Panchayats
21-Mar-2023: Strengthening of Panchayati Raj System
To strengthen Panchayati Raj System and thereby improve the rural areas of the country, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is implementing the (i) Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) with the primary objective of strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) by way of capacity building and training of the elected representatives and the functionaries of the PRIs, providing infrastructural support like Gram Panchayat Bhawan and Computerisation, (ii) Incentivization of Panchayats (IoP), a Central Components of RGSA scheme to encourage competitive spirit among PRIs under which, Awards including financial incentives are given to best performing Panchayats in recognition of their good work for improving delivery of services and public good, (iii) Mission Mode Project on e-Panchayats, a Central component of RGSA scheme under which various e-governance projects are funded towards digitalization of Panchayats to bring in efficiency, accountability and transparency in the functioning of the PRIs for overall transformation of PRIs (No funds are released to States under the scheme).
Article 243D of the Constitution of India provides for not less than one-third reservation for women in PRIs out of total number of seats to be filled by direct election and number of offices of chairpersons of Panchayats. As per the information available with the Ministry, 21 States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, and 2 UTs namely 'UT of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu' and 'UT of Lakshadweep' have made provision for 50% reservation for women in PRIs in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts. In respect of remaining Part-IX States/UTs, Constitutional provision, as prescribed in Article 243D, applies.
Further, Government has been encouraging increased involvement of women in the functioning of Panchayats through active participation in the Gram Sabha meetings for preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans and various schemes being implemented by the Panchayats. This Ministry has also issued advisories to the States to facilitate holding of separate Ward Sabha and Mahila Sabha meetings prior to Gram Sabha meetings, enhancing the presence and participation of women in Gram Sabha and Panchayat meetings, allocation of Panchayat funds for women centric activities, combating the evil of women trafficking, female foeticide, child marriage etc.
Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP)
17-Mar-2023: National Conference on ‘Bhumi Samvaad IV on implementation of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar
Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh said the Bhu-Aadhaar will usher economic and social prosperity, as it will bring about transparency in land dealings and will mark another step towards Ease of Living. The Bhu-Aadhaar or Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) project, being implemented by Department of Land Resources, will be the world’s largest database on land ownership. He further emphasized that Citizen centric Bhu-Aadhaar will revolutionize Governance of Sashakt Bharat. Shri Giriraj Singh said this after inaugurating ‘Bhumi Samvaad – IV: National Conference on Digitizing and Geo-referencing India with Bhu-Aadhaar (ULPIN)’, in New Delhi.
Shri Giriraj Singh said once the digitization process of land records and registration is complete, it will help mitigate the huge pendency of court cases involving land disputes. The GDP loss to the country’s economy is about 1.3% due to projects being stalled over litigation involving land disputes. A study says, 66% of all Civil suits in India are related to land or property disputes, and the average pendency of a land acquisition dispute is 20 years.
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been committed to take every scheme towards saturation on the basis of technology. PM Modi gave JAM trinity and now under MGNREGA, 100% wages are paid to the beneficiaries through DBT, with transparency. India has undertaken the world’s largest digitization campaign, - there are 130 crore Aadhaar cards, crores of UPI transactions take place, we have 125 crore mobile phone users with more than 60 crore smartphone users besides 85 crore Internet users.
Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Steel, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste said without the digitization of land records, India cannot progress and be a developed nation.
The computerization of Land Registrations is 94% complete and 9 crore land parcels now have Bhu-Aadhaar. Transliteration of Land Records will be available in 22 languages in the near future, facilitating the citizens of the country. The Bhu-Aadhaar will be a move towards the Government’s agenda of Citizen Centric Governance which will help achieve the target of India being a $5 Trillion economy.
