CESSA WP 2015-04

A Note on New Statistical Domain in India (3):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 (3):An Enquiry into Gram Panchayat-Level Databases

Junichi Okabe

April 2015

Table of Contents

Chapter 4. Basic Structure of Main Data Sources at the Village Level

1

Chapter 4. Basic Structure of Main Data Sources at the Village Level
This chapter describes the existing status of the main data sources in the jurisdiction of thetwo GPs during the period of our analysis. The reference period of this chapter is from April
in 2005 to March in 2011. We discuss the kinds of village-level data that exist, and thevillage-level data that are actually maintained by the panchayats and other agencies.
4-1 Basic Structure of Statistical Data Sources at the Villages
At the villages we can identify possible village-level data sources to serve the data needs
discussed in Chapter 2. In the villages we can observe the very roots of panchayat statisticalsystem, that is, the very first stage of collection and recording of panchayat-level statisticaldata.
As the Rangarajan Commission noted, “the main sources of statistics in India, as
elsewhere, are (a) administrative records—generally consisting of statutory administrative
returns and data derived as a by-product of general administration; and (b) other importantsources, namely, censuses and sample surveys”.1 Indeed this dichotomy is quite universal. For
example, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states,“There are two basic mechanisms for collecting economic data. They are, access to data
already being collected for administrative purposes, and direct survey by the statistical
office.”2
However, this dichotomy was not so clear at the village level. There were somedata sources of an intermediate type between administrative records and typical census
type-surveys. As will be seen later, some administrative records, such as the ICDS village
survey register, were established and regularly updated through census type-survey operation.
Some census-type surveys, such as the BPL census, were used in the PRIs for administrative
purposes such as BPL-household identification. In this way, most of the data generated andused in the GP areas were by-products of the administrative requirements of the panchayats
themselves or other satellite State government agencies.
Therefore, we classify these data sources according to how deeply and closely they
were related to the core system of the GP. That is to say, they could be classified according towhether or not they were generated inside the GP system and, where they were generated
outside the GP system, how far they came under the GP’s control. Consequently, in thevillages we sometimes found administrative records that had been generated fromcensus-type surveys.
1

National Statistical Commission (2001), para 14.3.1. Exactly speaking, the Rangarajan Commission states that “The main
sources of statistics in India as elsewhere are: (a) Administrative Statistics – generally collected by State Governments;
consisting of statutory administrative returns and data derived as a by-product of general administration; and (b) Other
important sources namely, censuses and sample surveys.” Generally speaking, however, Administrative Statistics are notlimited to data collected by State Governments.
2

OECD, Measuring the Non-Observed Economy: A Handbook, 2002, p. 105. Here, OECD adds, “Here, the term survey isassumed to include a census as a particular type of survey in which all units are in the sample.” [Ibid., p. 106]2

Nevertheless, the Population Census is the polar opposite of administrative
records. The Population Census is organized exclusively for statistical purposes by theCentral government. More importantly, it is taken as per the provisions of the Census Act,
1948, which places a legal obligation upon the public to cooperate and give truthful answers
on the one hand and guarantees confidentiality of their information on the other. Under the
Census Act, respondents have less reason to deliberately misreport. The statistical office,however, must guarantee that information on each household is kept strictly confidential andwill not be used for administrative purposes.
Similarly, official sample surveys are also the opposite of administrative records.
The Eleventh Five-Year Plan of the Planning Commission once considered “generat[ing] a
local statistical system by increasing the sample size of National Sample Surveys so thatinterpretation is possible at least at the level of the Block, if not the village”3. However, theblock-level NSS has not yet been conducted.4 In principle, sample surveys can be carried out
below the district level by the Central or State government, or the PRIs, but we have not yet
found such sample surveys at the villages.
Thus, the main sources of data at and below the GP level can be classified asfollows:
1. Registers and records collected and maintained by the GP
2. Census-type surveys independently conducted by PRIs (at Raina GP in West Bengal,
and not in Warwat Khanderao in Maharashtra)
3. Registers and records collected and maintained by other village-level agencies, such as:a. Village ICDS (or Anganwadi) registers
b. Village school registers
c. Records at the Primary Health Centre
d. Patwari records (in Warwat Khanderao) or Records at the Block Land andLand Reform Office (in Raina)
e. Others
4. Census-type surveys organised by Central or State governments, such as:a. the BPL census, including the Rural Household Survey (RHS)b. the Census of India
3

Planning Commission, Government of India, Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-2012, Volume I, 2008, p. 227.

4

Keeping in mind decentralised planning through Panchayati Raj Institutions, the International Institute for Population
Sciences sponsored by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare undertook the District Level Household and Facility Survey.
[International Institute for Population Sciences, District Level Household and Facility Survey 2007-08, 2010]. Apart from that,
Siladitya Chaudhuri and Nivedita Gupta made an attempt to analyse a district-wide NSS data. See Siladitya Chaudhuri andNivedita Gupta, “Levels of Living and Poverty Patterns: A District-Wise Analysis for India,” Economic & Political Weekly,
February 28, 2009, Vol. XLIV No 9.

3

c. Others
In addition to the data sources described above, there were administrative reports concerning
the GPs or villages. Those reports were compiled primarily from secondary data, the original
sources of which are listed above in 1 to 4. The administrative reports were submitted to theblock- or district-level offices and sometimes to the State or Central government. The
information in these reports was usually not collected by conducting such as
household-to-household, facility-to-facility or plot-to-plot surveys. It was usually gatheredfrom the records already maintained by village-level functionaries and otherwise fromsubjective assessment of knowledgeable persons. 5 Such administrative reports were as
follows:
5. Administrative reports of GP such as:a. the Village Scheduleb. village-level amenities data (Village Directory data) in the District Census Handbook
c. the Self Evaluation Schedule (at Raina only)
d. Others
4-2 Identifying the Data Sources
We have identified the above data sources by interviews using a questionnaire and follow-up
studies after the interviews. In India no comprehensive list of village-level data sources isavailable in the GP area.6 Thus, we started the interview with the GP, using main data items
extracted from the Village Schedules on BSLLD as a questionnaire, and then added a few
follow-up items regarding the data needs I, Ia and II to the questionnaire.
The main data items in the Village Schedules were provided by the Expert
Committee on BSLLD, which includes following items:7(a) Availability of basic facilities in the village. Information on Assets available in the village viz.
number of factories, business establishments, bridges, declared forest area, orchards, roads etc.
(b) Distance of the village from nearest facilities.
(c) Demographic status of villagers, including population, births, deaths, morbidity, migration,

5

In the large-scale pilot scheme on BSLLD conducted in 2009, many items in the Village Schedule were recorded byknowledgeable persons in the GP. However, there was no validation check on such data. ‘[S]ome of the data have been
captured from non-official sources, such as from knowledgeable persons. There was no validation checks on such data withreference to actual records.’ [Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Governmentof India, Cross‐Sectional Synthesis Report on Pilot Scheme of Basic Statistics for Local (Village) Level Development: Basedon Results of the Pilot Scheme on BSLLD executed in Selected States and UTs, 2011, D:3]
6

A rare exception is the data list discussed in Kerala in the context of its people’s planning campaign. See, for example,
Planning Board, Government of Kerala, Adhikaram Janangalkku (Power to the People), Ninth Five Year Plan, Handbook forTrainers, Thiruvananthapuram, 1996 (in Malayalam).
7

Central Statistical Organisation (2006), pp. 1-2.

4

marriages etc.
(d) Educational status of the villagers.
(e) Land utilisation statistics.
(f) Data on livestock and poultry.
(g) Number of market outlets.
(h) Employment status of the villagers.

We used this data items as a checklist of the initial step of our interview. In keeping with aview on the Indian statistical system described by the Rangarajan Commission, we discussed
the sources of the above data at the grass-roots level with local people. The status of
information available at the Warwat Khanderao GP and the Raina GP is shown in Tables 15
and 16.8
Table 15 Status of information available at the Warwat Khanderao GP
Type of information

If records
are available
at GP

If records
areaccessible
to GP
from
other
sourceNo

Basic Facilities

No

Number of factories
Commercial
establishments
Bridges, roads

No
No

No

Yes

Yes

Forest area, orchards

Yes (in part)

Yes

Distance from nearest
facilities
Population
Birth and death

No

Yes

Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes

MorbidityNo

Yes

Source ofinformation

Comments

Facilities that are present arecommon knowledge. The
information is available but notrecorded. Only properties
transferred by Government
and Zilla Parisad to the GP areshould recorded in the
Permanent Asset Register (GPRegister No. 25).
Common knowledge

GP registers,
Record at Patwari
officeBDO
CRS, Monthly
reports

GP Register No. 26 (Details ofRoad under Gram Panchayat
Jurisdiction)
Record at Patwari office
GP Register No. 27
But common knowledge
Anganwadi Worker report toSarpanch for Monthly Progress
ReportANM

8Bakshi, A. and Okabe, J., “Panchayat Level Data Bases: A West Bengal Case Study”, CITS Working Paper 2011-04, Center
for International Trade Studies, Faculty of Economics, Yokohama National University, 2011. pp. 24-25.

5

Marriages

No

No

Migration
Educational status ofvillagers
Land utilization
statistics
Livestock and Poultry

No
No

No
Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

Number of market
outlets
Employment status ofvillagers

ICDS register (inpart)

Common knowledge

School Register

Including private school

Record at Patwari
officeLivestock Census

BDO
Common knowledge

Table 16 Status of information available at the Raina GP
Type of information

If records
are available
at GP

If records
areaccessible
to GP
from
other
sourceNo

Source ofinformation

Basic Facilities

No

Number of factories
Commercial
establishments
Bridges, roads

No
Yes

No

No

No

Forest area, orchards

No

Yes

Distance from nearest
facilities

No

No

Population

Yes

Yes

Census of India,
ICDS household
survey register

Birth and death

Yes

Yes

GP registers,
ICDS registers,
PHC registers,
Monthly reports

Comments

Facilities that are present are ofcommon knowledge. GP
maintains registers of thecurrent facilities being
constructed. The information
is available but not recorded
Common knowledge
GP tax register
Location of such facilities arecommon knowledge, otherinformation may not be
available unless constructed by
GP. If constructed by GP,
details can be obtained fromWorks Register
Block Land andLand Reforms
OfficeCommon knowledge

6Morbidity

Yes

Marriages

No

No

ICDS worker records in her
register but date not recorded

Migration

No

No

Some information on
permanent out-migration canbe obtained from ICDS
records

Educational status ofvillagers

Yes

Yes

Panchayat
sanitation survey
2008, ICDS
household survey

Land utilization
statistics

No

Yes

Block Land andLand Reforms
OfficeLivestock and Poultry

No

Yes

Livestock Census

Number of market
outlets

No

Yes

Commonknowledge andGP tax register

Employmentof villagers

NoNo

statusMonthly reportof ICDS, ANM
and Healthsupervisor

Household level record
available

Village survey register has
occupation data

We found in this initial stage of the interview that GP maintains records for administrativeand other purposes and that a considerable amount of information is available from thoserecords. In addition, certain types of records (for example, the ICDS registers, the school
registers, health records at the Primary Health Centre, Record at Patwari office) are collected
and maintained at the village or block level by official agencies other than the GPs. The
panchayat officials have access to such records but full sets of the records were not available
at the GP office.
Thus, we visited official agencies other than the GP at the village and block levels.
We also visited the Block Development Office (BDO) to validate the information obtained at
the GP and the other official agencies. Again we conducted follow-up studies at the GP andvillage levels.
Each item of the Village Schedule on BSLLD has a column to enter Source Codes.
For each data item of the Village Schedule, the following Source Codes were to be entered:a) Panchayat‐01b) Anganwadi worker‐02c) Health worker (ANM/FHW/MHW/etc.)‐03
d) Patwari (Land Records)‐04e) Village Headman‐05f) Local School/education officer‐06

7g) Local Doctor‐07h) PHC/Sub‐Centre/Hospital‐08i) Knowledgeable Person(s)/Others (Female–09, Male–10)

However, we found that data sources identified using this Source Code are rather
questionable. Using the Source Codes, the Cross‐Sectional Synthesis Report of the pilot scheme
conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) stated that in the majority of thecases, Panchayat Offices are the primary source, providing about 50-55% data items of the
Schedule. In fact, the Source Code of Panchayat-01 was entered for most items in the Village
Schedule of villages in Raina GP. As Raina GP was covered by the same pilot scheme
conducted by CSO, we were actually able to get a close look at the filled-up Village Schedule.
However, according to the Executive Assistant with Raina GP, all information for the
Schedule was collected by the ICDS workers. However, our discussion with the ICDS worker
at Bidyanidhi on February 2011 revealed that the BSLLD pilot survey in Bidyanidhi wasconducted by a primary school teacher at the Birampur Junior High School and resident of
Bidyanidhi village. The Bidyanidhi ICDS worker had conducted the survey for Bogra village.
According to her, she had to depend on information from the ICDS worker at Bogra to fillup her schedule. She also obtained information from the Panchayat office. Thus, as far as
Raina’s cases are concerned, implication of the Source Codes filled up in the Schedule iscomplicated and ambiguous. If a GP asks an ICDS worker to fill in the Village Schedule on
the responsibility of the GP, one can enter in the columns the Source Code “Panchayat 01”
instead of the Source Code “Anganwadi worker 02’. Consequently, the Source Code filled
up for each data item does not reflect the actual recordist of that item. We have to checkthem independently on the ground.
In addition to these main items in the Village Schedule— items (a)-(h)— , we useda few additional check items for further interviews related to the data needs I, Ia and II. As
described in Chapter 2, the Village Schedule on the BSLLD primarily aims at the data needs
III (data requirements for micro-level planning). It does not necessarily serve the data needs
I, Ia and II. The additional check items that we discussed with the GP and BDO officers in
our follow-up studies were as follows:(i) Electoral Roll and GP meetings(j) Comprehensive list of residents(k) Income and expenditure of the GP(l) Status of property tax collection(m) Government schemes implemented or monitored by the Panchayat

The status of information available at the Warat Khanderao GP and the Raina GP is shownin Tables 15a and 16a.
Table 15a Status of information available at the Warwat Khanderao GP

8Type of information

If records areavailable at
GPElectoral RollYes

GP meeting

Yes

Comprehensive listof residents

No

Income andexpenditure of theGP

Yes

Government
schemes
implemented ormonitored by the
Panchayat

Yes (in part)If records
areaccessible
to GP
from
other
sourceYes

Source ofinformation

Comments

GP

Updated by the District
Collector under the supervisionof the State Election
Commission

GP

No

The house tax (property tax)
resister and electoral roll areavailable. GP does not use
APL/BPL list produced by the
BPL Census. Gram Sevak does
not depend on the ICDS village
survey register
GP registers

Yes

GP record (in part)

Sarpanch and Gram Sevak know
very well

Table 16a Status of information available at the Raina GP
Type of information

If records areavailable at
GPElectoral rollYes

If records
areaccessible
to GP
from
other
sourceYes

GP meeting
Comprehensive listof residents

Yes
Yes

Yes

Source ofinformation

Comments

GP

Updated under the supervisionof the State Election
Commission

GP registers
ICDS registers
BPL census (Rural
Household
Survey[RHS]).

