Realisation of Sustainable Development Goals Through Panchayati Raj Institutions

Gram panchayats (GPs), being constitutionally mandated and closest to the people, can anchor the responsibility of localising the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving them by the year 2030. In this article, published reports have been used for analysing state-wise status of SDGs achievements and their correlations with attainments in areas of poverty-reduction and other developmental indicators. Also, progress made by GPs on various metrics related to SDGs has been corroborated with other relevant metrics. For effective functioning and service-delivery capacity of panchayats, it is necessary that they are sufficiently empowered with functions and responsibilities as per aspirations of the provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, 1993, strengthened with basic infrastructure and technical manpower to harness the full potential of digitisation and also incentivised for augmenting their own sources of revenue.