On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the National Panchayati Raj Day celebrations in Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh, where he addressed representatives and functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions and gram sabhas from across the country. During the event, he performed the virtual ‘Griha Pravesh’ for 4.11 lakh beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and inaugurated various projects worth ₹7,853 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission, which will benefit 9.48 lakh families of 4,036 villages. He also visited an exhibition showcasing the development of various departments at the main venue. Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh, and Union Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development Faggan Singh Kulaste were present on the occasion.
Modi also inaugurated the integrated e-GramSwaraj and GeM (government e-marketplace) portal for public procurement at the panchayat level, which aims to enable panchayats to market their goods and services through GeM leveraging the e-GramSwaraj platform. The PM also launched the ‘Joint Steps towards Development’ campaign, aimed at increasing people’s participation in ensuring full benefits of government schemes. He handed over around 35 lakh Swamitva property cards to beneficiaries, bringing the total number distributed under the Swamitva Yojana in the country to about 1.25 crore property cards. Modi also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation various railway projects worth about ₹2,300 crore, including doubling of railway tracks, gauge conversion and electrification projects, and 100 per cent electrification of the rail network in Madhya Pradesh. He also laid the foundation of the redevelopment of Gwalior station and flagged off three trains.
