Forty percent of all sarpanches across country are women, says minister

Panchayati Raj minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Women’s Reservation Bill must be passed and the government should consider implementing 50% reservation for women in all states.

Panchayati Raj minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday informed the Parliament that 40% of all sarpanches across the country are women. He was replying to a question put forward by Biju Janata Dal MP Pinaki Mishra.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that in the 2,53,380 gram panchayats in the country, there are 31 lakh public representatives out of which 14.39 lakh or 46% are women representatives. (ANI Photo)

Mishra wanted to know how many states have implemented 50% reservation for women in their panchayats. “As per the powers vested under Article 243 (D), the Parliament has the power to direct all panchayats across all states. This is an important issue and will the government consider implementing 50% reservation for women in all states,” Mishra said.

“This House has 78 women MPs, we want that in the near future 200-250 women members come to be part of the House. The bedrock of this is the Panchayati Raj system,” Mishra said.

He added that without any debate on a bipartisan basis the 50% reservation should be passed by the House. “Of course, with it, we need to bring in the Women’s Reservation Bill, too,” he said.

He added that in the 2,53,380 gram panchayats in the country, there are 31 lakh public representatives. “Of these, 14.39 lakh or 46% are women representatives. I have seen that women go a long way into bringing inclusive policies to the panchayats,” Tomar said.