A large proportion of the newly elected members to the Panchayati Raj system do not get the opportunity to undergo training programmes for effective performance. The opportunity is not available to 43 per cent of them. The chief reason being

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi with some elected representatives of district panchayats at the National Convention of Chairpersons of District and Intermediate Panchayats in New Delhi on Thursday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday called for devolution of more powers and responsibilities to elected representatives of panchayati raj institutions. He also sought a debate on why some States failed to successfully implement the three-tier panchayati raj system.

Mobile Medical Teams (MMT) launched by the army and the state government under Border Area Development Programme (BADP) as a part of the comprehensive approach to the border management with focus on socio-economic development including healthcare of remote and inaccessible areas has almost proved to be a failure in Kashmir.

Over 40 thousand Village Water and Sanitation Committees have been constituted in the state under Total Sanitation Campaign. Importantly, all the members of the committees are women.

We are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the new avatar of panchayats. Under Article 243(G) of the Constitution, Panchayats must become "institutions of self-government.' What is the balance sheet of the Panchayati Raj Institutions after 15 years? The deficits outnumber the achievements. Many factors are responsible for this dismal picture.

With the city continuing to reel under acute water shortage, the time has come for us to look at other alternative sources to get around this problem and make intelligent use of available water.

Chhatna, (Bankura): Five pairs of hands have reached out to a remote rural pocket of Bankura that the healthcare authorities seem to have forgotten about. Led by P.K. Sarkar, a former director of the School of Tropical Medicine and state drug controller, the team is building a 10-bed hospital in the tribal-dominated Fulberia village, about 270km from Calcutta. Amader Haspatal (Our Hospital), slated to start operations from May-end, will later be expanded to a 100-bed facility. It will initially have four residential doctors and three nurses.

The Municipal Corporation might have allocated lakhs of rupees to upgrade water supply network in villages and colonies but in reality not much has been done about it till date. Residents still have to struggle to get clean potable water. In 2006-07, Hallomajra, Dadu Majra, Maloya, Palsora and Kajheri were handed over to the MC so that it can provide them essential services like water, sewerage and storm water drainage. It was proposed that canal water will be provided to the villages where it was not available.

: The October 8, 2005 earthquake wrecked havoc on life and property in the bordering area of Karnah. Three years after the natural disaster hit Karnah villages, at least 99 children rendered orphans are still awaiting cash relief compensation announced by the union government under National Calamity Scheme for Victims (NCSV) scheme.

The state government is determined to ensure arrangements of drinking water, power and roads in every village. This was said by Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Rustam Singh while laying the foundation stone of a stop dam to be constructed at a cost of Rs 64.84 lakh at village Bamrauli in Janpad Morena Panchayat. The stop dam would be constructed under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.