Development and Progress by Panchayati Raj

 Since 2014 the Government of India has intensified its efforts to support the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the best manner possible to ensure that the basic objectives of the Panchayati Raj are achieved in true letter and spirit. The country has witnessed a quantum leap in the allocation of fiscal resources to Panchayati Raj Institutions to support various infrastructure requirements and developmental activities in rural areas. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been taking several initiatives for strengthening and empowering Panchayati Raj Institutions, increasing the capacity of representatives of PRIs to fulfill their roles and responsibilities and improving the efficiency, transparency of functioning and accountability of PRIs to contribute towards inclusive development, economic growth and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The details of important activities carried out and progress made during the year 2023 are as follows:

1.      SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas)

1.1    SVAMITVA Scheme was launched by the Prime Minister on National Panchayati Raj Day, 24th April 2020 with a resolve to enable economic progress of Rural India by providing “Record of Rights” to every rural household owner. The scheme aims to demarcate inhabited (Abadi) land in rural areas through the latest surveying drone-technology, is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Revenue Departments, State Panchayati Raj Departments and Survey of India. The scheme covers multifarious aspects viz. facilitating monetisation of properties and enabling bank loan; reducing property related disputes; comprehensive village level planning, assuring the rural local government a good source of revenue would be the stepping-stone towards achieving Gram Swaraj in true sense and making rural India Atmanirbhar. The duration of implementation of the scheme is 2020-21 to 2024-25.

 

1.2 Achievements under the Scheme during the year 2023

  1. As on December 2023, drone flying has been completed in 2.89 lakh villages.
  2. Drone flying has been saturated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Delhi and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
  3. Scheme has been saturated in Haryana, Uttarakhand, Puducherry, Goa, Andaman, and Nicobar Islands.
  4. About 1.63 crore property cards have been prepared for 1.06 lakh villages. 
  5. As per Memorandum of Understanding between Survey of India and States/UTs, the scheme coverage is as below:

1.3 Only pilot villages covered in Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. The States where the scheme has not been implemented include Bihar, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and West Bengal.  Assam and Odisha – Only unmapped villages to be covered.

 

1.4.A Round Table discussion on the Bankability of SVAMITVA property cards was held at Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in August 2023.

1.5 A training was held on 15 – 16th October 2023 at National Remote sensing Centre (ISRO) Training & Research Institute, Hyderabad, followed by the Geosmart India Conference on 17 – 19th October 2023 at HICC, Hyderabad with collaborative efforts of Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Geospatial World. The Agenda of the Conference focused on knowledge sharing, showcasing various technological interventions, impact assessment and possible solutions for land and property management.

1.6.   Awards and Recognition

National Awards for e-Governance 2023: SVAMITVA Scheme won Gold Prize in use of Emerging Technology for providing citizen centric services organized by DARPG at Indore, Madhya Pradesh in October 2023.

SVAMITVA Scheme also conferred with Gold award for Innovative Use of Technology in e-Governance for Digital Transformation at Digitech Conclave 2023 organized at Goa in August 2023.

1.7.   Endorsement by the Prime Minister

  • Prime Minister distributed 35 lakh property cards prepared under SVAMITVA Scheme on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2023 held at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.
  • Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the scheme during India Today conclave 2023

2.      Capacity Building & Training (CB&T)

2.1     The Capacity Building and Training (CB&T) of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) has been one of the major activities of MoPR. The Ministry has been providing programmatic, technical and institutional support for strengthening of PRIs.

2.2     The Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) was implemented during 2018-19 to 2021-22.  The scheme was revamped further for implementation during 2022-23 and 2025-26 at a total cost of Rs.5911 crore including Central Share of Rs.3700 crore and State share of Rs.2211 crore.

2.3     Achievements under the scheme of RGSA:

  • During 2018-19 to 2021-22, 1.43 crore participants comprising elected representatives of the PRIs and their functionaries and other stakeholders of Panchayats, provided trainings.
  • During 2022-23, 43,36,584 participants were trained.
  • During the current year as on 28.12.2023, 17,96,410 participants have been trained.

