About Goa PRI Union: Goa Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) Union is a cell of Rural based grassroots organisation ‘Curtorim Union’ situated in Curtorim Village Panchayat jurisdiction of Salcete Taluka. It was formed in 2012 on the Golden Jubilee, 50th year of Goa Panchayati Raj.

Vision & Mission

To facilitate and enhance the people’s participation in development programmes and healthy management of Rural Local Self-Government through Grassroots Democracy and process of Democratic Decentralisation in the form of statutory Panchayati Raj Institutions, as Self–sufficient Village Republics in the State of Goa.

The promotion of Gram Swaraj (Village Self–Rule) vide Devolution of Powers to the Gram Panchayats & Zilla Panchayats in the areas of Grassroots Governance (Panchayati Raj) for effective over all Local Planning, Community Development and Administration which includes:

• Local Human Resource Development
• Development/Empowerment of Women & Children
• Development, Enablement  and Empowerment of Adolescent Boys and Girls
• Development & Empowerment of Youth
• Primary Health & Sanitation
• Education including Adult Literacy and Allied Activities
• Skill Development and Vocational Training
• Development of Agriculture and Allied Sectors/Activities including Co-operation
• Environment Protection & Conservation Activities
• Eco-Tourism 
• Village/Cottage Industries 
• Promotion of local Art, Sports & Culture
• Promotion of Science & Technology
• Other matters/subjects specified under 73^rd and 74^th amendments of the Constitution of India & its corresponding State Legislations for facilitating Sustainable Development & Social Justice in the process of Holistic Rural as well as Urban Transformation to successfully achieve the UN Agenda 2030.

Goa PRIs Union with the support of one and all will strive to sensitise and mobilise innovative approaches for promoting a people-centred responsible and responsive local governance as well as open new perspectives of participatory development dialogues between the Stakeholders.

Goa PRI Union will also support the public or organisational initiatives for generating new ideas and dissemination of its knowledge, skills etc for fulfilling people’s aspirations of genuine good governance through partnership, synergy, research, training, activism cum advocacy and awareness to broaden the arena for grassroots democratic transformation and social change in the 3rd millennium.

Aims & Objectives of Goa PRIs Union: 

1. To preserve the unity of like-minded grassroots elected members present/past and also organisations/individuals associated with Panchayati Raj Institutions in Goa and their welfare.
2. To fight for Devolution of Powers as per the 73rd Constitutional Amendment read with Eleventh Schedule under Article 243-G and implementing the Statement of Conclusions jointly signed in 2006 by the then Union Minister of India, Shri. Mani Shankar Aiyar, and then Chief Minister of Goa, Shri. Pratapsingh Rane in presence of then State Panchayat Minister Shri. Subhash Shirodkar.
3. To promote all round planned development and socio-economic activities in the villages and respective district for the matter of common interests between Zilla Panchayat and Gram Panchayats  as per Article 243ZD of the Constitution of India .  
4. To fight for implementation of State Finance Commission reports and to demand creation for a separate Panchayat Window in the State Budget.
5. To demand the inclusion of Sarpanchas as Ex-officio members of Zilla Panchayat and District Planning Committees (at least one member from each Taluka having less than 15 Gram Panchayats and two members from more than 15 Gram Panchayats)
6. To demand formation of Block Advisory Committees and restoration of Executive Powers of Sarpanch being a Head of the Village.
7. To carry on any other activities incidental to the attainment of the objects mentioned in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 above 

Activation of District Planning Committee (DPC):

For effective implementation of the 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendment Acts of 1992, the

role of the District Planning Committees is very crucial with Activity Mapping (that operationalises the devolution of powers i.e funds, functions and functionaries).  The District Planning Committees (DPCs) constitute the 3rd foundational pillar of democracy. The importance of DPCs is highlighted in Article 243ZD of Indian Constitution and Section 239 of GPR Act, 1994.

Present Status of District Planning Committee in the State of Goa & Recommendations by Goa PRIs Union: 

The State Government has last re-constituted the District Planning Committees for North Goa and South Goa respectively vide Notification No. 26/DPC/06/2012-13 dated 11/03/2016 published in Govt. Gazette No. 52 Series II dated 26/03/2016. The constitution of District Planning Committee required to be modified and enlarged by including representative of Sarpanchas, rural based grassroots Organizations, and also should  include the representatives of the respective Line Departments in respect of 29 subjects listed in Eleventh Schedule of Indian Constitution as well as Schedule I and Schedule II of Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. The Process of planning the developmental activities was scattered among several agencies of the Govt. and which was cause for unplanned and undisciplined development of the District..There is absolutely no seriousness on the part of the State Govt to devise a proper road map wherein the respective Local Bodies should play its role as a viable institution of self- government in the development of this State. Therefore a clear demarcation of the powers, works and finances should have been mandated by the Constitution and not left it at the mercy of State Govt.

The detailed study done by our parent Organisation [Curtorim Union] notes that presently the most of the actions including framing of local laws as well as under the provisions of the 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendments rests with the State Government and not the Central Govt. for effective implementation of Part IX and Part IX A of the Constitution of India. The State Govt. of Goa has already devolved the functions to the PRIs vide Schedule I and Schedule II under Section 6o and Section 140 of Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 only on papers but the real powers and responsibilities for making these local bodies vibrant institutions of self governance are still with the State Govt. of Goa.

