Burhanpur (Madhya Pradesh): Residents of Manjrod Khurd village in the Khaknar tehsil of Burhanpur district have set an example by unanimously electing an all-women panchayat.
Taking a lead on the issue of gender parity, Manjrod Khurd village, 50 kilometres away from the district, will have all women sarpanch and panchayat members to run its affairs for the very first time.
What makes this move significant is that the head and other panchayat members of the village have been getting elected unopposed for the last 60 years.
Notably, the village is a poverty-free village (registered in rural department development) and has many important facilities like sanitation, drinking water, and roads, enhanced livelihood and self-sufficiency and now it has taken a step in the matter of equal opportunity for women and their empowerment.
The entire village agreed with the idea and elected all women as panchayat members, including a sarpanch and 12 members unopposed reserved for the SC category, to receive an incentive from the state government, which has announced to give Rs 15 lakh for the gram panchayats that elect women as sarpanch and panch unopposed.
The elected sarpanch of the gram panchayat Ladki Bai Krishna along with 12 panchs including Vishnu Jagtap, Manisha Heera Lal and others have been elected unopposed.
Collector Pravin Singh said that panchayat members of Manjrod Khurd have been elected unopposed.
