The study recognises key challenges to RD in India by using the problem tree analysis and further defines a SMART village framework that can be catalytic in transforming rural areas towards a sustainable and resilient state.

Satellite agromet products and their adaptation for advisory services to Indian farming community

Anomalous and erratic behaviour of weather pose various challenges for agricultural community from crop sowing to post harvest. The balance between turn-around-time for farm operations and resource optimization can limit the expected losses due to unfavourable weather. In the past, thrust was given to issue agromet advisories to farmers for a group of districts and blocks primarily using medium-range weather forecast with coarser grid resolution, crop records and point observation for crop condition. The current advisory framework under Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva (GKMS) of India Meteorological Department (IMD) lacks in, near real time assessment of crop and soil conditions to improve the quality and coverage of advisories. The spectral observations from polar and geostationary satellites provide agromet products for synoptic, real-time and continuous monitoring of crops. In order to strengthen the existing advisories under GKMS, the usage of satellite derived daily agromet products in six AFMUs (Agro-Met Field Units) (382 blocks of 60 districts) was initiated by Space Applications Centre, ISRO and IMD. Several agromet products such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Potential Evapotranspiration (PET), Surface Dryness Index (SDI), Minimum and Maximum Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) aggregated for block and district agricultural regions are provided to all six AFMUs in user friendly format since October 2019 through a dedicated web link from VEDAS (https://vedas.sac.gov.in) geoportal. Time series and near real-time agromet products during agricultural seasons are being used to interpret crop sowing prospect, crop condition, irrigation requirement, crop stress etc. at block and district scales. Regular evaluation of these products over respective AFMUs with measured ground data showed 9% and 10% difference for PET and SSM respectively, whereas, LST showed RMSE of 2.0 K. In future, crop specific agromet parameters and their short-term forecasting are primary focus to provide value-added quality advisories at Gram Panchayat level to all AFMUs.

Characterization and Quantification of Solid waste in Villages of Jhansi and Saharanpur

Abstract: The first step in the efficient and effective management of solid waste in gramme panchayats in Uttar Pradesh is to identify the type and quantity of garbage. To do this, we choose two cities from the central area and the west region (1. Jhansi, 2. Saharanpur). Two Gram Panchayats from each of the aforementioned districts were surveyed. The sample came from the chosen Gram Panchayat and was as follows: Gram Panchayats with populations greater than 10,000 were surveyed in 300 households, those with populations between 5,000 and 10,000 were surveyed in 150 households, those with populations between 2000 and 5000 were surveyed in 100 households, and those with populations under 10,000 were surveyed in 50 households. The District authorities were consulted for the selection of Gram Panchayats. Additionally, a survey of one weekly market was conducted in each District in order to collect information on the amount and type of waste produced during the weekly markets. Four major heads were used to categorise the garbage produced in gramme panchayats (Bio-degradable waste, Recyclable waste, Hazardous waste, Inert waste). In the study, we discovered that biodegradable trash makes up the majority of waste in gramme panchayats (57%), followed by inert waste (22%) and recyclable waste (17%). While all waste types can be managed, there is insufficient solid waste management at the gramme panchayat level. Additionally, we make some recommendations for efficient gramme panchayat-level waste management in Uttar Pradesh.

Mera Pani Meri Virasat Yojana: An Initiative towards Crop Diversification in Haryana

Ground water level in Haryana state continuously declines due to the over exploitation. In some of the blocks, the situation is very critical and there is a need to take the appropriate step to sustain the ground water level in the state. “Mera Pani Meri Virasat” scheme is one of the initiatives of the Haryana government to sustain the ground water level in the state through the crop diversification. The main purpose of the scheme is to encourage the farmers towards growing the crops consuming less water (like maize, bajra, pulses and cotton) in place of crops consuming more water especially paddy. The present study examines the “Mera Pani Meri Virasat” scheme and cropping pattern in Haryana state. The study based on secondary data that has been retrieved from various secondary sources. Descriptive statistical tools like percentage, compound annual growth rate, table and charts were used in the study. The results of the study indicates that MPMV is an ambitious scheme because it helps in risk reduction in agricultural activities as well as sustaining the ground water level in the state. Under the MPMV scheme, 49157 farmers are registered with the area 95117.8 hectares as on 8 Oct. 2021. The study also reveals that area and production of paddy as well as cotton are continuously increasing and showing the positive growth rate whereas area of bajra is declining continue but still the production of bajra is increasing. Both the area and production of maize crops continues declining. For policy implications, it is suggested that the government should organise the awareness programmes at panchayat levels about the scheme and its benefits.

