Smart Panchayats and Resilient Villages: Reimagining Community-Based Disaster Governance in Rural India
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Rural India remains highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, droughts, landslides, and heatwaves. Strengthening local governance institutions is therefore essential for building resilient communities and ensuring effective disaster risk reduction. This paper examines the role of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in promoting community-based disaster governance and explores the emerging concept of Smart Panchayats as a pathway toward resilient rural development. Drawing upon principles of decentralization, participatory governance, digital innovation, and sustainable development, the study highlights how technology-enabled local institutions can enhance disaster preparedness, early warning dissemination, risk assessment, resource management, and post-disaster recovery. The paper further emphasizes the importance of community participation, social inclusion, and multi-stakeholder collaboration involving government agencies, civil society organizations, and local communities. It argues that integrating smart technologies with traditional knowledge and grassroots governance can significantly improve disaster resilience and adaptive capacity, contributing to safer, more sustainable, and disaster-resilient villages across rural India.
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