Bhu-Aadhaar integrated with various governmental platforms will immensely benefit all sectors of the national economy like social sector, infrastructure, energy, even defence and space sector. Bhu-Aadhaar can be gainfully used for Agristack, Minimum Support Price scheme, Gati Shakti and Land Acquisition Projects, Block Chain, Border Management, Hydel and Power Projects and Loans and Mortgage Services by financial institutions. Bhu Aadhaar will revolutionise governance for emerging and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Bhu-Aadhaar has been rolled out in 26 states, and is in implementation process in the rest 9 states barring Meghalaya due to its tradition of community ownership of land parcels. By March, 2024 the Department targets to achieve 100% of land records under Bhu-Aadhaar.
The ‘National Conference - Bhumi Samvaad IV on implementation of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar was organized with the theme of "Digitizing and Geo-Referencing INDIA with Bhu-Aadhaar (ULPIN)". The Conference had sessions on “Democratization of Land Records Data and Matribhoomi; “Application of Bhu-Aadhaar in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and Ease of Living; and “Best Practices – National and Global (Georeferencing / Survey/ Resurvey/ Use of Bhu-Aadhaar and Way Forward”.
This conference was organized under Bhumi-Samvaad series of Dialogues and Deliberations of Land Administration and Governance in the country. It was the 4th such conference with States/ UTs, Ministries and Departments, other stakeholders like Geospatial community, startups, academia. The Conference brought together a diverse group of leaders and participants from various stakeholder groups, including Central as well as State/ UT Governments, academia and research institutes, regional bodies, the business community and civil society.
Child Marriages
17-Mar-2023: Policy initiative to check child marriages
In order to curb child marriages and to take punitive actions against those associated with child marriages, the Government has enacted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA). Section 16 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) authorises the State Government to appoint for the whole State, or such part there of as may be specified, an officer or officers to be known as the 'Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO)' having jurisdiction over the area or areas specified in the notification. This section also specifies the functions to be discharged by CMPOs, which also include preventing solemnisation of child marriages by taking such action as they may deem fit; to collect evidence for the effective prosecution of persons contravening the provisions of the Act; to advise the individuals or counsel the residents of the locality not to indulge in promoting, helping, aiding or allowing the solemnisation of child marriages; to create awareness about the ill effects of child marriages; and to sensitize the community on the issue of child marriages. These authorities function under the respective State Governments/ UT Administrations. As such, implementation of the provisions of the Act lies with them.
Further, the Government has introduced a Bill namely 'the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Parliament on 21.12.2021 for raising the age of marriage of women to 21 years to make it at par with the men. The proposed Bill also has provisions to make consequential amendments in the enactments, inter alia, relating to age of marriage of parties, such as 'The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872', 'The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936', 'The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937', 'The Special Marriage Act, 1954', 'The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955', and 'The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969'. The Bill has since been referred to Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports for examination.
Further, 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibilities to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens, investigation and prosecution of crime against women and children including prohibition of child marriages, rest with the respective State Governments. The State Governments are competent to deal with such offenses under the extant provisions of laws.
Nevertheless, the Central Government also undertakes awareness drives, media campaigns and outreach programs and issues advisories to the States/ UTs from time to time to highlight evil effects of this practice. Further, the Ministry of Women and Child Development implements the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme, wherein creation of awareness on matters pertaining to gender equality and discouraging child marriage is an important focus area. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also undertakes awareness programs and consultations with stakeholders from time to time in this regard. In addition, Government of India has introduced CHILDLINE with short code 1098, a 24X7 telephone emergency outreach service for children in crisis which responds with suitable interventions to call for any form of assistance which a child requires, including for prevention of child marriages in coordination with police, CMPOs, District Child Protection Units etc.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the data on the number of cases of child marriage registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 in its publication 'Crime in India'. The said report is available upto the year 2021. As per information available with NCRB, the number of cases registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 during 2019, 2020 and 2021 are 523, 785 and 1050 respectively including Uttar Pradesh. The region-wise data is not maintained by NCRB. Higher reporting of cases does not necessarily reflect increase in the number of cases of child marriages, but it may be because of increased awareness among citizens to report such incidents due to initiatives by the Government and better enforcement of law by States/ UTs.