 

20th December, 2023 uploaded on Training Management portal

3.      Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs):

3.1     Ministry has adopted 9 thematic approach for LSDGs leveraging wide network of third tier of Government including Traditional Bodies of non-part IX areas. The goals on these themes to be attained by 2030 in graduated manner by embracing following approach:

  1. Convergence of all flagship developmental and welfare programmes at Panchayat level,
  2. Saturation of various activities in all villages in phased manner.
  3. Usage of digital technology for ensuring transparency and accountability of all concerned.

3.2    Progress on Localization of SDGs:

  1. Status of uploading thematic Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), Block Panchayat Development Plan (BPDP) and District Panchayat Development Plan (DPDP) for FY 2023-24:

GPDP uploaded on portal

BPDP uploaded on portal

DPDP uploaded on portal

250449

(93.06% of GP)

5705

(84.47% of BP)

492

(72.46 of DP)

Source: eGramSwaraj portal as on 20th December, 2023.

 

  1. People’s Plan Campaign (PPC)–2023: PPC–2023 was rolled out as ‘Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas’ from 4th September, 2023 as a strategy for preparation of participatory GPDP in campaign mode with voluntary involvement of community, elected representatives, frontline workers, SHGs, and other stakeholders for preparing the thematic GPDP for the next financial year i.e. 2024-25.
  2. Project Driven District and Block Panchayat Development Plan:
  3. The report on formulation of project driven Block and District Panchayat Development Plan released in the workshop held during 4th – 5th September, 2023.
  4. Based on the recommendations of the report the States /UTs have been advised to prepare project driven Block and District Panchayat Development Plans.

 

  1. Thematic National Workshop: Around 1400 Participants from Central Ministries, 30 States (including ERs, Functionaries), UNICEF, UN women and other NGOs attended three-day national workshop on Theme 3-Child Friendly Village and Theme 9-Women Friendly Village of LSDGs held in Odisha during 17 – 19 February, 2023.

 

  1. Two-days National workshop on Quality/ISO Certification:
  1. Around 100 participants from 25 States / UTs attended two-days national workshop on Quality/ISO Certification held in Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), Kerala during 6th to 7th July, 2023 on “ISO Certification of Panchayats”. 
  2. The follow up on the same has resulted in efforts for quality/ISO certification of Panchayats in various States. With standardized procedures of services, it is expected to improve the quality of service delivery at Panchayat level.

 

  1. Three-day National Workshop on Theme 8-Panchayat with Good Governance of LSDGs held in Srinagar, Jammu &Kashmir during 21 – 23 August 2023. During the workshop following were released:
      1. Meri Panchayat App
      2. Operating Guidelines of National Capacity Building Framework 2022.
      3. Service Level Benchmark, Self -assessments and Model Contract prepared by the MoPR in coloration with the UNICEF.

 

  1. Panchayat Development Index (PDI):

To measure the progress on LSDGs and to carry out assessment to prepare evidence-based policy, MoPR constituted a Committee to prepare mechanisms for computation of PDI. 

  1. The report was released by Minister of State for Panchayati Raj in a National Workshop held in Delhi on 28th June, 2023. Report of the Committee can be accessed on the Ministry’s Website at the URL: https://panchayat.gov.in/pdi-committee-report-2023/.
  2. The Committee has laid a framework for computation of PDI, which will be useful tool for Union Ministries/Departments as well as the State Governments and PRIs to assess the outcome of their schemes and plan future developments based on evidence.
  3. Two-Day National Write-Shop has been organized on PDI Portal for preparation of Baseline Report and computation of PDI in Delhi during 10-11 August, 2023.
  4. A portal (www.pdi.gov.in) for preparation of PDI has been developed. Around 140 data points received from UDISE+, JJM, SBM, NSAP, PMAY, MGNREGS, Mission Antyodya and eGramSwaraj have been ported in PDI portal, rest will be entered by the Gram Panchayats and Line Departments at GP level.  
  5. Workshops have been held in most of the States to orient the concerned Line Departments and Panchayat officials on the mechanism of data collection and validation for the purpose of preparation of PDI.
  6. The thematic scores of Gram Panchayat across nine themes as well as the composite PDI score based on thematic score will be used for incentivization of Panchayats.

