Lok Sabha Question No. 316 (STARRED), answered on 2019-12-10
Subject: Developmental  Works at Panchayat Level
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: (Dr.) Ram Shankar Katheria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 316

ANSWERED ON 10.12.2019

## DEVELOPMENTAL WORKS AT PANCHAYAT LEVEL

## †*316.  DR. RAM SHANKAR KATHERIA:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  received  complaints  regarding  corruption  taking  place  in  the developmental works being done at the Panchayat level;
- (b) if so, whether the Government has taken any steps for permanent solution of such complaints; and
- (c) the number of complaints received from Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh in this regard from the year 2014 till date?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (c) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION NO.  316  ANSWERED  ON  10.12.2019  REGARDING  DEVELOPMENTAL  WORKS AT PANCHAYAT LEVEL

- (a)  Yes.  Complaints  are  received  in  the  Ministry  regarding  corruption  in  the  developmental works undertaken at the Panchayat levels, through grievance redressal  mechanism in place  on Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) Portal (https://pgportal.gov.in/) as well as offline. Constitution of India establishes a federal structure of government and according to the provisions of Constitution, Panchayat being 'Local Government',  is  a  State  subject  and  part  of  State  list  of  Seventh  Schedule  of  Constitution  of India.  Mandate  for  setting  up  of  Panchayats  is  provided  by  Article  243  in  Part  IX  of  the Constitution  of  India  and  Panchayats  are  setup  and  operate  through  the  respective  State Panchayati  Raj  Acts.  Since  Panchayat  is  a  State  subject  in  the  State  List,  the  complaints regarding  Panchayats  on  all  issues  including  corruption  are  transferred  to  respective  State Governments for appropriate action.
- (b)        In  order  to  promote  transparency  and  accountability  and  also,  inter  alia,  take  corrective action on various complaints, the Ministry has provided guidelines to States to carry out Social Audit of the works /activities undertaken by the Gram Panchayats.

Besides, Ministry of Panchayati Raj has also setup and is implementing a holistic e-governance system under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP), wherein a suite of core software applications for  Panchayats  have  been  developed.    These applications address planning (PlanPlus), budgeting, implementation (ActionPlus), accounting (PRIASoft), monitoring, social audit  etc.  One  holistic  annual  plan  (Gram  Panchayat  Development  Plan  (GPDP))  through converging  resources  and  schemes  of  sectors  allotted  by  the  respective  States  through  their Panchayati Raj Acts to the Gram Panchayats is formulated by Gram Panchayats and approved by Gram Sabhas. The works are taken up by the Gram Panchayats during the year out of the works enumerated  and  prioritized  in  GPDP.  These  works/  activities  are  implemented,  monitored through  ActionSoft  application  and  payment  is  made  through  the  PRIASoft  application  and Public  Financial  Management  System  (PFMS).  It  is  highlighted  here  that  PFMS  which  is implemented by Ministry of Finance is a financial management platform for all plan schemes to provide information  across all plan schemes, integrates  core banking solutions and effectively tracks the fund flow upto the lowest level of implementation agency for a planned scheme. As a result  efficiency  of  fund  utilization  is  enhanced  and  transparency  of  the  implementation  is augmented.  Further  Panchayats  are  required  to  get  their  accounts  audited  and  spend  funds  in accordance with the approved GPDP.

To monitor the progress of implementation and ensure transparency in implementation, geotagging  of  assets  is  also  done  during  various  stages  of  progress  of  the  works  through mActionSoft Mobile Application.

- (c) As per information available in the Ministry, from 1 st January, 2014 to 5 th  December, 2019, eight  complaints  on  CPGRAMS  Portal  have  been  received  from  Etawah  District  of  Uttar Pradesh. All these grievances have been transferred to the State Government of Uttar Pradesh for appropriate action.

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