Gram Panchayats Planning: Essays in Honour of B.N. Yugandhar

The book gives the Conceptual Specifications for Gram Panchayat Planning for development, combining available human, social, institutional, ecological, environmental and physical resources for the well-being of the community as key to planning at Village and Gram Panchayat levels. The book deals with the principles of Gram Panchayat Planning which will act as guideposts and touchstones while preparing and implementing the village or Gram Panchayat Plans. The nuts and bolts of preparing a Village and Gram Panchayat Plan entailing physical plan, financial plan, resource (financial resources, human resources, social resources or social capital, natural resources and financial resources) plan and a spatial plan, are detailed. The book then deals with capacity building of all functionaries involved directly in Gram Panchayat Development planning and in facilitating such planning, as village and Gram Panchayat Planning is a facilitated process. The book includes indicative ways of imparting a set of functional skills for facilitating Gram Panchayat planning as is necessary for initiating community development through praxis. It shows how to build the Capability Spectrum in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and hence behaviour that the Gram Panchayat planning team must necessarily possess for Gram Panchayat planning in their communities. This will be invaluable for local level planners, development practitioners, Government and Gram and Nagar Panchayat level functionaries, trainers in planning and participatory approaches and students of economic development.