Chennai, Oct 11 : In a first-of-its-kind initiative to strengthen grassroots democracy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin will Saturday address 10,000 Gram Sabha meetings across the state through video conferencing, according to Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Additional Chief Secretary of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department.

As part of the state's mission to make local governance more participatory and transparent, Gram Sabha meetings are being held in all 12,480 village panchayats across Tamil Nadu.

These meetings, held six times annually, serve as a platform for villagers to voice their needs, review welfare schemes, and plan local development projects.

The Chief Minister has earlier attended two Gram Sabha meetings in person, but this is the first time he will address such a large number simultaneously through digital means.

Bedi in a statement said that the event also highlights Tamil Nadu's growing digital infrastructure, as 11,100 panchayats have been connected through fibre optic networks, of which 10,000 have confirmed readiness for today's interactive session. Following the Chief Minister's address, 16 agenda items will be discussed at the Gram Sabha meetings, with priority given to three urgent local requirements identified by residents.

As part of the 'Namathu Ur, Namathu Arasu' (Our Town, Our Government) initiative, each panchayat will pass a resolution to review and, where necessary, change socially inappropriate names of habitations, streets, roads, waterbodies, and public places.

"The government's goal is not merely to rename, but to ensure that such decisions are taken with people's participation," Bedi said. If residents prefer retaining existing names, they will remain unchanged. Once approved, changes will be formalised through a government gazette notification.

The meetings will also identify the poorest families eligible for poverty alleviation loans.

Women's self-help groups have already prepared preliminary lists through door-to-door surveys, which will be finalised in open discussions at the Gram Sabha.

Other topics on the agenda include rainwater harvesting, dengue prevention, and eradication of child labour. Videos from 7,515 Gram Sabha meetings will be uploaded to the central government's SubSIR website for record and monitoring purposes.

During the event, villagers and panchayat presidents from Kovalam (Chengalpattu), Mullikkulam (Tenkasi), Varapatti (Coimbatore), Kondangi (Villupuram), and Thirumala Samudram (Thanjavur) will interact directly with the Chief Minister.

/IANS