Lok Sabha Question No. 2152 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-15
Subject: Empowerment of Panchayats
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: Riti Pathak, Geeta Kora

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2152

ANSWERED ON 15.03.2022

## EMPOWERMENT OF PANCHAYATS

## †2152. SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK: SHRIMATI GEETA KORA:

Will the Minister of Panchayati Raj be pleased to state:

- (a) the basic facilities provided by the Government to the Panchayats;
- (b) the details of the achievements made during each of the last three years and the current year, and State-wise;
- (c) whether the basic facilities provided by the Government to the Panchayats have been reviewed with a view to improve the standard of living in the villages of the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the steps taken/being taken by the Government for the empowerment of Panchayats?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PANCHAYATI RAJ

## (SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL)

(a)  & (b) 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. Accordingly, the Panchayats are setup and operate through the respective State Panchayati Raj Acts. Panchayat being a State subject, it is for the concerned State Government to endow Panchayats with such powers and authority to enable to function as institutions of self-governance, and plan and implement schemes for economic development and social justice including the basic facilities. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) supplements the efforts of the States through Central Finance Commission Grants and Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan(RGSA).

The RGSA scheme provides financial and technical support to the states for Capacity Building and Training (CB&T) of elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions with focus on Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) so as to enable them to discharge their mandated functions effectively.

State-wise  allocation  and  release  of  Central  Finance  Commission  Grants  for  Rural Local Bodies during the last three years and current year is given at Annexure .

(c)  MoPR  reviews  the  performance  of  Panchayati  Raj  Institutions  (PRIs)  throughout  the country from time to time through studies, review meetings, field visits, video conferencing, Information Technology applications, Common Review Missions (CRMs) etc.

(d) To strengthen functioning of PRIs across the country, MoPR  has launched eGramSwaraj(https://egramswaraj.gov.in),  a  user  friendly  web-based  portal,  which  aims  to bring  in  better  transparency  in  the  decentralised  planning,  progress  reporting,  financial management, work-based accounting and details of assets created. Further, for ensuring timely audit  of  Panchayat  accounts  i.e.  receipts  and  expenditures  of  Gram  Panchayats,  MoPR  has rolled out an online application - AuditOnline (https://auditonline.gov.in).

This application not only facilitates the auditing of Panchayat accounts but also provides for maintaining of audit records. This application streamlines the process for audit inquiries, draft local audit reports, draft audit paras etc. and thus ensures proper maintenance of accounts by Panchayats to improve transparency and accountability. To deliver various citizen centric services online in the rural areas and Gram Panchayats, Common Service Centres(CSCs) have been  setup  through  a  'Common  Service  Centre  -  Special  Purpose  Vehicle'  (CSC-SPV),  a society of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Under the Fourteenth Finance Commission (XIV FC) award for the period of 20152020, grants to the tune of Rs. 2,00,292.20 crore were allocated to GPs in 26 States. The grant was provided to GPs for delivering basic services. Under Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC), Grants to the tune of Rs. 60,750 crore were allocated for the interim period FY 2020-21 and Rs.2,36,805 Crore are allocated for the period FY 2021-26 to Panchayats in all the three tiers and Traditional Local Bodies and Sixth Schedule areas in 28 States. The XV FC Grants have  two  components-Tied  and  Untied.    Tied  Grants  are  to  be  used  for  drinking  water, rainwater harvesting, water recycling, sanitation and maintenance of ODF status. Untied grants are to be used for felt needs under the 29 subjects enshrined in the XI schedule, except for salaries and other establishment costs.

***

Annexure

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) and (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2152 answered on 15.03.2022

## Allocation and Release of Central Finance Commission Grants to the States for Rural Local Bodies for during the last three years and current year

(Rs. In crore)

