THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state-level Panchayat Day celebrations will be held at RDR Hall, Edappazhanji, here on April 23 and 24, said Panchayat Minister M K Muneer.
The Minister told reporters here on Thursday that the Swaraj Trophy for best panchayats and the awards for best implementation of MNREGS would also be presented at the function.
Swaraj Trophy Winners
Nedumpana panchayat in Kollam has been selected for the state-level Swaraj Trophy. The award consists of a project assistance of Rs 25 lakh.
The other winners are: Karakulam (first) and Pallichal (second) in Thiruvananthapuram, Mutholy in Kottayam, Chottanikkara in Ernakulam, Nochad (first) and Arikkulam (second) in Kozhikode, Chembilode (first) and Pinarayi (second) in Kannur and Madikai in Kasargod.
The first prize winners will get the Swaraj Trophy and a project assistance of Rs 10 lakh. The second prize winners will get a project assistance of Rs 5 lakh.
On April 23, a seminar on ‘Five Year Plan and local bodies’ will be held at 2.30 p.m. Planning Board vice-chairman K M Chandrasekhar will present the topic. Ministers M K Muneer and V S Sivakumar, C Raveendranath MLA, former LSG Minister Kutty Ahammed Kutty, Planning Board members C P John, G Vijayaraghavan and E Sreedharan and KILA director P P Balan will participate in the seminar.
On April 24, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will open the celebrations at 9.30 a.m. The inauguration of property tax collection through post offices will also be held at the function. The release of the documentary on panchayats, prepared by IT@School, inauguration of the web service of the accounting system of LSG institutions and the release of the special issue of the Panchayati Raj magazine will also be held at the function.
The valedictory function will be opened by Speaker G Karthikeyan at 2.30 p.m. Labour Minister Shibu Baby John, MLAs K Muraleedharan and V Sivankutty will attend the function.