Jharkhand honours model panchayats at Kolhan meet; focus on PESA rollout

Jharkhand’s push towards decentralised governance and strengthened gram sabhas came into focus at the Kolhan divisional Mukhia conference held in Chaibasa, where model panchayats were honoured for their work across key social and development indicators.

Panchayats demonstrating performance in child-friendly, healthy, women-centric, clean and green, and socially secure village development were felicitated at the event, reflecting an emerging framework of outcome-based rural governance in the state.

Addressing the gathering, state minister Deepika Pandey Singh said the recognition reflects grassroots efforts towards building self-reliant, organised and empowered villages.

She said the state government has implemented the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) rules, pending for the past 25 years, granting statutory powers to traditional gram sabhas.

According to the minister, the framework ensures protection of jal, jangal and zameen while placing local communities at the centre of the decision-making process. She said it strengthens administrative decentralisation and reinforces participatory democracy through public involvement.

Highlighting a key provision, Singh said the PESA rules enable the appointment of women as secretaries of gram sabhas, describing it as a step towards strengthening gender equality in rural governance. She added that this would increase women’s participation in panchayats and make decision-making more inclusive, sensitive and accountable.

She said the changes visible at the panchayat level indicate that development is evolving beyond scheme implementation into a continuous process driven by local leadership, transparency and collective participation.

The minister added that the state government is working towards positioning panchayats as centres of development, service delivery, self-reliance and social change.

The Kolhan conference reflects a shift in Jharkhand’s rural governance approach, with PESA rules placing gram sabhas at the centre of decision-making. Alongside decentralisation, the provision for women as gram sabha secretaries signals a structural push towards more inclusive local governance.