Therefore, Goa PRIs Union together with the likeminded stakeholders are making collective efforts for strengthening the PRIs Movement to empower and enable the functionaries of the PRIs and the Municipalities to understand their powers and responsibilities under 73^rd and 74^th Amendments and also the corresponding State laws which needs to be amended for providing effective local governance through Bottom – Up participatory approach by holistic planning for sustainable development by leaving no one alone.

Presently, we are actively involved in mobilising the stakeholders for capacitating the PRIs to understand the law of land and appeal to the State Govt. to show some genuine concern in the smooth and systematic working of the Rural & Urban Local Bodies in the State of Goa, through appropriate decentralized planning of the respective District by empowering and enabling the District Planning Committees mandated by the Constitution to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats & the Municipalities in the district and prepare the draft development plan for the district as a whole wherein the Chairperson of every DPC has to forward such development plan, as recommended by such DPC to the Government of the State.

It is observed that despite the empowerment of the Local Self Governance through 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendments by the Federal Govt. of India, the PRIs & Municipalities in the State of Goa are still unable to function as local self government institutions due to lack of administrative & financial devolution by the Provincial Government  i.e. the State Govt. Therefore, the Participatory planning through the involvement of rural and urban governments and district planning committee though mandated by law i.e. the 74^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 of India is not a reality. It is evident that in the wake of over urbanisation of Goa due to rapid migration of people from the rural to urban areas as well as to Goa from other parts of India etc the local governments are ill-equipped to deal with the complexities of spatial planning, water, garbage issues, allocation and management of other resources etc due to large scale political interference from provincial government and parties besides their own shortcomings. There is a need for synergy between local government institutions for transforming and empowering grassroots institutions by strengthening democratic decentralisation process and strategising a better quality of life for the local people as mandated by the Constitution of India.

Accordingly, Goa PRIs Union pioneered innovative approaches of putting the respective local people first and continuing with the mission of achieving its vision of strengthening Panchayati Raj system & also collectively identifying / addressing critical gaps, regional imbalances in developments etc by motivating the functionaries of PRIs including the members of Gram Sabha to build their capacities for ensuring good local governance and contribute their valuable knowledge, skills, time etc which will facilitate accountability systems that enables the functioning of PRIs to be smooth, transparent and efficient  in order to achieve sustainable success of Gram Swaraj or Village Self Rule through Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support [MAPS] approach..

It is therefore high time that all the stakeholders should unite to address all such issues with the seriousness that it deserves and decide on the steps to be taken to request and demand/force the State Government of Goa to issue the necessary notification without any further delay for devolution of powers to the grassroots bodies as mandated under the Constitution of India. Goa PRIs Union is thus actively associated in providing a democratic forum to enable the PRIs functionaries & other stakeholders to develop their need based knowledge and skills and be prepared if need arise, to mobilise the people’s movement to approach the State Govt. as well as the Members of Parliament to propose another amendment to replace the word ‘May’ by ‘Shall’ in the Article 243 G and Article 243 W of the Constitution of India to ensure inclusive development with social justice, and  efficient delivery of services in rural and urban areas of the State of Goa.

Putting People First: Community-Led Sustainable Development: 

Goa PRIs Union has already created a holistic all Goa based local governance platform to generate an effective movement for Community-Led Development focussing on the functioning of local administration and citizen-oriented public service delivery in line with the 7 pre-defined good governance principles: Representation, Participation, Accountability, Transparency, Effectiveness, Equity, and Security. 

Looking forward for sustainable solutions through active participation of all the stakeholders to empower and enable the PRIs as well as Municipalities to be effective tools for decentralised planning and holistic rural/urban development which can also facilitate their skills to meet 5Ps [People, Partnership, Planet, Prosperity and Peace] of the Sustainable Development Goals, the newly adopted global agenda designed to balance the economic, social and environmental dimensions of human progress by the year 2030.

Goa PRIs Union [GPU] will continue with its pioneering approaches to promote decentralized planning through Curtorim brand development by declaring V.P. Curtorim as a Model Gram Panchayat and Curtorim Z.P. Constituency of South Goa Zilla Panchayat as Model ZP constituency in the State of Goa, in order to accelerate the Gram Swaraj through Grassroots Democracy for Sustainable Development of Rural India in the 21^st century of the Third Millennium & also to facilitate successful implementation of the ‘Five Ps’ Agenda 2030 of the United Nations so that no one is left alone.

Goa PRIs Union, Curtorim – Goa has therefore initiated harmonization meets & innovative steps for accelerating the participatory governance process by promoting Taluka-wise Ideal Village concept of Mahatma Gandhi to commemorate his 150^th Birth Anniversary in the State of Goa which will facilitate the preparation of a holistic draft District Development Plan of South Goa in collaboration with the Gram Panchayats, Municipalities, South Goa Zilla Panchayat  under Article 239 of Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 and its related subsequent amendments etc. Efforts are also being initiated to sensitise the stakeholders for preparing a draft Development Plan of North Goa District so that no one is left alone while implementing the mandatory provisions of the 73^rd and 74^th Amendment Acts, 1992.