9GP has APL/BPL list
produced by the BPL census(RHS). GP sometimes depends
on the ICDS village survey
register. Unit-level household
data of two household surveys
conducted in 2007 and 2008 on
instruction from the Zilla
Parishad to evaluate the rural
sanitation scheme.

Income andexpenditure of theGP
Government
schemes
implemented ormonitored by the
Panchayat

Yes
Yes (in part)GP registers
Yes

GP record in part

Executive Assistant with the
GP know well

4-3 Status of Each Data Source
4-3-1 Registers and Records Collected and Maintained by the GP
The GP maintains various records for administrative and other purposes. These registers andrecords are maintained to perform daily proceedings for self-governance or to track the
allocation and expenditure of funds and assess the progress of different schemes. Brief
descriptions of the registers maintained at the GP offices are given in Table 17-1 and Table
17-2.
(Maharashtra)
In Warwat Khanderao we saw all registers shown in Table 17-1, which were maintained at the
GP office. The Gram Sevak has a booklet that describes the procedures for using the registers.
Item no. 1 Budget is used each November to prepare the budget for next financial
year. GP takes approval from Gram Sabha. The supplementary budget can be tabled forapproval. Financial transactions can be done after getting approval from the panchayat
sub-committee.
Daily income and expenditure are noted in Item no. 5 Cash-book. This register isrelated to the registers of Item no. 6 to 24.
All taxable buildings under panchayat jurisdiction are recorded in the Item no. 7
General Receipt Book. All the new buildings in each year, removal of collapsed buildings, anychanges in ownership, and types of building are recorded in this register. Item no. 8 House tax
is a list of all taxable houses in the jurisdiction of the GP. House tax here is comparable toproperty tax in West Bengal. The house tax list includes information on location of the house,area of the house site, type of the house, name of the owner, name of occupant, valuation of
the house. The GP updates this register every four years. We saw the one updated in 2005-06.
Under the Bombay Gram Panchayat Act, 1958, the Gram Sevak issues Item no. 3 Bill for deposited
items to all the residents of the village and asks them to pay the tax in the panchayat office. If
people do not adhere to this directive, then Gram Sevak sends a demand notice to thedefaulted households to deposit house tax. Unpaid taxes are recorded in Item no. 9 Tax
demand-collection and Balance register. All house owners in Warwat Khanderao are taxed
regardless of their land ownership. Other tax collections are recorded in Item no. 10 Tax
Collection Receipt Book. According to the Gram Sevak, tax receipts from water supply (withunderground pipe) are also recorded in this Item no. 10. According to sarpanch, the water tax isvery important source of revenue for Warwat Khanderao GP.
10

Warwat Khanderao GP does not have any tax list on trade that is comparable to
the Form 9 Assessment List in Raina GP. The GP auctions the right to collect tax from weekly
market within the village. According to the sarpanch, the highest bid for the right to collect tax
from weekly market was Rs. 5000 in 2012, which is also a part of the Own Source Revenue.
All monthly paid workers and daily wage workers appointed by the GP arerecorded in Item no. 16 Employee Salary Register, Item no. 20 Advances and Deposit Register, and Item
no. 22 Attendance sheet/register, together with all the details related to their jobs. In Warwat
Khanderao, the GP hires a peon, for which the Zilla Parishad (ZP) and the GP each pay half.
The GP also employs daily wage workers for sanitation purpose.
In 2008 the Twelfth Finance Commission (TFC) provided a grant of Rs. 78,000 to
Warwat Khanderao GP for water supply and sanitation. As a result, the GP spent 60 per centon sanitation and water supply and 40 per cent on the construction of drains. These expenses
were recorded in the GP registers. Work done by contractors or workers appointed by GP wasrecorded in Item no. 23 Work Estimation/Entry Book.
All buildings, gutters, public toilets, water supply, wells, tanks, trees etc. owned by
GP can be recorded in Item no. 25 Permanent Asset Register. The tubewell is recorded in thisregister. All roads within the jurisdiction of GP with information like length, width and otherdescriptions are recorded in Item no. 26 Details of Road under GP jurisdiction. Land from the State
government and ZP according to Articles 51 and 56 of the Bombay Gram Panchayat Act
1958 and open space acquired by the panchayat itself according to Article 55 are recorded in
Item no. 27 Land and Barren Space Register.
Table 17-1 List of Registers maintained by Warwat Khanderao GP

Item no. 1 Budget
Item no. 2 Re-planning
Item no. 3 Bill for deposited items
Item no. 4 Bill for expenditure
Item no. 5 Cash-book
Item no. 6 Classification register
Item no. 7 General Receipt Book
Item no. 8 House tax
Item no. 9 Tax demand-collection and Balance register
Item no. 10 Tax Collection Receipt Book
Item no. 11 Other Demand Register
Item no. 12-14 Related to Octroi (not exists)
Item no. 15 Certificate
Item no. 16 Employee Salary Register
Item no. 17 Stamp Register
Item no. 18 Stock Register
Item no. 19 Dead Stock Register
Item no. 20 Advances and Deposit Register
Item no. 21 Cash-book for Minor Amount11

Item no. 22 Attendance sheet/register
Item no. 23 Work Estimation/Entry Book
Item no. 24 Salary and Service Register
Item no. 25 Permanent Asset Register
Item no. 26 Details of Road under Gram Panchayat jurisdiction
Item no. 27 Land and Barren Space Register

Apart from the registers shown in Table 17-1, Warwat Khanderao GP owns theElectoral Roll that covers its jurisdiction. The Electoral Roll is prepared by the State official
agency outside the PRIs: the State Election Commission. In Maharashtra, the elections are
conducted by the District Collector under the control and supervision of the State Election
Commission. At the GP level, patwari supervises the elections under the control of the StateElection Commission.9 The Electoral Roll is also essential for usual GP activities, because itis required to call for the Gram Sabha that consists of persons registered in the Electoral Roll.
The Electoral Roll contains each voter’s identification number, full name, name of father,house number, age and sex.
Warwat Khanderao GP maintains the “Monthly Meeting Attendance Register”
and “Proceeding Book” used for keeping minutes of its meetings.
Warwat Khanderao GP also maintains the Birth and Death Registers of the Civil
Registration System (CRS). In rural Maharashtra, the Gram Sevak is officially appointed as avillage-level Registrar for CRS although it is actually the peon who assists. He knows very wellabout each vital event occurred in the past. The Gram Sevak of Warwat Khanderao exercises
jurisdiction over three villages, and is in Warwat Khanderao only two days a week.
Village-level birth and death reports in the CRS have a Legal Part and a Statistical Part. The
Statistical Part, submitted to the District Registrar, contains additional information such as
usual residence of the mother, religion of the family, level of education of the parents,
occupation of the parents, age of the mother at the time of marriage, number of children
born alive to the mother.10 However, as will be seen in §5-3-2, the CRS determines the placeof registration according to the place of occurrence of the vital events, whether they hadtaken place inside the village of the mother’s usual residence or not. Since the recording
structure of the CRS is not properly oriented to children resident in the panchayat’s
jurisdiction, this adds considerable inconvenience to the use of that data.
Moreover, Warwat Khanderao GP has access to registers and records to carry out
the schemes of the line department.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme on the National Rural Employment Guarantee
9Interview at patwari office in Warat Khanderao in August 2011.

10

Registrar General, India (2001), Registrar’s Manual on Registration of Births and Deaths (Draft), New Delhi. See also Jun-ichi
Okabe and V. Surjit, ‘Village-Level Birth Records: A Case Study’, Review of Agrarian Studies, Volume 2, Number 1, 2012<http://www.ras.org.in/village_level_birth_records> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.

12

Act, 2005 is carried out by the line department of Ministry of Rural Development of theCentral Government as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (MGNREGS). The MGNREGS aims at the enhancement of livelihood security ofrural households by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment inevery financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled
manual work. Workers in families that obtain job cards are entitled to guaranteed
employment in public works for up to 100 days per family in a year. GPs are the mostimportant units of local government in respect of MGNREGS, since the responsibility of
issuing job card after registering the households and providing employment on demand rests
with the GPs. In fact Warwat Khanderao GP has MGNREGS registers. However, the
MGNREGS was not functional in Warwat Khanderao, when we were conducting interviews
there in 2011 and 2014. According to sarpanch, the wages paid under this scheme are evenlower than the wages of agricultural labourers in and around this village. The sarpanch had
asked workers’ households to demand work but the workers were not interested in the
MGNREGS work for two reasons: it was too physically demanding and because the wages
were so low.11 There are technical assistants for MGNREGS at the block but not at the GP
level. The register is disclosed in the web site by the Management Information System of the
MGNREGS of the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Government of India.
According to the web site, households and 627 persons had been registered within Warwat
Khanderao GP under the MGNREGS as of 2012-13. However, only three families obtained
employment under this scheme as of 2012-13.
(West Bengal)
In West Bengal GP maintains registers and records in the statutory prescribed formats. Table
17-2 gives a list of the forms provided in West Bengal Panchayat (Gram Panchayat
Administration) Rules, 2004 and its Amendments, 2006, and West Bengal Panchayat (Gram
Panchayat Accounts, Audit and Budget) Rules, 2007. Some of these forms are just receipts,
certificates or application forms, but some other forms reflect the format of record or
register maintained at the GP. In fact, the Executive Assistant of Raina GP recognises that
the GP maintains registers enlisted under the above GP Rules.
Form 1-Form 3 specified under the GP Rules, 2004 are used to hold meetings of GP.
Form 2 is attendance register and minute book for the meeting of the GP.
Form 36 specified under the GP Rules, 2007 are used for preparing the budget of
the GP. Unlike Maharashtra, even Gram Sansad and Upa-Samiti in the GP prepare the budget
using Form 34 and Form 35. The GUSs have to submit an annual plan to the GP in August ofeach year. Based on these annual plans, the GP prepares and submits its first annual budget tothe block office every October, for the next financial year. The budget is submitted using
Form 36. In this form, the GP reports the actual expenses of the previous year, the approved
11

Interview with sarpanch in Warat Khanderao in October 2013.

13

budget of the current year and the estimated budget of the coming year. The budget outline
is then sent for approval to the Panchayat Samiti (PS). Based on the fund flow until December
each year, the GP prepares a revised or supplementary budget, using Form 38. The
supplementary budget is sent for approval in February.
Daily income and expenditures are noted in Form 1 Cash Book for GP specified
under the GP Rules, 2007. Form 1A is Cash Book for each Programme. The GUSs also havecash books specified in Form 29. Half-yearly and annual statement of receipts and payments
are to be recorded in Form 27 and Form 30.
The GP Rules, 2004 specifies Form 6 Register for market value of land and building locatedwithin GP. In this form, holding No./location/address; name of owner with name offather/mother/husband; name of occupier/tenant with name of father/mother/husband;
total area of land showing built up area and vacant area; market value of land; description ofbuilding (i.e. kutcha/pucca/one storey/two storied/three storied/multi storied); use ofbuilding for residential/commercial purpose; and market value of building/construction are
to be recorded. All permissions to erect structure or building or to make an addition oralteration to an existing structure or building in a GP are to be recorded on Form 4. Based on
Form 6 and other forms, assessment lists of persons liable to pay tax on land and building
within the GP are to be prepared using Form 9 Assessment List to get approved by the meetingof the GP and the Gram Sansad. We saw a “Panchayat Property Tax Assessment Sheet” at the
Raina GP office. Name of land or house owner, description of property, current market
value, and the tax assessed on each property were recorded in this sheet. In Raina, all houseowners in the village are taxed. Even a landless household has to pay a minimum annual tax
of Rs. 3 per annum.
Table 17-2 List of Registers maintained by Raina GP

A. West Bengal Panchayat (Gram Panchayat Administration) Rules 2004 and its Amendments 2006
Form 1 Notice of ordinary meeting of GP
Form 1A Notice of emergent meeting of GP
Form 1B Notice for requisitioned meeting of the GP by the Pradhan
Form 1C Notice for requisitioned meeting of the GP by the requisitionist members
Form 2 Attendance register and minute book for the meeting of GP
Form 3 Notice for adjourned meeting of GP
Form 3A Report on the work of the GP for the year
Form 4 Form of application for permission to erect structure or building or to make an additionor alteration to an existing structure or building in a GP
Form 5 Form for Appointment
Form 5A Form for Self-Declaration on House Property
Form 6 Register for market value of land and building located within GP
Form 7 Registration Certificate for vehicles and/or other equipments
Form 8 Register for registration of vehicle and/or other equipments
Form 9 Assessment List

14

Part - I List of persons liable to pay tax on land and building within GP
Part - II List of persons liable to pay registration/renewal fee for running a trade (wholesale orretail) within GP
Part - III List of persons liable to pay fees for registration of vehicles (not registered underMotor Vehicles Act) within GP
Part - IV List of institutions/organizations/persons liable to pay water/lighting/conservancy
rate in GP
Part - V List of enterprises/persons liable to pay registration fees for providing supply of waterfrom deep-tubewell/shallow-tubewell fitted with motor-driven Pump sets in GP
Part - VI List of private enterprises/persons liable to pay fees for displaying of any
poster/advertisement/Banner/hoarding in any private or public place within GP
Part - VII List of markets/hats from where fees may be collected on sale of village produces
Part - VIII List of Roads/Ferry/Bridges or other assets or resources from where tolls/fees may
be collected
Part - IX List of remunerative assets under the control of GP
Form 10 Draft Assessment List
Form 11 (Trade Registration Certificate)
B. West Bengal Panchayat (Gram Panchayat Accounts, Audit and Budget) Rules, 2007
Form 1 Cash Book for GP
Form 1A Subsidiary Cash Book for (each) Programme
Form 2 Cheque/Draft Receipt Register
Form 3 Cheque Book Register
Form 4 Receipts for Tax, Rates and Fees as assessed by the GP
Form 5 Miscellaneous Receipt
Form 6 Stock Register of Receipt Books
Form 7 Register for Arrear and Current Demand and Collection of taxes
Form 8 Durable Stock Register
Form 9 Register of Assets Leased Out
Form 10 Acquittance Register for Honorarium of Pradhan/Upa-Pradhan/Sanchalak
Form 11 Acquittance Register for Pay/Allowances of employees
Form 12 Bill for Government Grant on account of salary of the employees
Form 13 Utilization Certificate for Grant-in-aid from the State Government
Form 14 Register for Advance against Project/Scheme
Form 15 Appropriation Register
Form 16 Programme Register
Form 17 Scheme Register
Form 18 Muster Roll for Payment of Wages to the Workers
Form 19 Acknowledgement for receipt of adjustment voucher.
Form 20 Register of Immovable Properties
Form 21 General Ledger
Form 22 Register for Receipt of Letters
Form 23 Register for Issue of Letters
Form 24 Stores Account Register
Form 25 Register of Stationery Articles
Form 26 Monthly Statement of Fund Position15

