Five panchayats bag national awards for being healthy and secure

Berhampur: Five panchayats in the state, including three from Ganjam district, have bagged national awards in two categories for their achievements in various fields in 2025. Ganjam has also received the Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar for being the second best district panchayat in the country.Bijaya Kumar Behera, economic adviser, panchayati raj ministry, has communicated the names of the five panchayats, which will receive Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar and Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar, to the state's commissioner-cum-secretary of panchayat raj department, Girish S N.Potalampur and Mandar panchayats in Ganjam district's Chhatrapur and Polasara block bagged the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar award for securing third and second position respectively in the country in healthy, and socially just and socially secured panchayat category. Champua and Lathiketa panchayats in Kendujhar and Sundargarh districts bagged Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar for becoming third and second in the water-sufficient and clean and green panchayat category respectively.The central govt is yet to declare the date of the award distribution ceremony.The central govt has announced the awards after a central team visited the respective rural bodies and physically verified their achievements in different fields.Shashi Bhusan Mohapatra, block development officer of Polasara said in Mandar panchayat, said every eligible panchayat has been covered under the social security schemes. "The panchayat has provided the monetary benefits under the social security schemes from its own resources till the beneficiaries get the benefits from the govt. The panchayat has spent around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 every month to provide pension to the eligible people," he said.Out of a total population of 5,484 in the panchayat, 987 are covered under the different social security schemes, said the BDO.In Potalampur, health camps are conducted frequently, and all national programmes conducted successfully, said Sambit Sahoo, BDO of Chhatrapur, adding the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate was nil for the last three years, with 100% institutional deliveries.