Saksham Gram Panchayat: Empowering Stakeholders for Sustainable Local Development

A Journey of Cohesive Planning Across Aspirational Districts towards Self-Sustainable Economies

Overview

Panchayats, home to over 50% of the population, pose a considerable administrative challenge exacerbated by issues like Left Wing Extremism, disasters, border concerns, and tribal populations. The Aspirational Bharat Collaborative was initiated to address these challenges. Comprising Collaboration and Convergence, the Aspirational Bharat Collaborative engaged six channel partners over four years—Media, Self-Help Groups, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Faith Leaders, Volunteers, and Non-Governmental Organizations. Shifting focus to strategic convergence, the Panchayat is identified as an ideal intervention setting, evolving collaboration into a Forum. A convergence forum is envisioned to adopt a three-pronged approach—aligning functionaries, establishing forums through collaborations, and reallocating funds. The aim of Saksham Gram Panchayat is to deliver services at the grassroots level, making the convergence forum in Panchayats a pivotal step for positive administrative change.

Intervention

Presently, the Government of India, with a primary focus on Local Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs), is channeling its efforts through the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. This involves the intervention of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) to align with the nine thematic areas of LSDGs. The imperative is clear: for India to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, rural India must take the lead. Drawing from the insights gained through various pilot initiatives, our team has devised a three-tier strategy of forums:

District Convergence Forum: This forum will function as a coordinating body, overseeing the overall goals of the district
Block Convergence Forum: Serving as a monitoring body, this forum will assess the activities of each Gram Panchayat, categorizing them as high cost, low cost, or no cost
Gram Panchayat Convergence Forum: Operating as an implementing body, this forum will execute activities within the purview of its GPDP plan. It will lead no-cost behavior change campaigns, organize low-cost activities, and actualize high-cost activities based on the needs of the Gram Panchayat through participatory planning rather than unanimous decision-making

Theory of Change

Saksham Gram Panchayat encourages collaboration and resource convergence among three-tier panchayats, emphasizing decentralized forums to enhance cooperation. These forums aim to align departments and channel partners, converging resources for selected goals like Local Sustainable Development Goals or specific local objectives. The objective of Saksham Gram Panchayat is to impact the last mile, addressing issues like anemia, nutrition, tuberculosis, playgrounds, libraries, etc. While directly intervening in some Gram Panchayats, our scaling strategy involves leveraging channel partners in subsequent phases. Large-scale capacity-building sessions ensure decentralized planning reaches every Gram Panchayat in the Aspirational District.

Impact of the Program

The initiative aims to positively impact planning processes in 112 Aspirational Districts, involving 10,000 stakeholders. These stakeholders range from elected representatives to teachers and Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs)

The primary objective is to empower Gram Panchayats for a self-sustainable economy, with a focus on achieving targets in Local Sustainable Development Goals. This empowerment involves coordination and convergence across different planning levels, including GPDP, Block Panchayat Development Plan (BPDP), and District Panchayat Development Plan (DPDP)

Saksham Gram Panchayat seeks to facilitate a cohesive and coordinated approach to development planning by promoting convergence across various levels, ensuring a unified strategy for sustainable development in the targeted districts