Characterization and Quantification of Solid waste in Gram Panchayats of U.P.

Abstract: Efficient and effective handling of solid waste in gram panchayats of Uttar Pradesh starts with determining the character and quantity of the waste, for which we select two city from central region and west region (1. Lucknow, 2. Gorakhpur). In the above districts 2 Gram Panchayats of each district were surveyed. From the selected Gram Panchayat, the sample was as under: (1) Gram Panchayat with more than 10000 population 300 households were surveyed; (2) Gram Panchayat with 5000-10000 population 150 households were surveyed; (3) Gram Panchayat with 2000-5000 population 100 households were surveyed; (4) Gram Panchayat with less than 2000 population 50 households were surveyed. The selection of Gram Panchayats was done in consultation with the District authorities. And in order to get the data of waste generated and its type at the weekly markets, survey of one weekly market was done at each District. The waste generated in gram panchayats was categorized under 4 major heads (Bio-degradable waste, Recyclable waste, Hazardous waste, Inert waste). In the study we found that most of the waste in gram panchayats are Bio- degradable in nature (58.01%) and Inert waste (22.50%) is at second place and recyclable waste (16.52%) is at number 3 and every type waste can be managed but there is no proper management of solid waste at gram panchayat level. We also suggest some effective way to manage the solid waste at gram panchayat level in U.P

Extent of Adoption of Rythu Bharosa Kendra’s Technologies and Services in Ananthapuram District of Andhra Pradesh

Rythu Bharosa Kendras are the one stop shops for all farmers needs at Panchayat level in Andhra Pradesh. They provide services like e-crop booking to avail crop insurance, Agri-input shop, Farmer Knowledge Centres, Technical Advisory team, YSR Rythu Bharosa, Polambadi (FFS), CCRC cards, D-krishi (Seed distribution), etc. A sample of 90 beneficiaries were randomly selected from Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, mean scale value were used to analyse the data. The findings of the study indicated that, majority of the respondents (81.11%) having medium level of adoption followed by high (12.20%) and low (6.70%) levels of adoption.

Synthesis of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) spatial pattern in rural India: an integrated interpretation of WaSH practices.

Rural areas largely lack access to improved drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) facilities in India. This requires documentation of WaSH practices at the local level for better understanding and sustainable development. In this paper, a global positioning system (GPS)-based household survey was carried out in 67 villages of Phagi tehsil using individual questionnaires to evaluate the existing WaSH conditions spatially at the panchayat level. Three sub-indices were used for WaSH risk areas mapping and prediction with the integration of machine learning algorithms. Survey results indicate the improvement in the availability of toilet facilities; however, a gap was found between toilet ownership and its usage by villagers. Data show that only six panchayats have almost zero open defecation practices among the 32 panchayats of Phagi tehsil. The findings highlight that presence of toilets in house, water supply in toilets, and high literacy rate lead to an increase in toilet usage by the population. WaSH index scores indicate that panchayats like Mandawari, Mendwas, Chandma Kalan, and Rotwara have worst conditions and fall in the high-risk category. Moreover, support vector machine regression (SVMR) results reveal that WaSH scores are mainly affected by open defecation (r = 0.94), water supply in toilets (r = 0.92), and female members' participation in sanitation facilities decision-making (r = 0.53), followed by literacy rate (r = 0.33). Findings demonstrate the association between gender inequalities and WaSH conditions, and the potential of the WaSH index as a monitoring tool by local policymakers to shrink the WaSH gaps.