Form 27 Part-I Half- yearly/Annual Statement of Receipts and Payments
Form 27 Part-II Consolidated Statement of Receipts and Payments of the GP (Including all Gram
Unnayan Samitis)
Form 28 Form of Certificate
Form 29 Cash Book for Gram Unnayan Samiti
Form 30 Half-Yearly/Annual Statement of Receipts and Payments of the Gram Unnayan Samiti
Form 31 Cheque Book Register of the Gram Unnayan Samiti
Form 32 Project-cum-Scheme Register of the Gram Unnayan Samiti
Form 33 Miscellaneous Receipt of the Gram Unnayan Samiti
Form 34 Budget of Gram Sansad of the GP
Form 35 Budget estimate of ...Upa-Samiti of the GP
Form 36 Budget estimate of the GP
Form 37 NoticeForm 38 Supplementary and revised budget estimate for the year of the GP

The Form 9 Assessment Lists specified in the Amendments, 2006 of the GP Rules,
2004 include not only persons liable to pay property tax but also enterprises/persons liable topay other fees, rates and tolls.
Unpaid taxes are to be recorded in Form 7 Register for Arrear and Current Demand andCollection of taxes in the GP Rules, 2007.
All payments of honoraria to Pradhan/Upa-Pradhan/Sanchalak and wages to otherworkers are recorded in Form 10, Form 11 and Form 18 prescribed in the GP Rules, 2007.
Unlike Maharashtra, West Bengal GPs have Form 16 Programme Register and Form 17
Scheme Register specified in the GP Rules, 2007. The estimates and expenditures of eachprogramme or scheme are documented in these registers.
All immovable Properties owned by GP are recorded in Form 20 Register of Immovable
Properties prescribed in the GP Rules, 2007. Apart from this form, Raina GP has a “Tubewell
Register” which documents number, type and location of all tubewells constructed by the GP.
Raina GP also has its “Lease of Water Bodies Register” which records water bodies leased
out to SHG and their periodic earnings.
Work done by the GP for the year is reported to the meeting of the GP and theGram Sansad using Form 3A prescribed in the GP Rules, 2004. In relation to this report, Raina
GP has a “Works Register”, which records public works done by the GP under various
schemes/allocations (SGRY, MP fund), with a description of the work, date of proposal,commencement and completion of the work, proposed and actual expenditure, and benefit
accrued.
Apart from registers or forms shown in Table 17-2, the Raina GP owns theElectoral Roll that covers its jurisdiction. The Electoral Roll is prepared by the State Election
Commission in West Bengal as well. Unlike Warwat Khanderao GP, Raina GP has ward-wide(Gram Sansads-wide) Electoral Roll. The Electoral Roll provides information on identification
number, name of the voter, name of father/hasband, house number, age and sex.
16

Although the Civil Registration System (CRS) is a hierarchy with the Registrar
General, India at the top, the registration of births and deaths in rural West Bengal was
devolved from the Primary Health Center to PRIs in 2003.12 Therefore, Raina GP maintains
the Birth and Death Registers of the CRS. However, according to panchayat officials in Raina,
the most accurate birth record in the GP area is the register maintained by Anganwadi workers
and not the register of the CRS.
The Raina GP maintains registers and records to conduct schemes of line
department. Although the line departments still have separate decision-making systems,
implementation of their schemes is fully or partly devolved to GPs. Therefore, the GP owns
registers and records for such schemes.
Although the Provident Fund for Landless Agricultural Labourers (PROFLAL) is
the State Government scheme supported by the Central Government, Raina GP owns
records for the Provident Fund. The West Bengal State Government pension scheme of
PROFLAL supported by “Aam Admi Bima yojana” of the Central Government will provide
pension to the landless agricultural labourers. The scheme launched by the State Government
in 1998, offers benefits to landless agricultural labourers between the ages of 18 and 50.13
Subscription under the scheme is Rs.20/- per month and the State Government contributes
an equal amount until the subscribers are 50 years of age. Upon reaching the age of 50, theaccumulated amount along with usual interest is paid to the subscribers. The scheme isadministered by the GPs at the village level. The GP selects beneficiaries. Eligible persons
need to apply to the GP with documents of the land holdings (obtained from the Block Landand Land Reform Office of Raina I Block). Owners of less than 0.5 acres land are eligible.
There are about 1500 Provident Fund account holders in the Raina GP in 2008. Names oflandless agricultural workers, the Provident Fund account numbers and monthly
contributions are recorded for the PROFLAL. This scheme was not implemented in Warwat
Khanderao.
Although the MGNREGS is the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Raina GP
maintains the MGNREGS register. MGNREGS is more functional in Raina GP, than in
Warwat Khanderao GP. Within Raina GP, 3621 households and 8099 persons were registeredin MGNREGS as of 2012-13. The GP has issued 3621 job cards. Compared to Warwat
Khanderao GP, the proportion of households provided employment under this scheme issignificantly high in Raina GP: 2990 of 3621 households were provided with employment asof 2012-13. An average of 45 persondays was reportedly provided for each household. In

12Panchayats and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal, Annual Administrative Report 2006-07, p. 49, “In West
Bengal the panchayats perform quite a few functions beyond what has been provided in the Eleventh Schedule. Some ofthose functions like registration of birth and death have been formally devolved by issuing suitable order [reference
No.HF/O/FW/4C-2/94(1)/174-P dated 19.05.1997 of H & FW Department and No.4231-PN/O/I/4P-5/03 dated
12.11.2003 of Panchayats & Rural Development Department]”

13

Age limit for Landless Agricultural Workers was raised to 60 years in 2010.

17

Bidyanidhi village, 306 households and 697 persons are registered. In West Bengal the GUSs
are also participating in this scheme in order to mobilize their communities. The MGNREGS
has become an important handle of rural development for the West Bengal GP.
4-3-2 Census Type Surveys Independently Conducted by the PRI
The Raina GP conducted two household surveys in 2007 and 2008 on instruction from theZilla Parishad (ZP) to evaluate the rural sanitation scheme. In the 2007 survey, information
was collected on sanitation and on the type of ration card (APL/BPL/AAY) owned by thehousehold. In the 2008 survey, information was collected on access to toilets and somesocio-economic features of the households, such as social group (SC, ST, Others), numberof literate members and the educational attainment of the most educated member of thehousehold. Unit-level data of these surveys, which provide information on each household,are available at the Raina GP office.
In 2005 the Rural Household Survey (or the BPL Census) was conducted in Raina
GP by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) of the Central Government to identify
households below the poverty line. There was widespread discontent among the panchayat
officials over this survey, as they believed that the data collected, especially the list ofhousehold described as being below the poverty line, was inaccurate. The panchayat officials
conducted their own census-type survey of all households in the GP and collected
information on the same parameters as the Rural Household Survey.14 The GP reported all
discrepancies to the block officials. Some but not all of the discrepancies were amended later.
This survey data was also available at the GP office.
This event suggests that the Raina GP can organize and conduct census-typesurveys. The alternative Rural Household Survey in Raina shows that this panchayat has theability and expertise to identify discrepancies in data from surveys conducted by otherorganisations. Such arguments between the GP and other organisations about the accuracyof village data suggest that the quality of village data is really a matter of their concern.15
4-3-3 Village-level Registers and Records Collected and Maintained by Other Agencies
Numerous registers and records are collected and maintained at the village or block-level byagencies other than the GPs. Some of these outside agencies work in the functional domainof PRIs, using funds provided by the State or Central governments or donor funds. Most ofthese outside agencies envisage a line department-sponsored hierarchy, whose
decision-making system for resource allocation and project execution are independent of thePanchayati Raj. Such agencies generate and maintain their own databases in addition to those
14

There was similar discontent in Warwat Khanderao GP over the BPL Census conducted in June 2003. Gram Sevak of
Warwat Khanderao GP conducted a house-to-house re-survey in 2006 to revise the BPL list. However, as in Raina, some ofthe discrepancies in Warwat Khanderao were amended later but a large part of the discrepancies were not amended. The
survey data was available at the GP office.

15

Bakshi, A. and Okabe, J. (2011), pp. 13-14 and pp. 26-27.

18

maintained by the GPs. Although panchayat officials have access to such records, they do not
own the full set of these registers and records at the GP office.
4-3-3-1 Village ICDS (Anganwadi) Registers
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was initiated in India in 1975 withfinancial and technical assistance from the UNICEF and the World Bank. The ICDS
programme offers supplementary feeding facilities for children below the age of six,
pregnant women and lactating mothers, pre-school facilities for children aged three to six,maternal and child health care services such as immunization and vitamin supplements andnutrition and health education for mothers. The ICDS workers are also known as Anganwadi
workers.
ICDS is one of the major Centrally Sponsored Schemes with support of the State
government. The ISDS scheme is provided by line department of the Ministry of Womenand Child Development of the Central Government. It has a line of control and reporting
mechanisms. It has a separate decision-making system for resource allocation and project
execution, still independently of the Panchayati Raj set up. However, ICDS worked in thesame functional domain of PRIs under subject 25: “Women and child development” asstated in Schedule XI of the Constitution. Therefore, PRIs need to share information withICDS workers and coordinate various matters with each other.
The ICDS or Anganwadi worker maintains several registers, which are not available
at the GP office. For example, some of the registers in the Bidyanidhi ICDS centre in Raina
GP are described below.16i) Child register. All children in the village in the age group 0 to 6 years are recorded in thisregister. The date of birth, age, sex, school enrolment and monthly weight of each childare also recorded.
ii) Food register for children. All children in the village in the age group 7 months to 6 years arerecorded in this register. A daily attendance list of children who take food from thecentre is also maintained.
iii) Food register for pregnant women. A register similar to item (ii) is maintained for all pregnant
women in the village.
iv) Pre-school students’ register. The names and daily attendance of children in the age group 3 to
6 enrolled for pre-school education at the ICDS centre are recorded in this register. This
register does not include children in the village enrolled in other schools.
v) Register for pregnant women. This register records the names, month of conception, expected
date of delivery, immunization details, and other details of pregnant women in the village.
After delivery, the date and place of birth and sex of the child are registered.

16

Bakshi, A. and Okabe, J. (2011), pp. 15-16.

19vi) Growth chart of children (Gradation Register). A growth chart with monthly recordings ofheight and weight of children in the age group of 3 to 6 is maintained by the ICDS
worker.
vii) Immunization register. The ICDS worker and ANM maintain an immunization register for
newborns in the village, documenting the when and where vaccinations wereadministered. When the vaccination was taken at a private facility, the ICDS worker
records the date after verifying the papers.
viii) The ICDS centre also maintains registers for stocks, accounts and expenses.
ix) Village survey register. The ICDS worker conducts a village household survey every five
years. The register allots a page to each household in the village. The following
information on each member of the household can be obtained from the registera) Nameb) Relationship with the head of the householdc) Aged) Sexe) Educational attainmentf) If SC/STg) If landless/marginal cultivatorh) Occupationi) Date of Birth (of children)j) Comments: In this column information on deaths, marriages or migrations
is recorded, though exact dates of the event are not always available
Although the village survey register is updated every five years, information on births, deaths,
marriages and migrations is updated regularly. In case of births and marriages, the names anddetails of the new members are to be recorded in the register. When a new survey isconducted, the households that have divided are recorded separately and households thathave migrated temporarily are deleted from the register. However, where some household
members have migrated (for example, a son and his wife and children but not his parents),
details of all members of the undivided household are recorded even when the migration ispermanent.
As will be seen below, the village ICDS (Anganwadi) register in Warwat Khanderao
is becoming similar to that of the Bidyanidhi ICDS centre in Raina GP.
(Maharashtra)
Although Bal Wadi had started in December, 1981, ICDS was initiated in Warwat Khanderao
on November 18, 2000. Therefore ICDS records in this village can be traced back to 2000.
Establishment of the ICDS in Warwat Khanderao was in progress at the time ofour survey. On our first visit to Warwat Khanderao in 2008, there was only a single ICDS
centre in the village and one ICDS (Anganwadi) worker stayed at the staff room of the20primary school. When we returned in 2011, however, a detached pucca ICDS centre building
had been built next to the primary school and two ICDS (Anganwadi) workers had beenplaced in charge of each jurisdiction in the village. ICDS centre in Warwat Khanderao wasdivided according to the population and the new ICDS (Anganwadi) worker maintains all theregisters for her jurisdiction. The ICDS (Anganwadi) worker had been maintaining the“Village Survey Register” without allotting separate page for individual households until July,
2011. However, ICDS (Anganwadi) supervisor had asked her to give a separate page to eachhousehold after July, 2011 as she had so for each household under her jurisdiction since
September, 2011. Thus, ICDS records in Warwat Khanderao are becoming similar to thoseof Bidyanidhi.
The ICDS has a Bal Vikas Samiti committee of which Sarpanch is the president andan ICDS (Anganwadi) worker is the secretary. However, according to Sarpanch, the Bal Vikas
Samiti is not held in Warwat Khanderao, even though the Sarpanch, an ICDS (Aganwadi)
worker and some parents of students are to convene this committee every three months. The
Mahila Baal Samiti is a sub-committee constituted by GP to take up issues related to womenand child welfare. According to Sarpanch, in Warwat Khanderao this committee does not
function as it should.
Under the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958 as amended in 2003, Gram Sabha in
Maharashtra has been given extensive disciplinary control over government,semi-government and panchayat employees in the village. The Sarpanch recognises thatcoordination of ICDS activities is to be done by the GP. In fact, the ICDS centre building
was constructed on the responsibility of the GP. However, in Warwat Khanderao, we did not
find a strong coordination mechanism between the GP and the ICDS like the coordination
mechanism in West Bengal. Neither Mahila Baal Samiti nor Bal Vikas Samiti is functional in
Warwat Khanderao. Nonetheless, ICDS (Anganwadi) workers sometimes work with the
Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM) to perform functions such as immunizations for children.
ICDS (Anganwadi) workers update the registers every month, as they have to reportto the ICDS (Anganwadi) supervisor. However, when we interviewed the Gram Sevak of
Warwat Khanderao, he did not rely on the ICDS records. He does not trust its accuracy sincethese records are merely informal for operational use. With regard to the birth records, forexample, the Gram Sevak suggested that registers in the Civil Registration System (CRS) areformal records and that they should cover births of all the children in the village because
birth certificates are required for school admissions. However, primary school teachers in thesame village said that they accepted birth certificates of the CRS, say, for only about 10% ofschool enrolments. 17 According to a primary school teacher, parents can use many
documents to confirm the date of birth of their child at the time of the enrolment such as
the ICDS (Anganwadi) record, pre- and post-natal vaccination records of parents and children.
17

Jun-ichi Okabe and V. Surjit, ‘Village-Level Birth Records: A Case Study’ Review of Agrarian Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1,
January-June, 2012, p. 81.

