Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development

(Volume3, Issue7) Available online at: www.ijarnd.com Training needs assessment of Gram Panchayat mukhiya regarding health and family welfare programmes in state Dilip Kumar1, Dhanesh Kumar2, Binay Kumar Singh3 1Professor, University, Patna, Bihar 2Analyst, Patna University, Patna, Bihar 3Research Officer, Patna University, Patna, Bihar ABSTRACT

The Gram Panchayat plays a significant role in the democratic decentralization process, as it is the institution at the bottom level of the system; drawing villagers closer to participate in the decision making for the development. The path of decentralization has been successful in some parts of the country but disparities are present in certain regions / in terms of effective implementation, functioning of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), and self-generated development initiatives. The present study was undertaken in Patna and districts of Bihar State. Five percent of elected Mukhiya was interviewed under the study to understand their nature and degree of participation in PRIs along with the opinion about the acceptability of the fertility regulations methods among married men/women in their areas. In total, half of the Mukhiya were OBC in the selected Panchayats. Only one-fifth of the Mukhiya was found to be computer literate in the selected Panchayats. More than half of the males and one-third of the females were literate. The average distance of the Computer Institute from the selected Panchayats was about 6 km. The work of MANREGA implemented throughout the Panchayats. About 65 percent of the Mukhiya had needed that the Panchayat-members should be involved in the planning of developmental activities for villages in Patna . Mukhiya in was involved in activities like; budgeting of the planned activities (50 percent), implementation of the development activities in Panchayat (55 percent) and Health and Family Welfare activities (45 percent). In , the opinion regarding the activities in which Gram Panchayat-members should have active participation was better than those of Mukhiya in Patna district. Most of Mukhiya was involved in the construction of drains and sewer (80 percent), installing the hand pump (50 percent), motivating the villagers for medical support from the PHC/HSC (40 percent). Mukhiya needed training on the regular basis to know and to understand new schemes of the Government for the development of their Panchayats. Only about 35 percent of Mukhiya in Patna and 55 percent Mukhiya in Vaishali districts had always disused the issues of health and family welfare such as ANM visits, immunization of the children, contraceptive distribution and etc. in Gram Panchayats. Only 3 Mukhiya in Patna and 8 Mukhiya in Vaishali districts had discussed TT injection to the pregnant women, the role of ASHA and ANM, children nutrition etc. in the Gram Panchayats meetings. Educational level of Mukhiyas is an important factor for their involvement in the development activities in the villages. Mukhiyas must be educated and enhanced training is needed for the betterment of the villagers.

Keywords: Gram panchayat, Mukhiya, Pri, Family planning, Fertility regulation methods 1. INTRODUCTION The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act was a significant step towards opening up of the more space for people’s participation and in acknowledging their role in the development of their villages. Persons who have been elected to power in Panchayati Raj Institutions represents various background-rich and poor, dominant classes and oppressed social classes, educated and illiterate (PRIA, 2003). After the73rd Constitutional Amendment Act., enacted the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act,1993 (Replaced by Bihar Panchayati Raj Act,2006) and a three-tier system of Panchayat Raj (Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, and Gram Panchayats) started functioning after the general election in April/May 2001. There were 38 Zila Parishad (ZPs), 531 Panchayat Samitis (PSs) and 8471 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the Bihar state covering a rural population of about 88.78 percent of the total population, while in 2001 it was 89.50 percent. The Panchayati Raj Department coordinates the function of the PRIs. It is being said that with the advent of women in such a large number in the primary institutions i.e., Gram Panchayats new phase of the process of empowerment of women has been unveiling (R. Kumar and S.R. Singh, 2012). Therefore, it was interesting and significant to study the role and extent of participation of the elected Mukhiyas in Bihar’s rural local self-government, they're influenced on future public role and extent of their support for the sustainable development in general and their opinion in the field of health and family planning in particular.

© 2018, www.IJARND.com All Rights Reserved Page | 9 Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development 2. OBJECTIVES The objectives of the present study were: i) To assess the nature and degree of participation of Mukhiya in Panchayati Raj Institutions. ii) To ascertain from Mukhiya their opinion about the acceptability of the fertility regulation among married men/women in their areas.

