Seven of 191 village panchayats awarded ISO certification

Panaji: Of the 191 panchayats, seven were awarded ISO certifications on Friday.Rural civic bodies were examined for infrastructure development, delivery of services, and several other parameters.

Panchayat minister Mauvin Godinho said that the other village panchayats too should strive to obtain ISO certifications.Panchayats of Volvoi, Sarzora, Sao Matias, Keri-Tiracol, Mencurem-Dhumase, Harvalem and Chicalim were awarded the certification. He said 41 panchayats are in the process of obtaining ISO certification. “Let’s make the difference by achieving higher standards in delivering public services at the grassroots level,” said Godinho.To achieve the target, he said, collaboration of all stakeholders is needed, but chiefly of panchayat members and staff. He said selected panchayat staff were trained to enhance their delivery of services, and panchayats that met the standards were selected to receive certification. Vinayak Vengurlekar, sarpanch of Volvoi panchayat, said, “We saw the initiatives of panchayats in other states, and implemented them here.

The tips and training by Gipard officials helped us to meet our targets.”Gurudas Parab, sarpanch of Mencurem-Dhumase panchayat, said, “Our village panchayat has developed new sources of income, and they no longer entirely depend on govt for funds.”Adrain Simoes, a lead auditor, said their priority was to ensure that people come first, and accordingly, panchayats were evaluated.