CESSA WP 2015-06

A Note on New Statistical Domain in India (5):An Enquiry into Gram Panchayat-Level Databases
Junichi Okabe
Yokohama National University
April 2015

Center for Economic and Social Studies in Asia (CESSA) Working Paper
Downloadable from:http://www.econ.ynu.ac.jp/cessa/publication/workingpaper.html

Center for Economic and Social Studies in Asia, Department of Economics
Yokohama National University

A Note on New Statistical Domain in India (5):An Enquiry into Gram Panchayat-Level Databases

Junichi Okabe

April 2015

Table of Contents

Chapter 6. A Potential Database for Local-level Planning:With Special Reference to the Village Schedule on BSLLD§1. Village Schedule on BSLLD and Local-level Planning§2. Village-level Data Sources to Supplement the Village Scheduleon BSLLD for Planning Exercises
Conclusion —A New Statistical Domain Emerging in Rural India

1Chapter 6. A Potential Database for Local-level Planning:With Special Reference to the Village Schedule on BSLLD§1. Village Schedule on BSLLD and Local-level Planning
As mentioned in §2-5-1, a set of baseline data is required to create a vision, which is a basis ofany planning exercise. This vision must have a strong empirical basis in “rigorouscompilation and analysis of baseline data, which needs to be as institutionalized and strong as
the planning system itself.” 1 The process of building a vision was referred to as an“envisioning” exercise.2
The planning exercise would be impossible in the functional domain where thepanchayat cannot have its own vision or initiative. The planning exercise is a special functionthat is possible exclusively for the functional domain with a high degree of autonomy. Evenif a panchayat acts as a mere delivery unit of administrative services provided by line
departments and does not have any autonomous space in its functional domain, thepanchayat can fulfill its function without the “envisioning” exercise. The panchayat may only
define a process of implementing the plan provided by other agencies. Such a functional
domain was mentioned in §5-1-1-2.
Several core statistical databases are usable as a basis of the GP-level planning
exercise. Among other things, the Census of India including the population enumeration
data, the houselisting and housing data, and the Non-Census village level amenities data (VDdata) is indisputably one of the core statistical database for micro-level planning in rural
India.3 The BPL Censuses (and the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011) can also be acore database that provides panchayats even with unit-level data on households and persons.
The Census of India and the BPL Censuses aim at essential aspects of local development
and poverty alleviation programmes. Nevertheless, they do not cover all aspects of datarequirement for micro-level planning in rural India. Even the wide-ranging dataset of the
Census of India is not entirely in tune with the functional domain of the panchayats
described in §5-1-1-2. Besides, these census results are not updated regularly to furnish
panchayats with the most recent information to prepare annual or five-year plans.
As mentioned in §2-5-6, the latest effort to meet the data requirement for
micro-level planning and its implementation in rural India (Data Needs III) is the work by
the Expert Committee on BSLLD. The terms of reference of the Expert Committee on

1

Ibid., p. 13. This exercise is referred to as the “stock-taking report” in the Manual. [Ibid., pp. 57-58]

2

Planning Commission (2008), p. 65.

3

The Rangarajan Commission stated that “after the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments passed by the Parliament in
1992, the Population Census data has immense potential to serve the planning and development data needs of the panchayati
raj institutions at the grass roots level.” [National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 9.2.16].

2

BSLLD was to identify the data “for use in micro-level planning of various developmental
programmes.”
The framework of the Village Schedule provided by the Expert Committee on
BSLLD is based on a review of the efforts already made by various groups and committees
in India. In addition, the Village Schedule and its Field Instruction have been repeatedly
tested and modified through pilot studies including the large-scale pilot scheme launched by
MoSPI since 2009. In the course of the pilot studies, feedback from different states wassought on the data sources, availability of data for different items of information, problems
in compilation of data etc. In fact the Village Schedule has been upgraded on the basis ofthese reports.
The baseline data to create a vision can be freely defined by the panchayat. It is
open to discussion. Therefore, it is difficult to define a minimum requirement of the baseline
data for use in planning exercise. This chapter discusses it with a special reference to thebaseline data in the Village Schedule on BSLLD.
6-1-1 Block-by-Block Assessments of the Village Schedule on BSLLD
As mentioned in §4-3-5-1, the Village Schedule on BSLLD is a framework tosummarize village-level secondary data along with personal assessment of knowledgeable
persons (or common knowledge of village people). A set of panchayat-level data sources isassumed to exist in parallel to most data items of the Village Schedule. We have discussed
these sources in chapter 4. We can now examine the availability of data sources for each data
item of the Village Schedule on BSLLD.
As we have already discussed Activity Mapping in both GPs in Maharashtra andWest Bengal in §3-2-2-8 and §5-1-1-2, we can also evaluate the utility of the Village Scheduleon BSLLD for the subject functions listed in Schedule XI of the Constitution. For ananalytical study of the relationship between each data item and the subjects listed in Schedule
XI, information on Activity Mapping in the concerned State is indispensible. A clear idea ofthe concrete activities or schemes related to each subject of the Schedule XI of theConstitution is required to assess the usefulness of each data item. Without such a clear ideaof specific operational and activity-related responsibilities, it is difficult to discuss the utilityof the data item in the panchayat. We can now examine a particular relationship between eachdata item in the Village Schedule and each function listed in Schedule XI of the Constitution,although the Expert Committee on BSLLD has not explicitly indicated that relationship.
Data items in the Village Schedule should be consistent with minimum requirement for use
in micro-level planning concerning the subject functions listed in Schedule XI of theConstitution.
Now that we have discussed the availability of its data sources of the Village
Schedule on BSLLD and the relationship of its data items with each function listed in the
Schedule XI, we can evaluate them on a block-by-block basis. We can now discuss (1) whatkinds of data sources are available at the village in relation to each data items of the Schedule3and (2) why such data can be used to perform the functions listed in Schedule XI. Using
information in feedback reports from some States and Union Territories4 in the pilot scheme
conducted by MoSPI since 2009, we can also compare our findings in two survey villages
with those feedback reports.5 Block-wise assessments are as follows.

Village schedule
Block-0: Descriptive identification of the village
Sl. No.
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7

Item

Name

Code
As per Census-2011

State/UTDistrictTehsil/ Sub Division
Block
Panchayat
Village
Reference Year20

Block 1: Particulars of data recording
Sl.
No.
(1)

1.1
1.2
1.3

1.4

Item

(2)
Name (block letters)
Sex (M/F)
Date(s) of(i) Recording/Inspection(ii) Receipt

Panchayat
Secretary/
Other designatedPrimary Worker(3)

Block Statistical
Officer

DD

DD

MM

YY

District
Statistical
Officer

(4)

MM

(5)

YY

DD

MM

(iii) Scrutiny(iv) Despatch
Signature

4

The Cross-sectional Synthesis Report covers eight states and Union Territories, viz. Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh,
Assam, Haryana, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu. Feedback reports covered in the CSO Report 2014 are 23
States and Union Territories, viz. Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Puducherry,
Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Thus, Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli,
Daman & Diu, NCT of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura, and West
Bengal are not covered by neither of the two reports. Apart from the above two reports, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka,
Lakshadweep,
andNagaland
have
provided
their
State
or
Union
Territory
reports.
<http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/Site/Details.aspx?pid=1&id=94&pages=on&paramid=1&tab=147> Retrieved on 30
November 2014.
5

The pilot scheme of the MoSPI was conducted in Maharashtra and West Bengal—in its Phase I in both Maharashtra(Akola District) and West Bengal (Barddhaman District), and in its Phase II in Maharashtra (Akola District). However, theCSO Report 2014 does not cover any feedback from West Bengal.

4Block 2: Availability of some basic facilities
Sl. No

(1)

item

Item
Code

Source
Code

(2)

(3)

(4)

2.1

Household electricity connection at least for one household in the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.2

Use of Renewable source of Energy by at least for one household in the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.3

At least one Cable connection within the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.4

Major source of drinking water for the village (tap-1, tube well/hand pump-2, well-3, reservedtank for drinking water-4, any other source-9)
Drainage system passes through the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.5
2.6

2.8

Benefit is being received from Government controlled irrigation system by at least one villager(Yes- 1, No- 2)
Whether any type of cooperative society including cooperative credit society is in function
within the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)
Whether any self help group is in function within the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.7

2.9

Any adult education course is in operation within the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.10

If there is any credit society other than cooperative credit society (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.11

Whether there is any commercial bank or agricultural bank (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.12

Whether there is pucca street (Yes -1, No -2)

2.13

Frequency (per day) of State Transport/ Private buses to nearest city (No facility -1, Less than 5-2, At least 5- 3)

2.14

Whether there is any crèche facility (Yes- 1, No- 2)

2.15

Whether there is street light (Yes- 1, No- 2)

As mentioned in 3-3-2, most of data items in Block 2 are not documented in thevillage-level records but are common knowledge among villagers. Some data items such assources of drinking water and self-help groups have documentary evidence but the rest donot. Officials of both GPs that we interviewed admitted that this information is common
knowledge.
According to the Cross-sectional Synthesis Report on the large-scale pilot scheme of
BSLLD in 2009,6 GPs were able to fill in most of the data items of Block 2. The report statedthat as GP office is “a meeting place for the village people, if some data are collected without
records, probability of getting correct information is very high.”
Most of the data items in Block 2 are relevant to subject 29: “Maintenance ofcommunity assets” in Schedule XI of the Constitution. Besides, some data items are relevantto the planning exercises for the functional domain with regard to subject 14: “Rural
electrification” (data item 2.1), subject 15: “Non-conventional energy sources” (data item
2.2), subject 11: “Drinking water” (data item 2.4), subject 3: “Minor irrigation” (data items
2.5-2.6) and subject 13: “Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means ofcommunication” (data items 2.12-2.13 and 2-15) in the Schedule XI. Data items 2.7 and
6Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, Cross Sectional
Synthesis Report on Pilot Scheme of Basic Statistics for Local (Village) Level Development: Based on Results of the Pilot Scheme on BSLLD
executed in Selected States and UTs, 2011.

5

2.10-2.11 are usable to co-ordinate credit linkage with regard to subject 1: “Agriculture,”
subject 8: “Small scale industries” and subject 9: “Khadi, village and cottage industries” etc.
Data item 2.7 can also be used to deal with the first subject of activities: “Making
arrangement for co-operative management of lands and other resources in village,organisation of collective co-operative farming,” which is to be devolved to GPs in the
Village List of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958. Data item 2.8 is usable to implement
the SGSY. Other data items are relevant to the planning for subject 19: “Adult andnon-formal education” (data item 2.9) and subject 25: “Women and child development”(data item 2.14).
Block 3: Village Infrastructure
Sl.
No

(1)
3.1

Facilities

Last Year

Source
Code

(2)

(3)

(4)

No. of factories set up within vicinity (5 kms radius) of the village

3.2

No. of new bridges constructed within vicinity (5 kms radius) of the village

3.3

No. of business establishment with large turnover (more than one croreannually) set up within vicinity( 5 kms radius) of the village
Orchard with area 1.0 Hectare and more planted within vicinity ( 5 km radius)of the village (Yes- 1, No- 2)
Forest area declared within vicinity (5 kms radius) of the village (Yes-1, No- 2)

