Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said on Saturday the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat implemented the "Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Fellowship" programme.

In a post on 'X,' Kharge said that the Panchayat Raj experiment is the first of its kind in the country and was announced in the previous budget.
   
"With the aim of strengthening local governance in the backward region of Kalyana Karnataka, an enthusiastic and talented youth community was given the opportunity to work in the Panchayat Raj system," wrote the State Panchayat Raj Minister.
   
He added that this is a great opportunity for graduates interested in the social sector.
   
"Fellows will need to understand the social, geographical, economic, and administrative context of the Kalyana Karnataka region and become active with the district administration," Kharge said.
   
He stated that he attended the progress report presentation meeting with 44 trained fellows.
   
Kharge added that it was rewarding to learn that these enthusiastic fellows had done such great work in just a few months.
   
According to him, the fellows have restarted 39 awareness centres in the villages of Kalyana Karnataka and reopened 116 orphanages that were closed due to neglect.
   
He also said thanks to them, garbage collection and segregation arrangements have been made in 61 Gram Panchayats, action has been taken to collect waste management fees in 23 Gram Panchayats, 197 general body meetings have been organised, 81 ward meetings and village meetings were held and 508 subcommittees have been formed.
   
"Also, an innovative programme called Book Nest has been organised to increase the culture of reading."
   
The hard work and interest of these enthusiastic fellows have played a major role in the good work being done at the village level in Kalyana Karnataka, he added.