Odisha govt approves 500 new gram panchayats
The Odisha government on Thursday approved a proposal of the Panchayati Raj Department to add 500 new gram panchayats in the state. This will be implemented before the three-tier panchayat polls to be held in 2017. The state election commission will be soon informed about the proposal, a senior department official said. Presently, Odisha has 6,211 gram panchayats.