3.4
3.5
3.6

Percentage of households having access to safe drinking water

3.7

Percentage of houses according to structure(a) Katchcha(b) Semi Pucca(c) Pucca

3.8

Percentage of houses with latrine(a) Individual

Sanitary

others(b) Shared

Data items 3.1-3.5 in Block 3 are common knowledge among villagers or can beobtained from knowledgeable persons. Data in the Industrial Development Office (IDO) is
not available with GP for data items 3.1 and 3.3. Sub-state level data of the Economic Census
is also not available with PRIs. Validation check for data items 3.4 and 3.5 is possible, whenland records and cadastral map are available.
Data items 3.6-3.8 require aggregation of a large number of data on households orhouses. Therefore, subjective assessment of knowledgeable persons is not adequate forobtaining such aggregates or estimate. Their subjective assessment requires a validation
check. In Warwat Khanderao, data item 3.6 has documentary evidence in Item no. 9 Tax
demand-collection and Balance register and Item no. 10 Tax Collection Receipt Book in GP register. For
example, as described in §5-4-2, Warwat Khanderao GP imposes water tax of Rs. 75 perhousehold on 110 households given connection to a tubewell. Raina GP has a format for the
List of enterprises/persons liable to pay registration fees for providing supply of water from6

deep-tubewell/shallow-tubewell fitted with motor-driven Pump sets in GP (Part-V of the Form 9
Assessment List) specified in the Amendments 2006 of West Bengal Panchayat (Gram
Panchayat Administration) Rules 2004, but, as shown in Table xxx in §5-4-2, the GP did notreceive any water tax.
Both GPs have documentary evidence for data item 3.7 in the property tax
registers, i.e., in Item no. 8 House tax in Warwat Khanderao, and in Form 6 Register for market valueof land and building located within GP specified in the West Bengal Panchayat (Gram Panchayat
Administration) Rules, 2004, in Raina. The BPL census data is available with both GPs fordata item 3.8, which contains data on households not having a toilet. Besides, in Raina,
unit-level household data of the census-type household survey conducted in 2008 on
instruction from the Zilla Parishad to evaluate the rural sanitation scheme (see § 4-3-2) isavailable. This database contains data on access to toilets and some socio-economic featuresof the households, such as social group (SC, ST, Others).
According to the CSO Report 2014, out of 23 feedback reports, received fromdifferent states and Union Territories, “almost all the States/UTs are of the view that
information for items in this block is neither available nor reliable and adequate. A few States
viz. Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand have highlighted that
information on i) Number of business establishment with large turnover (more than one
crore annually) set up within vicinity (5 km radius) of the village, ii) Percentage of houses
according to structure i.e. Katcha, Semi Pucca and Pucca, iii) Percentage of houses withlatrine (Individual and Shared) is not readily available, and since this information is collectedfrom knowledgeable person, and, therefore, may not be reliable.”7
A feedback report from Maharashtra in the CSO Report 2014 noted that “Theproper record books are available but not properly maintained. It is observed that
Gramsevak is too busy with other works hence he doesn’t find time for updation of theserecords” and “Since the Gramsevak is a busy person, DSO took the help of other village
level workers like Anganwadi sevika or ASHA worker to solve all above difficulties.” 8
Data item 3.5 is relevant to planning exercises for the functional domain withregard to subject 6: “Social forestry and farm forestry” and subject 7: “Minor forest produce”
in the Schedule XI. Data item 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8 are respectively relevant to subject 11:“Drinking water,” subject 10: “Rural housing” and subject 23: “Health and sanitation” in the
Schedule XI of the Constitution.

7

Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, Report on
Basic Statistics for Local Level Development (BSLLD) Pilot Study in Rural Areas, 2014, p. 53.
8Ibid., p. 53.

7

Block [4] : Distance from the nearest facility (distance in km to the nearest integer
may be given. If the facility is available within the village, ‘00’ may be given.
Distance more than 99 kms may also be given as 99).
Sl. Noitem

Distance in KM(in two digit)

(1)

(2)

(3)

If distance is ‘00’
then number

Source
code

(4)

(5)

4.1

Panchayat HQS

X

4.2

Tehsil HQS

X

4.3

Bus stop

4.4

Metalled road

4.5
4.6*
4.7*
4.8*
4.9*

All weather roadPre-primary school (without separate toilet for girls)
Primary school (without separate toilet for girls)
Middle School (without separate toilet for girls)
Secondary School (without separate toilet for girls)

4.11*
4.12*
4.13*
4.14*

Higher secondary school (without separate toilet forgirls)
Pre-primary school (with separate toilet for girls)
Primary school (with separate toilet for girls)
Middle School (with separate toilet for girls)
Secondary School (with separate toilet for girls)

4.15*

Higher secondary school (with separate toilet for girls)

4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19
4.20
4.21
4.22
4.23

College with degree course
College with master degree course/ university
Industrial training Institute.(ITI)
Non formal education centre (NFEC)
Veterinary Sub-centre/dispensary
Sub-Centre (Health)Public Health Centre (PHC)
Community health centre

4.24
4.25

Government hospital
Allopathic Medicine shop

4.26

Homeopathic Medicine shop

4.27

Ayurvedic Medicine shop

4.28

Other Medicine shop

4.29
4.30

Post office
Bank

4.10*

4.31

Fair price shop

4.32

Weekly market

4.33

Fertilizer/pesticide shop

4.34

Internet (physical) facility

4.35

PCO

4.36

Special school for blind

4.37

Special school for mentally retarded

4.38

Vocational training school/centre

4.39

Institution / organization for rehabilitation of
disabled persons
Railway station

4.40

X

8

4.41

AirportX

4.42

District HQS

X

4.43

State Capital

X

4.44

Police station/Beat Office/Outpost

X

4.45

Anganwari-noon meal centre

4.46

Cooperative Society

4.47

Community centre

4.48

Recreational area (Club, Park, Garden)

4.49

Public library* Only Government and semi government should be reported

As mentioned in §4-2, most of data items in Block 4 is not documented in thevillage-level records but is common knowledge among villagers. Officials of both GPs told
us in our interview that this information is common knowledge. Therefore, no significant
problem in compiling the information for this Block is reported in the CSO Report 2014.9
Data items in Block 4 are relevant to planning exercises for the functional domain
with regard to subject 13: “Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means ofcommunication” (data items 4.3-4.5 and 4.34-4.35), subject 17: “Education” and subject 18:“Technical training and vocational education” (data items 4.6-4.19 and 4.36-4.39), subject 4:“Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry” (data item 4.20), subject 23: “Health and sanitation,
including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries” (data items 4.21-4.28), subject
28: “Public distribution system” (data item 4.31), subject 22: “Markets and fairs” (data item4.32), subject 26: “Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and mentally retarded”(data items 4.36-4.39), subject 25: “Women and child development” (data item 4.45), subject
21: “Cultural activities” etc. (data items 4.47-4.48) and subject 20: “Libraries” in the Schedule
XI (data item 4.49). Data item 4.46 is also usable to deal with the first subject of activities:“Making arrangement for co-operative management of lands and other resources in village,organisation of collective co-operative farming” to be devolved to GPs in the Village List of
the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958.

Block 5: Demographic information (All figures are in number) Item 5.1 to 5.5 as on
1st April of the reference year
Sl.
No.
(1)

Data item

Population in different Age Groups

Source
Code

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Population

0-4
years

5-14
years

15-17
years

18-49
years

50-59
years

60 years &
above

Total

5.1
5.2

Female

(1)

(2)

9

Ibid., p. 54.

(10)

Male
Households
(3)

(4)

(5)

9

(6)

(7)

(8)

Total number ofhouseholds

5.3

ST

SC

OBC

General

Total

Total No. ofHouseholds
headed by women
No. of households
living below
poverty line (BPL)

5.4

5.5

Item 5.6 to 5.13 during the reference year.
Sl. No.

Births

Girls

(1)

5.6
5.7
5.8

(2)

Boys
(3)

(5)

Live Birth
Still Birth
Deaths (below age 1 year)
Other Deaths (after
completion of firstbirth day)1-4 years

(2)

(3)

(1)

5-14
years

15-49
years

50-59
years

60 years& above

Total

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

5.12

FemaleMale
No. of Deaths of Women (Age groups :15-49 years )at the time of Child Birth
No. of pregnant women

5.13

Number of MTP cases

5.9
5.10
5.11

Source Code(4)

Data items 5.1 and 5.2 in Block 5 can be obtained from the Population Census
after a considerable time lag. As described in §5-3-1, both GPs can also obtain updated
information for data items 5.1-5.4 from the ICDS (Anganwadi) workers. According to the
CSO Report 2014, “In the pilot study, a large number of States/UTs have observed that
information for items 5.1 to 5.5 is not readily available. These States have reported that
wherever this information is available, it is not up to date.” In practice, however, “a major
chunk of information has been collected from Anganwadi Worker or Health Worker.”10 As
observed in Warwat Khanderao and Raina, ICDS (Anganwadi) workers maintain a record ofeach household (the Village Survey Register) within their jurisdiction. In fact, according to
the feedback report from Assam, Haryana, Kerala and Maharashtra in the CSO Report 2014,
they consulted the ICDS (Anganwadi) registers. However, they pointed out that “The age wise
information is available with Anganwadisevika and ANM worker but tabulation of thisinformation as per given age group is very difficult.”11 At the same time, feedback reports in
10

Ibid., p. 55.

11

Ibid., p. 56. “Therefore, special compilation is required for generating data as per BSLLD village schedules (A & B) likeage group wise/social group wise etc.” [Directorate of Economic & Statistics of Karnataka, Basic Statistics for Local Level
Development: A Pilot Study of Dharwad District, 2012.]

10

the CSO Report 2014 from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand suggested that they did
not use the ICDS (Anganwadi) registers and used estimated data by asking knowledgeable
persons.12
Data item 5.5 can be obtained from the BPL list available at both GPs, although it
is not updated. However, a feedback report in the CSO Report 2014 from Assam noted that“no specific data of HHs below poverty line is available. Issuance of BPL Card cannot justify
the HH is below the poverty line.”13
Data items 5.6-5.11 can be obtained at Warwat Khanderao and Raina from the
ICDS (Anganwadi) registers, the records at the PHCs (and their Sub-Centres), or the birth anddeath registers of the Civil Registration System (CRS). As mentioned in §5-3-2, however,births and deaths outside the village are often not recorded in the CRS because place ofregistration of the CRS is the place of occurrence. Data items 5.12-5.13 can be obtained
from the records of PHC and its Sub-Centres, or the ICDS (Anganwadi) registers. The ICDS
(Anganwadi) often works with health worker (ANM or ASHA) for these matters.
Demographic information in Block 5 can be used for multiple purposes, such as
subject 23: “Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres anddispensaries,” subject 24: “Family welfare,” subject 25: “Women and child development,”
subject 26: “Social welfare,” subject 27: “Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of
the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes,” subject 16: “Poverty alleviation programme”
and subject 28: “Public distribution system.”
Block 6: Morbidity, Disability and Family Planning
Sl. No.

Name three (3) common diseases in the village in descending order of prevalence

(1)

(2)

(1)

(2)

Type of disability

6.7

(4)

(5)

(6)

Chronic
Seasonal
Number of disabled persons by type of disability
Female
Male

6.1
6.2

6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6

(3)

Source Code(3)0-59 Years(4)
60 years
and above

(5)
Total

(6)
0-59 Years

15-17 years

18- 20 years(7)
60 years
and above

(8)
Total

Source Code(9)

21 years and above

Source CodeVisualHearing
SpeechLocomotor
Mentalillness
Number of Married persons
Less than 15 years

12

Ibid., pp. 56-57.

13

Ibid., p. 55.

11

(1)

(2)

6.8
6.9
6.10

Female
Male

(3)

(4)

(5)

(7)

(6)

Percentage of couples using any type of family planning method

Data items 6.1-6.2 are documented in the records of PHC and its sub-centres.
Data on disability in the Population Census 2011 and the Socio Economic and Caste Census(SECC) 2011 can cater to data items 6.3-6.7, although it is not updated regularly. Otherwise,
these data items have to rely on oral enquiry method with the help of health worker.14 Data
items 6.8-6.9 can be obtained, to some extent, from the ICDS (Anganwadi) Village Survey
Registers. Data item 6.10 can be obtained from the records of PHC and Sub-Centres. As
ICDS (Anganwadi) workers work with ANM or ASHA, they partly share data with the PHC
or its sub-centres.
Special compilation is required for generating age group wise data for data items
6.3-6.9. A feedback report in the CSO Report 2014 from Maharashtra noted that “Age groupand sex wise compilation of disabilities is very difficult because this information is not
updated.”15
Data items 6.1-6.2 are relevant to subject 23: “Health and sanitation, including
hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries” in the Schedule XI of the Constitution.
Data items 6.3-6.10 are relevant to the planning exercises for subject 26: “Social welfare,including welfare of the handicapped and mentally retarded” (data items 6.3-6.7) and subject
26: “Family welfare” (data items 6.8-6.10).
Block 7: Health manpower
Number of health officials
Government facilities
Type ofsystems

FemaleDoctor

(1)

(2)

7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5

Allopathic(3)

Non-Government facilities

Male

FemaleMale

Trained Nurse/ Doctor Trained
DoctorDoctor Trained
Nurse/
Nurse/
CompounderCompounderCompounder
etc
etc
etc

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

SourceCode
TrainedNurse/
Compounder
etc

(10)

(11)

Ayurvedic
Unani
SiddhaHomeopathic

14

Ibid., p.59. A feedback report in the CSO Report 2014 from Haryana pointed out that “Data are not available for all
disabled persons. Data available at social welfare office are related to beneficiaries (Physically handicapped) only. However,
the available data are not age wise.” [Ibid., p. 58]
15

Ibid., p. 58.

