The Hindu : National : Aiyar begins study tour of panchayats

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 30, 2005

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National

Aiyar begins study tour of panchayats

Special Correspondent

GULBARGA: Union Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday visited two gram panchayats and a taluk panchayat in Gulbarga district of Karnataka.

The visit is the beginning of his countrywide tour to have first-hand knowledge of the functioning of panchayati raj institutions.

After the Chief Ministers' Conference in March in New Delhi, a core group was formed to work out ways of strengthening the panchayats.

After seven rounds of discussions, it came out with 150 recommendations and these have been sent to the States and Union Territories.

Mr. Aiyar told presspersons here that before finalising an action plan he wanted to know about the demands and aspirations of the panchayats.

On May 1 he would hold discussions with Karnataka Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh in Bangalore.

"Our joint statement at the end of the discussions will be the model for the others."

To visit West Bengal

Mr. Aiyar is scheduled to visit West Bengal in May, Uttar Pradesh in June, Chhattisgarh in July, Himachal Pradesh in August, Jammu and Kashmir in September, Maharashtra in October, Kerala in November and Assam in December.

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