3. METHODOLOGY The present study was undertaken in Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State. A total of twenty Mukhiya of the Gram Panchayats were randomly selected for interview from each of the selected districts of Bihar which represented about five percent of the elected Mukhiya of the concerned districts. The list of selected Panchayats from both of the districts is also appended here. A structured interview schedule was used to collect the data by personal interview method in January 2017. The structure interview schedule contains the information on information on Panchayat, Panchayat and its member’s information, Panchayat connectivity, electricity, telecommunication status and etc. in Panchayat, roles, and responsibilities of Panchayats, project planning and implementation, meetings and record keeping, training needs and etc. In the study, the SPSS had been used for the data analysis.

4. RESULTS The information collected from the Mukhiya of their level of knowledge on their roles and responsibilities etc. apart from their demographic characteristics etc. have been focussed.

Some demographic profile: The mean age of Mukhiya of the selected Panchayats was 41.7 years in Patna district while it was 39.7 years in the selected Panchayats of Vaishali district. In general, the age of the Mukhiya ranged from 24 years to 59 years. In Panchayats of Vaishali district, there was 60 percent of males while in Patna, it comprises 45 percent (Table 1). In the caste category, EBC was only 5 percent in selected Panchayats of Patna district while in Vaishali district it was 20 percent. The OBC was more in the selected Panchayats of Patna district in comparison to that of Vaishali district. In total, half of the Mukhiya were OBC in both of the selected Panchayats of the both of the districts. The non-matric Mukhiya was 20 percent in Panchayats of Patna district while in Vaishali it was nil. There was 55 percent of Mukhiya who had qualification intermediate and above while in Vaishali districts, it was 75 percent. Only one-fourth Mukhiya in Patna district was computer literate while in Vaishali district half of the Mukhiya were computer literate in the selected Panchayats. By and large, only one-fifth of the Mukhiya was found to be computer literate in the selected Panchayats of both of the districts. Ninety percent of the selected Mukhiya in Patna district and 70 percent of Mukhiya in Vaishali district were elected the first time in the Gram Panchayats election between June and July 2016 in Bihar.

Panchayat and its member’s information: On an average, each of the Panchayats in both of the districts cover 6 to 7 villages with the mean household numbers of 1957 in Patna and 1825 in Vaishali districts (Table 2). In both of the districts, each of the selected Panchayats had the population of 10 thousand and above with overall sex ratio of 542 females per 1000 males. More than one-fourth of the population of the selected Panchayats of Vaishali district and more than one-third of the population of the selected Panchayats of Patna district were below the poverty line (BPL) which in general ranged from 5 percent to 80 percent. In each of the selected Panchayats of the both of districts had more than 2000 of the population was Scheduled caste and more than 4500 of the population was OBC. Most of the Mukhiya (55 percent) revealed that NGOs working in their Panchayats do not give the detail of their work.

Most of the Panchayats (55 percent) were linked with the good road, however, 15 percent of the Panchayats had no proper road. The average distance of Panchayat from their respective headquarter was more than 11 Kms.

The electric supply was better in the Panchayats of Patna districts in comparison to the Panchayats of Vaishali district. About 85 percent of the households in the selected Panchayats of Patna district and 73 percent of the households in the Panchayats of Vaishali districts had the electrical connectivity. The availability of electricity was nearly 18 hours in the selected Panchayats. More than four-fifths of the households in the Panchayats had the mobile connectivity.

About 15 percent of the selected Panchayats in Vaishali district had the availability of Computer Centre while it was only 5 percent in Patna district due to the convergence of their Panchayats nearby to Patna town. The average distance of the Computer Institute from the selected Panchayats were about 6 Kms. The availability of a number of government and private primary schools was four and one in each of the selected Panchayats. Almost one of the government high schools was available in each of the Panchayats.