12

7.6

Other /Naturopathy

Data items in Block 7 can be obtained from the records of PHC and sub-centres.
Feedback reports in the CSO Report 2014 from Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand notedthat information on non-government facilities is not always available in secondary sources sothat data was collected from knowledgeable persons.16 Block 7 is obviously relevant to theplanning exercises for subject 23: “Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary healthcentres and dispensaries” in Schedule XI of the Constitution.
Block 8: Education:
Literate Population (aged
7 years & above) in
(1)
8.1
8.2

(2)

FemaleMale
Literate Population (aged15-24 years) in numbers
FemaleMale
A: Primary Classes ( I-V)

8.3
8.4

(1)

ST

(3)

SC

OBC
(4)

ST

(5)

OBC

(2)

8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
8.10
8.11
8.12
8.13
8.14
8.15
8.16
8.17
8.18
8.19
8.20
8.21
8.22
8.23
16

SC

Number of students enrolled
Number of students attending schools
Number of new entrants/fresh entry
Number of students discontinued the studies
Reasons for discontinuation of studies
B. Middle classes (VI-VIII)
Number of students enrolled
Number of students attending schools
Number of new entrants/fresh entry
Number of students discontinued the studies
Reasons for discontinuation of studies
C. High School (IX-X)
Number of students attending schools
Number of new entrants/fresh entry
Number of students discontinued the studies
Reasons for discontinuation of studies
D. Senior Secondary School (XI-XII)
Number of students enrolled
Number of students attending schools
Number of new entrants/fresh entry
Number of students discontinued the studies
Reasons for discontinuation of studies

Ibid., pp. 59-60.

13

GENERAL

Total

Source
Code

(6)

(7)

(8)

GENERAL

Total

FemaleMale

Source
Code

(3)

(4)

(5)

8.24

Number of children aged 6-14 years, neverenrolled in school
Reasons for discontinuation of studies (i) – Economic – 1 (ii) – Non-economic - 2(For items 8.5 to 8.21, the reference date may be taken as 30th September of the year)

Data items 8.1-8.4 can be obtained from the Population Census. As mentioned in§5-2-4, unit-level household data on literacy status of the most literate adult in eachhousehold and unit-level person data on each household member with respect to education
status (including literacy status) were generated by the BPL Census 2002.17 The SECC 2011
also collected data on “Highest educational level completed” (including “Illiterate”) for each
person in the household. In Raina another unit-level household data on number of literate
members and educational attainment of the most educated member of the household withsocial group (SC, ST, Others) of the households was produced from the census-type survey
independently conducted by PRIs in 2008 to evaluate the rural sanitation scheme (see §4-3-2). However, these data are not updated regularly. The ICDS Village Survey Register is tocontain data on educational attainment of each household member and is to be updated
regularly. The feedback report in the CSO Report 2014 from Maharashtra pointed out that
Anganwadi sevikas were requested for compilation of this data.18
Data items 8.5-8.24 can be obtained from the village school register and thevillage-level register of all children on an annual house-to-house enquiry conducted by theschool teachers (see §4-3-3-2). Village-wise data of the All India School Education Survey(AISES) is also usable to some extent.
Data items in Block 8 are obviously relevant to subject 17: “Education, including
primary and secondary schools” in the Schedule XI of the Constitution.19 Data items 8.1 8.4 are useful for multiple purposes, including subject 19: “Adult and non-formal education.”
Block 9: Land Utilization
Sl. No.
(1)

9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6

Items

Area
In Hectare (up to
2 decimal)

Source Code

(2)

(3)

(4)

Geographical Area of the revenue village
Reporting Area for land utilization
Area under forest
Barren and unculturable land
Area under non-agricultural uses
Area not available for cultivation (9.4+9.5)

17

However, majority of unit-level person data of the BPL Census was not available in Bidyanidhi.

18

Ibid., p. 62.

19“Among the other blocks, Block 8 appeared to be tough for the recordists.” [Central Statistical Office, Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, Cross Sectional Synthesis Report on Pilot Scheme of Basic
Statistics for Local (Village) Level Development: Based on Results of the Pilot Scheme on BSLLD executed in Selected States and UTs, 2011,D-27.]

14

9.7
9.8
9.9
9.10
9.11
9.12
9.13
9.14
9.15
9.16
9.17

9.24
9.25
9.26
9.27

Land under miscellaneous trees
Permanent pasture and other grazing land
Cultivable Waste Land
Current Fallow
Fallow lands other than current fallows
Net Area sown
Area sown more than once
Total cropped area (gross area)
Land under still waterSocial forestry
Marshy land
Area Irrigated by source (in Hectare)
Government canals
Wells /Tubewells
Tanks
Micro irrigation
Other source
Total irrigated land (9.18 to 9.22)
Number of operational holdings by size and classes
Marginal……… (below 1 hectare)
Small …………. (1-4 hectare)
Medium……….(4-10 hectare)
Large…………. (10 hectare and above)

9.28
9.29
9.30

Natural Resources
River Length (Km.)
Area of water bodies (other than river) (Hect.)
Mines (Number)

9.18
9.19
9.20
9.21
9.22
9.23

Data items 9.1-9.23 can be estimated from land records and cadastral maps at the
patwari office in Warwat Khanderao and at the BLLRO in Raina. The patwari’s land record is
updated regularly unless there is negligence in carrying out the girdawari. The BLLRO’s land
record is not updated regularly. Data from the scheme for Establishment of an Agency for
Reporting Agricultural Statistics (EARAS) might be usable in Raina, but it is not available yet.
Data items 9.24-9.27 have no documentary evidence in either Warwat Khanderaoor Raina. As mentioned in §5-2-4, the BPL Census 2002 has once collected data on “type ofoperational holding of land” (owner; tenant; both owner and tenant; none). However, it was
not the data by size of operational holdings. As mentioned in §4-3-3-4, the patwari’s land
record in Maharashtra (Form no. 7) is primarily the ownership holding register and its
information on landowner-tenant relationship is quite inaccurate. Since the Agricultural
Census for the erstwhile temporarily settled state is conducted through retabulation of
information available in the village land records, the Agricultural Census data in Maharashtra
does not reflect operational holdings accordingly. Therefore, the operational holding datafrom the Agricultural Census in Maharashtra is presently useless even if its sub-state level
data were disclosed. As for West Bengal, the operational holding data from the Agricultural
15

Census and the scheme for EARAS can be potentially usable, but it is not available yet.
“Maintenance of village records relating to land revenue” has been provided as the58th subject of activities to be devolved to GPs in the Village List of the Bombay Village
Panchayat Act 1958. Therefore, GPs in Maharashtra are able to intervene in maintenance ofland records to correct or update data not only on season-wise land use but also on
landowner-tenant relation.
Data items 9.28-9.30 in Block 9 have to rely on an assessment of knowledgeable
person or the patwari.
In the CSO Report 2014 Assam, Goa, Kerala, Meghalaya and Sikkim reported the
non-availability of data for of this block.20 Feedback reports from Kerala (the earstwhilepermanently settled area) reported that ward-wise data for this block is not available but
panchayat-wise data was collected from the District Statistical Offices.21 A feedback reportfrom Haryana (the erstwhile temporarily settled area) noted that “[accurate] data related toitems 9.24 to 9.27 are not available.”22
Data items 9.1-9.27 in Block 9 are relevant to the planning exercises for subject 1:“Agriculture,” subject 2: “Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, landconsolidation and soil conservation” and subject 6: “Social forestry and farm forestry” in the
Schedule XI of the Constitution. Data items 9.18-9.23 and 9.28-9.29 are also relevant tosubject 3: “Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development.”
Block 10: Live stock and poultry
Sl. No.

Livestock/ poultry

(1)

(2)

10.1
10.2
10.3

Cattle (including Ox, Bullock, Yak, Mithun, etc)
Buffaloes
Sheep

10.4
10.5
10.6
10.7
10.8

Goats
Horses, Ponies, Mules, Donkeys, Camels etc
Pigs
Hens and Ducks
Any other livestock and poultry

Number

Source Code

(3)

(4)

Data items in Block 10 can be obtained from the Livestock Census. However, it isdifficult to gain annual data as Livestock Census is conducted once every five years and is not
updated regularly. A feedback report from Haryana noted that “Data as per latest livestock
census are available otherwise no data related to livestock are compiled at any level.” Block 10
20

Central Statistical Organisation, Report on Basic Statistics for Local Level Development (BSLLD) Pilot Study in Rural Areas, 2014,
p. 62.
21

Ibid., p.63.

22

Ibid., p.63.

16

is relevant to subject 4: “Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry” in the Schedule XI of theConstitution.
Block 11: Number of storage and marketing outlets
Sl. No.

Marketing Outlets

(1)

11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5

Number(2)

Source Code

(3)

(4)

Fair Price shops
Mandis / Regular market
Cold storages
Godown /warehousing facility
Others shops.

As mentioned in §4-2, most data items in Block11 are not documented in thevillage-level records but are common knowledge among villagers. GP officials in both
Warwat Khanderao and Raina revealed in our interview that this information is common
knowledge. Raina GP collected some professional tax from shop owners. Block 11 is related
to subject 22: “Markets and fairs” and subject 28: “Public distribution system” in Schedule XIof the Constitution.
Block 12: Employment status (employment - unemployment) of the villagers(only for six years and above) ( In number)Sl. No.
(1)

Sectors
(2)

12.1
12.2

Self employed in Agriculture sector
Self employed in Non-Agriculture sector
Employed as Regular wage / Salaried Employee(i) In Agriculture sector(ii) Non-Agriculture sector
Rural labourer
Unemployed
Unemployed between age 15-24
Not in the labour force

12.3
12.4
12.5
12.6
12.7
12.8

Male
(3)

Female
(4)

Total
(5)

Source Code(6)

As mentioned in §4-2, data items in Block 12 are not regularly documented in thevillage-level records, nor are they common knowledge among villagers. These data items haveno documentary evidence except for the Population Census, which is not updated regularly.
Although the ICDS (Anganwadi) Village Survey Register contains a brief note on occupationin the comment column for each member of the household, it is far from enough for data on
employment status of the villagers.
According to feedback reports in the CSO Report 2014, “Category-wise village level
data on employment/unemployment are not available” (Assam); “Perfect figures of
employment and unemployment sector wise data are not available” (Gujarat); “No data are
available for employment, only estimated data are available” (Haryana); “No register is17available in any office to supplement this block. Census figures 2001 are utilized”(Kerala);“There is no proper record available at village level for compilation of employment statusdata” (Maharashtra); “Data not available” (Rajasthan); “Collection of data available isinsufficient” (Tamil Nadu); “Records are not maintained at Panchayat level” (Uttarakhand).23
Data items in Block 12 are useful for multiple purposes. For example, GPs can use
them to estimate the demand of works to be provided by the MGNREGS with regard to
subject 16: “Poverty alleviation programme” in the Schedule XI of the Constitution. As far
as Maharashtra is concerned, “Preparation of statistics of unemployment” has been
provided as the 74th subject of activities to be devolved to GPs in the Village List of theBombay Village Panchayat Act 1958. Data items in Block 12 are also relevant to subject 1:“Agriculture” (data items 12.1 and 12.3), subject 8: “Small scale industries” and subject 9:“Khadi, village and cottage industries” (data items 12.2 and 12.4).
Block 13: Migration (As per the last month of the reference period)
Out-migration
0-14
15 years
years& above
(1)

(2)

13.1
13.2

Female
Male

13.3
13.4

Female
Male

(3)

Total

Source
Code

(5)

(6)

(4)

In-migration

As there is no official system of recording migration, no accurate migration data isavailable at the village. Some data can be obtained from the comment column for eachmember of the household in the ICDS (Anganwadi) Village Survey Registers. Information ondeath, marriage or migration for to each member of the household is noted in this comment
column. However, the exact date of the event is not always available. When a new survey isconducted, the households that have migrated temporarily are deleted from the register.
Nevertheless, as mentioned in §4-3-3-1, in cases where a part of the household members
have migrated, details of all members of the undivided household are recorded even whenthe migration is permanent. In addition, special compilation will be required for generating
data for each age group.
The Population Census also collects migration data every 10 years, but it is not
updated for 10 years.
Many feedback reports in the CSO Report 2014 stated that “there is no system ofrecording migration data. So it is difficult to get exact figures.” 24 According to Kerala’s
feedback report, “registers are not available in any office.” The difficulty was solved “by23

Ibid., pp. 66-67.

