Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has said that effective implementation of works related to panchayat raj, education, farming and employment is crucial for ensuring rural development.
Speaking at the fourth convocation of the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University (KSRDPRU) at Nagavi near Gadag on Wednesday, the Governor said that it is a universally accepted truth that if villages are not made self-reliant by providing them the requisite infrastructure, balanced development of the country is not possible.
“Works related to education, agriculture and employment should be implemented effectively in the village level. Only when villages develop, development of the nation is possible,” he said.
Terming the panchayat raj system as an ancient concept from the Indian perspective, he said that understanding the significance of the system, the State and Union governments have, through Constitutional amendments, given more power to the panchayat raj institutions.
Mr. Gehlot pointed out the need for employment generation in rural areas to prevent migration to bigger towns and cities in search of livelihood. He stressed the importance of education and also emphasised the need for strengthening the system to provide employment.
The Governor also laid stress on the need for welfare programmes in the interest of the poor.
‘Create jobs’
Addressing the gathering, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge emphasised the need for students to imbibe humanitarian values in public service and called upon them not to seek employment but generate employment.
Elaborating on how KSRDPRU has taken a giant step in bringing to practice the Gram Swaraj concept of Mahatma Gandhi, he said that students who carried with them the idea of rural transformation are the ambassadors of the university.
Keynote address
Delivering the keynote address, the former Joint Secretary of Panchayat Raj Ministry of the Union government T.R. Raghunandan stressed on the need for focusing on strengthening the rural economy and facilitating rural development as, at present, the farm sector is facing distress.
He said that in the absence of meaningful democratic decentralisation and effective mechanism, it is not possible to ensure meaningful rural and urban development.
“Bhimrao Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi were in favour of decentralisation of panchayat raj system and wanted the local bodies to be representative of all communities and classes. Although three decades have passed after the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments aimed at strengthening the panchayat raj institutions, till date most of the States have only implemented these programmes half-heartedly,” he said.
He said that the Constitution comprised 400 articles which can be seen through the five Gandhian tenets of truth, non-violence, Swaraj, Sarvodaya and Antyodaya. And, only courage and patience are required for students to follow these five tenets, he said.
Honorary doctorate
On the occasion, the former bureaucrat Chiranjivi Singh and chairman of the Fifth State Finance Commission C. Narayanaswamy were honoured with D.Lit and LL.D (Doctor of Law), respectively.
As many as 11 meritorious students were honoured with gold medals during the convocation.
Vice-Chancellor of KSRDPRU Vishnukant Chatpalli, Registrar Suresh Nadagoudar and others were present.