 

4.      Institutional mechanism for strengthening PRIs

  1. School of Excellence of Panchayati Raj (SoEPR) has been setup in NIRD&PR for strengthening of PRIs. It will strengthen the SIRD&PRs as well as support the research on the subjects of Panchayati Raj at the National Level.
  2. Meri Panchayat Application has been launched in August 2023 to facilitate easy access of the information to public about functioning of panchayats to enhance transparency and accountability. The downloading of the said application has crossed 13 lakh.
  3. The assessment module for the trainings has been made functional in the Training Management Portal (TMP). It will facilitate the assessment of learning outcomes of the participants of trainings. 

 

5.      Incentivisation of Panchayats

5.1     Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) confers the National Panchayat Awards annually to best performing Panchayats across the country which are a strong source of motivation for them to further improve upon their efforts in development at local level. These awards are usually conferred annually on 24thApril, celebrated as National Panchayati Raj Day.

5.2     MoPR has subsumed 17 SDGs into 9 Localization of SDGs (LSDGs) themes. Accordingly, National Panchayat Awards have been revamped aligning with the LSDGs with effect from the year 2023. The NPA are conferred under the 9 LSDGs based themes namely, (i) Poverty free and enhanced livelihoods Panchayat (ii) Healthy Panchayat (iii) Child friendly Panchayat (iv) Water sufficient Panchayat (v) Clean and Green Panchayat (vi) Self-sufficient infrastructure in Panchayat (vii) Socially Secured Panchayat (viii) Panchayat with Good Governance and (ix) Women-friendly Panchayat

5.3     In addition to 9 themes, Ministry of Panchayati Raj also conferred special categories of awards to best performing Gram Panchayats (GPs) i.e. (1) Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar for their performance regarding adoption and usage of renewable sources of energy and (2) Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar for exemplary work towards achieving Net-Zero carbon emissions.

5.4 A total 42 Panchayats were awarded in the year 2023 based on their performance.

https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/Gallery/PhotoGallery/2023/Apr/H20230417130381.JPG

6.      Celebrations of National Panchayat Awards Week (17th – 21st April, 2023)

6.1     The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the National Panchayat Awards Week Celebrations and presented the National Panchayat Awards–2023 to the best performing Panchayats at the National Conference on Incentivization of Panchayats at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 17th April, 2023.

https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/Gallery/PhotoGallery/2023/Apr/H20230417130375.JPG

6.2 On this occasion, Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh launched the GS NIRNAY, National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve PanchaYat decisions, a mobile application of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj aimed at empowering rural communities.

7.      Commemoration of National Panchayati Raj Day – 24th April, 2023

7.1     Prime Minister participated in the celebration of this year’s National Panchayati Raj Day and addressed all the Gram Sabhas and Panchayati Raj

 Institutions across the country. Prime Minister addressed a large public gathering including Panchayat representatives on the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April, 2023 in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.

7.2     This year’s celebration of National Panchayati Raj Day at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh witnessed participation of more than one lakh participants, including representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, other stakeholders and local residents / rural masses from the District of Rewa and other neighboring Districts.

7.3     Addressing the gathering on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day, Prime Minister noted the virtual presence of more than 30 lakh Panchayat representatives from all over the country and said that it presents a bold picture of Indian democracy.

7.4     During the event, Prime Minister inaugurated an integrated eGramSwaraj and GeM portal for public procurement at Panchayat level. The objective of eGramSwaraj – Government eMarketplace integration is to enable the Panchayats to procure their goods and services through GeM, leveraging the eGramSwaraj platform.   

7.5     Prime Minister also handed over around 35 lakh SVAMITVA Property Cards to beneficiaries. Post this programme, around 1.25 crore property cards were distributed under SVAMITVA Scheme in the country, including those distributed in Madhya Pradesh.

8.      e-Gram Swaraj e-Financial Management System

8.1     eGramSwaraj, a Simplified Work Based Accounting Application for Panchayati Raj assists in enhancing the credibility of Panchayat through inducing greater devolution of funds to PRIs. Some of the salient features existing in eGramSwaraj Application are:

  • Workflow Enabled
  • Assets available on Gram Manchitra GIS
  • Supports multi-tenancy; multiple tenants in the same instance and
  • Strong Authentication Mechanism based on open-source technologies
  • eGS-PFMS integration – Automation of accounting done by the Panchayats under XV Finance Commission grants.

8.2    New feature launched this year (2023)

eGS-GeM interface – Facilitates the Panchayats in procurement of items/services through GeM at standardized rates and seamless payment through eGS-PFMS interface, thus establishing a transparent procurement system.

