Village in Telangana’s Warangal district selected for Gram Swaraj Award

Mariapuram, a model village panchayat in Geesugonda mandal of Warangal district, has been selected for the Gram Swaraj Award.

It is among the six gram panchayats selected for the award across the country based on the progress made in village development, greenery and cleanliness in 2022-23.

The award will be presented during the national-level Panchayati Raj Seminar to be held in Tirupati on October 17, 18 and 19. Dignitaries from different States will attend the seminar and present the award.

Mariyapuram Gram Panchayat was formed in 1995 after it was carved out of Ookal Gram Panchayat.

There are a total of 248 families in



the village. The residents, who used to visit Gangadevipally which gained world-wide recognition as the ideal village, also resolved to transform their village into an ideal one.

As part of the efforts, the villagers constructed Individual Sanitary Latrine (ISL) in each house in 2016 and ensured their usage. They also constructed soak pits for each house (197) and imposed a ban on use of plastic.

After it was made a gram panchayat, a complete ban was imposed on the sale and consumption of liquor in the village.

As part of the Haritha Haram programme, a total of 13,209 saplings were planted in the village and majority of them have grown into trees now.