Lok Sabha Question No. 2697 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-19
Subject: Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: Sangeeta Azad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2697 ANSWERED ON 19/12/2023

## RASHTRIYA GRAM SWARAJ ABHIYAN

## 2697. SHRIMATI SANGEETA AZAD:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is non-release of funds to several States under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA);
- (b) if so, the details of the steps taken by the Government to address the reasons cited for the delay in fund release and ensure timely disbursement to all States and Union Territories for the ongoing financial year and future years;
- (c) the steps taken by the Ministry to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of capacitybuilding  programmes,  ensuring  that  States  fully  comply  with  the  Ministry  of  Finance stipulations to receive these funds;
- (d) the details of measures the Ministry is taking to increase the availability of computers in Gram Panchayats nation-wide;
- (e) whether there is any specific initiatives to address this issue in States where the shortage is more pronounced;
- (f) the details of strategies Ministry is adopting to expedite the process of providing active internet  connections  to  all  Gram  Panchayats,  especially  considering  the  significance  of internet connectivity for public service delivery; and
- (g) the details of steps taken by the Ministry to ensure the expansion of online services in Gram Panchayats and the details of plans to establish a comprehensive framework for delivering various online services at the panchayat level?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL)

(a) & (b) The Revamped RGSA scheme is being implemented since 2022-23 is demand driven in nature. Under the scheme, the funding pattern for State components is in the ratio of 60:40 among Centre and State, except NE, Hilly States and UT of Jammu & Kashmir where Central and State Share  is  in  the  ratio  of  90:10.  For  the  Union  Territories,  Central  Share  is  100%.  Funds  were released  to  States/  Union  Territories  on  the  basis  of  approved  Plans,  submission  of  requisite documents viz. Utilization Certificate, Auditor's Report etc and compliance of other directions as and when issued by Government of India. The unspent balance of previous releases, availability of funds with Ministry and deficit in matching share also impacted the quantum of releases. States/ Union  Territories  were  regularly  been  advised  to  submit  the  requisite  documents,  release  of matching State Share and compliance of directions for release of fund.

(c)  Ministry  has  taken  numerous  steps  over  a  period  of  time.  Under  the  erstwhile  scheme  of Rashtriya  Gram  Swaraj  Abhiyan  (RGSA)  implemented  during  the  year  2018-19  to  2021-22, Ministry had provided assistance to the States/ UTs for Capacity Building and Training (CB&T) of Elected Representatives (ERs) and other stakeholders in Panchayats, to enable them to perform their functions, including planning and implementation of development programmes effectively. The States were also provided support for establishment of Panchayat Resource Centres. Under the scheme, the States had taken up Capacity Building and Training of Elected Representatives and other stakeholders in Panchayats on a large scale for increasing the capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

To  give  further  boost  to  Capacity  Building  of  ERs  and  other  stakeholders  of  PRIs, Government has approved the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for implementation from 2022-23 to 2025-26 with the primary objective to build capacity  of  Panchayati  Raj  institutions  (PRIs)  through  imparting  training  to  all  the  Elected Representatives  (ERs)  and  other  stakeholders  to  enable  the  Gram  Panchayats  to  function effectively and to achieve Sustainable Development Goals through Localization at grassroot level.

(d)  &  (e)  Panchayat  being  State  subject,  providing  computers  for  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  is primarily  the  responsibility  of  States.  However,  under  the  revamped  Rashtriya  Gram  Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) scheme approved for implementation from 01.04.2022 to 31.03.2026, has been supplementing  the  efforts  of  all  States/UTs  with  focus  on  NE  States,  towards  supporting functioning of GPs by providing computers as proposed by States/UTs. Apart from this, the untied/ basic grants under 15th Finance Commission can also be used by Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) for computerization of GPs.

(f)    &  (g)  Bharat  Net  project  is  being  implemented  in  a  phased  manner  by  Department  of Telecommunications to provide broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats and equivalent in the country. As on date, over 2.12 lakh GPs have been made Service Ready under the Bharat Net project in the country. The scope of Bharat Net on 30.06.2021 has been extended upto all inhabited villages beyond GPs in the country.

The Ministry is encouraging the Panchayats to adopt their own Citizens' Charter for successful delivery of services for which the Ministry has formulated the model Citizens' Charter and shared with  the  States.  Adoption  of  such  Citizens'  Charter  by  the  States  is  being  monitored  through dedicated portal. So far, Citizen Charter has been uploaded by 2.15 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) and offering 954 services. State wise details may be seen at Annexure.

