Development of a Model Village and Making This a Learning Centre for Other Villages: The Case of Panchayat Academy

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment and the emergence of the Panchayat RajPanchayat Raj System created great hope in rebuilding confidence in the grassrootsGrassroots masses. Among the three tiers of the Panchayat RajPanchayat Raj system, the village Panchayat (Gram PanchayatGram Panchayat) plays a key role, because it is very close to communitiesCommunity. The Panchayat system was well implemented in states like Kerala, West Bengal and Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu, it started with good backup from the state governmentGovernment in 1996 and progressed well till 2001 (i.e., for five years). However, after that, the growth of the panchayats started slipping year by year. To protect and strengthen the decentralised governing systems, a strong initiative is needed. The development of a village into an exemplary model in various dimensionsDimension and showcasing this as a platform for other panchayats is the need of the hour. The process of development of Kuthambakkam is taken here as a model, with its stages and packages explained in this chapter.