About Panchayat Diploma Engineer's Association, West Bengal in Berhampore Karmachari Bhawan, Berhampore

The ‘Panchayat Diploma Engineers’ Association, Paschimbanga’ is the one and only association of Diploma Engineers (Civil) working for the infrastructural and as well as human development of rural people, posted as ‘Nirman Sahayak’ in each of the Gram Panchayats in the state of West Bengal. We are a group of energetic, bright and young engineers working throughout the 18 districts, involve in building a better Bengal. In a large perspective too, Engineer, is broadly defined as someone who builds new method, new technology. In our country 83.3 crore people, i.e about 69 percent of the country’s total population of 121 crore, continue to live in rural India and striving to cope with the day to day increasing living standard. Naturally, meeting the needs and demands of these people is indeed a significant challenge to the government and society by an large, and the engineering professionals in particular. The post of ‘Nirman Sahayak’ was primarily created in the year 2003 in the light of strengthening technical support to the Gram Panchayats. In the early days the primary requirements of the villagers were minor infrastructural facilities like, construction of rural roads, construction of huts, construction of small culverts, rural electrification, excavation / renovation of Irrigation Canals etc. But as the days gone by, the demands have gradually been modified; in place of earthen road or semi metalled road - demands of bituminous or concrete roads have been coming in front. Construction of School building, Health Centres, Box-Culvert, deep tube wells, parks, and many other civil works had become the ground reality of the rural Bengal. So, the former State Government took the appropriate decision according to the spirit of age in recruiting civil engineers in all of the Gram Panchayats of this State. Since then we have been discharging our duties in developing the rural infrastructural facilities as well as human development throughout the state from ‘Hill to Sea’ and we have already been able to prove the decision of the then Government of introducing civil engineers at Gram Panchayat level to be right. A group of energetic, bright and young engineers has added a new dimension to the developmental process indeed. The Department of Rural Development is implementing a number of programmes in rural areas through the state Governments for poverty alleviation, employment generation, development of rural infrastructure, habitant development and provision of basic minimum services;the success of which depends largely upon Nirman Sahayaks.