Lok Sabha Question No. 2629 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-02
Subject: Strengthening of PRIs
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: ANJU BALA, Tejpratap Singh,Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2629 ANSWERED ON 02/08/2018

## Strengthening of PRIs

## 2629.  SHRIMATI ANJU BALA: SHRI TEJ PRATAP SINGH YADAV:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have achieved their objectives on completion of 25 years of their inception, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  launched  a  new  scheme-Rashtriya  Gram  Swaraj Abhiyan, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  undertaken  a  Mission  Antyodaya  to  bring  one  crore households out of poverty to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty free, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  there  is  urgent  need  for  implementation  of  e-governance  in  panchayats  to make them transparent, accountable and effective institutions of self- governance; and
- (e) if so, the steps taken by the Government for strengthening PRIs?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI PARSHOTTAM RUPALA)

(a) The 73 rd Amendment to the Constitution gives Constitutional status to the local self governments and provides an institutionalized platform for inclusive economic development and social justice. The Constitution of India recognized Panchayats as 'Institutions of local self-government'.  The major objectives of this amendment,  including three tiers of Panchayats, holding elections to Panchayats every five years, reservations in seats and offices for the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Women, rotation of reserved seats and offices of chairpersons and setting up of State Election Commissions have, by and large been implemented by all the States/UTs covered under Part IX of the Constitution of India, and this has resulted in the strengthening of Panchayati Raj System in the country. As per article  243G  of  the  Constitution,  States  are  to  endow  Panchayats  with  such  powers  and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function, and to plan and implement schemes for economic development and social justice including those in relation to matters listed in the  Eleventh  Schedules.  The  strengthening  of  Panchayati  Raj  Institutions  (PRIs)  mainly depends on the extent of powers (funds, functions and functionaries) devolved, and capacity building of Panchayat functionaries, which differs from State to State.

(b) In order to strengthen governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals, the Government has launched the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of  Rashtriya  Gram  Swaraj  Abhiyan  (RGSA)  to  be  implemented  from  2018-19  to 2021-22 with total outlay of Rs 7255.50 crore having  Central share of Rs. 4500 crore and State share of 2755.50 crore. The scheme will have both central as well as state components. The central component will be fully funded by Government of India. However for the State component, the funding pattern will be 60:40 for all States, except North East and Hill States where Centre and State ratio will be 90:10. For Union Territories (UTs), the Central share will be 100%.The Scheme will extend to all States and Union Territories of the country with emphasis on convergence with Mission Antyodaya and strengthening  of Panchayats in the identified Aspirational Districts.

(c) Yes  Madam.  The  Department  of  Rural  Development  has  undertaken  Mission Antyodaya  in  which  the  State  Governments  have  purposively  selected  50,000  Gram Panchayats in about 5,000 clusters to drive economic activities along with development of physical  infrastructure  and  human development  on a priority. In October, 2017, ranking of these  Gram  Panchayats  on  parameters  of  physical  infrastructure,  human  development  and economic activities was done to facilitate identification of gaps in a quest for Poverty Free Gram Panchayats through convergent action. The State Governments were advised that the State Action Plan in respect of Rural Development schemes be based upon the gap analysis of Mission Antyodaya Gram Panchayats so as to fill those gaps in saturation mode in the year 2018-19. The progress over the years would be quantified both at the level of Households and Gram Panchayats to monitor the change. The Department of Rural Development will support States in transforming these Clusters/Gram Panchayats within a defined time frame.

(d) & (e) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is implementing e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) under Digital India Programme that seeks to transform the functioning of  Panchayati  Raj  Institutions  (PRIs),  making  them  more  transparent,  accountable  and effective as units of decentralized local self-governments. Under e-Panchayat MMP, a suite of  Core  Common Software Applications  has been developed to address various aspects of Panchayats' functioning including planning, budgeting, implementation, accounting, monitoring, social audit and delivery of citizen services like issue of certificates, licences etc. To  bring  transparency  and  accountability,  all  records  available  in  these  applications  are published  online  and  information  is  available  till  Gram  Panchayat  level.  The  recently launched  scheme  of  RGSA  also  promotes  e-governance  and  other  technology  driven solutions  to  enable  good  governance  in  Panchayats  for  administrative  efficiency  and improved service delivery.

MoPR has been providing programmatic support for strengthening of PRIs, advocacy support for inter-ministerial and  multi-sectoral coordination and  capacity building of Elected Representatives  and  functionaries  of  PRIs  to  improve  their  functioning  and  effectiveness. Under Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC), grants to the tune of Rs. 2,00,292.20 crore for the  period  from  2015  to  2020  have  been  allocated  to  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  constituted under Part-IX of Constitution, for delivering basic services. The FFC funds are expected to improve the living conditions of the people in the rural areas as these relate to the provision of basic services and other essential infrastructure for the people in the villages.