Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 10: National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) has certified as many as 395 Master Resource Persons (MRPs) of the Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, J&K under project “Transforming India through strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions by continuous Training and e-enablement (TISPRI).”
Out of the total MRPs certified by the NIRD&PR, Hyderabad, 278 MRPs were trained at J&K Institute of Management Public Administration & Rural Development (JK-IMPARD) Jammu while 117 MRPs were trained at JK-IMPARD Srinagar in collaboration with NIRD&PR and Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, J&K.
The series of training module conducted in 2019-20 following the Panchayati Raj elections in J&K was developed to create a pool of master trainers who further imparted training to elected Sarpanches and Panches of Jammu and Kashmir with an aim to improve the functioning and effectiveness of the PRIs, facilitate participatory democracy and reinforce accountability at the grassroots level.
During the training programme, MRPs were provided standardised training material supplemented with powerpoint presentations and audio-visual aides by RDD which was distributed among the participants to make the training more effective.
The TISPRI is being implemented by NIRDPR, Hyderabad through Centre for Panchayati Raj with the support of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, addressing gaps identified in strengthening PRIs.
The strengthening of Panchayats assumes incredible importance as PRIs, being institutions of local self-governance, are responsible for implementation of development programmes and Centrally sponsored schemes at the grassroots level.These Master Resource persons have already provided induction taining to 3560 Sarpanches and 23660 Panches. Also, they were instrumental in providing GPDP trainings to 47275 Sarpanches, SHG members, panchayat functionaries and officers in November, 2019. They will continue to take up training programmes at variuos levels to ensure a vibrant Panchayati Raj System in J&K.