Working With Panchayats
The history of the village level Panchayat institutions in India goes back to hundreds of years. In the post-independence period, the Panchayat systems were largely neglected. DHAN Foundation has realised that these Panchayat institutions at the village need to be vibrant and responsive to the needs of the people to bring about lasting progress in the villages benefiting people of all classes. This will lead to the empowerment of the poor and weaker sections. The new theme on ‘Democratising Panchayats’ has been taken up on a pilot basis with the following objectives i) Promoting and strengthening of village level institutions as functional groups in the Panchayat to ensure people’s participation. ii) Sustaining the Panchayat institutions to access resources and reduce its dependence on the State. iii) Integrating the existing traditional systems with the Panchayats to enhance the participation of the people and achieve synergy.