8.3    Current progress of the adoption of e-GramSwaraj (including eGramSwaraj-PFMS &eGS-GeM Interface):

Action Point

Status

Panchayat Planning

2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats have uploaded approved GPDP, more than 5 thousand Block Panchayats have uploaded approved BPDP and 492 DPDP have been uploaded by the District Panchayats.

Physical Progress

1.03 lakhs GPs have reported physical progress of activities under GPDP

LGD code compliant

100% GPs (including TLBs) in States receiving CFC Grants are LGD compliant.

eGramSwaraj – PFMS integration

2.52 Lakh GPs have been ported from PFMS to eGramSwaraj.

2.55 Lakh Gram Panchayats have onboarded eGramSwaraj PFMS for 2023-24

2.36 Lakh GPs have commenced online payments in 2023–2024. Nearly Rs.25,880 crores worth payments have been successfully transferred by the Panchayats to their respective beneficiaries/vendors.

Account closure for 2021-22

For 2021-22, 94% of Gram Panchayats have closed their year books.

Account Closure for 2022-23

For year 2022-23, 92% of Gram Panchayats have closed month books.

Registration on eGramSwaraj – GeM Interface

More than 72,000 Panchayats across 22 States have registered themselves on this interface (as of December 2023).

 

    1. Integration of Beneficiary details with eGramSwaraj:

As of December 2023, beneficiary details of sixteen scheme of six Union Ministries/ Departments are integrated with eGramSwaraj Application as mentioned below.

 

Ministry/Department

Scheme

Ministry of Rural Development

PM Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G)

Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)

Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)

Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)

Indira Gandhi National Family Benefit Scheme (IGNFBS)

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)

Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying

National Artificial Insemination Programme Project (NAIP)

National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP I & II)

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare

Pradhan Mantri KISAN Samman Nidhi (PMKSN)

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Ministry of Education

Samagra Shiksha

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)

Jal Jeevan Mission (Gramin)

Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

 

9.      Geo-tagging of assets:

Ministry of Panchayati Raj has developed “mActionSoft” – a mobile based solution to help in capturing photos with Geo-Tags (i.e. GPS Coordinates) for the works which have asset as an output. Geo-tagging of the assets is done in all three stages viz. (i) before start of the work, (ii) during the work and (iii) on completion of work. As of December 2023, 2.5 lakh photographs of the assets have been uploaded by the Gram Panchayats for the activities taken under Fifteen Finance Commission in the current year.

10.    Citizen Charter

As of December 2023, 215628 Gram Panchayats approved and uploaded their Citizen Charters promising to deliver 954 services to their people of which 261 are offered on online.

11.    Audit Online

As a part of the critical institutional reform, XV FC has stipulated that the audited reports of Panchayat accounts need to be made available in the public domain, as an eligibility criterion. “Audit Online” application facilitates carrying out online audit of Panchayat accounts pertaining to Central Finance Commission Grants.

Activity

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

No. of Auditors enlisted

10,269

10,269

10,269

10,268

No. of Auditees enlisted

2,59,758

2,60,603

2,59,920

2,59,812

No. of GPs – Audit plans prepared

1,44,613

2,40,988

2,48,257

1,77,883

No. of Audit observations recorded

12,58,266

21,90,446

23,83,415

5,25,737

No. of Audit reports generated

1,30,222

2,18,086

2,40,515

51,815

 

12.    Central Finance Commission Grants to Rural Local Bodies

12.1   The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) submitted its interim report for the financial year 2020-21 and the final report for the period 2021-26.  The XV FC Grant-in-aid is allocated to all tiers of the Panchayati Raj including the Traditional Bodies of Non Part IX States and Fifth and Sixth Schedule areas in two parts, namely, (i) Basic (Untied) Grant (50 % for 2020-21 and 40 % for 2021-22 to 2025-26) and (ii) Tied Grants. (50 % for 2020-21 and 60 % for 2021-22 to 2025-26). 

12.2   The total size of the XV FC Grant to the Rural Local Bodies is Rs.60,750 Crore for the period FY 2020-21 and Rs.2,36,805 crores for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26. Rs.15,319 Crore in respect of the current Financial year 2023-24 have been released thus resulting into cumulative release so far of, Rs.1,63,850 Crores out of total allocation of Rs.2,97,555 Crores, i.e. 55.07 %. These grants are released to the States for development works in the Rural Local Bodies.