21

If nothing is available, the school records the date of birth as reported by parents.18 Thismisunderstanding of the Gram Sevak also suggests a lack of coordination among GP, ICDS
(Anganwadi) workers and primary school teachers. There are few data-sharing mechanisms in
Maharashtra, as pointed out by the Expert Committee on BSLLD.19 Nevertheless, as will beseen in §5-3-2, the ICDS Child register is still more accurate than birth records in the CRS.
Apart from administrative problems of coordination between GP and ICDS, wefound that the quality of ICDS records on Muslims is not as good as records on Hindus in
Warwat Khanderao. The Aganwadi worker and the teacher of Zilla Parishad Urdu Primary
School said that all Muslim children in Warwat Khanderao are treated the same as Hindu
children; all children of the village are included in the ICDS registers. However, as will beseen in §2 of Chapter 5, there are inaccuracies in the records of Muslim people. There is no
standard Romanisation of Hindi/Marathi script. There are also entry errors and spelling
mistakes. Nicknames instead of given names are sometimes used for children. In addition,
the Anganwadi worker, a Buddhist woman, did not seem to know much about the Muslim
community. When we asked her about discrepancies on the ICDS child register, she needed
help from a Muslim woman of the Mahila Sabha. The teacher of Zilla Parishad Urdu
Primary School said that they applied for separate ICDS (Anganwadi) centres a long time ago
but it was not sanctioned because there were so few Muslim children in the village. We
interviewed five Muslim households who did not send their children to Anganwadi forpre-school. The households are located far from the ICDS centre. The families reported thatthey do not send their children because, the ICDS centre is far away, because the ICDS
(Anganwadi) worker does not come to collect the children, because the family members do
not have time to drop the children at the ICDS centre, and because the children often go to
the closer Urdu school where they can eat with their older siblings. All the students of Zilla
Parishad Urdu Primary School also go to Madrasa, namely, Ziya-ul-Quraan in the morningand the evening to learn the Arbi language. This situation may also affect the coverage andaccuracy of records collected by the ICDS (Anganwadi) workers.
(West Bengal)
The ICDS was initiated in Raina I in 1984. The ICDS centre at Bidyanidhi village wasestablished in 1999. Prior to that, a single ICDS centre catered to both Bidyanidhi andBirampur villages. The ICDS centre at Bidyanidhi was a detached pucca building. At present,
there are 18 ICDS centres in Raina GP. The Women, Child Development and Social Welfare
sub-committee (Upa-Samiti) of the GP deals with various matters on ICDS.
In West Bengal, there is a comprehensive institutional coordination mechanism
between GP and ICDS. The arrangement for the regular meeting of the GP level

18

Interview at the village primary school on April 26, 2014.

19

Central Statistical Organisation (2006), p. 25.

22

functionaries, known as “Fourth Saturday Meeting” has been institutionalized.20 For publichealth activities, the members of the sub-committee on Education and Public Health in each
GP along with representatives of the Health and Family Welfare Department and field-level
functionaries of the ICDS centres of the Women & Child Development and Social Welfare
Department along with representatives of SHGs meet on every fourth Saturday of themonth. The meeting reviews delivery of public health services like immunization, pre- andpost-natal services, registration of births and deaths, and children’s nutritional status, withparticipation of officials of those Departments. Public health services delivered by thepanchayat such as water supply and sanitation are also reviewed. Important events like deathsof children and pregnant women, and outbreaks of disease are also monitored and discussed
for possible preventive measures or drawing attention of higher-level officials. This meetingis a platform for convergence of the activities related to the SHGs and PRIs.21
In Raina, the Block Health Centre, ICDS centre and the GP form an interlinked
health and child care system. The Fourth Saturday Meeting is held at the GP office with the
ICDS supervisor, the ANM and health supervisor and Panchayat officials. A monthly data
sheet is prepared, recording the number of births and deaths, cases of morbidity, status ofsanitation and drinking water supply for the GP. This monthly data sheet is on public display
at the GP office. On the first Saturday of the month the liaison officers submit the data sheet
to their Departments.
This interlinked health and child care system among the GP, ICDS centre, andBlock Health Centre makes data sharing among these agencies possible. For example, at the
Fourth Saturday Meeting at the GP, data on institutional births are collected from healthdepartment officials and the number of children born at home is collected from the ICDS
(Anganwadi) worker. The information is combined and compiled at the GP office to prepare
the monthly chart. There is no such formal data-sharing mechanism at the Warwat
Khanderao GP in Maharashtra.
As will be seen in §2 of Chapter 5, the quality of ICDS registers in Bidyanidhi
village is remarkably good.22 The data-sharing mechanism may make it possible to check thereliability of data from different sources.23
According to the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) at Raina-I Block,the Education and Health Department uses ICDS data. The Panchayat also used information

20

Panchayats and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal, Annual Administrative Report 2007-08, pp. 48-49 andAnnual Administrative Report 2006-07, p. 49.

21

According to the activity mapping, convergence of ICDS activities belongs to the function assigned to GP.

22

According to the CDPO at Raina-I Block, “In 95 per cent cases the anganwadi registers are accurate. The ICDS
supervisors and the CDPO check the registers regularly. The ICDS supervisors have to submit a monthly progress reportwith the CDPO. Any sporadic changes and inconsistencies noticed in these reports are cross-checked.” (Interview on
September 14, 2009)23

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

23

from ICDS (Anganwadi) workers to identify beneficiaries for sanitation programme. 24
While the National Statistical Commission stated that the CRS has the potential toprovide estimates of vital events at the local level,25 panchayat officials in Raina said that theregisters maintained by ICDS (Anganwadi) workers are the most reliable of these sources.
4-3-3-2 Village school registers
Subject 17: “Education, including primary and secondary schools” is the functional domainof PRIs in the Schedule XI of the Constitution. Therefore, panchayats should share
information with schools to coordinate matters of concern.
The school maintains regular school registers on attendance and performance ofeach student and registers for staff, accounts and stocks (inventories like chairs, tables etc.).
Furthermore, the primary school maintains a register of all children in the village.
(Maharashtra)
In Maharashtra the primary and secondary education was entrusted to PRIs. Before 2008, theGram Siksha Committee was a sub-committee of the GP, keeping Sarpanch as the president.
However, under the Right to Education Act, 2009, only parents of students enrolled in theschool can serve as president of the School Management Committee. One member of the
GP and an Anganwadi worker also sit on the School Management Committee.26 Since then,the Gram Shiksha Committee has been scrapped. According to the Sarpanch of Warwat
Khanderao, improving the infrastructure of schools had been a responsibility of the GP
until 2010, but it has now been given to the School Management Committee. In this respect,
authority over primary and secondary education was taken away from the GP.
There are one Urdu primary school, one Marathi upper primary school and one
Marathi secondary school in Warwat Khanderao GP.
Marathi upper primary school offers instruction to class 7 and maintains theschool register. It has seven class rooms, seven teachers and two helpers for cooking. It has
separate toilets for boys and girls. Total enrolment in the school in 2008 academic year was
101 for the primary school (for I-IV standard) and 84 for the middle school (for V-VII
standards). Out of 101 students in the primary school, 27 were of Scheduled Caste (SC)families, 23 of Notified Tribal, 31 f Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and 20 of General.
Apart from the Marathi school, there is one Urdu primary school (Zilla Parishad
Urdu Primary School, Warwat Khanderao) that teaches the I-IV standard students ofMuslim families. The Zilla Parishad Urdu Primary School maintains the same school register
format as the Marathi school. Students who want to continue their study in Urdu medium
24

Interview with CDPO at Raina-I Block on September 14, 2009.

25

National Statistical Commission (2001), para 2.7.8.

26

Half of total members of the School Management Committee must be female. [Interview at the village primary schoolin November, 2013.]

24

after class IV go to Zilla Parishad Urdu School, Patuda (for V-VII standards) and for further
study they go to a private school either in Patuda or in Shegaon. All the Muslim students inthe village go to Madrassa -- Ziya-ul-Quraan -- in the morning from 7:00 to 8:00, and in theevening from 17:30 to 18:30. They learn Arbi language there.
The (Marathi upper primary) school also maintains a register of all children in theage group of 0 to 18 years based on an annual house-to-house enquiry. Information in theregister is updated every year. The survey is conducted between January and April. The
school authority sends somebody (though they do not use any card to inform parents) to thehousehold to ask parents to send their child when the child becomes 6 years old.
The school authority does not consult registers of ICDS (Anganwadi) for any
purpose but sometimes the school will accept the help of an ICDS (Anganwadi) worker to
conduct the survey. They do not share data and does not do a consistency check with ICDS
data.
(West Bengal)
Responsibility of providing education rests with not PRIs but with the School
Education Department. A GP in West Bengal has an Education and Public Healthsub-committee (Upa-Samiti), to do this. However, the Village Education Committee(equivalent to the School Management Committee in Maharashtra) monitors schools.
There are nine government primary schools, including one Muslim school, threeprivate primary schools, one secondary school and one higher secondary school in the areaof Raina GP. In Bidyanidhi there is one village primary school. The school maintains theschool register. The school has four classes (Standards I to IV), two classrooms and twoteachers. Total enrolment in the school was 40 in the 2008 academic year.
Apart from the village primary schools, there are three private primary schools(Classes Nursery to IV) in this area of the Raina GP. According to panchayat officials, somechildren from well-off families are sent to the private schools only because these schools
teach English better than the village schools. Panchayats know of these schools but do notcollect any data about them.
The school also maintains a register of all children in the village up to the age of 13
based on an annual house-to-house enquiry conducted by the school teachers. The survey isgenerally conducted between November and December. In that child register, a separate
sheet is allotted for each household with children aged 13 years and below. If more than one
child is in the household, all are recorded in the same sheet. Each year the child’s enrolment
status is updated, even when the child is not enrolled in the village primary school or ICDS
Centre. When a child attains the age of five, a green card is sent to the parents to notify themthat the child can be admitted to school in the next academic session.
The teacher at Bidyanidhi Primary School informed us that though they prepare
this register independently, the ICDS (Anganwadi) workers help them with the preparation of
the register.
25

4-3-3-3 Records at the Primary Health Centre(Maharashtra)
In Maharashtra, the function of “Medical and Public Health” was assigned to GPs under theBombay Village Panchayat Act, 1958. However, there is no Primary Health Centre (PHC) or
any other medical facility within the geographical boundaries of Warwat Khanderao GP.
Warwat Khanderao GP is served by Kalamkhed primary health sub-centre of Pathurda PHC.
The geographical boundaries of the block and the boundaries of served by the PHC are notsimilar in this case.
The Pathurda PHC serves the total population of around 30,000. There are four
sub-centres under the PHC, and three villages served directly by the PHC. The Kalamkhedsub-centre caters to a population of approximately 3,730.
The Auxilliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) and Accredited Social Health Activists(ASHA) visit the village periodically. The ASHA has to fill up a monthly report to the PHC,
where she has to record the number of cases of various types of illnesses (such as
tuberculosis, leprosy, sickle cell aneamia, dengue, HIV affected pregnant mothers, diarrhea)
and cases of vaccinations in her area. A meeting is held in the PHC on the 27th of every
month, which is attended by all health officials and ASHAs. Health data on all villages areconsolidated at the PHC level in a specified format in this meeting. The consolidated form issent to the block office on the 30th of every month. The block consolidates the records ofevery PHC under its jurisdiction and sends it to the district on the 2nd of the month.27(West Bengal)
In West Bengal, the PRIs were given the responsibility for managing all the physical assets of
the Block Primary Health Centers (BPHCs), PHCs and Sub-Centres by the Health andFamily Welfare Department in 2005.28 The function to assist in supervision and maintenanceof Sub-Centres is devolved to GPs according to the Activity Mapping.
The administrative jurisdictions of the Block Primary Health Centres (BPHCs)
and Sub-Centres are different from those of the Panchayats. There are 26 Primary Health
Sub-Centres in Raina I Block, and two in Raina GP. Each Sub-Centre serves a population of
5,000 to 10,000. There is one ANM per Sub-Centre and one health supervisor per GP.
Each Sub-Centre has to send to the block office details of all activities of the
sub-Centre, details of births and deaths, treated cases of different diseases, vaccinations,birth control and the like according to a prescribed format every month.29
As described above, the BPHC, ICDS centre and the Panchayat come together at
27

Interview with Health Superviser of Pathurda PHC in February 17-23, 2014.

28

Panchayats and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal, Annual Administrative Report 2005-06, pp. 14-15.

29

Interview with Medical Officer of Raina I BPHC in August 28-29, 2008.

26

the Fourth Saturday Meeting. The ANM and health supervisor attend the meeting as
representatives of the Health & Family Welfare Department. On the basis of this interlinked
health and child care system, data sharing with the GP and the ICDS centre is possible, andcan also improve the quality of data from the PHCs. The monthly data sheet is on public
display at the GP office. On the first Saturday of the month the data sheet is submitted to the
Health & Family Welfare Department.
4-3-3-4 Land Records at Patwari Office or Block Land and Land Reform Office
Maharashtra and West Bengal are located in different regions in terms of village land records.
As mentioned before, Maharashtra is the erstwhile temporarily settled or ryotwari areas that are
cadastrally surveyed and where the land revenue agency (commonly known as patwari agency)
annually compiles and updates village-level land records. Records on land use, tenure andagriculture were an integral part of the revenue system in Maharashtra. West Bengal is theerstwhile permanently settled or zamindarai areas that are cadastrally surveyed but where there isno patwari agency at the village level for collection and annual revision of land records.
(Maharashtra)
The area of patwari’s revenue village is identical to the area of GP in Warwat Khanderao. The
jurisdiction of the BDO is the block. Block (or community development block) is thegeographical unit for development administration. The jurisdiction of the tehsildar is thetehsil, which is the geographical unit for revenue administration. The two units are not thesame, though they overlap considerably. Warwat Khandera village is in Sangrampur Tehsil
and Pathurda block.
Patwari (Talati) and Tehsildar belong to a separate decision-making system, still
independently of the PRI set up. Authority at the village to collect land revenue is given to
patwari by the Revenue Department of the State. The line of reporting below the State isfrom village-level officer (patwari, or Talati) to the Circle Officer, Tehsildar and District
Collector.
The land measurement Department was established in 1989. The Tehsildar-level
office conducts the land measurement. Therefore, the patwari’s work is to maintain land
records and collect land revenue on the basis of this measurement.
Table 18-1 Land Record in Maharashtra
Village Form 7/12 (Record of Rights)[Rules 3, 5, 6 and 7 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Record of Rights (Preparation and
Maintenance) Rules, 1971]

Village_____________

Taluka_________________

27

Survey No/Gat Division
No.
SurveyNo/GatNumber.

of

Name
of
occupant

Tenure(the Account(Number))Nameofthe Tenant
Local
Name

land

Rent
Rs P.
.