Roles and responsibilities of Panchayats: Mukhiya of the Panchayats of Vaishali district was more aware of the functioning and responsibilities of Gram Panchayats in comparison to Mukhiya of Patna district (Table 3). About 80 percent of the Mukhiya of Vaishali district had their members were familiar with the guideline provided by the PRI while for Patna district it was only 55 percent. About 10 percent of the Mukhiya in Patna district had not received the guidelines issued by State Govt. or concerned Ministry. Services areas in which the services have been delivered mainly to the Panchayats’ people were for primary school (70 percent), social welfare (65 percent), drinking water and sanitation (55 percent) and primary health care (50 percent) in the selected Panchayats of Patna district. In the Panchayats of Vaishali district, the services areas in which the services have been delivered to the Panchayats’ people were mainly for primary education (80 percent) which was followed by primary health care (65 percent) and social welfare (55 percent). Type of problems faced in effectively carrying out the roles, responsibilities, and functions of Panchayats in Patna district was due to delay in getting funds for development (80 percent) which was followed by

© 2018, www.IJARND.com All Rights Reserved Page | 10 Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development approval of the budget for the development programme (70.0 percent), construction of drainage inside the villages (65 percent) and sort out the quarrels between the local villagers (50 percent). The problems faced by Mukhiya in Vaishali district were also due to delay in getting funds for development (75 percent) which was followed by approval of the budget for the development programme (65.0 percent), construction of drainage inside the villages (50 percent) and sort out the argument between the local villagers (45 percent) for effectively carrying out the roles, responsibilities, and functions of Panchayats.

Projects planning and implementations: About 75 percent of Mukhiya in Patna district and 90 percent of Mukhiya in Vaishali district had their Panchayat-members involvement in the annual project plan preparation for development (Table 4). About 70 percent of the Panchayat-members were involved in the budgeting of the development of the project in Patna district while in Vaishali district it was 55 percent. About four-fifths of the Mukhiya did not get the funds in time once the budget prepared and approved in both of the districts. The funds received for the projects were not sufficient. The average time taken to receive the fund for the project/activity after the plan is approved was 7 months in both of the districts. About 25 percent of the Panchayats in Patna district and 30 percent of the Panchayats in Vaishali district had the involvement of other agencies for the project implementation in their villages. The name of the agencies involved was Jeevika, Care Bihar, and some local based NGOs. The work of MANREGA implemented throughout the selected Panchayats. About 65 percent of the Mukhiya had needed that the Panchayat-members should be involved in the planning of developmental activities for Panchayat villages in Patna district. Mukhiya in Patna district needed about their involvement in other activities like; budgeting of the planned activities (50 percent), implementation of the development activities in Panchayat (55 percent) and health and Family welfare activities (45 percent). In Vaishali district, the opinion the activities in which Gram Panchayat-members should have active participation was better than those of Mukhiya in Patna district. Most of them were involved in the construction of drains and sewer (80 percent), for installing the hand pump (50 percent), motivating the villagers for medical support from the PHC/HSC (40 percent) in the villages in both of the districts.

Meetings, record keeping and training: About 3 to 4 meetings had been conducted by the Mukhiya of both of the districts since July 2016 (Table 5). All of the Mukhiya used to prepare the proceedings of the meetings manually and used to keep the records of the meetings of the selected Panchayats. All of the selected Mukhiya had the three days training in their respective district. More than 50 percent of Mukhiya had their training helpful to them which had been conducted by the members PRI and Welfare Department. All of the selected Mukhiya needed training on the regular basis to know and to understand the new schemes of the Government for the development of their Panchayats. Only about 35 percent of Mukhiya in Patna and 55 percent Mukhiya in Vaishali districts had always disused the issues of health and family welfare such as ANM visits, immunization of the children, contraceptive distribution and etc. in Gram Panchayats. About 15 percent Mukhiya in Patna district and 40 percent Mukhiya in Vaishali district had discussed TT injection to the pregnant women, the role of ASHA and ANM, children nutrition etc. in the Gram Panchayats meetings.

