Orientation of Beacon Panchayat Leaders on the Project for Creating Model GP Clusters across India

NIRDPR started an Action Research Project in August-September 2019, mainly with corporate support, to create Model GP Clusters to motivate other GPs – to reach up to 100+ Clusters covering 500+ GPs in 55 districts across 11 States (Phase-1). In June 2020, to expand the scope of creating Model GP Clusters, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Government of India approved in favour of NIRDPR a Project for Creating 250 Model GP Clusters to cover another 1103 GPs (Phase-2). The Projects in 2 Phases seek to create 100+250 Model GP Clusters across India to achieve Holistic and Sustainable Development through Institutional Strengthening of GPs and enablement of Quality GPDP by providing complementary training, technical guidance and professional handholding support to the GPs through specialised Project interventions, to inspire and motivate other GPs.

The Project interventions are being implemented – not in a conventional manner but in mission mode and in an out-of-the-box manner. Success of the Project interventions depends on motivation of the Elected Representatives (ER) & functionaries and communities with their proactive role in and ownership of the process for their own development. In view of this, renowned Beacon Panchayat Leaders will visit the GPs under the Clusters twice a year and motivate the ERs and functionaries of the Project GPs. Now, who can be called Beacon Panchayat Leaders? Those Panchayat Leaders (erstwhile or working) who have thorough understanding about the entire Gram Panchayat governance system and participatory planning process, who are well-known for having record of outstanding performance in their Panchayat career, who have profound experience in taking forward their Panchayats to a high level of achievement, who are champions in having created innovative examples in rural local governance and development, who are adept in motivating communities with their excellent leadership and eloquence, and who are agreeable to stay with the Project GPs and communities for five days at a stretch and show them the way to the process of self-development, may be called Beacon Panchayat Leaders. Even a few outstanding non-ERs possessing all the attributes mentioned above and strong leadership in Panchayat functioning may be considered to function as Beacon Panchayat Leader (BPL). The States and the UTs have nominated such BPLs for final selection by the PMU of NIRDPR and deployment for occasional visit to the Project GPs. With this end in view, this residential Orientation with Beacon Panchayat Leaders has been organised on 01-03 March, 2022 by NIRDPR.