Residents of Mundkur Gram Panchayat in Karkala taluk of Udupi district don’t have to reach the panchayat office for updates on government schemes and programmes, or the status of their applications. They get a prompt SMS alert on a range of things from gram sabhas and ward sabhas to Aadhaar card and ration card applications from the office.
About 600 families in the village of 1,756 are connected to this facility, and their numbers are growing over the last one year. Shankar, Panchayat Development Officer, said the facility has resulted in greater participation in gram sabhas.
This panchayat office has CCTV cameras that beam images from every corner. “We have done this to ensure transparency in all transactions with people,” said Mr. Shankar.