Cultivable Area________________________________________________Ha.

R
Other rights

Total
Uncultivable LandClassAClass B
Total
Assessment
Judi or special assessment

Rs.

Boundary
andland
surveysymbolP.

Village Form 7/12 (Crop Record)

9

10
H.
R

12

13
H.
R

5
H.
R

6

7
H.
R

8
H.
R

28

11
H.
R

Remark

Area

4
H.
R

Name of occupant

Nature3

Irrigated Equipment

NonirrigatedIrrigated

2

Crop name1

Nonirrigat
Irriga
ted
Crop
name
NonirrigatedIrrigated

Seaso
ns

Noncultivating
Available
Land

Mixed

Yea
r

Details of Area under Crop
Details of Area under Mixed Details
of
Crop
Area
under
Unmixed Crop
Areas underDecline Crop

14

15

16

Patwari’s main land records are maintained in Form no. 7 (Naavn namuna saat) andForm no. 12 (Naavn namuna barah) as shown in Table 18-1.30 The records of sale and purchaseof the land are kept in Form no. 6 (Ferfaranchi Nond Wahi) (Ferfar Patra). These land records are
documented in terms of plot and, unlike those in West Bengal, they are documented not interms of holder. Plot numbers in the cadastral map were given in 1978. The plot-wide land
record is a list of plots maintained with the plot number (“survey number”). As shown in
Table 18-1, a wide range of items for each plot number, including the land uses, is recorded inthis land record.
According to the patwari of Warwat Khanderao, land records have no informationon tenants. Regardless of whether the land is leased or cultivated by the landowner, thelandowner’s name is written in the column for tenancy. Landowners do not report tenancy
because they fear that the tenants may claim ownership of land. Therefore, land records in
Warwat Khanderao are in principle land records for ownership holdings and not for
operational holdings. It is almost impossible to generate operational holdings records from
them.
There is no official record re-tabulated in terms of land holder. That is to say, there
is no official list of landowners (“occupants”) with information on their plots which arescattered everywhere. In other words, there is no official record classified according to thesurvey numbers held by a landowner. The patwari keeps such a list for his operational
convenience, apart from his official plot-wise land records. Even though he has such a
non-official holder-wise list for his operational use, he has no record of lands located outside
this revenue village and owned by the residents of this village.
The information is to be updated seasonally by the patwari in girdawari (a complete
enumeration of all survey numbers, which is made in every village during each crop season tocompile land use, irrigation and crop area statistics). However, this does not mean that therecords are completely up to date and accurate. Under the scheme for Improvement of Crop
Statistics (ICS), the NSSO revealed a considerable negligence in carrying out the girdawari.31
The Tehsil-level land records are computerised but the village-level records in
Sangrampur Tehsil are not. The computerisation started in August, 2011.
The land revenue is collected on very old rates. The rates for levying are the same
as before Independence in 1947. The revenue collected is divided between the Zilla Parishad(ZP), the Revenue Department and the GP. If the total land revenue is collected Rs. 9, out of30

Basic data of Agricultural Census for the erstwhile temporarily settled State is compiled through retabulation of
information available in the village land records. [Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Agricultural Census 2005-06:
Manual of Schedules and Instructions for Data Collection (Land Record States), pp. 7-8 and p. 17.
<http://agcensus.nic.in/report/ac_lr_200506.pdf> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.]
31

National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 4.2.6-4.2.12. Under the ICS scheme, an independent agency ofsupervisors carries out a physical verification of the patwari’s girdawari in a sub-sample of the TRS sample villages and makes
an assessment of discrepancies between the supervisor’s and patwari’s crop area entries in the sample clusters. The ICS
results for the four years ending 1998-99 shows that percentage survey numbers in which crop entries by the supervisor andthe patwari tally with each other is around 60-70% in all India and around 40% in Maharashtra, despite the patwari being
aware that his work will be subjected to technical supervision.

29

that Rs. 2 are given to the Revenue Department, Rs. 2 to the GP, and Rs. 5 are given to Zilla
Parishad. Patwari deposits the collected tax to the Revenue Department and the Revenue
Department divides the amount and sends to the District Collector, who gives it to the GP,
Revenue Department and ZP.
According to the patwari, the land record is still used for land reforms. No land has
been acquired in the village under the land ceiling acts. The ceiling for irrigated land is 24
acres and for unirrigated land it is 52 acres. Thirteen households of the Warwat Khanderao
village have been allotted some land, as the Government has 75 acres of land in this village.
In addition to the revenue administrative duties, patwari reports to Tehsildar andDistrict Collector about all political happenings, outbreaks of epidemics, suicides, floods andother natural calamities in the village. Patwari also supervises the village elections. A hierarchyof revenue officials— patwari, Tehsildar and District Collector under the Revenue Department— has extensive administrative powers in Maharashtra. Unlike West Bengal, where theadministrative duties of the Block level Land and Land Reform Officer (BLLRO) arerestricted to land reforms and land revenues, the Tehsildars in Maharashtra wield greateradministrative powers. The hierarchy of revenue officials generally helps the officers of otherdepartments in the execution of their duties.
Originally, in the Village List of the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958,“Maintenance of village records relating to land revenue in such manner and in such form as
may be prescribed from time to time by or under any law relating to land revenue” has been
provided as the subjects of activities to be devolved to GPs. Therefore, it is statutorily
possible for GPs in Maharashtra to intervene in the maintainance of land records to correct
and update data not only regarding seasonal land use but also regarding landowner-tenant
relations. Besides, under the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958 as amended in 2003, Gram
Sabha in Maharashtra has been given disciplinary control over government andsemi-government employees working in the village. The patwari is obviously one of thegovernment employees working in the village. Therefore, during the transition to theconstitutional devolution, GPs should be able to share information with patwari andcoordinate various matters using land records.
(West Bengal)
Land records are also maintained in West Bengal. Although West Bengal has no primary
reporting agency like patwari at the village level, the Block Land and Land Reform Office(BLLRO) and village-level Revenue Inspector (R.I.) maintain land records for villages in theblock. The Land and Land Reforms Department of the State Government is responsible for
the BLLROs and their land records. The PRIs in West Bengal do not have authority over theland records. The PRI simply facilitates the selection of land reform beneficiaries.
The BLLRO has a dual land recording system; it has both the land register
recorded in terms of holder and the land register recorded in terms of plot. As shown in
Table 18-2, a page in the register is allotted for each landowner where all of that landowner’s
30holdings within the jurisdiction of the block are listed. Besides this holder-wide land register,
there is a list of each plot with plot number in the cadastral map. Unlike the land records in
Maharashtra, core part of land records of the BLLRO is the holder-wide record.
Descriptions of land are the plot number, classification (land use classification), total andeach plot area, share of plot owned by the holder. There is no column for information onseasonal land use. Therefore, the range of information recorded by the BLLRO is limited
and not comprehensive. Records are updated only at the request of the landowner. Ordinarily,
the records are not regularly updated.32
The Land and Land Reform Department is computerising all land records. The
records at Raina are being digitised, though manual records are also kept.
Table 18-2 Land Record in West Bengal
District:

Mouza:

Register no:
Police Station:
J. L. No:
Name
Description Land
Cess
and
of
title Revenue Road Local Education Rural
Rural
address deedbody
employment employmentof ryot
surcharge
1
2
3
4a
4b
4c
4d
4e

Description of land
Plot Classification Comments Total Plot Area Share Area of the share owned byof plotno.
the holder
ownd
Acres Decimal by the Acres Decimal Hectare Acre
holder5

6

Total no. of plots:

7

8a

8b

9

10a

10b

10c

10d

Total area:

32

Basic data (i.e. sample frame) of Agricultural Census for the erstwhile permanently settled State is collected through acomplete listing by house-to-house enquiry about operational holders in at least 20% of villages selected by simple random
sampling method from each stratum. Thus, the Agricultural Census in West Bengal does not rely on land records of the
BLLRO at all. See Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Agricultural Census 2005-06: Manual of Schedules andInstructions for Data Collection (Non-Land Record States), p. 2. <http://agcensus.nic.in/report/ac_nlr_200506.pdf> Retrieved on
30 November 2014.

31

Holder-wise land register is more appropriate than plot-wise land register to findexcess of the ceiling limit of individual holders. According to the BLLRO officer at Raina I
Block, these records are used for land reform. All lands in excess of the ceiling limit ofindividual holders are declared vested to the Government by the Land and Land Reform
Office. In determining the ceiling surplus land, the BLLRO often collaborate with adjoining
block offices to assess individual’s total holdings. This is because, holders may own land in
more than one block, while each block office maintains registers on land holdings just within
the block. The allocation of vested land to land reform beneficiaries is decided by a fivemember committee consisting of the Block Development Officer (BDO), the BLLRO
officer, Chairman of Panchayat Samity, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Krishi
Karmadhakshya (secretary for agriculture and related matters) of the Panchayat Samiti (PS).
4-3-3-5 Others
GPs can access to data on livestock and fisheries from the respective Departments if requied.
It was found that though PRIs have authority over khadi and cottage industries, the GPs do
not have any authority over such industries other than collection of certain taxes and fees.
The licenses are granted by Panchayat Samiti (PS) or Zilla Parishad (ZP). Data from theIndustrial Development Office (IDO) are not available with the GP.
4-3-4 Census-type survey organised by Central or State governments
4-3-4-1 BPL Census
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) of the Central Government conducted theBelow Poverty Line (BPL) Census 2002 (also referred to as Rural Household Survey [RHS] in
West Bengal) through the State governments. This is a nationwide census-type survey
conducted in rural India. The objective of this Census is to identify households below thepoverty line in villages at the beginning of the plan period for selection of beneficiaries forpoverty alleviation schemes. The BPL Census 2002 sought to grade the relative deprivationof households on 13 indicators on a scale of 1 to 5. In West Bengal, 12 indicators were used
for the Rural Household Survey. Households obtaining the lowest scores in the 13 (or 12)
indicators in the survey are identified as being below poverty line such that the total numberof BPL households in the village corresponds with the number estimated by the Planning
Commission.
The identification and selection of beneficiaries for distribution of BPL Cards
under the public distribution system are based on the BPL survey list. Beneficiaries ofCentrally Sponsored Schemes such as Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), Indira Gandhi National Old
Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), and National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) are also
selected from the BPL survey list.
The household questionnaire had two parts: Section A for basic household
information, and Section B for 13 (or 12) “scoring parameters” to grade the relative
deprivation of each household. Section A contains (a) profile of each household member
32

(name, age, sex, relation to head of household, educational status), (b) average monthly
income of the household in Rupees, (c) type of operational holding of land (owner, tenant,both owner and tenant, none), (d) drinking water facility (no source of drinking water within
distance of 1.6 kilometre, source of drinking water at a distance of 1.00-1.59 kilometre,
0.50-0.99 kilometre, less than 0.50 kilometre, source available within the house), (e) socialgroup of the household (ST, SC, OBC, Others). Section B contains items for 13 parameters:(1) size group of operational holding of land, (2) type of house, (3) average availability ofnormal wear clothing (per person in pieces), (4) food security, (5) sanitation, (6) ownership ofconsumer durables, (7) literacy status of the most literate adult, (8) status of the householdlabour force, (9) means of livelihood, (10) status of children (5-14 years), (11) type ofindebtedness, (12) reason for migration from household, (13) preference of Assistance.33
The BPL Census 2002 has been widely criticised by the rural poor and theirorganisations, and by scholars. Sundaram (2003), Jain (2004), Himanshu (2008) and Usami(2010)34 evaluated the methodology of the BPL Census 2002 household identification. Eventhe expert group set up by the MoRD admitted that the errors of exclusion and inclusion in
the BPL Census 2002 household identification remained above acceptable limits.35
Notwithstanding widespread discontent with the “scoring parameters” to identify
the BPL households, the coverage for APL/BPL household members in the BPL census is
not very bad, as will be seen in §5-3-1. Besides, the household database captured through thesurvey was digitised so that it was used for a variety of other purposes. This database willassist not only in producing statistics but also in identifying each and every rural householdby name of the head of the household or by a uniquely generated household code. It canhelp in generating a list of households which match a set of combination of parameters. In

33

Out of 13 parameters in the BPL Census 2002, parameter (5) sanitation was not used and instead of (13) preference ofAssistances, another parameter, ‘special kind of disability’ was used in the Rural Household Survey (RHS) of West Bengal.
Some other parameters are also a little modified. Twelve parameters used in the RHS of West Bengal were independently
defined as follows: (1) Effective landholding of the family (together with land cultivated as registered Barga holder), (2)Nature of dwelling house, (3) Number of garments per member, (4) Food security, (5) Ownership of consumer items—
Cycle, Radio, TV, Electric Fan, Pressure Cooker, (6) Educational status (of the most educated member of the family), (7)Earning capability status, (8) Means of livelihood, (9) Educational status of children of 9-14 years (Highest to be considered
for more than one child), (10) Type of loan, (11) Reason for going out of the village for employment of the principal earnerof the family, (12) Special kind of disability.

34

Sundaram, K., “On Identification of House- holds Below Poverty Line in BPL Census 2002: Some Comments on the
Proposed Methodology”, Economic & Political Weekly, March 1, 2003.
Jain Sachin Kumar, “Identification of the Poor Flaws in Government Surveys,” Economic & Political Weekly, November 20,
2004.
Himanshu, “What Are These New Poverty Estimates and What Do They Imply?”, Economic & Political Weekly, October 25,
2008.
Usami Yoshifumi，Ramachandran V. K., and Sarkar Biplab, ‘Are the Results of BPL Census 2002 Reliable?’, International
Conference on Environment, Agriculture and Socio-economic Change in Rural India, Kyungpook National University
Daegu,
Republic
of
Korea
March
29-30,
2010<http://www.agrarianstudies.org/UserFiles/File/Usami_Biplab_Ramachandran_Reliability_of_BPL_Census1.pdf#searc
h='BPL+census+2002' > Retrieved on 30 November 2014.
35

Government of India, Ministry of Rural Development, Report of the Expert Group to advise the Ministry of Rural Developmenton the Methodology for Conducting the Below Poverty Line (BPL) Census for 11th Five Year Plan, 2009, p. 20.

