Chandigarh, Dec 3 (IANS): Batting for starting session of Panchayati Raj Institutions, on the pattern of the legislative assembly, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday attended the swearing-in ceremony of elected representatives of the village-level third tier of governance.

Congratulating the panches, sarpanches, block samiti members and zila parishad members, the Chief Minister said all public representatives should do development work in their respective areas for five years without any discrimination.

"Consider the entire area as your family and develop the area by fulfilling your responsibility with the spirit of service," he said.

Describing the panchayat as the government of the village, the Chief Minister said on the lines of the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha sessions, one or two days session of Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti should be called so that the public issues can be raised and development can be done.

The swearing-in ceremony was organised in every district, block and village across the state in which 6,200 sarpanches, 60,133 panches, 3,081 block samiti members and 411 zila parishad members took oath.

The Chief Minister joined the ceremony virtually and addressed the representatives after which the officers present on the occasion administered them the oath of office.

Khattar said this is the first time that elected people's representatives in the Panchayati Raj institutions are individually taking oath.

The elections were held for 71,696 seats for panches, sarpanches, block samiti and zila parishad members. For this, 1,60,192 filed nominations, 2,600 nominations cancelled and 31,900 withdrew their nominations.

A total of 40,500 representatives were elected unanimously, which is about 60 per cent; whereas 85,127 candidates contested for 29,474 seats.

He said the state government is giving Rs 11 lakh to the unanimously elected panchayats, Rs 5 lakh to a sarpanch, Rs 50,000 to a panch and Rs 2 lakh each to the unanimously elected block samiti member and zila parishad member.

In this way, the government is giving Rs 300 crore for the development of the rural areas.

The Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Haryana government are fully committed to rural development.

"The work of the Central and the state government reaches the villages only through the elected panchayats," he added.

In 2015, the state government had decided to make an educated panchayat by amending the Panchayati Raj Act and for this the government fought till the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court legalised it and advised other states to follow this path.