Vijayawada: In a big move to encourage consensus-based grassroots governance and promote social harmony, the state govt has substantially enhanced financial incentives for gram panchayats that elect their sarpanches and all ward members unanimously, raising the maximum reward to ₹50 lakh from the existing ₹20 lakh.The revised incentive structure is aimed at encouraging consensus-based elections, reducing factional differences and election-related disputes, and promoting social harmony and collective participation in village-level governance. Under the revised structure, gram panchayats with a population of up to 5,000 will receive ₹15 lakh against the earlier ₹5 lakh for villages with fewer than 2,000 people and ₹10 lakh for those with a population between 2,001 and 5,000. In the new initiative, two slabs have been merged to give a higher incentive.The villages with a population of 5,001 to 10,000 will get ₹25 lakh against the existing ₹15 lakh if the sarpanch and all the ward members are elected unopposed. The highest incentive of ₹50 lakh has been announced for gram panchayats with a population of more than 10,000, up from ₹20 lakh.The enhancement is expected to give a fresh push to efforts to build consensus among villagers and encourage them to elect their local representatives without contest. The govt has been implementing the incentive scheme since 2001, with subsequent revisions to the amounts in 2008, 2013 and 2020.According to the special chief secretary Kantilal Dande, the enhanced incentives will be applicable only to gram panchayats where elections to both the sarpanch post and all ward member positions are officially declared unanimous by the competent election authorities under the applicable election rules.The eligibility of each gram panchayat will be verified and certified by the competent authorities before the release of funds. The incentive amount must be utilised exclusively for approved developmental activities and public welfare works in the respective villages, following prescribed financial, accounting and audit procedures. The govt has also stipulated that the enhanced incentive will be released in phases during the tenure of the unanimously elected gram panchayat.Importantly, the scheme will not interfere with the statutory right of any eligible person to contest elections or the right of voters to exercise their franchise freely and independently.The commissioner of panchayat raj and rural development has been directed to give wide publicity to the enhanced incentive scheme through district collectors and election authorities. The commissioner was also asked to submit population-category-wise details of eligible gram panchayats and the estimated financial requirement after completion of the election process.The enhanced incentive structure will apply exclusively to the ordinary gram panchayat elections scheduled in 2026.