Devolution of functions, funds and functionaries to Panchayats

1
Devolution of functions, funds and functionaries
to Panchayats
13 October, 2007

• Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• Government of India

2
Salient features of the 73rd Constitution
Amendment Act, 1993

• 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).

3
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.

4
Eleventh Schedule lists 29 matters as below
Agriculture, incl. extension
Land improvement, land reforms, consolidation
soil conservation.
Minor irrigation, water management watershed
devpment
Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry
Fisheries 
Social forestry farm forestry
Minor forest produce
Fuel and fodder
Maintenance of community assets
Rural housing
Drinking water
Poverty alleviation programme
Public distribution system
Technical training vocational education
Education, including primary and secondary
schools
Cultural activities
Libraries
Adult and non-formal education
Welfare of the weaker sections, in particular of
SCs and STs
Social Welfare, Welfare lf handicapped and
mentally retarded
Women and Child development
Family welfare
Roads, culverts,bridges, ferries, waterways
other means of communication
Non- conventional energy
Health and sanitation hospitals. Primary health
centres dispensaries
Rural electrification, distribution of
electricity
Markets Fairs
Khadi, village and cottage industries
Small scale industries, food processing
industries
5
The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas)
Act, 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
• 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.

6
The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas)
Act, 1996

• 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 
• 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 

7
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.
• 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.

8
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)

9
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

10
Role of Gram Sabhas

• Gram/Ward Sabhas
• entitled to get all information required,
• to approve plans, programmes and budgets for
  economic development and social justice prepared
  by the Gram Panchayat
• 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

11
The Role of Gram Panchayats

• Grassroots level of participative, democratic
  self-government,
• 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.

12
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.

13
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

14
The difference between real and not-so-real
devolution

• Not-so-real devolution
• 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

• Real Devolution
• Clear role assignment,
• Power to spend money,
• Power to tax,
• Discretion in spending money,
• Power to hire fire and control staff,
• Direct Accountability.

15
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

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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
• Peoples 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.

17

• 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.

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• 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.

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Example of activity mapping for education
Role assignment
Existing structure
Government
accountability
Education department
?
SSA society
Panchayat/ULB
?
VEC
?
Community
20
Example of activity mapping for Education
Role assignment
Government
Regulatory authorities
accountability
activity mapping
Panchayat/ULB
Education department
SDMC/Panchayat Sub-committee
Community
21

• 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.
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• 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.

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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.

25
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
26
Backward Regions Grant Fund Key features and
procedures
27

• 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
28
The Planning Commission has issued guidelines on
District Planning, to guide States Salient
features of Planning Commissions 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.

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Salient features of Planning Commissions
circular of 25-8-06

• Steps to be taken at State Level-
• 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.

30
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.

31
proposed model for fund allocation from
BRGF within a district
Incentives Innovations
More untied funds (formula Based)
Broadly untied funds
Basic
capacity building
Basic capacity
Poorest areas
Not so poor areas
32
Release of funds Under BRGF
GOI
State Consolidated Fund
Software for district-wise distribution formulae
Banking system
15 days
Electronic or Telegraphic transfer
District Panchayat
ULBs
Intermediate Panchayat
Gram Panchayat
33
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,

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New approach under BRGF for 2007-08

• BRGF can commence in districts where RSVY is
  still being implemented, provided separate
  accounts are maintained for both schemes
• Pursue the following priorities under BRGF
• 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.

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Thank you

• Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• Government of India