Cabinet approves restructured scheme for local bodies

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Saturday approved a restructured Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) aimed at building infrastructure and stepping up initiatives for e-governance .

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the scheme on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24. The scheme will focus on training, building infrastructure, stepping up initiatives for e-governance under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP), Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said.

The scheme will extend to all states and Union Territories and will also include institutions of rural local government in non-Part IX areas, where panchayats do not exist.

"The sharing ratio for the state components will be 60:40 barring the Northeast and hilly states where it will be 90:10," Tomar informed.

"For UTs, the central share will be 100 per cent. The total proposed cost of the scheme is Rs 7255.50 crore," he said.

This year, National Panchayati Raj Day will be a two-day event. On April 23, an interactive group discussion-cum-workshop titled "Panchayat Ki Choupal Mein Charcha" will be organized at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

The main event will be held at Ramnagar, Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh, from where the Prime Minister will address all the gram sabhas of the country.