Lok Sabha Question No. 5199 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-24
Subject: Sarpanch Pati Practice
Ministry: PANCHAYATI RAJ
Asked by: Shri Tatkare Sunil Dattatrey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5199

ANSWERED ON- 24.03.2026

## SARPANCH PATI PRACTICE

## 5199. SHRI TATKARE SUNIL DATTATREY:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

(a) the steps that are being taken by the Government to address the issue of 'Sarpanch Pati' or proxy sarpanch by males across various PRIs;

(b) the manner in which prevalent such practice stop in various States;

(c) the grievance redressal process/complaint mechanism of such instances and the action taken in this regard;

(d) the details of the penalties imposed when someone is found practicing as a proxy sarpanch;

(e) the role of various stakeholders, such as State Governments and civil society organizations in preventing such practices;

(f) the details of actions taken as per the report of the Advisory Committee on this issue, which was submitted in February 2025;

(g) the steps taken under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for empowerment and training of elected women in PRIs; and

(h) the utilization of the budget for RGSA till date, along with the initial budget outlay, year wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

## (SHRI RAJEEV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)

(a) to (f) 'Panchayat', being 'Local Government', is a State subject and part of the State List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Therefore, any issue related to Sarpanch Pati or Proxy Sarpanch by males across various Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), including manner to stop such practices, grievance redressal process/complaint mechanism of such instances, to impose penalties when someone in found practicing as a proxy sarpanch, to decide the role of various stakeholders in preventing such practices, etc. lies in the domain of the States.

On the direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj constituted an Advisory Committee in September 2023 to examine the issue of Women Pradhans being represented by the male members of their families and also to examine other issues related to proxy practices. The Committee has submitted its Report with recommendations to the Ministry in February 2025, and the same has been accepted by the Ministry.

The Advisory Committee recommended that the State Governments take necessary measures, including social campaigns, legal reforms, monitoring and schemes to eliminate Sarpanch Patis in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and ensure empowerment of women Sarpanches. Owing to the importance of this matter and its impact on women's leadership in PRls, this Ministry has also constituted a Task Force on 17th April 2025.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, from time to time, issues advisories to the States to address the matter of Sarpanch Pati, Recently, an advisory has been issued to the States and Union Territories on the matter dated 05.03.2026.

(g) to (h) This Ministry has implemented the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) w.e.f. FY 2022-23 in States/ Union Territories with main objective of capacitating PRIs through imparting training to the Elected Representatives, including Women Elected Representatives (WERs), functionaries and other stakeholders to develop their governance capabilities for leadership roles and to function effectively. A total of 30,94,748 Women Elected Representatives were trained from FY 2022-23 to FY 2025-26 (as on 28th February 2026) under this scheme.

Further, in order to effectively curb the practice of proxy leadership and to promote women's participation and leadership in PRIs, the Ministry has launched a Specialized Training Module for the capacity building of WERs of Panchayati Raj Institutions. The focus of this training module is to build the capacity of WERs across different aspects of rural governance and enhance their knowledge and practical skills for the effective discharge of roles and responsibilities as elected representatives, thereby promoting women-led governance. Under the Specialised Module of WER, 1,05,966 WERs have been trained so far as on 28.02.2026.

The financial outlay of Revamped RGSA is Rs.5911 crore for the period of 2022-23 to 2025-26, which includes Central Share of Rs.3700 crore and State share of Rs.2211 crore. The year-wise funds released and utilised under revamped RGSA from FY 2022-23 to 202526 (as on 28.02.2026) is as follows:

(Rs. in crore)

|       | 2022-23        | 2022-23       | 2023-24         | 2023-24       | 2024-25        | 2024-25       | 2025-26 (as on 28.02.2026)   | 2025-26 (as on 28.02.2026)   |
|-------|----------------|---------------|-----------------|---------------|----------------|---------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|
|       | Funds Released | Fund Utilised | Funds Release d | Fund Utilised | Funds Released | Fund Utilised | Funds Release d              | Fund Utilised                |
| Total | 682.98         | 1141.03       | 814.86          | 1319.68       | 694.17         | 1375.34       | 752.03                       | 1008.71                      |

Fund utilisation includes the Central Share, the State Share and the unspent balance of the previous year. Funds released represent the Central Share only. For FY 2025-26, the releases comprise funds through both SNA till 30 th June 2025 and SNA-SPARSH since 1 st July 2025.

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