24

Ibid., p. 68.

18

collecting data from oral report of knowledgeable person.”25 Maharashtra’s feedback reportin the CSO Report 2014 pointed out that “information regarding in and out migration can only
be available from records of Anganwadi register but age wise classification of thisinformation is not available. No other official record is maintained at village level.” 26
Demographic information in Block 13 is a core statistics for rural development,
which is useful for multiple purposes.

Block 14: Other social indicators: (As per the last month of the reference period)
Sl. No.

Other selected social indicators
Item
(1)

14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
14.5
14.6

NumberFemale Male

(2)

(3)

Source Code

(4)

(5)

Street children
Beggars
Juvenile Delinquent
Drug addict
Child worker (Aged 14 years and less)
Incidence of violence against women (onlycognizable reported cases)

Data items in Block 14 have no documentary evidence, which require subjective
assessment of knowledgeable persons.
The Maharashtra’s feedback report in the CSO Report 2014 noted that “these data
are collected from knowledgeable person[s] which are not reliable.”27 A feedback report from
Odisha noted that “some items of this Block are not available in the recorded form. Becauseof the social reasons people are reluctant to share information.”28
Data items 14.1-14.2 and 14.5 are related to subject 16: “Poverty alleviation
programme” etc. Data item 14.6 is relevant to subject 25: “Women and child development”
in Schedule XI of the Constitution.
Block 15: Industries and business (number of small scale enterprises and workers
therein) (As on 31st March of the reference year)

Sl.
No.

25

Ibid., p.68.

26

Ibid., p.68.

27

Ibid., p.70.

28

Ibid., p.70.

Enterprises

Only Self EmployedEnterprises(Own AccountEnterprises)
No. of No. of
Units
Self-Employed
Workers

Other Enterprises(with at least one paid worker)
No. ofUnits

19

No. ofSelf-Employed
Workers

No. ofWorkers

Paid

Source
Code

(1)

(2)

15.1

Black smith shop

15.2

Shops selling
agriculturalequipments
Agricultural seed
shop
Manufacturing offishing nets
Processing of fish

15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
15.7
15.8
15.9
15.10
15.11
15.12
15.13
15.14
15.15
15.16
15.17
15.18
15.19
15.20
15.21
15.22
15.23
15.24

15.25
15.26
15.27
15.28
15.29
15.30
15.31
15.32
15.33

(3)

Female

Male

(4)

(5)

Mining and
QuarryingWell/tube-wellmakingFlour mills
Saw mills
Sugar cane crushing
Weaving mills
Grocery shop
Tailoring
Car/Scooter /Cycle
repair shop
Tea stall
Sweet shop
Pan/bidi/cigarette
shop
Meat Shop
Slaughter House
Tyre Repair ShopGold
Smith/jewellery shop
Shoe repair shop
Brick/kiln making
Food processing(other thanfishing)
Dispensary andmedicine shop(a) Allopathic(b) Homeopathic(c) Ayurvedic
Carpentry
Restaurants(other than tea stall)
Masonry/Helpers
Rickshaw-pullers
Auto/Taxi drivers
Tutorial
Home/centre

20

(6)

FemaleMale

Female

Male

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

15.34
15.35
15.36
15.37

15.38
15.39
15.40
15.41
15.42
15.43
15.44
15.45
15.46

STD booth
Fish Shop
Poultry farming andselling
Fruits and /orVegetables Shops/
vendors
Stationary Shops
Beauty Parlour
Massage Parlour
Milk Processing
Electronic & Electric
Equipment Shop
Hardware shop
Cell phone shop
Internet Café
Any other enterprisenot listed above

Data items Block 15 are not documented in the village-level records. Neither datafrom the Industrial Development Office (IDO) nor village-level data of the Economic
Census is available with GPs. Some enterprises and workers therein may be commonly
known among villagers. However, some small informal sector enterprises should not always
be common knowladge. Raina GP collected professional tax from shop owners. Otherwise,data on number of enterprises has no documentary evidence at the village level.
Data on number of workers by type of enterprise have no documentary evidence
except for the Population Census data, which is not updated for 10 years.
According to Kerala’s feedback report in the CSO Report 2014, “Number ofenterprises, available from panchayat register is partial. Updation is only done as and when
new enterprises are registered.” “Data are collected from knowledgeable persons.” 29
According to Haryana’s feedback report, “In small villages where establishments are less,accurate data can be collected but in big villages it is based only on the knowledge of
informants.”30 According to Maharashtra’s feedback report noted that “Up-to-date record is
not maintained, specially commercial units which are outside village but inside of village
boundary are found unrecorded.”31 A feedback report from Andhra Pradesh suggested that
“6th Economics Census data can be used for this block.”32
Block 15 is obviously relevant to subject 8: “Small scale industries, including foodprocessing industries” and subject 9: “Khadi, village and cottage industries” in Schedule XIof the Constitution. Data items 15.25-15.27 are related to subject 23: “Health and sanitation,”29

Ibid., p.74.

30

Ibid., p.73.

31

Ibid., p.74.

32

Ibid., p.71.

21

which includes matters on dispensaries.
Block 16: Information on Fatality due to Disasters
Number of deaths
(1)

(2)

Sl. No.

Nameof thedisaster

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Female0-14
years

15 years
&
above

(7)

(8)

Male
Sub-Total
-1

0-14
years

15 years
&
above

(9)

(10)

Total

SourceCode

Sub-Total
-2

1
2
3
4
5

Source Codes:
1. Panchayat - 01
2. Anganwari worker - 02
3. Health worker (ANM/ FHW/ MHW/ etc.) -03
4. Patwari (Land Records) - 04
5. Village Headman - 05
6. Local School - 06
7. Local Doctor - 07
8. PHC/ Sub-Centre/ Hospital - 08
9. Knowledgeable Person / Others (Female - 09, Male - 10)

There is no GP register for data items in Block 16. 33 However, according to
feedback from states and Union Territories in the CSO Report 2014, “as such no significant
problem was faced by them for compilation/collection of information for this block.”34 In
Maharashtra the patwari reports to Tehsildar and District Collector about information ondeaths caused by disasters.
§6-1-2 Documentary evidence of the Village Schedule Data on BSLLD
The Village Schedule on BSLLD is a framework for the compilation not only of
secondary data (existing records and registers) but also information from knowledgeable
persons. However, as described in §4-3-5-1, most of the data items in the Schedule isassumed to have documentary evidence. A set of village-level data sources that has alreadybeen documented by local-level functionaries should exist in parallel to most of data items inthe Village Schedule.
33

This Block has been inserted in the Village Schedule on BSLLD since the Phase III of the MoSPI’s pilot study
commissioned in 2012-13. Before that, no such Block was contained in the Schedule. Therefore, we have not conduct aninterview on this Block on the spot.

34

Ibid., p.75.

22

For villages in Raina GP that were actually covered by the pilot scheme of the
MoSPI on BSLLD in its Phase I since 2009, we acertain that all the data items in the Village
Schedule were filled up. However, as observed above, some data items in the Village Scheduleare not obtained from the village-level records or registers. Some data items in Block 2, Block
3, Block 4, Block 11 etc. are not documented but are obviously common knowledge among
villagers. For example, as GP is a meeting place for the villagers, the probability of getting
correct information on data items in Block 4: “Distance from the nearest facility” is very high.
However, some data items are not documented in any village-level records, nor are they
common knowledge among villagers. Some data items require aggregation of a large numberof information so that subjective assessment of knowledgeable persons is not adequate.
These include data items in the following blocks:
Block 9: Land utilization (even in the erstwhile temporarily settled area);
Block 12: Employment status;
Block 13: Migration; andBlock 15: Industries and business
As mentioned in §4-3-3-4, there is no land record on operational holdings even in
the erstwhile temporarily settled area like Warwat Khanderao. There is no updated land use
record in the earstwhile permanently settled area like Raina. Although the ICDS (Anganwadi)
Village Survey Register contains a brief note on occupation and migration in the comment
column for each member of the household, the note is neither necessarily accurate nor
exhaustive. Although village-level data of the Economic Census should include data on
small-scale enterprises and workers therein, it is not disclosed at present.
Therefore, data items in these blocks need substantial refinement35 and may berationalized to improve their quality. However, these data items are not unimportant for therural development. Thus, a fundamental reform may also be introduced in these data sources.
The recording systems kept by village-level functionaries may be fundamentally re-organised.
Kerala’s feedback report in the CSO Report 2014 suggested, for example, that bypaying a yearly honorarium to ICDS (Anganwadi) workers, their services can be utilised formaintaining and updating registers in accordance with the Village Schedule with thepermission of the state government. 36 The Expert Committee on BSLLD has also
recommended that staff, particularly the Panchayat Secretary in coordination with ICDS
(Anganwadi) workers, ANMs and Revenue Officials, to work on obtaining financial support
for the compilation of village level statistics at the GP level.
35

Central Statistical Organisation, Report of High Level Expert Committee on Basic Statistics for Local Level Development, 2006, p.
17. “The ‘Village Schedule’ in its present form needs substantial refinement and clarity on the basis of the experience gained
through pilot studies regarding data availability.”

36

Central Statistical Organisation, Report on Basic Statistics for Local Level Development (BSLLD) Pilot Study in Rural Areas, 2014,
p. 56 and p. 58.

23

As mentioned in §5-1-1-3, an important recommendation made by the Expert
Committee on BSLLD is to establish formal data sharing mechanisms between thepanchayat and different agencies working in the panchayat area. In §5-3-1 we discussed apossible data-sharing mechanism to keep a village-level population list (People’s List). In
addition, data on occupation or migration may be included in the list if it is urgently required.
Such a reform in village-level recording system may cater to the data requirement in Block 12
and Block 13. As mentioned in §4-3-3-4, Maharashtran GPs have the potential to establish adata-sharing mechanism with patwari agencies to intervene in maintenance of land records tocorrect and update data regarding season-wise land use or data regarding landowner-tenant
relation. It is statutorily possible for Gram Sabhas in Maharashtra to have disciplinary control
over patwari system under the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958 as amended in 2003. Suchintervention will develop the land records to meet the data requirement in Block 9.37 As for
GPs in West Bengal, those data of Agricultural census or data of the scheme for the EARAS
would be useful, which are to be taken through a complete listing by house-to-house enquiry
about operational holders. Otherwise, land use information might be added to the land
records maintained by the Block Land and Land Reform Office (BLLRO) and village-level
Revenue Inspector (R.I.). Sub-State level data of the Economic Census might be disclosed to
examine its discrepancies and use it for data items in Block 11 and Block 15.
6-1-3 Planning exercise at the GP level and the possible use of the Village Schedule on BSLLD
As mentioned in §5 of chapter 2, the planning exercise is feasible just for thefunctional domain with a high degree of autonomy. In any case, a panchayat cannot make any
plan concerning functions outside its functional domain. The planning exercise of apanchayat is possible only within its functional domain. The planning of a panchayat is noother than the planning of its particular functional domain. Therefore, we should evaluate
the utility of the Village Schedule on BSLLD in relation to the functional domain of theparticular panchayat.
The utility of the Village Schedule on BSLLD depends on the tier of PRI— GP,
Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad— because the Activity Mapping should differ from tierto tier. The Village Schedule on BSLLD assumes the utilisation at the GP and district levels.
In fact one copy of the Village Schedules is to be retained at the GP as a “permanent
document for every village,”38 and another copy is to be sent to the District Statistical Office(DSO).39 Its utility at the GP level will be different from the utility at the district level.
37

The State government may disclose to the panchayats the village-level spatial data on geographical information system(GIS), as has already been made public in the Google Maps. It will help the panchayats to check the reliability of cadastral
map and land use information maintained by patwari.

38

Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, Report on
Basic Statistics for Local Level Development (BSLLD) Pilot Study in Rural Areas, 2014, p. 148.