| Sl. No   | States            | Under XIV FC   | Under XIV FC   | Under XIV FC   | Under XIV FC   | Under XV FC   | Under XV FC   | Under XV FC   | Under XV FC   |
|----------|-------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
|          |                   | 2018-19        | 2018-19        | 2019-20        | 2019-20        | 2020-21       | 2020-21       | 2021-22       | 2021-22       |
| .        |                   | Allocation     | Release        | Allocation     | Release        | Allocation    | Release       | Allocatio n   | Release       |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    | 1947.32        | 1729.23        | 2622.13        | 2336.56        | 2625.00       | 2625.00       | 1939.00       | 969.50        |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh | 184.49         | 163.83         | 248.44         | 221.38         | 231.00        | 231.00        | 170.00        | 85.00         |
| 3        | Assam             | 1218.82        | 1082.32        | 1641.19        | 1462.45        | 1604.00       | 1604.00       | 1186.00       | 593.00        |
| 4        | Bihar             | 4729.38        | 4199.71        | 6368.25        | 5674.70        | 5018.00       | 5018.00       | 3709.00       | 2596.30       |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      | 1180.02        | 1047.86        | 1588.94        | 1415.89        | 1454.00       | 1454.00       | 1075.00       | 752.50        |
| 6        | Goa               | 30.10          | 26.73          | 40.53          | 36.12          | 75.00         | 75.00         | 55.00         | 11.00         |
| 7        | Gujarat           | 1942.96        | 1725.36        | 2616.26        | 2331.33        | 3195.00       | 3195.00       | 2362.00       | 1181.00       |
| 8        | Haryana           | 873.86         | 775.99         | 1176.68        | 1048.53        | 1264.00       | 1264.00       | 935.00        | 467.50        |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh  | 407.24         | 361.63         | 548.36         | 488.64         | 429.00        | 429.00        | 317.00        | 158.50        |
| 10       | Jammu& Kashmir*   | 779.40         | 544.83         | 1049.49        | 0.00           | -             | -             | -             | -             |
| 11       | Jharkhand         | 1360.62        | 1208.24        | 1832.12        | 1632.59        | 1689.00       | 1689.00       | 1249.00       | 624.50        |
| 12       | Karnataka         | 2090.10        | 1841.54        | 2814.39        | 2504.13        | 3217.00       | 3217.00       | 2377.00       | 1188.50       |
| 13       | Kerala            | 904.03         | 802.78         | 1217.30        | 1084.73        | 1628.00       | 1628.00       | 1203.00       | 842.10        |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh    | 3050.41        | 2708.78        | 4107.48        | 3660.14        | 3984.00       | 3984.00       | 2944.00       | 1472.00       |
| 15       | Maharashtra       | 3383.28        | 3004.37        | 4555.70        | 4059.55        | 5827.00       | 5827.00       | 4307.00       | 2153.50       |
| 16       | Manipur           | 46.36          | 41.17          | 62.43          | 55.63          | 177.00        | 177.00        | 131.00        | 65.50         |
| 17       | Meghalaya#        | -              | -              | -              | -              | 182.00        | 182.00        | 135.00        | 0.00          |
| 18       | Mizoram#          | -              | -              | -              | -              | 93.00         | 93.00         | 69.00         | 34.50         |
| 19       | Nagaland#         | -              | -              | -              | -              | 125.00        | 125.00        | 92.00         | 18.40         |
| 20       | Odisha            | 1991.48        | 1768.44        | 2681.59        | 2389.54        | 2258.00       | 2258.00       | 1669.00       | 1168.30       |
| 21       | Punjab            | 920.58         | 817.48         | 1239.58        | 1104.58        | 1388.00       | 1388.00       | 1026.00       | 513.00        |
| 22       | Rajasthan         | 3067.80        | 2724.22        | 4130.90        | 3681.01        | 3862.00       | 3862.00       | 2854.00       | 1997.80       |

| 23   | Sikkim        |    33.41 |    29.67 | 44.99     |    40.09 |   42.00 |   42.00 |   31.00 |    21.70 |
|------|---------------|----------|----------|-----------|----------|---------|---------|---------|----------|
| 24   | Tamil Nadu    |  1975.07 |  1753.87 | 2659.50   |  1821.11 |    3607 |    3607 |    2666 |  1866.2  |
| 25   | Telangana     |  1209.53 |  1071.59 | 1628.68   |  1451.3  |    1847 |    1847 |    1365 |   682.5  |
| 26   | Tripura       |    75.53 |    67.07 | 101.71    |    90.63 |     191 |     191 |     141 |    98.7  |
| 27   | Uttar Pradesh |  8050.34 |  7148.74 | 10840.0 4 |  9659.47 |    9752 |    9752 |    7208 |  5045.6  |
| 28   | Uttarakhand   |   423.64 |   376.19 | 570.44    |   508.31 |     574 |     574 |     425 |   294.98 |
| 29   | West Bengal   |  3193.39 |  2740.69 | 4300.01   |  3703.25 |    4412 |    4412 |    3261 |  1630.5  |
|      | Total         | 45069.2  | 39762.3  | 60687.13  | 52461.7  |   60750 |   60750 |   44901 | 26532.6  |

* Jammu & Kashmir became Union Territory from the year 2019-20

# Funds under XIV FC not recommended to Non-Part IX States