BHUBANESWAR : Six panchayats of the state were awarded the National Panchayat Awards-2024 for driving grassroots development, by President Droupadi Murmu at New Delhi on Wednesday.
The awards were given under several categories by the Panchayati Raj Ministry with the primary focus on recognising grassroots governance, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
Keluapalli and Sahapur panchayats of Ganjam district won the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar in ‘healthy panchayat’ and ‘self-sufficient infrastructure’ categories respectively.
Chhatrapur received the ‘Best Block Panchayat’ award and Koraput bagged ‘Best District Panchayat’ under Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar. Similarly, Kasira under Sundargarh received the Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar for utilising renewable energy sources. Besides, Kendrikela under Sundargarh received the Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar for its efforts towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions. State Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj received the Panchayat Kshamta Nirmaan Sarvottam Sansthan Puraskar for providing institutional support to panchayats in achieving the localisation of sustainable development goals.