5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION has a PRI system as legitimate as any other body for governance in this country. The system gets its realization from the 73rd amendment of the Indian Constitution. It was realized that the actual benefit of PRI system is unachievable without strengthening the units of governance under the Gram Panchayat. It is, hence, proposed to study the Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project that the state shall make adequate investments in the institution development under the PRI system at the level of Gram Panchayat. Capacity building of PRI involves various interventions which lead to better functioning in terms of governance, improved delivery of services to the citizens and utilization of available resources more efficiently.

There were 38 Zila Parishad (ZPs), 531 Panchayat Samitis (PSs) and 8471 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in Bihar State covering a rural population of about 88.78 percent of the total population, while in 2001 it was 89.50 percent. The present study was undertaken in Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State. A total of twenty Mukhiya of the Gram Panchayats were randomly selected for interview from each of the selected districts of Bihar which represented about five percent of the elected Mukhiya of the concerned districts to understand the nature and degree of participation of Mukhiya in Panchayati Raj Institutions along with their opinion about acceptability of the different family planning methods among married men/women in their areas.

In general, the age of the Mukhiya ranged from 24 years to 59 years in Patna and Vaishali districts in Bihar. In Panchayats of Vaishali district, there was 60 percent of males while in Patna, it comprises of 45 percent. In total, half of the Mukhiya were OBC in both of the selected Panchayats of the covered districts. The non-matric Mukhiya was 20 percent in Panchayats of Patna district while in Vaishali it was nil. There was 55 percent of Mukhiya who had qualification intermediate and above while in Vaishali districts, it was 75 percent. By and large, only one-fifth of the Mukhiya was found to be computer literate in the selected Panchayats of both of the districts. Ninety percent of the selected Mukhiya in Patna district and 70 percent of Mukhiya in Vaishali district were elected the first time in the Gram Panchayats election.

On an average, each of the Panchayats in both of the districts covers 6 to 7 villages with the mean household numbers of 1957 in Patna and 1825 in Vaishali districts. In both of the districts, each of the selected Panchayats had the population of 10 thousand and above with overall sex ratio of 542 females per 1000 males. About one-fourth of the population of the selected Panchayats of Vaishali district and more than one-third of the population of the selected Panchayats of Patna district were below the poverty line (BPL) which in general ranged from 5 percent to 80 percent. More than half of the males and one-third of the females were literate in the selected Panchayats of both of the districts. Most of the Mukhiya (55 percent) revealed that NGOs working in their Panchayats do not give the detail of their work.

Most of the Panchayats (55 percent) were linked with the good road, however, 15 percent of the Panchayats had no proper road. The average distance of Panchayat from their respective headquarter was more than 11 Kms. © 2018, www.IJARND.com All Rights Reserved Page | 11 Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development The electric supply was better in the Panchayats of Patna districts in comparison to the Panchayats of Vaishali district. About 85 percent of the households in the selected Panchayats of Patna district and 73 percent of the households in the Panchayats of Vaishali districts had the electrical connectivity. About 15 percent of the selected Panchayats in Vaishali district had the availability of Computer Centre while it was only 5 percent in Patna district due to the convergence of their Panchayats nearby to Patna town. The average distance of the Computer Institute from the selected Panchayats was about 6 km.

About 80 percent of the Mukhiya of Vaishali district had their members who were familiar with the guideline provided by the PRI while for Patna district it was only 55 percent. Type of problems faced in effectively carrying out the roles, responsibilities and functions of Panchayats in Patna district was due to delayed in getting funds for development (80 percent) which was followed by approval of the budget for the development programme (70.0 percent), construction of drainage inside the villages (65 percent) and sort out the quarrels between the local villagers (50 percent). The problems faced by Mukhiya in Vaishali district were also due to delayed in getting funds for development (75 percent) which was followed by approval of the budget for the development programme (65.0 percent), construction of drainage inside the villages (50 percent) and sort out the quarrels between the local villagers (45 percent) for effectively carrying out the roles, responsibilities and functions of Panchayats.