13.    Gram Urja Swaraj Abhiyaan

13.1   The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has collaborated with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to include the Gram Panchayats under all its schemes focusing on adoption of renewable energy. This will enable that in the upcoming years, Gram Panchayats would evolve as self-sufficient in terms of energy and become producers of energy instead of only being consumers. Moreover, widespread adoption of renewable energy applications in rural areas would enable the Gram Panchayats to develop Own Sources of Revenue (OSR) and employment opportunities for local youth of the villages.

13.2   Under the Gram Urja Swaraj Abhiyaan, GPs have developed their own implementation models with the support of Renewable energy development Agencies of the states. For example, Odanthurai Panchayat in Tamil Nadu has its own windmill, Thikekarwadi Gram Panchayat in Maharashtra has established Biogas plant in PPP mode and Meenvallam, Project of Palakkad district Panchayat in Kerala is the first initiative of a Panchayat under micro hydel. Many panchayats have taken up solar energy models such as solar roof top models, solar kitchens, solar street lighting and solar high mast light owned by the panchayats.

13.3   Under the Gram Urja Swaraj Abhiyaan, as on date, 2,080 Gram Panchayats have taken up and implemented Renewable Energy Projects. Close to 2020 Gram Panchayats have solar energy systems that are installed and are fully functional. Around 60 – 70 Gram Panchayats have hydel Energy systems and Wind Energy Systems that are installed and there are 106 GP’s with existing Biogas Energy Systems.

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Ministry of Panchayati Raj during 2nd – 31st October 2023

 Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh and Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil inspected Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) office premises at Jeevan Bharati Building, New Delhi on the last day of Special Campaign 3.0 on 31st October 2023, as part of monitoring the progress of Special Campaign 3.0 conducted by MoPR for institutionalizing Swachhata and minimizing pendency.  

   

Union Minister Shri Giriraj Singh and MoS Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil advised the staff-members to contribute to thorough cleanliness drives and zero pendency initiatives as part of the Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters (SCDPM) to create a healthy work culture that ensures enhanced level of cleanliness and work efficiency. Shri Giriraj Singh and Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil called upon all the staff-members to practice cleanliness at the office – Clean Office and Clean Desk (no pendency of work) at all times so that sustaining the momentum of Special Campaign 3.0 can be ensured.

Image  Image

Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil and then Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj Shri Sunil Kumar along with Additional Secretary, MoPR, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Economic Adviser, MoPR, Dr. Bijaya Kumar Behera and other senior officers took a round of office premises in Jeevan Bharati Building on 6th October 2023 and inspected overall cleanliness and reviewed the progress made under implementation of Special Campaign 3.0 in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

   

Special Campaign 3.0 was regularly monitored under the guidance of Union Minister of Panchayati Raj, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj and also through DARPG’s dedicated portal of Swachhata Campaign and SCDPM–2023 where the requisite data and relevant photographs were uploaded on a regular basis.

  

The progress made in the implementation of Special Campaign 3.0 was reviewed by Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar with Nodal Officers of Divisions/ Sections in the Ministry on 4th, 17th and 25th October 2023. Disposal of Public Grievances, Public Grievance Appeals, PMO References, other References and pending matters gained momentum during the Special Campaign 3.0, and considerable numbers of Public Grievance Appeals were disposed of and e-files were reviewed.

  

The month-long Special Campaign 3.0, kick-started on 2nd October 2023, provided an opportunity to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to reiterate the commitment to improve current cleanliness levels in the office premises, disposal of scrap/ waste materials, ensure timely disposal of Public Grievances and reduce the pendency of work in the offices. Special Campaign 3.0 commenced with Swachhata Pledge taking event organized at two office premises of Ministry of Panchayati Raj at Jeevan Bharati Building, Sansad Marg and Jeevan Prakash Building, New Delhi where the Swachhata Pledge was administered to all officers and staff-members (regular contractual and outsourced) of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

Special Campaign 3.0 that aims to mobilize and involve all officers and employees for institutionalizing Swachhata and minimizing pendency in government offices witnessed active and enthusiastic participation of all staff-members (regular, contractual and outsourced) of Ministry of Panchayati Raj during the Preparatory Phase (15th – 30th September 2023) and Implementation Phase (2nd – 31st October 2023) of Special Campaign 3.0.