39

Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, Basic
Statistics for Local Level Development: Instructions for Data Recordist, Volume I, p. 4. “Three copies of both the village schedules areto be filled-in. One copy is to be retained at the village, second copy at the Panchayat, and the third copy is to be sent to the246-1-3-1 Utility of the Village Schedule on BSLLD in Warwat Khanderao GP
As described in §3-2-2-12, “Preparation of plans for the development of thevillage” is a function listed in Schedule I (Village List) of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act,
1958. The GP is to place, before the first meeting of the Gram Sabha in every financial year,“the development and other programme of work proposed for the current financial year”(Section 8).
Nevertheless, as observed in §3-2-2-12, all of the Village Schedule data on BSLLD
would not be required so keenly in Warwat Khanderao GP for the purpose of “preparationof plans for the development of the village.” The authority of Warwat Khanderao GP tocarry out the planning exercises is substantially limited on the ground. Information in the
Village Schedule on BSLLD will be “excessive” for the Warwat Khanderao GP, considering
the narrow space of autonomy of its functional domain. At present the GP may fill in mostdata items not to use for its own planning exercises but to send to the district office.
As mentioned in §3-2-2-8, most schemes in Warwat Khanderao, except for
schemes for drinking water, roads, sanitation, ICDS, MGNREGS, public distribution are
implemented by agencies such as line departments, Tehsildar, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad.
As described in detail in §5-1-1-2, most of subject functions regarding the primary sector,
such as subject 1: “Agriculture, including agricultural extension,” subject 2: “Land
improvement, soil conservation and land reform,” subject 3: “Minor irrigation” and subject
4: “Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry” in the Schedule XI of the Constitution are inpractice assigned to Panchayat Samiti or Tehsildar. Under the Right to Education Act, 2009,
almost no function is assigned to Warwat Khanderao GP with regard to subject 17:“Education, including primary and secondary schools.” The sarpanch insisted that functions
assigned to Warwat Khanderao GP with regard to social welfare and poverty alleviation
programme is only the basic formalities such as completing paperwork, and the rest is
implemented by Panchayat Samiti or Tehsildar. The GP has a limited responsibility to suggest awish list of beneficiaries for some schemes such as the IAY and the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar
Yojna. Unlike Raina GP, Warwat Khanderao GP does not receive funds directly fromgovernment agencies for the IAY and IGNOAPS. Although Warwat Khanderao GP is
considered as a direct implementing agency for the MGNREGS, it is not functional partly
because the wage rate under MGNREGS is lower than that of agricultural work in this area.
The SHGs are organised by the NGO in Warwat Khanderao and the Panchayat Samiti
implements the SGSY for Warwat Khanderao. Warwat Khanderao GP has no particularcommitment to the SHGs’ activities. Warwat Khanderao GP has no specific role regarding
subject 8: “Small scale industries” and subject 9: “Khadi, village and cottage industries.”
Besides, as mentioned in §3-2-2-5, there is no strong coordinating mechanism
concerned DSO.”

25

between the Warwat Khanderao GP and village-level functionaries working in the PRI,
independently of the Panchayati Raj setup. The only village-level functionaries with which
the GP has a coordination mechanism are ICDS (Anganwadi) workers. However, as
mentioned in §4-3-3-1, both Mahila Baal Samiti and Bal Vikas Samiti are not functional in
Warwat Khanderao.
Thus, in most functional domains provided in Schedule XI of the Constitution,
Warwat Khanderao GP cannot act even as an implementing agency of the State or Central
government. The institutional mechanisms of the Central and State schemes bypass andignore the GP or at best, seek only a “cursory and token linkage.”40 However, even if the GP
has no specific role in implementing the scheme except for completing paperwork for otheragencies, the GP cannot be uninformed about the matters. The GP is made responsible forsuch formalities. Broadly speaking, such a responsibility is also a matter of self-governance.
The GP cannot have its own vision and initiative for planning exercise in such a functional
domain. As mentioned in §3-2-2-8, any decision-making for its resource allocation andproject execution rests with outside agencies.
The only area of functions, for which Warwat Khanderao GP can carry out“envisioning” a feasible plan, is functional domain related to schemes for drinking water,roads and sanitation, ICDS, and public distribution etc. Water supply scheme is the importantdevelopment activitiy in Warwat Khanderao GP. In fact, as shown in Table xxx in §5-4-2,
water tax is a major source of income for Warwat Khanderao GP. As mentioned in §4-3-3-1,
the ICDS (Anganwadi) Centre is becoming fully functional in Warwat Khanderao. The ICDS
(Anganwadi) workers sometimes jointly work with ANM and ASHA. Accordingly, requisite
data items in the Village Schedule on BSLLD to carry out micro level planning in Warwat
Khanderao GP has to be focused on this limited functional domain. As described in §3-2-2-8,
the GP has little responsibility for the rest of the functional area. For example, the Warwat
Khanderao GP does not require data items in Block 8: “Education,” Block 12: “Employment
status,” and Block 15: “Industries and business” for use in the village-level planning, even if
these data items actually reflect the subjects of great interest for the villagers.
However, the Village Schedule data on BSLLD is relevant to a broader range offunctions of the concerned Panchayat Samiti. In Maharashtra the scope of autonomous spacein the functional domain is broader in Panchayat Samiti than in the GPs under the Panchayat
Samiti. As mentioned in detail in §5-1-1-2, responsibility of some schemes implemented in
Warwat Khanderao is assigned not to the GP but to the Panchayat Samiti. For example,
identification of beneficiaries of schemes such as distribution of subsidised agricultural
inputs is assigned to Panchayat Samiti with regard to subject 1: “Agriculture” in Schedule XI of
40

Planning Commission, Manual for Integrated District Planning, 2008, p. 6. “the institutional mechanisms envisaged continue
to bypass Panchayats or at best, seek only a cursory and token linkage. Most such schemes envisage a line department
sponsored hierarchy of missions and parallel bodies for actual planning and implementation.”26

the Constitution. The SGSY is implemented by the Panchayat Samiti for Warwat Khanderao.
As witnessed by the sarpanch, although the GP only fills the forms for poverty alleviation
programme, the rest of the work is done by the Panchayat Samiti. It is in a sharp contrast to
Raina GP where these functions are partly assigned to its sub-GP bodies, Gram Sansads.
However, the power of the BDO to carry out planning exercises is somewhat
limited. As mentiond in §3-2-2-12, although “sector planning officers” in the BDO—a sector
refers to a geographical area comprising of 10-15 villages—are responsible for all planning
activities for each scheme/programme (of the Ministry of Rural Development) with the helpof the Gram Sevak, the power of the BDO is limited compared to the Tehsildar.41 While the
BDO is the executive officer for all matters related to the panchayat, the Tehsildar is theProgramme Officer for all programmes under the Ministry of Rural Development.
6-1-3-2 Utility of the Village Schedule on BSLLD in Raina GP
The Village Schedule data on BSLLD is usable in Raina to compile minimum
number of statistics for planning exercises. Information in the Village Schedule will not be
excessive for Raina GP, considering its autonomous space in the functional domain.
As described in §3-2-2-12, the West Bengal Panchayati Raj Act, 1973 authorises alltiers of PRIs to prepare annual and five-year plans. Furthermore, the West Bengal State
government pursued a bottom-up type planning exercise with a special focus on GPs andtheir Gram Sansads. The emphasis of development activities was placed on the GP and Gram
Sansad-levels in West Bengal. At the Gram Sansad-level, the Gram Unnayan Samitis (village
development committee) have been entrusted the task of preparing village-level plans(“Action Plan”), which shall be the basis of the GP plan.
Indeed, Raina GP (and its Gram Sansads) has a certain autonomous space in its
functional domain to carry out planning exercises. Certainly, Raina GP and its Gram Sansads
also act as implementing agencies of the state or the centre schemes as in Maharashtra. The
authority of a GP and its Gram Sansads to carry out planning exercises is limited in West
Bengal like those in Maharashtra. The projects that can be taken up under the different typesof schemes and funds are specified by the funding authority of the State or the Central
government. Nevertheless, the authority of GPs in West Bengal to carry out planning
exercises was not as limited as in Maharashtra. First, devolution of finance and functionaries
to GPs was more advanced in West Bengal than in Maharashtra. In numerous schemes, GPs
41

In addition to the revenue administrative duties, the Tahsildar is responsible “to the Collector and the Sub-Divisional
Officer whom he has to keep constantly informed of all political happenings, out break of epidemics and other matters in
the area within his jurisdiction. He generally helps or guides the officers of other departments in the execution of theirrespective duties in so far as his tahsil is concerned. He is responsible for holding the cattle census. The Tahsildar is also
expected to propagate co-operative principles in his tahsil. The Tahsildar's position in relation to the tahsil officers of otherdepartments, e. g., the station officers of the Police Department, the Sub-Registrar, the Range Forest Officer, Medical
Officer. Postmaster, etc., is not definable. Though they are not subordinate to him they are grouped round him and are
expected to help and co-operate with him in their spheres. ….Though the Tahsildar is not expected to work directly for local
bodies he is usually the principal source of
the Collector's information about them.”<http://akola.nic.in/gazetteers/maharashtra/gen_admin_tahsildar.html> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.

27

receive funds directly from government agencies. Second, GPs in West Bengal and its Gram
Sansads have some policy handles to mobilise their communities using government schemes
such as MGNREGS and SGSY. Although such schemes are tied to pre-determined
objectives provided by the Central Government, they leave considerable scope for the own
priorities of each GP.
As mentioned in §5-1-1-2, the Gram Unnayan Samities (GUSs) of each Gram Sansad
was able to select beneficiaries for distribution of subsidised inputs for primary sector on thebasis of the number of GP-wise or Gram Sansad-wise beneficiaries specified by line
departments such as the Agriculture Department and the Animal Resources Development
Department. The GUSs were able to identify projects in the Action Plans for land
improvement. Based on these Action Plans the GP prepares estimates and sends project
proposals to the BDO that approves the budget and sends the funds to GP. The GP was able
to identify locations for Minor Irrigation projects and their beneficiaries. Vaccination ofanimals against epidemic was also a function assigned to the GP. In order to execute social
forestry projects in wastelands and on roadsides, the GP was able to select sites for planting
and execution of the work through SHGs or GUSs.
In this functional domain pertaining to primary sector, the scope of autonomous
space for the GP to carry out planning exercises is limited, tied to pre-determined objectives
provided by the line departments. However, the GP or the Gram Sansads can selectbeneficiaries or locations of the schemes for their own priorities. All data items in Block 9:“Land Utilization” and Block 10: “Live stock and poultry” are relevant to the planning
exercises for this functional domain. Data items 2.5-2.6 (on irrigation) in Block 2, data items
3.4-3.5 (on orchards and forest areas) in Block 3 and data item 4.20 (on veterinary
sub-centre/dispensary) in Block 4 are also relevant to this functional domain.
As mentioned in §5-1-1-2, the GP was able to identify school-less mouzas orhamlets for opening alternative school education scheme— Sishu Siksha Karmasuchi (SSK) andMadhyamik Siksha Karmasuchi (MSK) and send proposal to Panchayat Samiti. The PRI in West
Bengal took the initiative in this alternative school education scheme. Adult and non-formal
education through the Adult High Schools and the Continuing Education Centre, andestablishment of libraries are assigned to GP. For the purpose of planning exercises in thisfunctional domain pertaining to education, all data items in Block 8: “Education,” data item 2.9(on adult education course) in Block 2, data items 4.6-4.19, 4-36-4.38 and 4.49 (on distancefrom the nearest education facilities) in Block 4 are usable.
As mentioned in §5-1-1-2, the GP was assigned a wide variety of functions withregard to subject 23: “Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres anddispensaries” and subject 25: “Women and child development” in the Schedule XI of theConstitution. The GP maintained and supervised sub-centres of the PHC. The GP was able
to organise SHGs for women and involve SHGs in monitoring community health. Disease
surveillance to pre-empt outbreak and preventive measures against spread of communicable28

