Hyderabad, Aug.2 (UNI): A national-level Training of Trainers (ToT) Program for Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) was inaugurated today at NIRDPR, hereby S.M. Vijayanand, IAS, (Retd) Former Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Government of India. In his inaugural address, Vijayanand emphasized the significance of planning for socially secured Gram Panchayats through social inclusion, social justice, and equity for the marginalized sections. To deliver on SDGs at the local level by the 2.54 lakh Gram Panchayats in the country, the expert committee constituted by the MoPR recommended 9 thematic areas along with 168 local targets and 389 indicators. Now the Gram Panchayats while formulating the Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), will have to take into account the local contexts in the achievement of SDGs right from setting targets to determining the means of implementation and using indicators to monitor the progress. A training calendar is being planned out by NIRDPR to train 200 State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs) in each theme in 40 batches @ 50 persons per batch for Capacity Building & Training of Panchayats on LSDGs. Meeting the requirement of the LSDGs, the first batch of the ToT program on “Theme 7- Socially Secured and Socially Just Village” is being organized from August 1 to 3. A total number of 51 participants from six States covering Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal are attending the training of trainers program.
Dr. Anjan Kumar Bhanja, Faculty & Head, CPRDP&SSD, NIRDPR welcomed the participants and explained the background and objectives of the training of the SLMTs. He highlighted the thematic approach to GPDP and the joint advisories issued by different Ministries for LSDGs. After completion of ToT of SLMTs, each state will conduct training in cascading mode down the line and deliver field training to Panchayat functionaries on LSDGs. Addressing the participants, Dr. Pratyusna Pat- naik, Faculty & Programme Director, CPRDP&SSD highlighted the targets and indicators of Theme 7 of LSDGs and emphasized the participation and inclusiveness of marginalized sections in local governance for achieving socially secured village and socially just village.
On the second day of the program, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, IAS, Additional Secretary, MoPR, Government of In- dia, joined online and had intense interaction with the SLMTs. He suggested that NIRDPR will develop a portal for maintaining the database of SLMTs and track the field lev- el training activities conducted by them. He said that each Gram Panchayat shall take a “Sankalp” on a minimum of one and a maximum of 3 themes to saturate on related goals in the next 2-3 years. He also advised each SLMTs to adopt five Gram Panchayat in their respective States.
The outcome of this residential ToT Programme will enrich the resource persons with substantial knowledge, skills, and attitude, about the rationale and policy of the thematic approach to mainstreaming of LSDGs in Panchayats. After completion of ToT of SLMTs, each state will conduct training in cascading mode down the line and deliver- er field training to Panchayat functionaries on LSDGs.