Prior to the launch of Special Campaign 3.0, Action Plan for Special Campaign 3.0 for institutionalizing Swachhata and minimizing pendency in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was issued vide office circular dated 19th September 2023 among all officers and staff-members of the Ministry. All the officers and staff-members (regular, contractual and outsourced) posted in the Ministry at three locations namely, Krishi Bhawan, Jeevan Bharti Building and Jeevan Prakash Building were sensitized regarding maintenance of cleanliness in the Offices on daily basis during the Special Campaign 3.0 and beyond. Banners on Special Campaign 3.0 were displayed at prominent places in the office premises located in three buildings for greater awareness, widespread participation for creating a movement and environment for Special Campaign 3.0.

A workshop on Capacity Building of Record Officers was organized on 27th September 2023 under Chairmanship of Dr. Bijaya Kumar Behera as part of Preparatory Phase of Special Campaign 3.0 where participants were enlightened about robust due diligence, record keeping and record retention. Dr. Bijaya Kumar Behera underscored that preparatory phase of Special Campaign 3.0 includes cleanliness as well as disposal of pending references etc., adding that there are no pending grievances in the Ministry as of now, and we should maintain momentum.

Image Image

Division–wise Nodal Officers were designated and concerted efforts were made in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to identify redundant scrap materials and obsolete/ unserviceable items, and to sensitize the staff-members for maintaining a clean and hygienic workplace at all times. Senior officers of the Ministry performed Shramdaan and personally visited different Sections from time to time during the Special Campaign 3.0 and advised the staff-members to make Swachhata everyone’s business.

As many as 45 staff-members of the Ministry were provided with new computers during the Special Campaign 3.0, which will help them improving their work efficiency and productivity. For successful implementation of Special Campaign 3.0, the General Administration Section has procured indoor plants, flower pots and decorative items for the Ministry.

Under the Special Campaign 3.0, all the employees of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj enthusiastically participated in the disposal of pending cases. All-out efforts made during the Special Campaign 3.0 have yielded encouraging results with disposal of 995 Public Grievances, 283 Public Grievance Appeals and 1 VIP Reference. Besides, 750 e-files were also reviewed for weeding out. Apart from regular cleanliness drives in office premises, 15 intensive cleanliness drives were organized in office premises with special focus on decongesting, decluttering and beautifying the workspace and improving the infrastructure and ambience of offices.

Vigorous cleanliness campaigns were conducted at the three office locations of the Ministry with adequate cleaning of office chambers of all senior officers, rooms of other officers and staff-members, sections, corridors, conference hall, work stations, furniture, wash-rooms, toilets, storage places, passages, reception areas and inside premises of the MoPR office-buildings. Dr. Bijaya Kumar Behera in-Charge of General Administration in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj used to interact with housekeeping / cleaning staff on regular basis during the Special Campaign 3.0 and discussed about their concerns / issues including health, safety and dignity in order to fulfil our collective responsibility to ensure their welfare. All the housekeeping staff have been given monetary incentive in recognition of their sincere efforts and dedication for proper cleaning and upkeep of the office premises.

    

Few innovative and best practices undertaken by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj during the ongoing Special Campaign 3.0 are as follows:

  • During the Special Campaign 3.0, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has started productive use of the freed up space in the office premises at Jeevan Bharati Building with setting-up quiet, tidy and distraction-free Work Stations for staff-members to optimize the workspace and boost productivity.
  • The reception area and corridors in the MoPR office premises on the ninth floor of Jeevan Bharati Tower–2 Building, New Delhi have been transformed into bright, beautiful and welcoming spaces with placing the green plants, flower pots and plant containers during the Special Campaign 3.0.
  • The renovation work in the MoPR office premises on the eleventh floor of Jeevan Prakash Building has been started during the Special Campaign 3.0.
  • Contributing to Environmentally Responsible Workplace through: (a) Indoor Plants in corridors that help purify the air and create a calm atmosphere, (b) Using an energy-efficient LED lighting system, (c) Sustainable and recycled décor items, (d) Cleanliness is maintained through regular cleaning.
  • Promoting energy-efficient/energy-saving practices – switching off electronic appliances / devices / equipments when not in use.
  • Prioritizing women’s hygiene and sustainable menstrual waste management, MoPR ensures responsible Menstrual Waste management and clean women’s restrooms/ washrooms for all women staff-members.
  • Providing new computers to 45 staff-members to enhance their efficiency and productivity.
  • Monetary incentive to all the housekeeping staff in recognition of their sincere efforts and dedication for proper cleaning and upkeep of the office premises.

