Transcript Backward Regions Grant Fund

13 October, 2007
Devolution of functions, funds and
functionaries to Panchayats
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Government of India
Salient features of the 73rd Constitution
Amendment Act, 1993
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Constitutional status for Gram Sabha
Three tier Panchayat system at the village, intermediate and
district levels except in State with populations of less than 20
lakhs, where intermediate Panchayats may not be
constituted,
Reservation of seats and leadership positions for SCs/STs
and women,
Regular elections every 5 years,
Establishment of independent State Election Commission,
State Finance Commissions to be set up once in 5 years,
Powers to be so devolved upon Panchayats as to enable
them to functions as institutions of self government (Article
243 G read with Schedule XI).
Article 243 G reads as follows:
“Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats.Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a
State may, by law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and
authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as
institutions
of self-government and such law may contain
provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities
upon Panchayats at the appropriate level, subject to such conditions
as may be specified therein, with respect to(a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social
justice;
(b) the implementation of schemes for economic development and
social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in
relation to the matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.”
Eleventh Schedule lists 29 matters as below
Agriculture, incl.
extension
Fisheries
Rural housing
Land improvement,
land reforms, consolidation
soil conservation.
Social forestry
farm forestry
Minor forest
produce
Drinking water
Education,
including primary
and secondary schools
Welfare of the weaker sections,
in particular of SCs and STs
Markets
Fairs
Adult and non-formal
education
Maintenance of
community assets
Public distribution
system
Libraries
Social Welfare,
Welfare lf handicapped and
mentally retarded
Family welfare
Khadi, village and
cottage industries
Animal husbandry,
dairying and poultry
Fuel and fodder
Poverty
alleviation programme
Technical training
vocational education
Health and sanitation
hospitals. Primary health centres
dispensaries
Minor irrigation,
water management
watershed devpment
Cultural
activities
Women and
Child development
Roads, culverts,bridges,
Nonferries, waterways
conventional
other means of communication
energy
Small scale industries,
food processing industries
Rural electrification,
distribution of
electricity
The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act,
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1996
Establishes specific provisions for the extension of
Panchayati Raj to Fifth Schedule areas
State legislation enjoined to give primacy to communities to
manage their affairs in accordance with traditions and
customs in strict conformity with the letter and spirit of
PESA.
Gram Sabhas given extensive powers to
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safeguard and preserve traditions, customs, cultural identity,
community resources and customary mode of dispute resolution.
approve the plans, programmes and projects for social and
economic development,
identify beneficiaries under poverty alleviation and other
programmes,
authorise the issue of utilization certificates after examining the
utilisation of funds by the Gram Panchayat,
protect common property resources, including minor forest
produce,
be consulted prior to land acquisition.
The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act,
1996
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State Governments mandated to endow Panchayats in the Scheduled
Areas with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable
them to function as institutions of self-government, and specifically
with:
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the power to enforce prohibition or to regulate or restrict the sale and
consumption of any intoxicant;
the ownership of minor forest produce;
the power to prevent alienation of land in the Scheduled Areas and to take
appropriate action to restore any unlawfully alienated land of a Scheduled
Tribe;
the power to manage village markets;
the power to exercise control over money lending to the Scheduled Tribes;
the power to exercise control over institutions and functionaries in all social
sectors;
Article 243 ZD –district planning
Every State to constitute a District Planning Committee in each district to
consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities
in the district and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a
whole.
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80% members of DPCs to be elected by, and from amongst, ZP members
and municipality members,
Every District Planning Committee while preparing the district plan must
consider:
- matters of common interest between Panchayats and Municipalities
including spatial planning, sharing of water and other physical and natural
resources, the integrated development of infrastructure and environmental
conservation;
- the extent and type of available resources whether financial or otherwise;
- consult specified institutions and organisations
The DPC Chairperson shall forward the development plan approved by
the DPC to the State Government.
Inclusion of people in governance:
Statistics on Panchayats…
• 537 District Panchayats, 15,694 elected
representatives. (37 % women, 17 % SC,
11 % ST)
• 6094 Intermediate Panchayats, 1,56,609
elected representatives. (37 % women, 21
% SC, 7 % ST)
• 2,33,913 Village Panchayats, 26,56,476
elected representatives. (37 % women,
19% SC and 12% ST)
Concept of Gram Sabhas
• Constitution defines Gram Sabha as a body
consisting of voters relating to a village comprised
within a Panchayat
A Gram Sabha is not only a meeting of voters!