diseases were also functions assigned to the GP. The GP worked with the Health
Department to implement programmes under the National Rural Health Mission.
Coordination of ICDS (Anganwadi) activities and construction of ICDS (Anganwadi) centres
were additional functions assigned to the GP. The GP can assist couples in family planningwith regard to subject 24: “Family welfare” in the Schedule XI. As mentioned in §3-2-2-5, theGP in West Bengal took initiative for convergence of public health activities through themonthly Fourth Saturday Meeting at the GP office with the ICDS supervisor, the ANM andhealth supervisor, representatives of SHGs, and Panchayat officials. The meeting reviewed
the performance of different departments in delivery of public health services likeimmunization, ante- and post- natal services, registration of births and deaths, nutritional
status of children, water supply and sanitation. The meeting “encourages the PRIs to chalkout their action plan for improvement with local interventions.”42
Therefore, all data items in Block 5: “Demographic information,” Block 6:“Morbidity, Disability and Family Planning,” and Block 7: “Health manpower” are relevant to
the planning exercises for this functional domain pertaining to health and child development. Data
item 2.14 in Block 2, data item 3.8 in Block 3, data items 4.21-4.28 (on distance from thenearest medical facilities) and 4.45 in Block 4, data item 14.6 in Block 14, and data items
15.25-15.27 in Block 15 are also relevant to this functional domain.
As mentioned in §5-1-1-2, GPs in West Bengal is a direct implementing agency forsome government schemes, such as Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Indira Awaas Yojana(IAY), Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Provident Fund forLandless Agricultural Labourers (PROFLAL), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS),
Kishori Shakti Yojana and Balika Sambriddhi Yojana. In each of these schemes the GPs received
funds directly from the government agencies. The GP can identify the projects in the GP
area to be taken up under the MGNREGS and can prepare a development plan, considering
the recornmendations of the Gram Sabha and the Gram Sansad meetings. In this respect the
MGNREGA leaves a certain scope for the priorities of each GP. In addition the GP and its
Gram Sansads in West Bengal was able to mobilise the people utilising SHGs under the SGSY.
Convergence of SGSY with MGNREGS was also pursued in West Bengal, getting assistanceof the SHGs for MGNREGS. 43 Identification and selection of beneficiaries for IAY,
IGNOAPS and NFBS were carried out through Gram Sansads. The GP also selected
beneficiaries for Antyoday and Annapurna schemes with regard to subject 28: “Publicdistribution system” in Schedule XI of the Constitution. Thus, although the GP and its Gram
Sansads in West Bengal were implementing agencies of the State or the Centre government as
in Maharashtra and the authority of GP and its Gram Sansads to carry out planning exercise islimited as in Maharashtra, some schemes such as MGNREGS and SGSY leave considerable
42

Panchayats and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal, Annual Administrative Report 2006-07, p. 49.

43

Panchayats and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal, Annual Administrative Report 2008-09, pp. 95-97

29

scope for the own priorities of each GP.
Thus, all data items in Block 5: “Demographic information”— especially data
items 5.3-5.5—Block 12: “Employment status,” Block 14: “Other social indicators”—
especially data items 14.1-14.2 and 14.5—are relevant to the planning exercises for thisfunctional domain pertaining to poverty alleviation and social welfare. Data item 3.7 (on houses
according to structure) in Block 3 and data item 2.8 (on self help group) in Block 2 are also
relevant to this functional domain. Data items 4.36-4.39 and data items 6.3-6.7 may also be
related to social welfare. Data items 4.31 and 11.1 are relevant to the public distribution
system. Block 13: “Migration” is usable for multiple purposes.
As in the case of Warwat Khanderao GP, Riana GP constructs wells, tanks, tube
wells (ordinary hand pump) with regard to subject 11: “Drinking water” in Schedule XI of
the Constitution. The GP also issues a certificate on the electrification of mouzas with regard
to subject 14: “Rural electrification” in the Schedule XI. Maintenance of community assets
such as public tanks, ghats, public channels, reservoirs, wells, streets, drains, culverts, lamp
posts etc. is also assigned to the GP with regard to subject 29: “Maintenance of community
assets.” Creation of durable assets and strengthening the livelihood resource base of the rural
poor are an important objective of the MGNREGS. The principle of community ownershipand maintenance is applied for such assets. As mentioned in §5-1-1-2, the MGNREGS isfocused on water conservation, drought proofing, irrigation, renovation of traditional water
bodies, land development, flood control and protection works, rural connectivity to provide
all-weather access and any other work which may be notified by the Central Government in
consultation with the State Government44 Therefore, the GP is expected to identify suchprojects in the GP area and prepare a development plan. Thus, the GP has an autonomous
space in creation of community assets with regard to the MGNREGS.
Data items 2.1-2.2, 2.4-2.6, 2.12-2.13 and 2.15 in Block 2: “Availability of somebasic facilities”, data item 3.6 in Block 3: “Village Infrastructure” and data items 4.3-4.5 inBlock 4 are relevant to the planning exercises for this functional domain pertaining to
infrastructure.
With regard to subject 8: “Small scale industries” in Schedule XI of theConstitution, the GP can facilitate group formation for khadi, village and cottage industries
and identify needs for skill development training. However, we could not find any specificrole of Raina GP in respect to this functional domain. The GP can also manage hat/bazar
transferred to GP. The GP can construct and regulate markets, and it can hold and regulate
fairs, melas and hats.
Block 15: “Industries and business,” Block 11: “Number of storage and marketingoutlets” and data item 12.2 (on self employed in non-agriculture sector) in Block 12 can be
usable for the planning exercises for this functional domain pertaining to industry and commerce.

44

Schedule I of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.

30

6-1-3-3 What is the best minimum database content for use in planning exercise?
Thus, autonomous space in its functional domain is limited for Warwat Khanderao
GP so that the GP cannot make full use of the data items in the Village Schedule for the
purpose of planning exercise. Assessment of the functional devolution to GPs in
Maharashtra is beyond our discussion in this study. Nontheless, we can say that thedevolution of functions provided in the Schedule I (Village List) of the Bombay Village
Panchayats Act, 1958 is much greater than actual status of devolution to Warwat Khanderao
GP.
However, almost all the Village Schedule data was relevant to the GP-level
planning exercise in Raina. It was partly usable even for Gram Sansads as well. Raina GP had
an autonomous space in its functional domain so as to make full use of most data items in the
Village Schedule for the planning exercise. As mentioned in §3-2-2-7, however, the scope of
Activity Mapping of West Bengal was still limited. The West Bengal State Government
provided a roadmap that went beyond the limited functional domain defined by the Activity
Mapping.45 In order to go beyond the functional domain deleaniated by the Activity Mapping,GPs in West Bengal may require more data items than items in the Village Schedule.
The framework of the Village Schedule is only a minimum list of variables on
which data are to be collected at the village level. That should reflect the highest-priority
needs for planning exercises in all three tiers of the PRI. In fact we have found a certain
relationship between each data item in the Village Schedule and the GP-level functional
domain provided in the actual Activity Mapping, particularly in the case of Raina GP.
However, further discussion will be required about whether or not each data item is actually
the best minimum data content for use in the planning exercise of the PRI. It is a very
difficult question. Even though each data item in the Village Schedule seems to be related to
one or more subject functions in the actual Activity Mapping of the panchayat, it does notmean that the data item has actually the most adequate data content and is versatile enough tocater to any data requirements in all tiers of PRI in every state. This study tentatively respects
the achievement of effort made so far to identify the framework of the Village Schedule. The
framework was provided on the basis of review of the efforts made in the past by various
groups and committees in India, and the framework has been repeatedly tested and modified
through extensive pilot studies.

§2. Village-level Data Sources to Supplement the Village Schedule on
BSLLD for Planning Exercises

45

Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Government of West Bengal, Roadmap for the Panchayats in West Bengal: A
Vision Document, 2009.

31

Both the Warwat Khanderao and Raina GPs and Gram Sansads in Raina have toreturn to the village data sources to carry out their planning exercises. They have to consult
the village-level data sources behind the Village Schedule on BSLLD. For the planning
exercises, the GPs (and Gram Sansads) can supplement the Village Schedule data with the
databases maintained by the GP and other village-level satellite agencies. The main data
sources at the village have been described in Chapter 4.
As mentioned in §4-3-5-1, the Village Schedule on BSLLD is a mere framework tosummarize the village-level secondary data along with personal assessment of knowledgeable
persons (and common knowledge among villagers). As shown in Figure 1, there is a set ofdata sources in the village in parallel to most data items of the Village Schedule. Therefore,
the data recordist is requested to compile as much data as possible from the village-level
records.46 However, the village dataset is used as more than documentary evidence for the
Village Schedule. The GPs (and Gram Sansads) have to return to the village-level data sourcesthat are not reflected in the Village Schedule.

Figure 1

The Village Schedule framework on BSLLD
The data sources in existence at the village

Undocumented
Comon Knowledge
Knowledgeable Persons

6-2-1 Supplementary data on current and past performance of the particular panchayat and its satellite
agencies
A GP (and Gram Sansads) requires those data on its current and past performance in its
functional domain, which are more than the Village Schedule data. For the planning exercises,
the GPs (and Gram Sansads) need to supplement the Village Schedule data with data on
current status and history of performance of the particular GP and its satellite agencies.
Without data on current and past performance of the GP and its satellite agencies
working in the GP’s functional domain, the GP (and Gram Sansads) cannot assess progressand shortfalls, and gaps in output in implementing the previous plans. Without such
performance data, the GP (and Gram Sansads) would not only be unable to prepare plans for
future, but also unable to monitor the execution (“output”) of the previous plan.
In §5-1-1-2, we have discussed data on the current status of performance of theparticular GP and its satellite agencies working in the GP’s functional domain. Actually, manyrecords and registers are documented as a part of functions performed by village-level
46

Central Statistical Office (2014), p. 125 and p. 131.

32

functionaries and the records and registers describe their functional domain. These data
sources have been described in §4-1 of chapter 4 as “registers and records collected andmaintained by the GP” and “registers and records collected and maintained by othervillage-level agencies.”
Work done by the GP and its satellite agencies and assets created through the work
are documented in these records and registers. For example, Raina GP has a “Works Register”
to keep track of public works done by GP under various schemes. Panchayat Acts in bothStates (Section 8 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958 and Section 18 of the West
Bengal Panchayati Raj Act, 1973) require the GP to prepare for the Gram Sabha a reportshowing any work and activities done under different projects, programmes or schemes.
In addition to the registers on their work and assets, many lists ofbeneficiaries—such as IAY beneficiaries list, Annapurna Anna Yojana beneficiary list,
beneficiaries list of the paani parota yojana, MGNREGS register and records at the PHC (andits Sub-Centres) —are generated in the functional domain of the GPs and their satellite
agencies. Village-wide aggregate data (statistics) can be produced from these lists ofbeneficiaries to work out key indicators for the planning exercise.47
A retrospective review of their functional domain will be also required for a GP
(and Gram Sansads) to have a long-term vision for their planning exercises. For the
retrospective review, an archive of data on their functional domain will be necessary. The
Activity Mapping of West Bengal provided the following functions to be assigned to GP withregard to subject 20: “Libraries” in Schedule XI of the Constitution:
Sending copies of guidelines and booklets for all development programs, Annual Report,
Budget, Annual Plan of GP, and information on social issues to Rural Library or Community
Library cum Information Centre (CLIC) for general information of public.

Needless to say, the copy of the Village Schedules retained at the GP may also be stored as a“permanent document for every village”48 every year to highlight some significant features ofdevelopment or thereof in chronological order.
6-2-2 Supplementary data to re-examine the unrecorded object domain of functionings of the panchayat andits satellite agencies
As mentioned in §2-2-2, we often find unrecorded object domain of functionings of thepanchayat and its satellite agencies outside the coverage of their administrative registers andrecords. In §2-2-2 we discussed, for examples, unrecorded eligible BPL households excluded

47

Manual for Integrated District Planning mentions about “Summary of processes followed for getting the village/ward-levelwish-lists prepared”. [Planning Commission (2008), p. 129.]

48

Central Statistical Organisation (2014), p. 148.