33

fact, the Panchayats and Rural Development Department of the West Bengal noted that thehousehold database has been helpful by:i)
helping the Panchayati Raj Institutions or the district authority to prepare a list of
all the rural households and their socioeconomic status;ii)
identifying and generating a list of socially vulnerable families;iii)
generating a list of potential beneficiaries for Government and PRI sponsoredprogrammes;
iv)
producing GIS maps for grass root level planning for economic development
and social justice;v)
making socioeconomic scenarios available to the civil society for a more accuratesocial audit.
The Panchayats and Rural Development Department of the West Bengal notes that “forexample, if one likes to identify the landless families who have to migrate for casual work fora particular Gram Panchayat, one may easily generate such list” and “similarly, any one wants
to get an idea about the housing condition of a particular area, it will be possible to have thesame from this database in figures, tabular presentation and can also identify households ineach of such categories”. 36
Therefore, the MoRD has made the BPL Census 2002 database available on its
website even to GP officials and Gram Sabha members.37

36

Panchayats and Rural Development Department, Government of West Bengal, Annual Administrative Report 2007-08, pp.
123-125.
37

See <http://bpl.nic.in/index.php?bpl=Y>34

Source: Panchayats and Rural Development Department, Government of West Bengal, Annual Administrative Report 2007-08,
p. 124.

(Maharashtra)
BPL Census 2002 was conducted in June 2003 in Warwat Khanderao. Without consultingwith the GP, the BDO appointed a primary school teacher in Warwat Khanderao as an
enumerator; he completed the task alone. Eventually suspicions arose among residents thatsome poor households had been excluded from the list and some non-poor households had
been included. That suspicion caused widespread discontent with the BPL list generated
from this survey.
In 2006, Gram Sevak of Warwat Khanderao repeated the house-to-house re-survey
to revise the BPL list. However, as was the case in Raina, only some of the discrepancies werecorrected but most of them were now.
The filled up schedules collected from all APL/BPL households and the amended
BPL list were available at the Warwat Khanderao GP office and on the website of the MoRD.
This database includes not only list of the households but also a list of members of eachhousehold.
Yoshifumi Usami, Biplab Sarkar, and V. K. Ramachandran (2010) made anassessment of the quality of BPL list generated from the BPL Census in Warwat Khanderao.
The assessment was made by matching some of the parameters in the BPL census with35

equivalent data collected through the census-type household surveys conducted by theFoundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS). As a result of the assessment, they found that the
BPL list generated from the BPL Census was not accurate. The GP officials’ dissatisfaction
with this survey was therefore justified.38(West Bengal)
BPL Census 2002 was conducted in Raina in 2005 as the Rural Household Survey (RHS).
There was similar discontent in the Raina GP with the BPL list generated from thissurvey. Therefore, as mentioned in §4-3-2, the officials of Raina GP had to conduct an
independent alternative census-type survey for all households in the GP area and collectinformation on the same parameters as the Rural Household Survey.
The filled up schedules collected from all APL/BPL households and the amended
BPL list were available at the Raina GP office. However, the database for Bidyanidhi village
does not have the full list of members of each household. Of the 151 households listed in
the RHS database, information on household members is available only for 17.
We also obtained database available on the website of the MoRD, and made anassessment of the quality of BPL list generated from the RHS in Bidyanidhi village. The
assessment was made by matching the RHS data on some of the parameters with datacollected through the census-type household surveys conducted by the Foundation forAgrarian Studies (FAS). As a result, we again found that the BPL list generated from the RHS
seemed inaccurate and that the dissatisfaction with this survey among the GP officials wasjustified.39

38

Yoshifumi Usami, Biplab Sarkar, and V. K. Ramachandran (2010).

39

Bakshi, A. and Okabe, J. (2011), pp. 21-22. The two data sets, that is, the RHS data and the FAS data would be roughly
comparable since both the surveys were conducted in the same year. There were 36 households in the BPL list of which 32
households could be found in the FAS survey list. Our analysis is restricted to these 32 households. The result of ouranalysis is as follows:
Female headed households – A household headed by a woman was considered as a “special kind of disability” (P12) in the RHS.
Of the 32 households, 12 were female-headed according to the RHS. We found that seven of these households were notactually female-headed households. In two households the wives were reported as the head of the household even when thehusband was present and economically active. In five cases, a widowed mother was reported as the head of the household
when the actual head of the household was the working adult son.
Landholding – Of the 32 households only one was reported to own land in the RHS. According to our survey 12 households
owned land, though the sizes of land holdings were very small and in all cases less than 1 acre.
Literacy status of the highest literate adult – in 13 cases the education status of the most educated member of the family in the twodata sets did not match.
Status of the household labour force – there were some discrepancies in the two data sets. In many households adult women
members were not reported to be working thus gaining higher scores for households.
Means of livelihood – in six cases, the means of livelihood was reported as daily/agricultural/other physical labour in the RHS
whereas according to the FAS survey the household was self employed in agriculture or in some other occupation or held
labour oriented regular job in unorganized sector. In two cases agricultural labour households were classified as ‘organizedsector’ worker and ‘regular worker in unorganized sector’ respectively.
Educational status of children of 9 to 14 years – only in six of the 32 households the score assigned in the RHS matched with the
FAS survey data.

36

Thus, the identification of BPL households using the BPL Census 2002 caused
widespread discontent among the residents in both GPs. Nevertheless, the databasegenerated from the BPL Census (or RHS) can be used not only for the BPL household
identification but also for multiple purposes. Therefore, we will evaluate the BPL Census (orRHS) for such purposes in §2 of Chapter 5.
Results of the fourth BPL Census (the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC)
2011) are forthcoming.
4-3-4-2 Population Census
The Population Census is conducted every ten years. The Census of India is a Union subject
under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The conduct of the Population Census is the joint workof Central and State Governments. The entire field operation, which includes house listingand population enumeration are organised through the administrative machinery of theStates. For example, the enumerator of Bidyanidhi for the Census of India 2001 was a single
primary school teacher. When we visited Bidyanidhi in February 2011, the ICDS (Anganwadi)
worker was the enumerator of another village.
The Population Census data (the population enumeration data, and thehouselisting and housing data) is indisputably one of the most important data sources ofdemographic information. It consists of details of the census house, amenities, information
on households and on each household member such as sex, age, marital status, religion,
mother tongue and language, SC & ST, literacy, educational level attained, characteristics ofworkers and non-workers, economic activity, characteristics of migration, and fertility
particulars. The Rangarajan Commission stated that:40
After the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments passed by the Parliament in 1992, thePopulation Census data has immense potential to serve the planning and development dataneeds of the panchayati raj institutions at the grass roots level. The process of democratic
decentralisation set in motion by the above Acts of Parliament have transferred responsibility
for 29 items including primary health care, primary education, family planning and minor
developmental works to the elected local bodies. State Governments have begun the process oftransferring funds to the panchayati raj Institutions and nagar palikas to enable them implement
these activities. In this changed context, the census must respond with urgency to the data needs
at the district, block, panchayat and village levels starting with the recently collected Census 2001
data.

Its data items in the Census of India 2011 are as follows:
A. Census of India 2011: Houselisting and Housing Census Schedule40

National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 9.2.16.

37

Location Particulars
State/UTDistrictTahsil/Taluk/P.S./Dev. Block/Circle/Mandal
Town/Village
Ward Code No. (only for Town)
Houselisting Block No.
1. Line number
2. Building number (Municipal or local authority or census number)
3. Census house number
Predominant material of floor, wall and roof of the census house
4. Floor
5. Wall
6. Roof

9. Ascertain use of Census house
10. Condition of this census house
11. Household number
Total number of persons normally residing in this household

9. Persons
10. Males
11. Females
13. Name of the head of the household
14. Sex15. If SC or ST or Other
16. Ownership status of this house
17. Number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of this household
18. Number of married couple(s) living in this household
19. Main source of drinking water
20. Availability of drinking water source
21. Main source of lighting
22. Latrine within the premises
23. Type of latrine facility
24. Waste water outlet connected to
25. Bathing facility available within the premises
26. Availability of kitchen
27. Fuel used for cooking
28. Radio/Transistor
29. Television
30. Computer/Laptop
31. Telephone/Mobile phone3832. Bicycle
33. Scooter/ Motor Cycle/ Moped
34. Car/ Jeep/ Van
35. Availing Banking Services
B. Census of India 2011: Household Schedule
1. Name of the person
2. Relationship to head
3. Sex4. Date of birth and Age
5. Current marital status
6. Age at marriage
7. Religion
8. Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)
9. Disability
10. Mother tongue
11. Other languages known
12. Literacy status
13. Status of attendance in educational institution
14. Highest educational level attained
15. Worked any time during last year
16. Category of economic activity
17. Occupation
18. Nature of industry, trade or service
19. Class of worker
For marginal worker or non worker
20. Non-economic activity
21. Seeking or available for work
For other worker
22. Travel to place of work (a) One-way distance (b) Mode of travel to place of work
23. Birth place
24. Place of last residence
25. Reason for migration
26. Duration of stay in this village/town since migration
For currently married, widowed, divorced or separated woman
27. Children surviving
28. Children ever born
For currently married woman

29. Number of children born alive during last one year

39The Population Census data at and above the village level is published in theDistrict Census Handbooks. As shown in Table 15 and Table 16, accurate data on migrationand employment status are not available from the village-level data source other than the
Census of India. Otherwise, we have to depend on, say, brief notes in the comment column
for each member of the household in the ICDS (Anganwadi) Village Survey Register.

As will be seen in Chapter 5, the Population Census data is a multi-purpose datasetthat serves all the data needs I-III of the PRIs at the grass roots level. The Population Census
data is obviously the core statistics for the PRIs. It is utilised for determining the seats andelectoral boundaries for the Panchayat election, for formulating programme and policies, andfor providing formula to calculate inter-PRIs shares for fund allocation.
However, one of the problems in the Census of India is its frequency of datacollection. Since the Census data is available on decennial basis, it is available only after a gapof ten years. It cannot be updated more frequently. Furthermore, undue delay in dataprocessing of the Census of India is a serious problem, as pointed out by the Rangarajan
Commission. The final data is available at the PRI only after considerable time has passed.
Moreover, PRIs do not have access to unit-level household data from the
Population Census, as it is taken as per the provisions of the Census Act, 1948, which places
a legal obligation upon the public to cooperate and give truthful answers and guarantees
confidentiality of their information. Information on each household from the Population
Census must not be used for administrative purposes.
(Maharashtra)
Warwat Khanderao GP does not own the village-level Census data. Gram Sevak said it is notuseful due to undue delay in the release of final results. The village level Census data are
available at the BDO.
(West Bengal)
The village level Census data are available at the Raina GP with some time lag. The panchayat
officials said that the Census data are fairly reliable, though the data is outdated by the time itreaches the panchayat.41

41Interview at Raina GP office in September 2008.

40

4-3-4-3 Livestock Census
The Livestock Census is conducted every five years by the Ministry of Agriculture of theCentral Government through the State Animal Husbandry Departments with the help of
their field staff. Enumerators visit houses, enterprises and institutions to collect information
about type of livestock, poultry and amount of equipment used in the animal husbandry
sector. However, the census data are not aggregated according to the households and theircomposition. The Rangarajan Commission also noted the excessive delay in completing thecensus operation and long time-lag in the availability of census results. 42 Both Warwat
Khanderao GP and Raina GP have access to the household-level data of the Livestock
Census at the block level offices. However, the data are not available at the GP office.
4-3-4-4 Agricultural Census
However, no information regarding the Agricultural Census could be found at either of thetwo villages in Maharashtra and West Bengal. The Agricultural Census of India has been
conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Central Government since 1970-71 at five
yearly intervals, as a part of the World Census of Agriculture (WCA). The Agricultural
Census is expected to provide detailed statistics on the structure of operational holdings andtheir main characteristics like number and area, land use, irrigation, tenancy and cropping
pattern. Reportedly, the Agricultural Census 2005-06 covered 13,716,000 operational
holdings in Maharashtra and 6,992,000 in West Bengal. 43 However, the Rangarajan
Commission noted serious deficiencies in the Agricultural Census. One of the principal
shortcomings is attributable to its method of re-tabulation of data. The Commission statesthat “its reliability rests on how accurate and up-to-date are the records. It is well known thatthe village records are deficient in several respects.” 44 Another issue noted by theCommission is the delay in the availability of final results. According to the commission, thetime lag from the reference period can be from four to six years.
(Maharashtra)
In the erstwhile temporarily settled States, the Agricultural Census is to follow the method of
re-tabulation of data from village land records.45 Patwari system may have played a pivotal role42

National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 4.13.3.

43

Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, All India Report on Agriculture Census 2005-06, p. 57.