The Gram Sabha:
• Exists at all times and can be convened at any time
• Institutionalises the right of people to participate
• The effectiveness of the Gram Sabha is only as
important as the participation of the people
• Therefore, members of the Gram Sabha must be
consulted even in their homes, through door to door
surveys
• Some States have two levels of Gram Sabhas – at
the ward or habitation level and at the GP level
Role of Gram Sabhas
Gram/Ward Sabhas:
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entitled to get all information required,
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to approve plans, programmes and budgets for
economic development and social justice prepared by
the Gram Panchayat;
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to authorize the issue of utilization certificates for funds
allocated for plans, projects or programmes of the
Panchayat;
identify and select beneficiaries.
undertake social audit in association with reputed
NGOs
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The Role of Gram Panchayats
• Grassroots level of participative, democratic selfgovernment,
• Closest level of consultation with people through
Gram Sabha
• Should be given extensive powers in respect of
civic functions such as village sanitation, water
supply, streetlights, intra-village roads, licencing of
establishments,
• Best level for delivering basic services such as
schools, anganwadis, PHCs/dispensaries,
veterinary hospitals/dispensaries, ration shops
• Basic unit of planning and implementation for
economic development and social justice.
Intermediate Panchayats role and
relevance
• Known by several names – Panchayat Samitis, Mandal Praja
Parishad, Taluk Panchayats, Anchalik Panchayats
• Good level to deliver those services that cannot be best
delivered at GP level, such as High Schools, Hostels,
Community Health Centres, Inter-village Roads, Multi-village
water supply schemes, etc.
• Most staff are located at Intermediate Panchayat level,
• Level to consolidate the plans of the Gram Panchayats and add
additional works at the Intermediate Panchayat level.
District Panchayats or Zilla Parishads role and relevance
• Conceived as the seat of democratic rural governance at the
district level
• Level for the delivery of those services that require higher
level of coordination such as Major District roads, irrigation
schemes, district hospitals, colleges, ITIs etc.
• Coordination and implementation of major Centrally
Sponsored Schemes
• Coordinate the functioning of the Panchayats at other levels
• Consolidate the plans of the Village and Intermediate
Panchayats and link up with Urban plans for submission to
the District Planning Committee
The difference between real and
not-so-real devolution
Real Devolution:
Not-so-real devolution:
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• Scheme bound
expenditure,
• Staff on deputation,
• Limited power to collect
resources
• Somebody else (above or
below) acting for the
Panchayats
• Somebody else (above or
below) responsible for
Panchayat performance
Clear role assignment,
Power to spend money,
Power to tax,
Discretion in spending
money,
• Power to hire fire and
control staff,
• Direct Accountability.
Vision on decentralisation
• Autonomy: Different tiers of PRIs to be functionally,
financially and administratively autonomous
• Subsidiarity: What can be done best at a particular level
should be done at that level alone and not at higher levels.
• Role Clarity: There should be clarity regarding the role of
each tier in the development process and clear division of
functions among the tiers
• Complementarity: The functions of the different tiers should
not overlap, but be complementary to each other
Vision on decentralisation
• Uniform application of norms: There should be
uniformity of norms and criteria for the pattern of
assistance or selection of beneficiaries for all the
programmes implemented in a local area irrespective
of the sponsoring agency
• People’s participation: Local body functioning
should facilitate maximum direct peoples’
participation in the development process.
• Accountability: The accountability of elected reps
should go beyond periodic electoral verdicts through
a process of periodic social auditing
• Transparency: People should have the right to
information regarding every detail of administration.
 Activity Mapping
• Identification of activities related to devolved
functions and
• Attribution of appropriate activity to each level,
based on the principle that each activity ought
to be undertaken at the lowest level that it can
be undertaken,
• Activity mapping to touch all levels of
government, from the Central level to the GPs,
• Activity Mapping to trigger fiscal
decentralisation.
What activity mapping is not…
• Activity Mapping does not mean that subjects are devolved
wholesale – they need to be broken into activities and
assigned to different levels of government.
• Activity Mapping need not be unduly influenced by the way
budget items or schemes are arranged. Schemes may
specifically relate to one activity or sub-activities, or might
comprise of several activities,
• Different yardsticks cannot be applied to the assignment of
the same activity on a scheme-wise basis. Certain
activities, such as beneficiary selection, can span different
schemes.
• There is no gain or loss of power through Activity Mapping.
Example of activity mapping for education
Existing
structure
Role assignment
Government
accountability
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SSA
society
Education
department
Panchayat/ULB
VEC
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Community
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Example of activity mapping for Education
Government
Regulatory
authorities
Role assignment
activity mapping
Panchayat/ULB
accountability
Education department
SDMC/Panchayat Sub-committee
Community
 Activity Mapping
States that have issued Activity Mapping notifications and have
or are operationalising them:
Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa, West Bengal, Haryana,
Assam, Sikkim
States where Panchayati Raj Acts themselves incorporate
detailed roles for Panchayats:
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa.
States where Activity Mapping is ready to be notified and
operationalised:
Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Punjab, Rajasthan, UP, Uttaranchal.
States where there is gathering momentum:
Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur,
Tamilnadu, Tripura.