33

in the BPL list, and unregistered children outside the coverage of the Civil Registration
System (CRS).
The data recordist of the Village Schedule on BSLLD is requested to compile asmuch data from these records and registers as possible, there may also be unrecorded domain
outside the coverage of the Village Schedule data. The accuracy of the documentary
evidence of the Village Schedule is limited in this regard. However, the GPs (and Gram
Sansads) may need data or information on the unrecorded object domain of functionings ofthe panchayat and its satellite agencies so as to ascertain unknown administrative needs forthe planning exercises.
As mentioned in §2 of chaper 5, in order to reveal unrecorded area for thefunction of a panchayat and its satellite agencies, a cross-check is sometimes possible
between data in the Village Schedule and other data or information. For example, both
Warwat Khanderao and Raina GP made a cross-check on their BPL lists by conducting ahouse-to-house independent re-survey. In order to explore the possible object domain
outside the coverage of birth registration in the CRS, the panchayat can cross-check the CRS
data with other administrative records such as the ICDS (Anganwadi) child registers andrecords at the Primary Health Centre (PHC). In §5-2-4 we have discussed some possible
cross-checks of data for major functions of the panchayat.
As mentioned in §2 of chapter 5, a data-share between the panchayat and different
agencies will be required for the purpose of cross-checking village-level records or registers.
The recommendation made by the Expert Committee on BSLLD (see §5-1-1-3) to establish
formal data sharing mechanisms between the panchayat and different agencies working at thepanchayat area is not only for the purpose of saving the cost of additional data collection but
also for the purpose of cross-checking the quality of those different data sources. The data
sharing in West Bengal at the Fourth Saturday Meeting among the GP, ICDS (Anganwadi)
centre, and Block Health Centre is a good example. As mentioned in §4-3-3-1, data on
institutional births collected from Health Department officials and the number of children
born at home collected from the ICDS (Anganwadi) worker were combined and compiled at
the GP office to prepare the monthly chart. This data-sharing mechanism may make itpossible to cross-check the quality of data from different sources.49
Some types of information on village community are common knowledge to most50
villagers. Therefore, as mentioned in §2 of chapter 5, certain common knowledge among
villagers in the GP or sub-GP body, and ultimately, under the direct democracy of thevillagers, common knowledge among Gram Sabha members can be reference information ofsuch cross-checks. In both Warwat Khanderao and Raina GP, initial doubts about the BPL
list were raised by the common knowledge among villagers. Thus, common knowledge

49

Bakshi, A. and Okabe, J. (2011), p. 26.

50

Ibid., pp. 24-25 and p. 27.

34

among villagers is significant information, even though the assessment through the common
knowledge is not necessarily conclusive.
6-2-3 Supplementary data on public finance of the concerned GP
As mentioned in chapter 2, the Village Schedule on BLLSD focuses on the Data Needs III(data required for micro-level planning and its implementation). However, the planning
exercise is constrained by the budget. Therefore, it is debatable whether or not data items on
financial status of the concerned GP are to be included in the Village Schedule on BSLLD.
At present the Village Schedule does not include data items on panchayat finance so that it
has to be supplemented with financial data of the concerned GP, as discussed in §3 ofchapter 5 in the context of Data Needs II.
For the planning exercise of a GP, financial data on all schemes and programmes
including those carried out by outside agencies within the GP’s functional domain will be also
required.51 As mentioned in §5-4-5, various documents such as state budget documents andcentral government documents are required for detailed information. According to the
Manual for Integrated District Planning, this resource-mapping exercise below the block level
often becomes a process of reconstruction of the financial picture from available bits andpieces of data.52
6-2-4 Unit-level information for the planning exercise of the GP (and Gram Sansads)
The GP (and Gram Sansads) often requires unit-level information for its planning exercise.
The GPs (and Gram Sansads) are the administrative institutions closest to the local situationon the ground, and the nearest available administrative institutions for people living in thevillages. The closer the administrative institution is to the grass-root situation, the more often
unit-level information is required. While aggregate data with a macroscopic view is more
often required for administrative units at the district than at the village level, unit-level data ismore often required for the village level than for the district level. The Village Schedule on
BSLLD is to compile aggregate data, and cannot include full details of unit-level information
or lists of households, persons, events, facilities or establishments, or of plots or areas.
A list of every unit to be concerned is the direct base of aggregate data (statistics).
But the list is more than that. The list of every unit is more flexible for multiple uses inplanning exercises than the already aggregated data (statistics) produced from the list. The
GP can at its disposal retrieve a particular group of units from the list for a planning exercise.
Disaggregated number on the group can be also produced from that. Among other things, apriority list can also be made from the list.
51

Planning Commission (2008), p. 78. Therefore, the Planning Commission suggests that the overall responsibility ofmapping budgets and conveying them to every panchayat should be the responsibility of the State and the District Planning
Committee. [Ibid., p. 77]
52

Planning Commission (2008), p. 78. “below the block level, the resource-mapping exercise often becomes a process ofreconstruction of the financial picture from available bits and pieces of data.”

35Preparation of priority list of beneficiaries, priority list of facilities to beconcerned, priority list of schemes to be implemented is, in practice, an integral part of a
micro-level planning exercise. For example, as mentioned in §5-1-1-2, whenever the
Agricultural Department distributes mini-kits, fertilizers, seeds, and other benefits in Raina, it
specifies to the Raina GP the number of beneficiaries to select from each panchayat or Gram
Sansad. The beneficiaries are selected by the GUS. In this process, unit-level information isindispensable for the GP and the GUSs to select the beneficiaries, while the Agricultural
Department requires only approximate figures to estimate the number of beneficiaries andthe quantity of subsidised inputs for them. Without an exhaustive check list of eligible
persons or households, the Table 35 Village Served by Various Amenities(Per cent of Total Inhabited Villages)
selection of beneficiaries could
1981
1991
not be done objectively and the Amenity Provided
subsidised inputs would not Education
90.44
93.27
17.4
31.01
properly reach each beneficiary. Medical
100
100
In
WarwatKhanderao, Drinking Water
28.57
29.63
however, announcement of Post and Telegraph
10.92
10.55
such schemes was made by a Market/Hat
Communication
47.32
64.44
drum-beater.
37.44
42.23
The possibility to Pucca Road
67.08
95.76
establish the People’s List has Power Supply
been discussed in §5-3-1. The Source: Planning Commission of the Government of India, Maharashtra State
Development Report, Academic Foundation, 2007, p. 239.
People’s List is a list of every
Note: These figures are compiled from Census 1981 and 1991.
unit (resident) that can also be
used in people-oriented micro-level planning exercises.
Furthermore, the GP often requires unit-level information on the location, quality
and maintenance of village facilities. The GP will not be content with information on theexistence (or non-existence) or total number of village facilities as recorded in data items inthe Village Schedule on BSLLD (Block 2: Availability of some basic facilities, Block 3: Village
Infrastracture and Block 4: Distance from the nearest facility). Obviously, the information on
the existence (or non-existence) of the facilities is for use in the upper-level administrative
units such as in the block, the district or the State. This data is certainly very useful, forinstance, to figure out district-wide indicators such as percentage of “villages served by eachfacility” in their jurisdiction as illustrated in Table 35. These indicators show the performanceacross different types of amenities provided by such upper-level administrative units. These
indicators assess progress, shortfalls, and gaps in the performance of the upper-level
administrative units. However, the utility of the information on the existence (ornon-existence) of these facilities is obviously not very useful in the GP. Required information
on its facilities should be more detailed. For example, information on “Major source ofdrinking water for the village (tap-1, tube well/hand pump-2, well-3, reserved tank for drinking
water-4, any other source-9)” in data item 2.4 in Block 2 may not be very useful for Warwat
36

Khanderao GP that has the GP register: Item no. 10 Tax Collection Receipt Book with a precise
description of two 18,000-litre water tanks, a tubewell and a 5000-litre tank filled with thistubewell.
The development plan and the shelf of possible works to be taken up under the
MGNREGA scheme require information on existing village infrastructures, such as watertanks, watershed protection, irrigation facilities, water bodies, status of land, drainage, andrural roads. However, the required type of information will be unit-level data on location,
quality and maintenance of each infrastructure.
Table 36 Population size of administrative units
In West Bengal the Core
District level
Network Plan (CNWP) consisting of
Buldana
2,586,258 every road and road to be constructed to
Barddhaman
7,717,563
eligible unconnected habitations under
Block level
the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
Sangrampur
137,092(PMGSY) has been ported on GIS-based
Raina - I
180,952
maps for each block.53
GP level
Some unit-level information
Warwat Khanderao1479
may be common knowledge among the
Raina
15569
Gram Sabha members. In that case, thesub-GP level
recording of such units will be
Bidyanidhi
719
unnecessary
paperwork.
However,
Source: Census of India 2011
unit-level information regarding a large
number of units such as population, households, houses, etc. is often beyond common
knowledge among villagers even in the small areas of Warwat Khanderao GP and the
Bidyanidhi Gram Sansad with a population of 1479 and 719 respectively (Census of India
2011).
Even though unit-level information is required for the GP-level (and Gram
Sansad-level) planning exercise, it does not mean that aggregate data are useless. Among otherthings, the Village Schedule data is useful for the comparison with other villages.
6-2-5 Planning exercise at the district level and the possible use of the Village Schedule on BSLLDIn Maharashtra, autonomous space of function for the upper level of the PRI is
not as limited as in the GP level of the PRI. The Maharashtra State Government has
traditionally focused on the district as a basic unit of planning and development. In fact many
functions are assigned to Zilla Parishad (ZP) in the Schedules I of the Maharashtra Zilla
Parishad and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 (Section 101). In West Bengal, although the main
focus of development activities was placed on the GP level, not a few functions wereassigned to the Zilla Parishad in the Activity Mapping (see Table 7-1). Accordingly, theVillage Schedule on BSLLD may have broad utility at the district level in both States.
53<www.trendswestbengal.org/pmgsy> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.

37

However, in order to carry out the planning exercises, the District Planning
Committees (DPCs) and the ZPs can also return to the village-level data sources tosupplement the Village Schedule data on BSLLD.
(1) The DPC and the ZP can supplement the Village Schedule data with data on the past andcurrent status of performance of GPs and the GPs’ satellite agencies in the jurisdiction of
the ZP.54
For the purpose of preparing plans, the DPC and the ZP can create key indicators
out of registers and records maintained by GPs and the GPs’ satellite agencies. Actually, theManual for Integrated District Planning stated that “key indicators should be identified for nodal
reporting institutions (anganwadis, public health centres [PHCs] and primary schools) fromtheir data registers, for highlighting and upward transmission.” 55
There are two alternative channels for the DPC and the ZP to gain access to thedata sources in all the villages in their jurisdiction:
a. A direct access to the village-level data sourcesb. An indirect access to them through district- or block-level agencies
The DPC and the ZP can inquire of district-level agencies that have lines of reporting
mechanisms from the village-level, instead of the direct access to the village-level data
sources. Many district-level agencies such as the District Collector, the District Programme
Officer (in charge of ICDS), the District Health Officer, the District Project Office (with theDistrict Information System for Education), the District Registrar etc. have lines ofreporting mechanisms.56 However, delay in upward data transmission can be an issue in theofficial reporting systems in rural India.57 Thus, which channel is better for the DPC and the
ZP to gain access to the village-level data sources, will depend on the situation.58(2) In order to reveal unrecorded area of functions of the GPs and their satellite agencies, theDPC and the ZP sometimes can cross-check the Village Schedule data with other data or
54

As mentioned in §2 of chapter 1, this enquiry is methodologically limited to village-level data sources. Some data used
for medium- and large-scale projects of the PRI are beyond the scope of this study, because such data can be collected orrecorded directly by an upper tier of the PRI, independently of the villages. Therefore, data on overall performance ofdistrict or ZP are beyond the scope of this book.

55

Planning Commission (2008), p. 128.

56

In a sense, the Village Schedule on BSLLD is an effort to establish another information channel to transmit village-level
data directly to the District Statistical Office.

57

National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 9.3.30. “Even in States that have achieved high levels of registration, there
is a considerable delay in reporting of statistics from the local registrars, eventually delaying the compilation of vital statistics
at the State and National levels. A lot of paper work required and pending at the level of Registrar is one of the major
reasons for the delay in submission of returns.”

