Research is an important aspect at IGG to plan the developmental interventions in a scientific manner at the grassroots level. And also these research works will help us to study as well as address the governance and developmental gaps existing in the local government system
Released a research report on "Analysis on Demographic Status of Elected Village Panchayat President in Tamilnadu 2020, Vol-1” on the occasion of UN international Democracy Day 2020. The main objectives of the report is
To analyze the representation of the elected village panchayat presidents from different age groups.
To compare the gender representation in the local government in specific to the rural local government of village panchayat in the State of Tamil Nadu.
It analyses the representation of different age groups and compares the gender representation among the
elected village panchayat presidents out of the 91,920 elected representatives of the rural local bodies
in 27 districts. As the rural local bodies elections are yet to be held for the reconstituted districts
of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Tirupattur, Ranipet, Villupuram, Kallakuruchi, Tirunelveli and
Tenkasi, the report looks at the village panchayat presidents of the 27 districts. These districts
include the erstwhile Nagapattinam district where the rural local bodies’ elections were held prior to
its bifurcation and formation of Mayiladuthurai district in April this year. If a government or NGO
government organization wants to work with the local government the data of panchayat presidents is
necessary. To work for the empowerment of local government institutions, Data analysis is important and
this is where Institute of Grassroots Governance would be focusing on.
We have recently been awarded a research project on “Combating COVID-19 by Panchayati Raj Institutions – A Comparative Study of Elected vs Non-Elected Village Panchayats in Selected Districts of Tamil Nadu”. This research study is funded by Azim Premji University as part of the COVID 19 Research Funding Programme 2020.
The Research Report published analyzes the nature of the functioning of Village Panchayats with and without the elected representatives especially the Panchayat Presidents. The research was conducted in the selected pairs of district Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi District pair and Cuddalore and Villupuram District Pair. The districts pairs are geographically present in south and north regions in Tamil Nadu having similar cultural aspects within the pairs. The research discussed about the status of MGREGA, fund availability, autonomy of the village panchayats and their cooperation/coordination with other institutions in the village panchayats. The report also showcased few case studies to have in depth understanding about the grassroots problems and the initiatives taken by the Village panchayats. The suggestions provided in the report are also need to be considered as a policy suggestions for the Government of Tamil Nadu to make necessary policy changes for the benefit of the citizens.