Challenges in activity mapping
• Money and assets not transferred to Panchayats and
activity mapping remaining on paper,
• Sizes of Panchayat jurisdictions vary from State to
State,
• Pull of competing loyalties because of dual control of
staff,
• Parallel committees are created by departments,
• Lip service to Panchayat system by co-opting office
bearers into parallel systems,
• Parallel system accounts not captured in Panchayat
accounts
• User groups created at sub-panchayat level with no
connection to the Panchayat.
Popln. per GP
25000
20000
15000
popln.
10000
5000
0
Ker WBAssmMani Bih Kar Jhar Trip Ori Raj Goa Natl. Sik TN AP UP Hary Guj Mah MP Chhat HP PunUttkhd
A runa
average
State
Parallel bodies and Panchayats,
suggestions for harmonisation
• Reconceptualise parallel bodies as technical
support systems of Panchayats.
• Mandate strong Standing Committee System
within Panchayats with timelines for decision
making
• Funds to be deposited in Panchayat fund,
• Fund use to be tracked electronically to prevent
delay or diversion.
• Use CAG to provide technical guidance and
support for accounting,
• Ensure prompt audit.
States with Panchayat sector window in their budgets, largely
matching functional devolution:
Kerala, Karnataka
States with Panchayat sector window, but with degrees of
mismatch between functional devolution and fiscal
assignments:
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Maharashtra, Gujarat.
States that have agreed in the Statements of Conclusions
that they will create separate budget windows for
Panchayati Raj
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab,
Sikkim, Uttaranchal
Backward Regions Grant Fund –
Key features and procedures
 District Planning Committees –
 a mandatory Constitutional requirement
States that have constituted DPCs (17):
Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur,
Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamilnadu, West Bengal,
States where constitution of DPC is in advanced stage:
Tripura.
States where DPCs are yet to be constituted:
Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh. Gujarat,,
Punjab
The Planning Commission has issued guidelines on
District Planning, to guide States
Salient features of Planning Commission’s circular of
25-8-06
• In preparing the District Plan, DPC to consolidate:
– Plans prepared by the Panchayats for (a) activities
assigned to them, (b) national/state schemes
implemented by them and (c) schemes implemented with
their own resources,
– Similar plans prepared by Municipalities,
– Elements of the State Plan physically implemented in the
district.
Salient features of Planning Commission’s
circular of 25-8-06
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Complete Activity Mapping,
Form DPCs in accordance with Article 243ZD,
Issue guidelines to DPCs and local governments,
Decide on the formula for distribution of local government
component of the state plan,
– indicate sector-wise and untied resources that would be available to
each local government over five years/one year (2007-08) from the
state plan,
– Indicate resources that would be available to each local government
from central sources through CSSs, Finance Commission grants, and
any special allocations,
– After vetting, present a summary of District Plans, along with State
Plan proposals for the Eleventh Five Year Plan/Annual Plan 2007-08
to Planning Commission.
Prescribing formulae for application
within the district
• Formula has to be determined on basis of
the causes of backwardness,
• State can determine this formula for each
district, based on level of backwardness
• Once determined, the formula has to be
made
public
and
consistently
and
transparently used.
Incentives
& Innovations
proposed model for fund allocation
from BRGF
within a district
More untied
funds (formula
Based)
Broadly
untied funds
Basic
capacity
Basic
Poorest areas
capacity building
Not so poor areas
Release
of funds
Under
BRGF
GOI
State Consolidated Fund
Software for district-wise distribution formulae
Banking system
Electronic or Telegraphic transfer
District
Panchayat
ULBs
Intermediate
Panchayat
Gram
Panchayat
15
days
Immediate priorities for 2007-08
• Ministry of Panchayati Raj is pursuing with
States the constitution of DPCs, issuing of
guidelines and nomination of experts.
• At the State level, five year capacity building
plans are being prepared by States.
• States will indicate the formula for division of
funds to the Panchayats (as done in Madhya
Pradesh),
• At your level, you will need to:
– Put together existing participative plans (such as
under NREGA, NRHM etc.) into a working district
plan,
– Convene DPC meetings and approve the draft
development plan,
New approach under BRGF for 2007-08
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BRGF can commence in districts where RSVY is still
being implemented, provided separate accounts are
maintained for both schemes:
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Pursue the following priorities under BRGF:
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construct or augment existing Panchayat Ghars
construct Anganwadi buildings both for existing Anganwadis
as well as new Anganwadis under the new approach of
‘Anganwadi on demand by the community’
augment school facilities,
augment Indira Awas Yojana by constructing additional
housing units
convergence with works taken up under the NREGA at the
Panchayat level, by dovetailing BRGF grants as material
component for construction of durable community assets and
works permissible under the NREGA,
augment staff at the Gram Panchayat level, to an extent of 5
percent of the development grant for the district.
Thank you
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Government of India