About 70 percent of the Panchayat-members were involved in the budgeting of the development of the project in Patna district while in Vaishali district it was 55 percent. About four-fifths of the Mukhiya did not get the funds in time once the budget prepared and approved in both of the districts. The funds received for the projects were not sufficient. The seven months average time is taken to receive the fund for the project/activity after the approval of the plan in both of the districts. The work of MANREGA implemented throughout the selected Panchayats. About 65 percent of the Mukhiya had needed that the Panchayat- members should be involved in the planning of developmental activities for Panchayat villages in Patna district. Mukhiya in Patna district stated about their involvement in other activities like; budgeting of the planned activities (50 percent), implementation of the development activities in Panchayat (55 percent) and health and Family Welfare activities (45 percent). In Vaishali district, the opinion regarding the activities in which Gram Panchayat-members should have active participation was better than those of Mukhiya in Patna district.

Most of Mukhiya was involved in the construction of drains and sewer (80 percent), installing the hand pump (50 percent), motivating the villagers for medical support from the PHC/HSC (40 percent).

About 3 to 4 meetings had been conducted by the Mukhiya of both of the districts since July 2016. They used to prepare the proceedings of the meetings manually and used to keep the records of the meetings of the selected Panchayats. All of the selected Mukhiya had the three days training in their respective district. All of the selected Mukhiya needed training on the regular basis to know and to understand new schemes of the Government for the development of their Panchayats. Only about 35 percent of Mukhiya in Patna and 55 percent Mukhiya in Vaishali districts had always disused the issues of health and family welfare such as ANM visits, immunization of the children, contraceptive distribution and etc. in Gram Panchayats. Only 3 Mukhiya in Patna and 8 Mukhiya in Vaishali districts had discussed TT injection to the pregnant women, the role of ASHA and ANM, children nutrition etc. in the Gram Panchayats meetings.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS  Educational level of Mukhiyas is an important factor for their involvement in the development activities in the villages. Mukhiyas must be educated and their enhanced training is needed for the betterment of the villagers.  In order to accelerate the progress towards development, Mukhiyas should prepare the effective strategies for development as per the need of their villagers.  The strategies should include reproductive health concerns and training should be given to Mukhiyas that how to address them as a development priority and, more importantly, to incorporate the budget adequately in the health sectors also.  The development issues should be addressed in the multiple dimensions to deal with the socio-economic inequality in the use of family planning services.  Roads, drainage (Nala) and tube wells were the three most demanded things from the villagers. Mukhiyas should focus on the demand of the villagers.

Table 1: Panchayat Pradhan (Mukhiya) profile in Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State Demographic profile Patna district Vaishali district Total Mean Age (in years) 41.7 39.7 40.7 Range 25-59 24-50 24-59 S.D 9.7 6.5 8.2 Gender Males 45.0 60.0 52.5 Females 55.0 40.0 47.7 Caste SC 15.0 20.0 17.5 EBC 5.0 20.0 12.5 OBC 60.0 40.0 50.0 General 20.0 20.0 20.0 Educational qualification Non-matric 20.0 0.0 10.0 Matric 25.0 25.0 25.0 © 2018, www.IJARND.com All Rights Reserved Page | 12 Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development Intermediate 30.0 45.0 37.5 BA 25.0 25.0 25.0 MA 0.0 5.0 2.5 Whether having computer literacy? Yes 37.5 No 25.0 50.0 62.5 75.0 50.0 Whether ever been elected before? Yes 10.0 30.0 20.0 No 90.0 70.0 80.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 N 20 20 40

Table 2: Knowledge of the Panchayat and its members in Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State Panchayat and its members’ information etc. Patna district Vaishali Total district Average no. of villages per Panchayat 6.8 6.4 6.6 Range 3-14 3-16 3-16 Mean no. of HH per Panchayat 1957 1825 1891 Range 900-4000 1100-3500 900-4000 Mean no. of population per Panchayat 10475 10150 10313 Total population 5391 5226 5309 Males 5084 4924 5004 Females Percent of population below poverty line (BPL): Mean 37.4 26.0 31.7 Range 15-80 5-80 5-80 Mean SC population 2221 1873 2047 Mean OBC population 4754 4542 4648 Literacy rate Males 53.7 52.0 52.9 Females 34.0 33.2 33.6 Panchayat members per Panchayat Males 16 15 16 Females 13 13 13 Role of NGOs Whether the NGOs working in the Panchayat provide the detail of work? Yes 45.0 45.0 45.0 No 55.0 55.0 55.0 Panchayat connectivity Type of road linked with the Panchayat Highway link 0.0 5.0 2.5 Good road 55.0 55.0 55.0 Poor road link 30.0 25.0 27.5 No proper road 15.0 15.0 15.0 The average distance of Panchayat from the respective headquarter (in kms.) 14.2 Range 3-20 The average distance of Panchayat from the respective headquarter (in kms.) 14.2 11.2 12.8 Range 3-20 5-18 3-20 Electricity, telecommunication status etc.

