Year End Review-2019: Ministry of Panchayati Raj
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is responsible for the work of advocacy, monitoring and implementation of Constitution 73rd Amendment. The role of the MoPR involves strengthening the administrative infrastructure, basic services etc. by leveraging technology and capacity building of the functionaries of Rural Local Body (RLB). Ministry’s roadmap to realise the above objective is through three pillars:
· Provision of basic services through the Finance Commission Funding,
· Capacity building of RLBs through Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) and
· Convergent & holistic planning through inclusive & participatory process through Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and advocacy work
Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) Grants
During the current Financial Year 2019-20, FFC Grant of Rs.48,497.57 crore (including release for previous years) has been released to 26 States for Gram Panchayats (GPs) as on 18.12.2019
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA)
The restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) has been operationalized w.e.f. 2018-19 with the primary aim of strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with main thrust on convergence with Mission Antyodaya and emphasis on strengthening PRIs in 117 Aspirational districts.
During 2018-19, Ministry had approved the Annual Action Plans (AAPs) of 32 States/UTs and Rs. 598.25 crore was released to States/UTs and implementing agencies upto 31st March, 2019. During current year, Ministry has approved the Annual Action Plans (AAPs) of 33 States/UTs and released Rs.406.22 crore to States/UTs and implementing agencies till 18.12.2019.
Incentivization of Panchayats:
The Ministry has been incentivizing the Panchayats/ States/ Union Territories (UTs) under the scheme of Incentivization of Panchayats, one of the central components of the restructured scheme of RGSA, in recognition of their good work for improving delivery of services &public goods and to encourage a spirit of competition.
Awards, including financial incentives ranging from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.50 Lakh, are given annually to best performing Panchayats/States/UTs under various categories namely, (i) Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP) for Gram/ Block/ District Panchayats; (ii) Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (NDRGGSP) for Gram Panchayats; (iii) Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) Award for Gram Panchayats; (iv) Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award (CFGPA) for Gram Panchayats and e-Panchayat Puraskar for States/U
Mission Mode Project on e-Panchayat:
Under the e-Panchayat MMP, a suite of Core Common Applications has been developed collectively called Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES) Applications. Following are some of the key activities undertaken under the e-Panchayat MMP during the year:
- Unified portal focusing on Work Based Accounting: Unified Portal is a new initiative of the Ministry, which will provide the GPs with a single interface to prepare and implement their GPDP. Unified portal would reduce the number of data entries that Gram Panchayat user performs. It will bring in a more user-friendly interface with ease of navigation that would make it hassle-free for the GPs to track, monitor and modify their Action Plan.
- On-boarding of schemes on PRIASoft-PFMS integration for real time payments by GPs: The Ministry, in the current year, has put in place a robust mechanism capturing the entire gamut of activity right from the stage of planning to monitor the various stages of work, recording the expenditure incurred for the works to providing a complete detail of the asset created. Around one lakh GPs have onboarded this interface.
- Gram Manchitra: Gram Manchitra is a Spatial Planning Application launched by Hon’ble Minister of Panchayati Raj on October 23, 2019 on the occasion of National Panchayat Awards, 2019, for facilitating and supporting GP users to perform planning at Gram Panchayat level with the use of geo-spatial technology. It provides a single/ unified Geo Spatial platform to better visualize the various developmental works to be taken up across the 29 sectors and provide a decision support system for GPDP.