44

National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 4.9.5-4.9.7. Apart from the fact that the village records are deficient inseveral respects, the Rangarajan Commission points out other issues in the system of Agricultural Census as follows:“Initially, there was a fairly high-level hierarchy of officials responsible for planning and organising census operations. At theCentral level there was an Agricultural Census Commissioner of India with adequate supporting staff and also a Monitoring
Group under the Chairmanship of a Special Secretary. There used to be a corresponding mechanism at the State level toplan and supervise the census operations. However, over time, there has been depletion in the numbers and status of
personnel in charge of the census. Apparently, the census ceased to have the same importance and priority, with the resultthat there has been significant erosion in the quality and timeliness of census data.” [National Statistical Commission (2001),
para. 4.9.8]
45

Basic data of Agricultural Census for the erstwhile temporarily settled State is compiled through retabulation of41

for the re-tabulation of village land records. Nevertheless, the patwari of Warwat Khanderao
has no idea of the Agricultural Census. 46 Actually, the re-tabulation of the village land
records should be insignificant with a view to produce statistics of operational holdings,
since land record in Maharashtra is primarily an ownership holding register, not an
operational holding register. As the patwari of Warwat Khanderao noted, the record on
tenants is considerably unreliable. That is to say, it should be not possible in Maharashtra to
produce statistics of operational holdings without village-level land record on tenants.
(West Bengal)
In the erstwhile permanently settled States, the Agricultural Census is to be taken through acomplete listing by house-to-house enquiry about operational holders in a 20 per cent sampleof villages. The sample villages are to include all the villages selected under the scheme for
Establishment of an Agency for Reporting Agricultural Statistics (EARAS). 47 The GP
officers in Raina, however, have no idea of the Agricultural Census. According to the blocklevel Agricultural Officer of Raina I, any data of the Agricultural Census and even data
generated from the EARAS scheme are not available at the block level at present.
4-3-4-5 Economic Census
Neither Warwat Khanderao GP nor Raina GP have access to data of the Economic Census.
Block-level officers of both GPs recognise that the field operations were certainly carried out
in their jurisdictions. However, no data of the Economic Census were available in the PRIs.

information available in the village land records. “In States where comprehensive land records exist, the data on the number
and area of operational holdings according to different size-classes, social groups and gender of operational holder, would
be collected and compiled on complete enumeration basis through retabulation of information available in the Village Land
Records. This would imply covering all the survey numbers within each village and preparing a list of ‘Operational Holdings’
therefrom”; “Some holdings may not be located completely within the village and they may be spread over to other villages.
For preparation of a list of operational holdings, necessary matching of the part-holders scattered over more than one
village has to be done”; “The most important part of the Census is the preparation of the list of operational holdings. In
preparing the list of operational holdings in the village, one has to go through all the survey numbers in the basic village
record, viz., ‘khasra register’ and/or any other equivalent local variant, and has to see whether they form part of any
operational holding. One could take the khasra register as the base and classify all the survey numbers/sub-survey numbers
held by an operational holder”; “For this purpose, the primary worker can make use of the basic village land records such as
Khatauni, patta Register, B.1 Form, Village Form 8(A) and Crop Register, which are also known as Khasra Register/ Khasra
Girdwar/ Adangal/ Village Form VII-XII/Pahani Patrak, etc.. Khatauni is a register, which gives the list of persons who
own land alongwith the area owned. The concept followed in Agricultural Census is of Operational Holding and not theownership holding.” [Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Agricultural Census 2005-06: Manual of Schedules andInstructions for Data Collection (Land Record States), p.
2, p.
3, pp. 7-8
and p.
17.
<http://agcensus.nic.in/report/ac_lr_200506.pdf> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.]
46

Interview at patwari office in Warat Khanderao on August 2011.

47“These sample villages have to include all the villages selected under the scheme for Establishment of an Agency for
Reporting Agricultural Statistics (EARAS).” See Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Agricultural Census 2005-06:
Manualof
Schedules
andInstructionsfor
Data
Collection(Non-Land
RecordStates),p.
3.
<http://agcensus.nic.in/report/ac_nlr_200506.pdf> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.

42

The Economic Census has been conducted throughout India since 1977. The
Fifth (2005) Economic Census was conducted by the Central Statistical Organisation, MoSPIof the Central Government.48 This Census covers all the village-level units (establishments)
engaged in economic activities (agricultural and non-agricultural), with the exception of
those involved in crop production and plantation.49 It covers production and/or distributionof goods and/or services other than those for the sole purpose of own consumption.
Although economic units engaged in the growing of tea, coffee, rubber, tobacco, etc. are notcovered by this Census, establishments engaged in processing of tea, coffee, tobacco etc. arecovered. Establishments with fixed premises were covered at the place of their operation. On
the other hand, economic activities that are carried out without any fixed premises or
location were identified through households. This “mixed household-enterprise survey” is anappropriate method of measuring the informal sector.50
Reportedly, the Fifth (2005) Economic Census covered 2,110,191 establishments
in rural Maharashtra and 2,772,415 in rural West Bengal.51 The information on location of
establishment, description of economic activity carried out, nature of operation, type ofownership, social group of owner, use of power/fuel, total number of workers usuallyengaged with, its hired component and numbers of male and female workers was collected.
When we visited Raina villages in February 2011, the Sixth (2012-13) Economic
Census was being prepared along with the house-listing operations of the Population Census
2011.

48

When we visited Raina villages in February 2011, the Sixth (2012-13) Economic Census was being prepared along withthe house-listing operations of 2011 Population Census. The Second (1980) and the Third (1990) Economic Censuses were
integrated with the house listing operations of the 1981 and 1991 Population Censuses, respectively.

49“It may be noted that while the growing of tea, coffee, rubber, tobacco, etc. are not classified as agricultural
establishment for the purpose of this census, however establishments engaged in processing of tea, coffee, tobacco etc. arecovered.” [Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Guide for Enumerators & Supervisors, p. 6 <http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/census_2012/EC_main_2012.htm > Retrieved on 30 November 2014.]
50

European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
United Nations and World Bank, System of National Accounts 2008, 2009, p. 481.
<http://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/sna2008.asp> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.

51

Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, Economic Census
2005 All India Report <http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/economic_census_2005/index_6june08.htm> Retrievedon 30 November 2014.

43

However, the Rangarajan Commission noted that the number of manufacturing
enterprises reported by the Economic Census is generally much lower than the estimate
given by the Follow-up Enterprise Survey (FuS). Table 19 illustrates the number ofenterprises in rural area engaged in unregistered manufacturing activities according to the
Economic Census and the FuS. It raises issues with the quality of data on the village-level
unregistered units (establishments) engaged in economic activities. If all Economic Census
data would be disclosed at the village level, this discrepancy will be a subject of discussion.52
Although GPs in both Maharashtra and West Bengal have authority over subject 9:“Khadi, village and cottage industries” in the Schedule XI of the Constitution, they do nothave access to village-level Economic Census data.
4-3-4-6 All India School Education Survey
Data of the All-India School Education Survey (AISES) conducted by the National Councilof Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is disclosed in the website.53 GPs can accessthis website to see AISES data. A village-wide school directory is disclosed on the website.
The AISES is conducted at intervals of five to seven years to collect the detailed data onenrolment, teachers and physical facilities in schools. Information on each village is alsocollected using the Village Information Form (VIF). A block-level officer organises thesurvey with the help of the district survey officer.54 Although village-level data on the school
regularly moves upward, the school head master at the Warwat Khanderao was not aware ofany such survey conducted by the block-level officers.
During our fieldwork we came to know that there are three private primary(Classes Nursery to IV) schools in Rain GP. However, the AISES village-level school
directory does not have information on these three schools. There is a possibility that AISES
underestimates privately run unrecognised schools in India.
4-3-5 Administrative reports of GP
4-3-5-1 Village Schedule on BSLLD and Alternative Village Schedule in Maharashtra
As described in §1 of chapter 1, the Expert Committee on BSLLD appointed by the Ministryof Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) of the Central Government
suggested a minimum list of variables in the form of Village Schedule on which data is to becollected at the village level.
52“Recently, an Expert Committee to examine wide variations in data sets on the same subjects (Report released in
February 2000) also studied the said divergence in the alternative data sets. According to the Report, the total number ofmanufacturing enterprises in the country as estimated by the FuS 1989-90 and the EC 1990 are about 144 lakhs and 54 lakhs,
respectively. Thus FuS estimate is about 2.7 times the EC count despite the fact that the FuS considered only theunregistered enterprises as against the EC taking into account all types of enterprises irrespective of their status ofregistration or type of ownership.” [National Statistical Commission (2001), para. 5.2.19]

53

See <http://aises.nic.in/home> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.

54

A School Inspector that we met during our follow-up research at the Marathi upper primary school, Warwat Khanderaoin October 2013 recognised this survey activity.

44

At present, the database on the Village Schedule is merely in its pilot stage. A
full-fledged scheme for the BSLLD has not started yet. The Expert Committee on BSLLD
conducted a pilot study in nine states -- Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala,
Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal -- from 2003 to 2005. Subsequently the
MoSPI started a pilot scheme on BSLLD in 2009-10 in 32 States/Union Territories
excluding Delhi, Goa and Chandigarh. Based on findings of the first phase pilot study, areport, “Cross-Sectional Synthesis Report on Pilot Scheme of Basic Statistics for Local(Village) Level Development” (hereafter the Cross-Sectional Synthesis Report 2011) was released
in 2011. The “Report on Basic Statistics for Local Level Development (BSLLD): Pilot Studyin Rural Areas” (hereafter the CSO Report 2014) was published in 2014. Many State reports
have also been released.55
So far in these nation-wide pilot studies, the Village Schedule and its Field
Instruction have been repeatedly tested and modified. In the pilot studies, feedback fromdifferent States and Union Teritories was sought on the data sources, availability of data fordifferent items of information, and problems in compilation of data.
The revised Village Schedule at present consists of the following blocks of data
items:
Block-0: Descriptive identification of the village
Block-1: Particulars of data recording
Block-2: Availability of some basic facilities
Block 3: Village Infrastracture
Block 4: Distance from the nearest facility
Block 5: Demographic information
Block 6: Morbidity, Disability and Family Planning
Block 7: Health manpower
Block 8: Education
Block 9: Land utilization
Block 10: Live stock and poultry
Block 11: Number of storage and marketing outlets
Block 12: Employment status of the villagers
Block 13: Migration
Block 14: Other Social Indicators
Block 15: Industries and business
Block 16: Information on Fatality due to Disasters

55<http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/lld_data_13jan12/state_report_2012.htm> Retrieved on 30 November
2014.

45

Item-wise assessments will be made in §4 of Chapter 5 where the availability of its data
sources and the relationship of its data items with each function listed in the Schedule XI of
the Constitution will be examined.
Data in the Schedule is, in principle, to be compiled once a year. If the information
is not available for the year of reporting, the MoSPI notes that “latest data available may berecorded along with reference period.”56
In the initial phase of the pilot studies conducted by MoSPI, two Village Schedules
viz. Schedule A— for periodic datasets to be compiled once in a year, and Schedule B— fordynamic datasets to be compiled for each month of the reference period were used forcompilation of data. However, based on experience gained in the first a few years of the pilot
scheme, the two Schedules were integrated into one for which data were compiled just oncein a year.57 Month-by-month dynamic data in the Schedule B were converted to data “as per
the last month of the reference period” (Block 13, Block 14, Block 15) or data “during thereference year” (Item 5.6 to 5.13 of Block 5).58 Month-by-month dynamic dataset is certainly
required for Data Needs I (data requirements for self-governance) to monitor changes ofmatters in the jurisdiction of the panchayt (as mentioned in §2-2-2-2). However, as far as
annual or five year planning is concerned, month-by-month dynamic data is not a highpriority requirement for Data Needs III (data requirements for micro-level planning).59 As
mentioned before, the Village Schedule on BSLLD was developed just for Data Needs
III.60 Thus, Data Needs III was confused with Data Needs I in the initial phase of thepilot scheme, but the Data Needs III was sharply-demarcated and rationalised later.
The Village Schedule on BSLLD is compiled from secondary data and, if it is notavailable, the assessment of knowledgeable persons (or common knowledges among village
residents). But most of the items in the Schedule have to be compiled from the secondary
data. The majority of data items must have documentary support. Most such data sources
have already been described from §4-3-1 to §4-3-4 of this chapter. Therefore, the Schedule is56“Information on age-group wise population, employment, migration etc. may not be available for the year of reportingat village level. In such cases, latest data available may be recorded along with reference period.” [Central Statistical Office,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. 126.]

57

Since the pilot scheme in 2012-13, “the concept of monthly collection of data for some items of information wasdispensed with.” [Central Statistical Office, 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. 26.] The Cross-Sectional Synthesis
Repert (2011) provided by MoSPI has already recommended that “the Schedules (both Schedule A for periodic data and
Schedule B for dynamic data) need to be rationalized with a view to reduce incidence of missing data, particularly in respectof Schedule B items and to improve timeliness in completion of field work for filling out the schedules.” “The twoschedules may be integrated into one schedule to make it amenable to capture the required data on annual basis through one
time operation once in every year.” [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: Basedon Results of the Pilot Scheme on BSLLD executed in Selected States and UTs, 2011, p. vii.]
58

Central Statistical Office (2014), p. 163 and p. 168.

59

“The dynamic changes month-to-month changes are found to be very insignificant at the village level for almost all
dynamic variables covered in Schedule B” [Central Statistical Office (2011), p. vii.]

60

Central Statistical Organisation (2006), p. A-1.

46

merely a framework for compiling records and registers that have already been recorded by
local functionaries. The Instructions for data recordist of the Schedule are as follows:
The information in the village schedule is not to be collected by conducting house-to-housesurvey. The information is to be recorded in the schedule from the records available at thevillage level and being maintained by different village level functionaries, such as Anganwadi
workers, ANM, Panchayat Secretaries, school teachers, Patwaris, village headman, andknowledgeable persons etc. The village Directory of Census 2011, i.e., Primary Census Abstract
may also be utilized as required. If required, data may be elicited from knowledgeable persons incase, the particular data can not be obtained from the records/registers.61

Although the Expert Committee did not mention it, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of
the MoSPI suggested the use of alternative datasets from the Socio Economic and Caste
Census (SECC) 2011. The village-level data from the fourth BPL Census (the SECC 2011)
can be used to fill in the Village Schedule.
Most of the DES [Directorate of Economics and Statistics] informed that compilation ofdemographic data (Block 5) and employment data (Block-12) is difficult. However, after
completion of Socio-Economic and Caste Census, data on population— sex-wise, age-wise,
caste-wise and religion-wise— are available at village level and also at each individual/
household level. These data may be aggregated as per the requirement of the BSLLD schedule.62

Thus, various village-level data sources are supposed to be in existence before theVillage Schedule is filled-up. That is to say, a set of village-level data sources should be foundin parallel to data items of the Village Schedule.
The Village Schedule on BSLLD is not merely intended to compile existing
secondary data as they are, but also to elaborate upon them. The Instructions for data recordist of
the Schedule notes that:
The village level registers should be developed and maintained through compilation of village
level statistics in order to have a continuous flow of data. The village Panchayat will take thebasic responsibility of maintaining proper registers at village level.63

61

Central Statistical Office, 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. 131.

62

Ibid., p. 126.

