Surabhi Gorebal, Pune
To enhance the general health of the panchayats and develop them, the Jharkhand government’s Panchayati Raj Department has started a trial project in 28 panchayats. To find gaps and enhance service delivery across the panchayats, the department has partnered with the Autonomous Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), which works in Kerala to increase local governance capacity.
According to officials, the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) certification—the panchayat standards certificate—is the goal of the capacity-building exercise. The certification would indicate that the panchayat is engaging with the residents and making decisions based on the best available evidence to maintain residents’ satisfaction with service delivery. In the first week of August, representatives of KILA made several trips and conducted a preliminary survey. After the subsequent phase of work starts, they will provide a report by the end of this month.
Nisha Oraon, Director of the Panchayati Raj Department, outlined the steps, talking about the three stages of panchayat growth. “The first stage is a gap analysis across health, water accessibility, Anganwadi centers, education, and basic services in the panchayats. Since KILA has been helping with capacity building in Kerala, we wanted to involve them in looking into it. Once they submit the report, we will seek views from individual districts, local MLAs, and mukhiyas on how to fill those gaps,” he said.
Oraon emphasized the need to empower panchayats to use KILA’s service.
According to sources, KILA will conduct workshops to build the skills of elected officials and government representatives of PRIs, train master trainers in the state, arrange exposure trips to Kerala to showcase local governance, develop training modules on topics related to decentralization and development, and find revenue streams for the panchayats. Once completed, these panchayats’ services will have ISO authorization.