58“In many places the secondary data collected from the field offices did not tally with the published statistics of the blockand district levels.” [Isaac, Thomas T. M. and Richard W. Franke, (2000), p. 110]38

information. The DPC and the ZP can aggregate all the Village Schedule data in theirjurisdiction and compare it with other aggregates or estimate obtained from different
agencies working in the functional domain of the PRI. The DPC and the ZP can also use asampling method to conduct a cross-check of the Village Schedule data. For such across-check, the DPC and the ZP need data-sharing with other agencies.
(3) The DPC and the ZP can supplement the Village Schedule data with data on publicfinance of all GPs in the jurisdiction of the ZP. They can again consult those sources of GP’s
public finance data, as discussed in §3 of chapter 5. For the purpose of planning exercises,
the DPC and the ZP can work out the district-level aggregate data of every GP’s finance.
Which channel is better for the DPC and the ZP— that is, a direct access to thevillage-level sources of financial data, or an indirect access to them through the upward datatransmission in a reporting mechanism— will again depend on the situation. As mentionedin §2-4-1, the 13th Central Finance Commission argues that “accurate data on the financial
performance of local bodies are best obtained from accounts of the local bodies themselves,apart from the budget documents of the State Governments.”59
For the planning exercise of a DPC or a ZP, financial data on all schemes andprogrammes including those carried out by outside agencies at the villages within the PRI’s
functional domain will be also required.60 As mentioned in §5-4-5, various documents such as
state budget documents and central government documents are again required for detailed
information.
(4) Unit-level information is sometimes important for the planning exercise even at the
district level. However, the DPC and the Zilla Parishad are not the closest institutions to thesituation on the ground, and not the nearest institution to the residents. They cover quite alarge area and large populations relative to the GP (and Gram Sansads). Unlike the GP (andGram Sansads), aggregate data (statistics) with a macroscopic view is important for theenvisioning exercise of the DPC and the Zilla Parishad.

Conclusion: A New Statistical Domain Emerging in Rural India
This enquiry describes a new statistical domain in rural India as a consequence ofthe decentralisation initiated by the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution.
Most of the data generated and used in the GP areas were by-products of theadministrative requirements of the panchayats themselves or other satellite State government
59

Thirteenth Finance Commission (2009), p. 168.

60

Planning Commission, Manual for Integrated District Planning, 2008, p. 78. Therefore, the Planning Commission suggeststhat the overall responsibility of mapping budgets and conveying them to every panchayat should be the responsibility of
the State and the District Planning Committee. [Ibid., p. 77]

39

agencies. However, there has been no intensive discussion of quality and usefulness of thesedata sources available in the village.
This enquiry has examined these data sources at the GP in relation to the needs
that will be generated if the 73rd Amendment is comprehensively implemented. We havetherefore identified three categories of data needs:
I. Data required for self-governance, of which data required for managing the transition
to full-scope constitutional devolution are a special component
II. Data required for matters of public financeIII. Data required for micro-level planning for economic development and social justice,and its implementation.
Out of these three categories of data, I and II are core basic data requirements ofthe panchayats. The emerging statistical domain is, among other things, related to this core
basic data requirement. The new statistical domain is emerging just for the functional domain
devolved to the panchayat. Democratic self-governance of that functional domain is thepivotal data requirement of the panchayat in the post-73rd Amendment regime. Micro-level
planning of the panchayat— a front line of the advanced democratic decentralisation— isonly possible on the basis of the robust democratic self-governance over its functional
domain. The Expert Committee on BSLLD identified data needs III on the basis of its termsof reference, “for use in micro-level planning of various developmental programmes.”
In most States and Union Territories the progress in the Activity Mapping
exercises (delineation of functions of the different tiers of local governments in a given
subject matter) has been very slow.61 At present it is a major bottleneck in the decentralisationof rural India.62 Without a clearly delineated functional domain of the panchayat, one cannot
discuss the statistical domain of the panchayat. Therefore, this book has had to devote many
pages to this difficult issue.
The Expert Committee on BSLLD recommended that the Village Schedulecompile village-level data, precisely because it found that in almost all States and Union
Territories, various kinds of data are regularly collected by village-level functionaries, andmaintained in their records or registers. In fact many village-level functionaries such as GP
officials, revenue officials (Patwari and Revenue Inspector etc.), ICDS (Anganwari) workers,
ANMs, ASHAs, health supervisors, technical assistants of the MGNREGS and school
teachers are working in the functional domain of the GP. However, the dataset used in thevillage is more than documentary evidence for the Village Schedule. The majority ofpanchayat-level data sources found in parallel to data items of the Village Schedule is nothing

61

Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2007), p. 45.

62

M. A. Oommen ed. (2008), p. 7.

40

other than administrative records and registers documented by these village-level
functionaries for operational use as a part of functions performed in the functional domain.
As a result of our study of this new statistical domain, we found a possibility tobuild a panchayat-level database from the bottom up. We found that GP has the potential todevelop high-quality databases to meet the core basic data requirement for the democratic
self-governance over their functional domain. This study has reached, through a different
approach, the same conclusion as the Expert Committee on BSLLD that the GP can“consolidate, maintain and own village level data” in this era of democratic decentralisation.
The GP can own a record-based system of statistical databases,63 combined with
official Census data. Administrative records and registers generated by the village-level
functionaries shall be the basic dataset for the system, because this dataset is documented for
direct use in the GP’s functional domain (as described in chapter 5). What is more, whenthese datasets are to be updated regularly, it is impossible to maintain them without direct
involvement of these village-level functionaries. Therefore, the core system of the statistical
databases shall be an extension of the village-level administrative records system.
The Village Schedule on BSLLD is a mere framework to summarise such
village-level secondary data along with personal assessment of knowledgeable persons(common knowledge among villagers). We should distinguish summary data in the Village
Schedule from the above-mentioned record-based system of statistical databases. The latter
is more than documentary evidence for the former. The record-based system of statistical
databases is to be utilised for democratic self-governance over the GP’s functional domain,
regardless of whether it is summarised in the Village Schedule for planning exercises at the
GP and district levels. The first priority is to strengthen the village-level administrative
records system. Therefore, this enquiry is focused on the village-level administrative records
and registers.
In order to keep such a record-based system of statistical databases, however, adata-sharing mechanism between the GP and other village-level agencies working in thepanchayat’s functional domain is indispensable. The GP has the potential to coordinate sucha data-sharing mechanism. We reaffirm the recommendation made by the Expert Committee
on BSLLD that “Efforts should be made to ensure coordination of activities among all thesepotential sources of regular information at Panchayat level ensuring that quality of data sogathered is maintained.”64 Based on such coordination, a GP can own a database available atthe GP office or can have access to databases with its satellite agencies. The data sharing in
63

V. Sridhar, “The data challenge at the gram panchayat level,” The Hindu, November 8, 2013.
<http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/the-data-challenge-at-the-gram-panchayat-level/article5329852.ece>
Retrieved on 30 November 2014. See also United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Register-based statistics in theNordic countries, United Nations, Geneva, 2007.
64

Central Statistical Organisation (2006), p.17.

41

West Bengal at the Fourth Saturday Meeting among the GP, ICDS (Anganwadi) centre, andBlock Health Centre is a good example. Indeed, Raina GP had the authority to coordinate
such satellite agencies to keep the data-sharing mechanism so that the Raina GP was able to
distribute a booklet -- Protibedon -- to the Gram Sabha members, which included various
GP-level datasets. However, as in Maharashtra, most GPs have to overcome the duality
between the panchayat and line departments to create such a data-sharing mechanism.
In §5-3-1 we demonstrated a possible data-sharing mechanism to construct avillage-level population list (People’s List). It suggested a way of generating a village-level
population list from the bottom up. Although a top-down approach by the Central
Government to provide population lists through the National Population Register (NPR) or
the Socio-Economic and Caste Census, 2011 is in progress at present, this book suggests analternative approach from the bottom up to construct the population list.
The BPL Census was conducted for direct use in the GP’s functional domain suchas BPL-household identification. Therefore, the GP’s core system of the statistical databases
needs to be combined with the BPL Census. The Census of India, including population
enumeration data, houselisting and housing data, and the Non-Census village level amenities
data (VD data), is indisputably a fundamental benchmark for the GP-level statistical data.
Data sharing of the GP with the Central or State Governments for using some other official
Censuses such as the Agricultural Census and the Economic Census remains unrealised atpresent. This will be an issue of debate.
The data-sharing mechanism between the GP and other agencies working in thepanchayat’s functional domain is not only for the purpose of saving the cost of additional
data collection but also for the purpose of cross-checking the reliability of different data
sources. The data-sharing mechanism makes it possible to cross-check the quality of datafrom different sources. The cross-checking of different data sources also enables the GP to
deepen its self-governance by examining unrecorded areas of the administration byvillage-level functionaries.
Some types of information on village community are common knowledge to mostvillagers. Therefore, this common knowledge among villagers in the GP or sub-GP body, andultimately, common knowledge of Gram Sabha under the direct democracy, can be a reference
point for the quality of village-level data. In fact villagers in both Warwat Khanderao andRaina GPs initially questioned their BPL lists generated from the BPL Census 2002 (theRural Household Survey [RHS] in West Bengal). Then micro-level knowledge among
villagers in both GPs raised suspicions that some poor households had been excluded fromthe lists.
It was actually epoch-making in the decentralisation after the 73rd Amendmentthat GPs had independently conducted a house-to-house re-survey to revise the BPL lists.
This incident revealed that these panchayats can identify discrepancies in data from surveys
conducted by other organisations. The arguments between the GP and other organisations
about the accuracy of village-level BPL list suggested that the quality of village-level data was42

a matter of concern to villagers in the GP. This incident is indicative of the GP’s ability toconstruct its own quality databases.
The quality of village-level data sources pertaining to the panchayat’s functional
domain depends on how much use the GP and its satellite agencies make of these data
sources. The disputes over the accuracy of village-level BPL list arose because the list isactually used in the village administration and is a matter of concern among villagers. At thesame time, as in Warwat Khanderao, the quality of birth registers in the Civil Registration
System (CRS) can be suspect because birth certificates are not required, for example, forschool admissions. The more is it functional and used, the more concerned the agency
accountable for its data quality is. That is why this enquiry is focused on use of these data
sources.
Since GPs (and sub-GP bodies) are the administrative institutions closest to thesituation on the ground, and the nearest available administrative institutions for people livingin the villages, unit-level information on village society is important. Unit-level records andregisters are ready for aggregation, but are primarily used for the identification and selectionof targets of public policies and for the delivery of services. The deepening of the GP’s
self-governance will enhance the utility of unit-level records and registers. As in the disputes
over the accuracy of village-level BPL list, villagers’ micro-level knowledge was highly
significant. In this way, the GP (and sub-GP bodies)—at one end of the system ofgovernment, and the first stage of data collection and recording— is the institution best
suited to correct micro-level discrepancies in the administrative records and registers at thegrass-roots level. That is an advantage of the bottom-up approach to these databases over
top-down approaches by the upper-level governments. Policy decisions will have to be taken,
however, with regard to the persons and functionaries to whom access is granted to unit-level
data that is to be used for administrative purposes.
We found, however, some missing data in the new statistical domain. Under the
post-73rd Amendment regime, as discussed in §5-3-2, the requirement for data-recording
principles at the village-level has shifted to a new type of documentation that is focused on
the place of usual residence of the people concerned. The new type of records has to beorganised entirely in relation to residents of the GP, and suit the democratic self-governance.
We also found some serious shortcomings in the financial data of the GP, data on
community assets in the GP area, data on land utilization and agrarian relations, data on
migration, data on employment, data on industry and commerce, etc. A comprehensive
systemic reform may be considered to compensate for these shortcomings in theadministrative recording systems.
The Rangarajan Commission insightfully drew attention to “the foundation onwhich the entire edifice of Administrative Statistical System was built,” and denounced themove to “divert attention from the solution of the real systemic problem of the decentralised
43

Indian Statistical System.”65 Indeed, securing the panchayat-level database from the bottom
up is a systemic problem.
As this enquiry is methodologically limited to village-level data sources, some data
used for medium- and large-scale projects of the district-and block-level PRI are beyond thescope of this study. Although emphasis has traditionally been placed on the district for the
local development in Maharashtra, we could not sufficiently discuss its district-level
databases.
As this study primarily covers the period from April in 2005 to March in 2011, we
could not discuss the details of issues regarding the National Population Register and theSocio Economic and Caste Census (SECC).
This study did not discuss the GP-level database in relation to the geographicalinformation system (GIS) that has been making remarkable progress.
However, this book makes a contribution to our understanding of the kinds ofGP-level statistical databases that address an emerging statistical domain.

65

National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 14.3.10 and para. 14.3.17. This insight was provided by the Rangarajan
Commission in the context of a critical review of the Modernisation Project proposed by the then Department of Statistics.
The Commission stated “the project will have to shift its focus from expansion of sample surveys to improvement of thesystemic issues of the Administrative Statistical System.” [Ibid., para. 14.3.20]

44