Percent of HHs having electricity connection in the 85.4 73.4 79.4 Panchayats Mean availability of electricity within 24 hours in the Panchayat 18.9 17.2 18.1 Range 15-24 10-24 10-24 HHs having mobile connectivity 89.0 84.5 86.7 Educational Institutes Whether availability of Computer Centre in the Panchayat? Yes No 5.0 15.0 10.0 95.0 85.0 90.0 © 2018, www.IJARND.com All Rights Reserved Page | 13 Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development The average distance of the Computer Institute from the Panchayat (in kms.) 5.3 5.9 5.6 Range 0.3-10 0.3-12 0.3-12 No. of Primary Schools per Panchayat Govt. 4 4 4 Private 1 2 1 No. of High Schools per Panchayat Govt. 1 1 1 Private 0 0 0 N 20 20 40

Table 3: Awareness of roles and responsibilities of Panchayats in Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State Awareness of roles and responsibilities Patna district Vaishali district Total Awareness of the functioning and responsibilities of Gram Panchayats Fully aware 35.0 65.0 50.0 Partly aware 55.0 35.0 45.0 Not aware 10.0 0.0 5.0 Whether the members of the Panchayat are familiar with the guideline provided by the PRI? Yes 55.0 80.0 67.5 No 20.0 15.0 17.5 Only a few members are aware 25.0 5.0 15.0 Whether received the guidelines issued by State Govt. or concerned Ministry? Yes 90.0 100.0 95.0 No 10.0 0.0 5.0 Services areas in which the services have been delivered to the Panchayats’ people a) Primary education 70.0 80.0 75.0 b) Adult and non-formal education 10.0 15.0 12.5 c) Primary health care 50.0 60.0 55.0 d) Drinking water and sanitation 55.0 35.0 45.0 e) Social welfare 65.0 55.0 60.0 f) Rural electrification 10.0 15.0 12.5 g)Road and infrastructure development 5.0 20.0 12.5 h) Poverty alleviation 5.0 5.0 5.0 i) Census of BPL 5.0 15.0 10.0 j) Promotion of Cottage Industries 0.0 0.0 0.0 k) Others (Pl. specify) 5.0 5.0 5.5 (Multiple answers) Type of problems faced in effectively carrying out the roles, responsibilities, and functions of Panchayat 70.0 65.0 67.5 a) Approval of the budget for the development programme b) Delayed in getting funds for development 80.0 75.0 77.5 c) Construction of drainage inside the villages d) Sort out the quarrels between the local villagers 65.0 50.0 57.5 (Multiple answers) 50.0 45.0 47.5 N 20 20 40

