(MENAFN- IANS) Chennai, Oct 11 (IANS) Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday addressed nearly 10,000 gram sabha meetings across Tamil Nadu through video conferencing, emphasising the state government's commitment to empowering rural communities and strengthening grassroots democracy.

The meetings were held simultaneously across 12,480 village panchayats to identify local needs and pass resolutions aimed at improving living standards and infrastructure.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Minister said,“Villages are the backbone of our nation. As Mahatma Gandhi said, the strength of independent India lies in its villages. We have formulated several schemes to boost the rural economy and make local governance more effective. These initiatives form the foundation for the development of Tamil Nadu's panchayats.”

Highlighting that gram sabhas serve as platforms for participatory democracy, Stalin said every citizen has the right to be part of the panchayat administration.

“That is why six gram sabha meetings are held every year, where people discuss development goals, welfare measures, and pass key resolutions,” he added.

The Chief Minister urged residents to prioritise three major needs for each panchayat and pass resolutions accordingly under the Namma Ooru Namma Arasu scheme.

He also directed officials to remove caste-based names from village streets, roads, and public places and replace them with neutral or nature-inspired names through community consensus.

“If the public prefers to retain an existing name, it need not be changed,” he clarified.

Stalin stressed the importance of education and child welfare, asking villagers to report any incidents of child labour to the district administration.

He praised the contribution of women's self-help groups, announcing that the next phase of the initiative would focus on women's scholarships and entrepreneurship through the Vidiyal Journey programme.

The Chief Minister also appealed to panchayats to take preventive steps against monsoon-related issues, promote rainwater harvesting, curb plastic usage, and intensify dengue prevention measures.

During these gram sabhas, discussions covered 16 key topics, including poverty alleviation loans for rural families, prioritisation of beneficiaries, and strategies for sustainable development.

As per a central government directive, video recordings of meetings in 7,515 village panchayats are being uploaded to the SubSUR web portal. Officials confirmed that similar participatory meetings will also be conducted later this month in 12,838 urban wards across Tamil Nadu.

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