New Delhi, 3 Dec: Around 2.18 lakh out of the 2.69 lakh gram panchayats in the country have been made ready to provide high-speed internet services under the Centre’s BharatNet project, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said on Wednesday.
The BharatNet project is a government initiative to create a high-speed broadband network for all rural villages and gram panchayats.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Singh also said that all the states are making efforts to implement the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project, which aims to strengthen e-governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions.
“The BharatNet project is being implemented by the Department of Telecommunications in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all gram panchayats in the country. So far, out of a total of 2.69 lakh gram panchayats and traditional local bodies, 2.18 lakh have been made service-ready for providing high-speed internet services,” Singh said.
On August 4, 2023, the Cabinet approved the Amended BharatNet Programme to upgrade the existing network under BharatNet Phase I and Phase II and to extend it to the remaining gram panchayats, he said.
Under the Digital India Programme, Singh said, the Panchayati Raj Ministry is implementing the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project across all states and Union Territories.
The initiative aims to revamp the functioning of panchayats, making them more transparent, accountable and effective.
As part of the initiative, the ministry is operating eGramSwaraj, an online application designed to simplify panchayat activities such as planning, budgeting and accounting.
The ministry has integrated the eGramSwaraj application with the Public Financial Management System for gram panchayats to make online payments to vendors and service providers.
Panchayats use the eGramSwaraj portal to prepare and upload annual Panchayat Development Plans.
“All states are making efforts to implement e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project based on their available resources. However, due to differences in the level of preparedness of panchayats, states are at different stages of implementing these applications,” Singh added. (PTI)