Table 4: Awareness of projects planning and implementations in Panchayats of Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State Awareness of projects planning etc. Patna district Vaishali district Total Whether the Panchayat members are involved in the annual project plan preparation for development? Yes 75.0 90.0 82.5 No 25.0 10.0 17.5 Whether Panchayat members are involved in the budgeting of the Projects development? Yes 70.0 55.0 62.5 No 30.0 45.0 37.5 Whether received fund as per the budget prepared/approved? Yes 20.0 15.0 17.5 No 80.0 85.0 82.5 © 2018, www.IJARND.com All Rights Reserved Page | 14 Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development Whether the granted funds received for projects are sufficient? Yes 0.0 0.0 0.0 No 100.0 100.0 100.0 Average time taken to receive the fund for the project/activity after the plan is approved (in months) 7 7 7 Panchayats reported about the other agencies which are 25.0 30.0 27.5 involved in project implementation in their villages Opinion about the activities in which Gram Panchayat- members should have active participation a) Planning of developmental activities for Panchayat 65.0 70.0 67.5 villages b) Budgeting of the planned activities 50.0 65.0 57.5 c) Implementation of the development activities in 55.0 75.0 65.0 Panchayat d) Health and Family welfare activities 45.0 55.0 50.0 (Multiple answers) Activities are undertaken by the Panchayat during the last one year a) Construction of roads 40.0 20.0 30.0 b) Installing hand pumps 45.0 55.0 50.0 c) Construction of drains and sewer 75.0 85.0 80.0 d) Construction of buildings 5.0 0.0 2.5 e) Visits to the PHC/ HSC 30.0 45.0 37.5 for medical support f) Visits to the AYUSH clinics 0.0 0.0 0.0 g) Motivate the villagers for medical support from the 35.0 45.0 40.0 PHC/ HSC h) Organising the family planning and immunization camp 30.0 45.0 37.5 in the village 5.0 5.0 5.0 N 20 20 40

Table 5: Information about meetings, record keeping, training etc. in Panchayats of Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State Meetings and record keeping Patna district Vaishali district Total No. of meetings of Panchayat members have been conducted in the last one year 3 4 3.5 Whether to keep the proceedings of the Gram Panchayat meetings Yes 100.0 100.0 100.0 No 0.0 0.0 0.0 Mode of keeping the proceedings of the meetings Manually 100.0 100.0 100.0 Computerized 0.0 0.0 0.0 Training Whether Panchayat-members attended the training? Yes 100.0 100.0 100.0 No 0.0 0.0 0.0 Whether the training helpful to carry out Panchayat duties more efficiently? Yes 60.0 55.0 57.5 No 40.0 45.0 42.5 Are health issues discussed in the Gram Panchayat meetings? Always 35.0 55.0 45.0 Sometimes 60.0 45.0 52.5 Never 5.0 0.0 2.5 Are RCH issues discussed in the Gram Panchayat meetings? Always 15.0 40.0 27.5 Sometimes 60.0 50.0 55.0 Never 25.0 10.0 17.5 N 20 20 40

© 2018, www.IJARND.com All Rights Reserved Page | 15 Kumar Dilip et. al; International Journal of Advance Research and Development 7. REFERENCES [1] Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, (2006). [2] Jain, Devaki (1994), Women: a New Vision of Leadership: a presentation at the global forum, Dublin, July 9-10. [3] PRIA (2003): Women leaders in Panchayat: PRIA publisher .http//www.pria.org. [4] R. Kumari and S.R.Singh (2012) Study on the Participation of Women in Panchayati Raj Institutions in Bihar, Indian Res.J.Ext.Edu.12(2), May 2012 pp.96-100. [5] Singh, S.P. (2001).Management of people by Gram Panchayats for Rural Development .J. Rural Development, 20 (2):219- 25.

APPENDIX Table 6: List of Panchayats covered in Patna and Vaishali districts of Bihar State Patna district Vaishali district S.No. Name of Panchayat S.No. Name of Panchayat 1. Patalpur 1. Daulat Candi 2. Jamsaud 2. 3. Purani 3. 4. ManashSarari 4. Bishanpur Baladhari 5. Hatiya Kundh 5. Dighikala Paschim 6. Mubarakpur 6. Daulatpur Deowaria 7. Laxmi Bigha 7. Thathan Bujurg 8. Bhelwara Dariyapur 8. Bishanpur Basant 9. Chipura 9. Dayalpur 10. Sona Gopalpur 10. Andharbara 11. Bairiya Karnpura 11. 12. Barwan 12. 13. Lanka Kachuhara 13. Sultanpur 14. Fatehpur 14. Arara 15. Ganghara 15. Manua 16. Hetanpur 16. Dighikala Purvi 17. Kashim Chak 17. 18. 18. Kashipur Chakbibi 19. Akauna 19. Bhuara 20. Lankha North West 20. Karnpura

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