63

Ibid., p. 131. The CSO of the MoSPI states that “owing to the fact that Gram Panchayat is the lowest level of three tierPanchayati Raj Institutions and many village level records are maintained at Gram Panchayat level, the Gram Panchayats may
be kept as the focal point for data compilation. The data, however, may be compiled village-wise.” The MoSPI notes that
“The Panchayat Secretary may be involved as a compiler or as a facilitator for compilation of the village level data….In case,
Panchayat Secretary is not in a position to compile village level data, any village level functionary may be engaged. If that
also is not feasible, local educated persons may be engaged” [Ibid., p. 123.] “They have also engaged a person on contract and47

The filled-in Village Schedule on BSLLD travels upward from the village. It is
assumed that “District Statistical Office (DSO) will coordinate with village Panchayats andvillage level functionaries from different departments for getting the information compiledin the village schedule.” Filled in schedules will be received and carefully examined at DSO,
Block Statistical Office or Block Development Office. Data entry and tabulation of data will
be conducted at DSO, Block Statistical office or Block office. DES will ensure consolidationand tabulation of data, and publication of report at village Panchayat level, Block level,
District level and State level. Therefore, the Village Schedule data can be used not only at thevillage level but also at the district and State levels.
There should be three copies of the filled-in Village Schedules. One copy is to beretained at the village, one at the Panchayat, and one is to be sent to the appropriate DSO,
Block Statistical Office or Block Development Office.
The Cross‐Sectional Synthesis Report 2011 on the pilot scheme conducted by the CSOof the MoSPI states that “almost all items of information is available with village level field
functionaries like Anganwari workers, ANM, Panchayat Secretary, Patwari, Schools etc.”64
According to the the Cross-Sectional Synthesis Report, “there exists considerable degree ofdifference in the reporting coverage of data items from State to State and also between
districts within a State”, but “except for Assam, the data coverage has been found to be quite
high in all the States/UTs under analysis.”65
However, the large-scale pilot scheme launched by the CSO of the MoSPI in 2009
revealed that some data items of the Village Schedule on BSLLD are missing and are not
likely to be available from village records (see §5 of Chapter 5). The Cross-Sectional
Synthesis Report 2011 states that “the rationalization exercise is required to take careinter-alia of deletion of items, which are generally missing and are not likely to be available
from available village records”. 66 According to the Cross-Sectional Synthesis Report,
information content having in all 128 sets of data in respect of the eight States/Union
Territories covered in this report had “35 sets (27%) of data collected from not so desirable
sources. Alternative sources have been tapped in absence of information from desired
sources due to non-availability of source records or custodian of the records at desired

paid him /her an honorarium for filling up the ‘village schedule’ as per guidelines/ instructions. The person engaged wasnamed as ‘data-recordist’, and preferably was the Panchayat Secretary himself/herself, who had successfully completed
schooling up to 10+2 standard. However, if that was not feasible, then the data recordist appointed could be a school
teacher or a social service volunteer who fulfils aforesaid educational qualification. The data recordist had to compile datafrom the registers as far as possible.” [Ibid., pp. 16-17]
64

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-11.
65

Ibid., p. v. The Cross-Sectional Synthesis Report covers eight States/Union Territories for the analysis: remotely locatedStates/UTs (e.g. Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Island); a Hilly State (e.g. Sikkim); North East States (e.g. Assam,
Mizoram, Sikkim); a large-backward State (e.g. Rajasthan); a small-advanced State (e.g. Haryana); a large-advanced State (e.g.
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu). [Ibid., p. iv.]
66

Ibid., p. vii.

48

places.” 67 The CSO of the MoSPI describes this problem in its CSO Report 2014 as follows:68
The Scheme has established the feasibility of collection of data at local level (village) if thefollowing limitations are addressed:
The pilot survey has revealed that data for some itemsa) are available only from oral enquiry,b) no information is available and, therefore, the data for these items are to be
estimated.

The data recordist is requested to compile data from the village records as far as possible.
However, if the registers are not available, “oral enquiry method” is acceptable. According to
the CSO of the MoSPI: 69
It is suggested that estimation should not be done at the stage of compilation of data. The data
which is available should only be reported. Estimation may be done by the Directorates of
Economics and Statistics.

(Maharashtra)
The large-scale pilot scheme on BSLLD conducted in 32 States/Union Territories since 2009,
did not cover Buldana district, so Warwat Khanderao GP were not covered by this pilot
sheme. In Maharashtra Akola district which is the adjoining district of Buldana, was selected
for the pilot scheme. The Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of
Maharashtra, has published a State report of that pilot scheme, which gave item-wisecomments on the availability of their data sources.70
Apart from the Village Schedule on BSLLD, we found at the BDO office
Sangrampur a different type of Village Schedule. That alternative Village Schedule (hereafter“Maharashtran Village Schedule”) is peculiar to the State in uniform format. This
Maharashtran Village Schedule is also a format for compiling secondary data that havealready been collected by the local-level functionaries. The Maharashtran Village Scheduleconsists of five parts:
Part 1 Basic information of Local Development
Part 2 Details of facilities available in the Village
67

Ibid., pp. v-vi.

68

Central Statistical Office, 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. 125.

69

Ibid., p. 125.

70

Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Government of Maharashtra, Basic Statistics for Local Level Development: Report on
Pilot Scheme (Akola District in Maharashtra), 2012.
<http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/lld_data_13jan12/state_report_2012.htm> Retrieved on 30 November 2014.

49

Part 3 Education Facilities
Part 4 Industries and BusinessPart 5 Village level work under different schemes from the last five years
The Maharashtran Village Schedule does not contain health related parts corresponding toBlock 6 and Block 7 of the Village Schedule on BSLLD. But it has a part similar to Part 5,
which Village Schedule on BSLLD does not contain.71
The BDO at Sangrampur said that the District Office is responsible for this72
Schedule. The Gram Sevak of Warwat Khanderao maintains this Schedule for his own use.73(West Bengal)
Since 2009, the large-scale pilot scheme on BSLLD has covered Barddhaman District, so the
Raina GP was covered by this pilot survey. Raina GP office keeps copies of the Village
Schedule that were filled up in the pilot survey. The executive assistant of Raina GP showed
us the one for the Bidyanidhi village. As mentioned in 4-2 of Chapter 4, the Executive
Assistant understood that all the information to be filled-in the Schedule had been collectedby the ICDS workers, though the Source Code of Panchayat-01 was put in for most of theitems. Our discussion with the ICDS worker at Bidyanidhi on February 23, 2011 revealed
that the BSLLD pilot survey in Bidyanidhi was conducted by a teacher at Birampur JuniorHigh School and a resident of Bidyanidhi village. The Bidyanidhi ICDS (Anganwadi) worker
had conducted the survey for Bogra village on the basis of information obtained from the
ICDS (Anganwadi) worker at Bogra. She also obtained information on the proportion ofhouseholds with electricity and some other parameters from the GP office. For some
information she had to conduct a house-to-house survey.
The BDO office trained the investigators of the BSLLD pilot survey and oversaw
the operations. 74 An enumerator was allotted for each mouza, and the Village Schedules werefilled up for each mouza in the GP. According to the BDO of Raina I Block, most of theenumerators were ICDS workers. The data were consolidated by the GP. The enumerators
collected information from ICDS registers, health department records, panchayat records
and interviews with villagers. The filled up Schedules were sent to the Assistant Director of
Statistics of Barddhaman District. The Block office does not have the data. Census 2001
Village Directory was not used for filling up the Village Schedule on BSLLD.

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The Expert Committee on BSLLD mentioned in its Report in 2006 a fact that the Directorate of Economics andStatistics of Maharashtra State Government collected village wise detailed information on education, health, water facilities,
village amenities, and the like for the development of a GIS by the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre.
However, according to the Committee, “the data were collected and validated over a period of about two years and noattempt could be made to update the data.” [Central Statistical Organisation (2006), p. 25.]
72

Interview at the BDO, Sangrampur in August 2011.

73

Interview at the BDO, Sangrampur on April 25, 2014.

74

Interview at BDO, Raina I Block, Shyamsundar on February 22, 2011.

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Although we have identified many village-level data sources available in Raina, wefound some additional data items that were not likely to be available from those sources.
Some data items in the Village Schedule are not likely to have documentary evidence in Raina.
We will discuss the documentary evidence of each data item in §6-1 and 6-2.
4-3-5-2 Village level amenities data (VD data) in District Census Handbook
In addition to the Population Census data (the population enumeration data, andthe houselisting and housing data), non-Census village level amenities data in the village
directory (VD) are provided by the Census of India. Non-Census village level amenities datain the village directory (VD) provides panchayats with data on amenities and infrastructuresuch as location of educational institutions, medical centres, drinking water, post andtelegraph, commercial and co-operative banks, agricultural non-agricultural and other credit
societies, recreational and cultural facilities, communication, approach to village, distancefrom nearest town, power supply, availability of newspaper and magazines etc. Non-Census
village level amenities data also provides data on land utilisation and irrigation. The village
directory (VD) of the Census of India 2011 is supposed to include the following sections:75
Section 1: Educational facilities
Section 2: Medical facilities
Section 3: Water and sanitation
Section 4: Communication and transport facilities
Section 5: Banks, credit and other Miscellaneous facilities
Section 6: Electricity and other power/fuel availability
Section 7: Land utilisation and irrigation
Section 8: Main commodities manufactured
Section 9: Comments and observations
Amenities and land use data is collected by Census Officers from the records ofthe villages already maintained by, for example, health workers, ANM, Anganwadi,
Chowkidar, Village Pradhan, and patwari. Reference date for collection of data in Village
Directory of the Census of India 2011 was December 31, 2009.
The Expert Committee on BSLLD states that VD data contains most of thecritical indicators required for local level planning but it is available at long last after aconsiderable time lag.76 The Expert Committee states that “the State governments have to
update the census information on annual basis so that year-wise information on all the basic
parameters of village is available for local level planning. However, data from Census on

76

Central Statistical Organisation (2006), p. 19.

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Amenities and Land Use is not available for many years after the Census.” 77 For this reason
the Expert Committee has proposed “a village schedule for collection of Basic Statistics for
Local Level Development.” In this respect, the Village Schedule on BSLLD is considered asa schedule evolved from the village directory (VD).
(Maharashtra)
Non-Census village level amenities data (VD data) is compiled for Warwat Khanderao village
by the Census officers and District statistical officer. The BDO is not involved.78(West Bengal)
Non-Census village level amenities data (VD data) is compiled for each village in Raina GP
area by the Block level offices. For the Census of India 2011, the BDO received a village
questionnaire from the Census Office, which it will consolidate and forward to Census
Office.79
Although panchayat officials in the Raina GP admitted that the Census data are
fairly reliable, they complained that the data is outdated by the time it reaches the panchayat.80
4-3-5-3 Self Evaluation Schedule (Raina only)
As described in §1 of Chapter 2, the Self Evaluation Schedule for Panchayats provided by the
Panchayats and Rural Development Department of the West Bengal Government is also an
important administrative report on the GPs or their Gram Sansads. This Schedule has been
submitted to the BDO every year since 2006-07. Every GP keeps one copy. In this format
GPs has to evaluate and assign scores for the different indicators specified in the format. GPs
receive financial incentives from the State Government based on this self-evaluation.
Some institutional aspects of the panchayat, i.e., “a) institutional functioning andgood governance” and “b) mobilisation of revenue and utilisation of resources” arecommon knowledge among panchayat officials, even though they are not documented.
Information on facilities of the GP and panchayat activities is typical of such kind of data.
Besides data on institutional aspects of the panchayat, the introductory part (Gram Panchayat
at a Glance) of the Self Evaluation Schedule contains general basic data of the GP, which arecompiled from panchayat registers, other village-level functionaries” registers, census-typesurveys and common knowledge.
5-1-1-2 Raina GP’s booklet: Protibedon distributed to the Gram Sabha members
Protibedon is a booklet published annually by the Raina GP. It is not mandatory for panchayats
77

Central Statistical Organisation (2006), p. 19.

78

Interview at the BDO, Sangrampur on April 25, 2014.

79

Interview at the BDO, Raina I Block, Shyamsundar on February 22, 2011.

80

Interview at the Raina GP office, Rayna on September, 2008.

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in West Bengal to produce such booklets/reports, but most GPs published such information
periodically.81 These booklets were made available free of cost to the public as a measure oftransparency and accountability of the GP.
We obtained the 2007-08 issue of Protibedon from Raina for our analysis. It was a 48
page document. The contents of this document was as follows:
Description of the Gram Panchayat: The first page of the report contains general
information on the Panchayat, its population, land area and land use, number of schools,
ICDS centres, health centres, banks, post offices, cooperatives, road length and number ofbeneficiaries in important schemes (pensions, number of BPL and AAY card holders,constructions under drinking water scheme sajal dhara). This page also listed the names ofevery member of the GP and the panchayat’s administrative staff.
Financial statement of accounts (Form 27): The report disclosed the financial accounts(receipts and expenditures) as specified in Form 27 of WB Gram Panchayat Accounts, Audit,
Budget Rules 2007, for the year 2007-08. In addition to the summary information in thespecified format, the booklet also provided details of expenses made from the receipts ofcentral finance commission funds, untied funds, MLA local area development fund (bidhayak
elaka unnayan prakalpa), and Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (GP and PS).
MGNREGS: Detailed information on expenditures, and person days of
employment for each project (with project code) undertaken under MGNREGS ispublished.
Beneficiaries of other schemes: The report disclosed detailed information (number,names, amount received) on the beneficiaries of different schemes and programmes
implemented by the GP, such as bhavisyanidhi yojana, Indira Awas Yojana, pension schemes,
schemes involving SHGs, mahila samriddhi yojana, Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana.
Detailed expenditures under SGRY, and Central Finance Commission are reported. Sincepanchayats are responsible for handholding of SHGs, the booklet also contained
information on each SHG in the GP and their bank account numbers.
Revised budget: The document contained the revised budget estimates for the year81

In a research work on MGNREGS by one of the co-authors of this book was able to obtain a similar report from
Bonkati GP in Kanksa block in Bardhaman district. The document was titled Annual Report of Bonkati Gram Panchayat, and it
provided information on finances and all activities undertaken by the Panchayat [see Bakshi, A., “Weakening Panchayats inWest Bengal,” Review of Agrarian Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2, July-December,2011].
In most cases, panchayats tried to publish such booklets every year, but sometimes the frequency is less. For
example, Raina GP could not publish a new booklet in 2009. There is no uniform or stipulated format for such publications.

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2007-08. The revised budget estimate presented the actual receipts for the previous years andthe estimated receipts of 2007-08. It also contained the budgeted detailed expenditure offunds under the five Upa-Samitis of the panchayat.
Other information: The document provides information on the different schemes(NREGS, SHGs) in order to spread the awareness on different government schemes andprogramme.
4-3-5-5 Others
The Panchayat and Rural Development Department of West Bengal provided
block-level booklets on village-level development profile (Gram Unnayan Byabosthar Chitro) for
3354 gram Panchayats in 341 Blocks in the State. The booklet mapped the position of each
GP in the blocks with respect to 17 socio-economic indicators like heath, education, foodsecurity, nutritional status, household sanitation, performance in rural development schemes,
resource mobilisation and utilisation. The GP-level data on the 17 indicators are compiled
from the administrative reports of the panchayats and from secondary data sources.
Warwat Khanderao GP submits an annual report to the concerned BDO. The
majority of the annual reports are annual accounts, which are consolidated at the block level
after the end of the financial year and audited annually by Local Fund Audit Department andby the C&AG of India once every three years. This annual report contains a little
information from the Population Census, results of the panchayat election, information on
administrative staff, date of Gram Sabhas and monthly meetings.

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