True Democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting in the center. It has to be worked from below by the people of every village
– Mahatma Gandhi

Gram Panchayats (GPs) are Rural Local Governments that bring in convergence of development activities of various departments and are uniquely positioned to be the engines for rural development.

Panchayats and their members, when enabled with a sense of empowerment, have made strides in addressing most tricky and pervasive issues, which cannot be addressed effectively by the higher tiers of the state and its departments. Empowering GPs allows and enables them to come together to negotiate with their respective State governments.

Panchayats in Kerala and Karnataka generate significant sums of own revenue, which enables them to pursue their own collective vision. In 2011, the PESA Gram Sabha of MendhaLekha, Gadchiroli district became the first village in the country to secure Community Forest Rights over 1,800 hectares of forest surrounding it, which recognises the individual forest dweller’s right to live in and cultivate their forest land. There are many such stories…..

There are also other positives in the current context – new opportunities which can give impetus to the Panchayati Raj.

Substantial funds from MGNREGS and Central / State Finance Commission Grant
Introduction of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for capacity building of Gram Panchayats
Launch of the People’s Plan to prepare high quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP)

However, for various reasons the potential of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) still remains unrealised.

Given the current status of PRI and the reasons for its unrealised full potential, a group of like-minded civil society thinkers felt the need to have a forum that addresses the core issues affecting PRI and to take forward the 73rd amendment in letter and spirit.

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“My idea of village Swaraj is that it is a complete republic, independent of its neighbours for its own vital wants and yet interdependent for many others in which dependence is necessary”
-Mahatma Gandhi

On the occasion of the 150^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,Mission Samriddhi facilitated the launch of India Panchayat Foundation (IPF) at Gandhi Ashram, Sewagram in Wardha, Maharashtra

VISION

The Vision of IPF is to realise an empowered Panchayati Raj that upholds constitutional principles, human values and social justice guided by the highest standards of local self governance including the Gandhian vision of Gram Swaraj.

MISSION

The Mission of IPF is to celebrate the impactful work happening on the ground, strategically engage and connect stakeholders, catalyse the promotion and sharing of development practice experiences and amplify the voices of the Community, Panchayat members and Development Accelerators working for and with PRIs.

OUR PLEDGE

On the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our nation, we, the undersigned, hereby pledge to work towards establishing an empowered Panchayati Raj System in our country that upholds Constitutional Values, Social Justice and the highest standards of Governance while promoting the Gandhian vision of Panchayat Raj with a special focus on Antyodaya, through the India Panchayat Foundation.

The forum shall be independent, non-partisan, pan-India and shall Celebrate the impactful work at the grass root level, strategically engage and Connect stakeholders, Catalyse the promotion and sharing of development practice experiences, generate compelling evidence for policy advocacy, uphold the highest standards of democratic norms in all decision-making processes and encourage open and transparent discussion, respecting all voices.

To this end, we set our hands on this the Second day of the Month of October, in the Year Two Thousand and Nineteen, the sesquicentennial of the Father of our nation.

हमारा संकल्प

हमारे राष्ट्रपिता महात्मा गांधी की 150 जयंती पर हम, IPF के सदस्य, संकल्प लेते है कि इस फोरम के माध्यम से पंचायतीराज व्यवस्था के नैतिक एवं लोकतांत्रिक विकास की दिशा में कार्य करेंगे, जो कि राष्ट्र के संवैधानिक मूल्यों, सामाजिक न्याय और शासन के उच्चतम मानकों को बढ़ावा देते हुए पंचायत के प्रति गांधी जी की दृष्टि के साथ अंत्योदय पर केंद्रित होगा।

IPF स्वतंत्र, भेद-भाव रहित एवं राष्ट्रव्यापी होगा। वह जमीनी स्तर के प्रभावी कार्यों को उत्सव के रूप में लेने, हितधारकों को आपस में जोड़ने,रणनीतिक रूप से सक्रिय करने,विकास संबंधी अनुभवों को बढ़ावा देने व उन्हें साझा करने का कार्य करेगा। IPF, नीतिगत पैरोकारी हेतु सशक्त साक्ष्य प्रस्तुत करेगा, निर्णय लेने की सभी प्रक्रियाओं में लोकतंत्र के उच्चतम मूल्यों तथा सभी विचारों का सम्मान करते हुए खुली और पारदर्शी चर्चा को प्रोत्साहित करेगा |

अन्ततः हम, 2 अक्टूबर 2019 को राष्ट्रपिता महात्मा गांधी की 150वीं वर्षगांठ पर इस दिशा में आगे बढ़ने का संकल्प लेते है |