Lok Sabha Question No. 378 (STARRED), answered on 2025-08-19
Subject: Panchayat Bodies in West Bengal
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: Shri Raju Bista

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 378

ANSWERED ON 19.08.2025

## PANCHAYAT BODIES IN WEST BENGAL

## *378 SHRI RAJU BISTA:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

(a) the details of funds allocated to the Panchayat bodies since 2019 under the 14th and the 15th Finance Commissions, district-wise in West Bengal;

(b) the details of the projects initiated/under construction/completed under Panchayats in the districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong since 2019;

(c) the details of the people trained under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Scheme in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and North Dinajpur districts since 2019; and

(d) the status of implementation of Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) scheme in West Bengal, particularly in the districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

(SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)

(a) to (d): Astatement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOKSABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 378 FOR AN ANSWER ON 19.08.2025 REGARDING ' PANCHAYAT BODIES IN WEST BENGAL '

(a) Under the 14th Finance Commission (FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20), Rs. 14191.78 Crores was allocated to West Bengal.Under the 15th Finance Commission, Rs 21,611.00 Crores have been allocated to West Bengal for the FY 2020-21 to 2025-26. Out of this amount, Rs 17,938.22 crore has been released to West Bengal up to FY 2024-25. West Bengal is presently not eligible to receive grants for the FY 2025-26 under the 15th Finance Commission, as the State is not complying with the mandatory eligibility condition of constitution of State Finance Commission(SFC) regarding submission of the SFC report and laying of Action Taken Report (ATR) on its recommendation in the State Legislative Assembly.

The details of funds allocated to the Panchayat/Rural Local Bodies since 2019 under the 14th and the 15th Finance Commissions in the State of West Bengal are as under:-

| Year    |   Amount allocated (Rs. in crore) | Central Finance Commission                |
|---------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| 2019-20 |                           4300.01 | 14 th Finance Commission                  |
| 2020-21 |                           4412    | 15 th Finance Commission (interim period) |
| 2021-22 |                           3261    | 15 th Finance Commission                  |
| 2022-23 |                           3378    | 15 th Finance Commission                  |
| 2023-24 |                           3415    | 15 th Finance Commission                  |
| 2024-25 |                           3617    | 15 th Finance Commission                  |
| 2025-26 |                           3528    | 15 th Finance Commission                  |
| Total   |                          25911    |                                           |

Details of district-wise fund allocation under the Central Finance Commission are not maintained by the Central Government, as the subsequent allocation of 15th Finance Commission grants among the panchayats is carried out by the State Governments based on the accepted recommendations of the latest State Finance Commission (SFC). However, yearwise expenditure details of panchayats under the 15 th Central Finance Commissionare available at the e-GramSwaraj Portal (https://egramswaraj.gov.in).

(b) The details of projects initiated/under construction/completed under Panchayats, districtwise, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong,are not maintained by the Central Government.

(c) The details of the participants trained in the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Uttar Dinajpur of West Bengal since 2022-23,as reported in Training Management Portal (TMP), are as under:-

| Institute                                                            |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |   2024-25 |   2025-26 (till -12 Aug 2025) |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-------------------------------|
| District Panchayat Training & Resource Centre(Localbody- Darjeeling) |      1553 |      2896 |      4271 |                          1805 |

| District Panchayat Training & Resource Centre(Localbody- Kalimpong)                |    0 |   3187 |   1999 |   620 |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------|--------|--------|-------|
| District Panchayat Training & Resource Centre(District Panchayat - Uttar Dinajpur) | 3638 |   8574 |   5614 |  1996 |

(d) The State of West Bengal has not signed aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) for implementing the SVAMITVA Scheme.It is worth mentioning that in the States and Union Territories where SVAMITVA has been implemented, nearly 2.63 crore Property Cards have been issued in 1.73 lakh villages, granting ownership rights to rural citizens. This has enabled about 10,000 beneficiaries to avail loans amounting to Rs. 1307 crores using Property Cards for mortgage. Also, property disputes have reduced as a consequence of the issue of property Cards.

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