Beacon of excellence secures second place in carbon neutral category

Patoda: Patoda Gram Panchayat, one of the model village Panchayats in Maharashtra, that earned a special identity in the state as an ideal Gram Panchayat, has now carved a distinct identity at the national level as well.

The village recently secured second place in the Carbon Neutral Gram Panchayat category and was honoured by President Draupadi Murmu in New Delhi, marking a prestigious achievement that adds a feather to Maharashtra’s cap.

A delegation from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India, visited Patoda to study its innovative initiatives.

Over the past few years, the village has gained national attention due to its remarkable efforts.

A significant step toward women empowerment was achieved by mandating the inclusion of women’s names alongside men in property ownership records. This progressive idea was implemented under the leadership of former Sarpanch Bhaskar Rao Pere, and has been maintained since then.

Along with this, planting of trees has been made compulsory in front of every house. Four fruit trees are given free to the citizens who pay tax in the month of July and their tracking is done by the Gram Panchayat.

To date, Patoda Gram Panchayat has received 24 different awards, the first of which was in 2007.

Through consistent development efforts, the Panchayat has attracted nearly four crore rupees in development funds.

The village has consistently emerged victorious in major competitions like the Sant Gadge Baba Gram Swachhta Abhiyan and the Savitribai Phule Swachh Anganwadi Award, among others. From 1st to 7th April, a unique tradition is carried out by hoisting the flag by the women of the tax paying households.

The Panchayat provides free daily meals to destitute senior citizens, a social responsibility initiative that has been running successfully for several years. Patoda has also made commendable progress in fields such as sanitation, education, water management, and the use of renewable energy sources.

The Panchayat also provides various facilities free of cost throughout the year to the families that pay Rs 4,000 as tax.

It includes sanitary pads to women, grain grinding, 20 litres of pure drinking water every day, hot water for bathing, oil extraction service, potato chips maker, sugarcane juice maker, air filling facility in vehicles, charging station for electric vehicles, water meter outside the house, open gym for women and most importantly drainage system where water is purified naturally and released into the river.