During the month-long Special Campaign 3.0, all officers and staff-members actively participated with full enthusiasm and renewed vigour for successful implementation of the Special Campaign 3.0 in the Offices of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. A short video film based on the theme of Special Campaign 3.0 was produced and official social media platforms of the Ministry were utilized to conduct outreach with public and highlight MoPR’s efforts and achievements under Special Campaign 3.0.

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Annual Capacity Building Plan of Department of Rural Development, Department of Land Resources and Ministry of Panchayati Raj

 Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh launched the Annual Capacity Building Plan of Department of Rural Development, Department of Land Resources and Ministry of Panchayati Raj in New Delhi today. While launching the ACBP, Shri Giriraj Singh said that this Plan will play a Pivotal role in service delivery, program implementation and performing core governance functions and will enhance the abilities of the officials by attending need based training to acquire relevant competencies to enable them to perform better so that the Ministry/Department can achieve the objectives set out with citizens centricity for improved performance.

With an objective to achieve PM’s Vision New India @ 2047, Capacity Building Commission has devised the approach for preparation of Annual Capacity Building Plan through 3 lenses namely National Priorities, Citizen Centricity, Emerging Technology and 3 Pillars- Individual, Organizational and Institutional, that are used as the guiding light for development of an ACBP to positively contribute for achievement of the objective. ACBP will have a profound impact in improving the efficiency and work ethics of all Departments, thereby, expedite the achievements of PM’s Vision for New India @2047.

Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP) is a plan document that is developed based on the competency enhancement requirements of the officials of the Ministry/Department/Organization (MDO), that is ascertained through carrying out Competency Need Analysis (CNA) and prioritization of the competencies based on requirement of the officials and also importance of the competency to the ministry so that the resources invested by MDO on Capacity Building are optimized.

A Capacity Building Unit (CBU) has been notified in all three Departments to implement and sustain ACBP. A budgetary outlay of 2.5 % of salary head of the Department will be ear-marked for implementation of ACBP. CBU will prioritize the training needs of officers for Quarter 2, Quarter 3 & Quarter 4. The trainings will be both in online and offline mode. CBC has identified institutes and knowledge partners to impart trainings in various issue to officers. The Ministry will also assess the impact of the trainings imparted to various officials and staff to ascertain the efficacy of ACBP.

On this Occasion, Secretaries and Officers of Department of Rural Development, Department of Land Resources and Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Member(Human Resource), Capacity Building Commission were present.

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Panchayati Raj

The term “Panchayati Raj” in India signifies the system of rural local self-government. It has been established in all the systems of India by the Acts of the state legislative to build democracy at the grass root level. It is ensured with rural development. It was constitutional through 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992.

Ø A three-tier structure of Indian administration for rural development is called panchayati Raj. The aim of the panchayati Raj is to develop local self government in districts, zones and villages.

Ø Rural development is one of the main objectives of panchayati Raj and this has been established in all states of India except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. In all union territories except Delhi and certain other areas. These areas include:-

a) The scheduled areas and the tribal areas in the states.

b) The hill area of Manipur for which a district council exists and

c) Darjeeling district of West Bengal for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill council exists.

Evolution of Panchayati Raj

Ø The panchayati system in India is not purely a post-independence phenomenon. In fact, the dominant political institution in rural India has been the village panchayat for centuries. In ancient India, panchayat were usually elected councils with executive and judicial powers.

Ø The evolution of the Panchayati Raj system, however, got a trip after the attainment of independence after the drafting of the constitution. The constitution of India in Article 40 enjoined, The state shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.

Ø There were member of committees appointed by the government of India to study the implementation of self-government at the rural level and also recommend steps in achieving this goal.

