Overview

• CM Bhupendra Patel distributed Rs 35 crore in grants to 761 Samras Gram Panchayats during a felicitation ceremony at Gandhinagar’s Mahatma Mandir on July 4.
• The Samras Gram Panchayat scheme, introduced in 2001 by then CM Narendra Modi, promotes unopposed, consensus-based elections to reduce village-level conflicts.
• Officials celebrated 56 Mahila Samras Gram Panchayats in the recent polls, with Mehsana district accounting for nine of the all-women bodies.
• Top-performing panchayats received performance certificates under the Panchayat Advancement Index, which evaluates performance across nine thematic areas including cleanliness and women’s empowerment.
• The Gujarat government has provisioned Rs 1,236 crore for rural governance incentives to support and expand the Samras Panchayat model.