Knowledge Level of PRI Members Regarding Selected Schemes

Panchayati Raj Institution is known as the backbone of the country and hence expected to perform their roles effectively in implementation and monitoring of the development schemes. PRI works at different levels and starts from village to district level. Each tier has its roles regarding MGNREGA, IAY and NRLM schemes. So it is necessary to ascertain the level of knowledge of PRI members about the schemes and roles of PRI regarding selected schemes. Further, the actual role performance of different tiers of PRI was also assessed in implementing and monitoring of development schemes. The descriptive research design was used for the present study. Four districts of Punjab state were selected purposively which were further represented by two blocks each. Random selection of three villages from each of the selected block was done. Forty elected Zilla Parishad members, forty-eight Panchayat Samiti members, and ninety-six Gram Panchayat members were selected. The self-structured interview schedule was prepared to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed by using frequency and percentage. It can be concluded that majority of Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti members had a low level of knowledge about the schemes and no knowledge about the roles of PRI in selected schemes. Half of the Zila Parishad members were having a high level of knowledge about the selected schemes and the parts of PRI in different systems. Majority of Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti members were not performing their roles in implementation and monitoring of development schemes. Only Zila Parishad members were performing their roles at a high level in implementation and monitoring of development schemes.