Ø The committee appointed are as follows:-

a) Balwant Rai Mehta Committee

b) Ashok Mehta Committee

c) G V K Rao Committee

d) LM Singvi committee

A. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee and Panchayati Raj

The committee was appointed in 1957, to examine and suggest measures for better working of the community development programme and the national extensions services. The committee suggested the establishment of a democratic decentralised local government which came to be known as panchayati Raj.

Recommendations by the Committee

Ø Three tier panchayati raj system: Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad.

Ø Directly elected representatives to constitute the gram panchayat and indirectly elected representative to constitute the panchyat samiti and zila parishad.

Ø Planning and development are the primary objectives of the panchayati raj system.

Ø Panchayat Samiti should be the executive body and zila parishad will act as the advisory and supervisory body.

Ø District collector to be made the chairman of the Zila Parishad

Ø It also requested for provisioning resources so as to help them discharge their duties and responsibilities.

v The Balwant Rai Mehta committee further revitalised the development of panchayati in the country, the report recommended that the panchayati raj institutions can play a substantial role in community development programmes throughout the country.

v The objectives of the panchyat, thus was the democratic decentralisation through the effective participation of locals with the help of well-planned programme. Even then prime minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, defended the panchyat system by saying, “authority and power to the panchayats”.

B. Ashok Mehta committee and Panchayati Raj

Ø The committee was appointed in 1977 to suggest measures to revive and strengthen the declining panchayati raj system in India.

The key recommendations are:-

Ø The three-tier system should be replaced with two-tier system: Zila parishad (District-level) and the mandal panchayat (a group of villages).

Ø District level as the first level of supervision after the state level.

Ø Zila Parishad should be the executive body and responsible for planning at district level.

Ø The institutions (zila parishad and the mandal panchayat) to have compulsory taxation powers to mobilise their own financial resources.

C. G V K Rao committee and Panchayati Raj

Ø The committee was appointed by the planning commission in 1985. It recognised that development was not seen at the grass root level due to bureaucratisation resulting in panchayat raj institutions being addressed as “grass without roots”. Hence, it made some key recommendations which were as follows:-

Ø Zila Parishad to be the most important body in the scheme of democratic decentralisation. Zila Parishad to be the principal body to manage the development programmes at the district level.

Ø The district and the lower levels of the panchayati raj system to be assigned with specific planning, implementation and monitoring of the rural development programmes.

Ø Post of district development commissioner to be created. He will be chief executive officer of the zila parishad.

Ø Elections to the levels of panchayati raj system should be held regularly.

D. L M Singhvi committee and panchayat raj

The committee was appointed by the government of India in 1986 with the main objective to recommend steps to revitalise the panchayati raj system for democracy and development. The following recommendations were made by the committee:-

1. The committee recommended that the panchayat raj system should be constitutionally recognised. It also recommends constitutional provisions to recognise free and fair election for the panchayati Raj system.

2. The committee recommended reorganization of villages to make the gram panchayat more viable.

3. It recommended that village panchayats should have more finances for their activities

4. Judicial tribunals to be set up in each state to adjudicate matters relating to the elections to the Panchayat Raj institutions and other matters relating to their functioning.

Ø All these things further the argument that panchayat can be very effective in identifying and solving local problems, involve the people in the villages in the development activities, improve the communication between different levels at which politics operate, develop leadership skills and in short help the basic development in the states without making too many structural changes. Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were the first to adopt panchayati raj in 1959, other states followed them later.

Ø  The act is a very significant step in creating democratic institutions at the grassroots level in the country. Art has transformed representative democracy into participating democracy.

Salient features of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act , 1992

1. Gram sabha

2. Three-tier system

3. Election of members and chairperson

4. Reservation of seats :-

a) For SC and ST

b) For Women

c) The state legislatures are also given the provision to decide on the reservation of seats in any level of panchayat or office of chairperson in favour of backward classes.

5. Duration of panchayat

6. Disqualification

7. State election commission

8. Powers and functions

9. Finances

10. Finance commission

11. Audit of accounts

12. Application to union territories

13. Exempted state and areas

14. Continuance of existing law

15. Bar to interference by courts.

In India, the panchayati raj system is not a post-independence development. For decades, the village panchayat has been the most powerful political entity in rural India. Panchayats were elected councils in ancient India that had administrative and judicial authority. Panchayat Raj is a three-tiered administrative framework in India that focuses on rural development. The panchayati Raj is a system of local self-government that is used to build districts, zones and villages.