Annexure

## Annex referred to in reply to part (f) & (g) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No 2697 for 19/12/2023 regarding Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

## Status of Panchayat Citizen Charter

|   S. No | State                       |   Gram Panchayats (incl. TLBs) |   No. of GPs with Citizen Charter Prepared | Percentage   |   No. GPs with Citizen Charter Approve d | Percentage   |   Services being delivered |   Services delivered online |
|---------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------|------------------------------------------|--------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------|
|       1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |                             70 |                                         70 | 100%         |                                       70 | 100%         |                         24 |                           0 |
|       2 | Andhra Pradesh              |                          13325 |                                      10652 | 80%          |                                    10386 | 78%          |                         45 |                          27 |
|       3 | Arunachal Pradesh           |                           2108 |                                        437 | 21%          |                                      410 | 19%          |                         38 |                           9 |
|       4 | Assam                       |                           2662 |                                       2197 | 83%          |                                     2197 | 83%          |                         42 |                           0 |
|       5 | Bihar                       |                           8181 |                                       7080 | 87%          |                                     7011 | 86%          |                         23 |                           9 |
|       6 | Chhattisgarh                |                          11656 |                                      11558 | 99%          |                                    11338 | 97%          |                         33 |                           3 |
|       7 | Goa                         |                            191 |                                        183 | 96%          |                                      181 | 95%          |                         19 |                           2 |
|       8 | Gujarat                     |                          14399 |                                      12196 | 85%          |                                    11914 | 83%          |                         56 |                          56 |
|       9 | Haryana                     |                           6220 |                                       6207 | 100%         |                                     6211 | 100%         |                         34 |                           1 |
|      10 | Himachal Pradesh            |                           3615 |                                       3609 | 100%         |                                     3615 | 100%         |                          8 |                           5 |
|      11 | Jammu And Kashmir           |                           4291 |                                       2413 | 56%          |                                     2361 | 55%          |                         23 |                           1 |
|      12 | Jharkhand                   |                           4345 |                                       4339 | 100%         |                                     4318 | 99%          |                         40 |                          19 |
|      13 | Karnataka                   |                           5958 |                                       5905 | 99%          |                                     5820 | 98%          |                         36 |                          18 |
|      14 | Kerala                      |                            941 |                                        939 | 100%         |                                      941 | 100%         |                          1 |                           1 |
|      15 | Ladakh                      |                            193 |                                         73 | 38%          |                                       70 | 36%          |                         47 |                           5 |
|      16 | Lakshadweep                 |                             10 |                                          0 | 0%           |                                        0 | 0%           |                          0 |                           0 |
|      17 | Madhya Pradesh              |                          23020 |                                      17849 | 78%          |                                    17293 | 75%          |                        121 |                           5 |
|      18 | Maharashtra                 |                          27895 |                                      25124 | 90%          |                                    24434 | 88%          |                          9 |                           9 |
|      19 | Manipur                     |                           3812 |                                       2490 | 65%          |                                     2433 | 64%          |                         31 |                           1 |
|      20 | Meghalaya                   |                           6814 |                                        293 | 4%           |                                      276 | 4%           |                         13 |                           1 |
|      21 | Mizoram                     |                            840 |                                        715 | 85%          |                                      713 | 85%          |                         10 |                           0 |
|      22 | Nagaland                    |                           1292 |                                       1263 | 98%          |                                     1240 | 96%          |                         12 |                           0 |
|      23 | Odisha                      |                           6794 |                                          0 | 0%           |                                        0 | 0%           |                          0 |                           0 |
|      24 | Puducherry                  |                            108 |                                          0 | 0%           |                                        0 | 0%           |                          0 |                           0 |
|      25 | Punjab                      |                          13241 |                                          0 | 0%           |                                        0 | 0%           |                          0 |                           0 |
|      26 | Rajasthan                   |                          11265 |                                      11248 | 100%         |                                    11247 | 100%         |                          5 |                           5 |
|      27 | Sikkim                      |                            198 |                                        185 | 93%          |                                      184 | 93%          |                          7 |                           0 |
|      28 | Tamil Nadu                  |                          12525 |                                      11019 | 88%          |                                    10643 | 85%          |                         44 |                           4 |

| S. No   | State                                        |   Gram Panchayats (incl. TLBs) |   No. of GPs with Citizen Charter Prepared | Percentage   |   No. GPs with Citizen Charter Approve d | Percentage   |   Services being delivered |   Services delivered online |
|---------|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------|------------------------------------------|--------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 29      | Telangana                                    |                          12769 |                                      12769 | 100%         |                                    12769 | 100%         |                         46 |                          21 |
| 30      | The Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu |                             38 |                                         25 | 66%          |                                       23 | 61%          |                         25 |                           2 |
| 31      | Tripura                                      |                           1178 |                                       1169 | 99%          |                                     1126 | 96%          |                          6 |                           6 |
| 32      | Uttar Pradesh                                |                          58174 |                                       7772 | 13%          |                                    54782 | 94%          |                         48 |                          28 |
| 33      | Uttarakhand                                  |                           7795 |                                      55203 | 708%         |                                     7772 | 100%         |                         33 |                           5 |
| 34      | West Bengal                                  |                           3339 |                                       3212 | 96%          |                                     3212 | 96%          |                         75 |                          18 |
| TOTAL   | TOTAL                                        |                         269262 |                                     218194 | 81%          |                                   214990 | 80%          |                        954 |                         261 |

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