FUNCTIONING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS

Ministry of Panchayati Raj FUNCTIONING OF PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS प्रव तथ: 21 JUL 2026 6:18PM by PIB Delhi “Panchayat”, being “Local Government”, is a State subject and part of State List of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Panchayats are set up and operate through the respective State Panchayati Raj Acts. States have made their own Panchayati Raj Act, subject to the provisions of the Constitution. Article 243G of the Constitution empowers the Legislature of a State to make provisions, by law, for the devolution of power and responsibilities upon Panchayat at the appropriate level, subject to such conditions as may be specified, with respect to the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice and implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution.

The State legislatures are to consider the 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule for devolution of power and responsibilities to Panchayats. Accordingly, all matters relating to Panchayats, including, to review the functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions, to devolve greater administrative, financial and functional powers to Gram Panchayats, details of the funds, functions and functionaries devolved to Panchayats and to take steps to strengthen local self-Governance and ensure greater autonomy, accountability and capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions, fall within the purview of State Government.

However, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj reviews performance of Panchayats, from time to time, through studies, review meetings, field visits, video conferencing, Information Technology applications etc. Year- wise details of the funds, functions and functionaries devolved to Panchayats by States are not maintained by Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

The Ministry has released a report titled “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States - An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking, 2024” in February 2025 to assess the effectiveness of devolution and the role of local governments in strengthening grassroots democracy. This report presents the Devolution Index, which provides the overall scores and ranks for all States/Union Territories (UTs) covered under Part-IX of the Constitution, based on six identified dimensions: Framework, Functions, Finances, Functionaries, Capacity Enhancement, and Accountability. This report reveals that the extent of devolution has increased from 39.9% to 43.9% between the period 2013-14 to 2021-22. Ranking of States/UTs in Devolution Index and Sub-indices is attached as Annexure-I.

In these six identified dimensions, Framework includes reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes and women, Panchayats elections & State Election Commission, Panchayats duration, dissolution & bye elections, constitution and function of District Planning Committee, role of Panchayats in Committees and parallel bodies/institutions, autonomy to Panchayats. Functions include functions assigned to Panchayats including Activity Mapping, expenditure incurred and actual involvement of Panchayats, involvement of Panchayats in important Schemes. Finances include Fifteenth Finance Commission Grants to the Panchayats, State Finance Commission (SFC), money transfers to Panchayat on accounts of the SFC recommendations, empowerment of Panchayats to impose and collect revenue, funds available with Panchayats, expenditure of Panchayats, initiatives related to finance, accounts and budget.Functionaries include physical infrastructure of Panchayats, e-connectivity of Panchayats, Panchayats officials. Capacity Enhancement includes training institutions, training activities–training of elected representative and officials. Accountability includes accounting and audit of Panchayats, social audit of Panchayats, functioning of Gram Sabha, transparency & anti-corruption, Panchayats assessment & incentivization.

To strengthen local self-Governance and ensure greater autonomy, accountability and capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Ministry has implemented a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, namely the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), w.e.f. financial year 2022-23, with the objective of supporting Panchayati Raj institutions by imparting trainings to Elected Representatives and other stakeholders to develop leadership abilities, thereby enabling Gram Panchayats to function effectively across all States/UTs. Under the scheme, capacity building support is provided to elected representatives, functionaries, and other stakeholders of Panchayats under different categories, viz. basic orientation and refresher programmes, thematic interventions, specialized trainings and Panchayat Development Plan- related programmes, etc. The scheme also supports exposure visits to facilitate experiential learning and replication of best practices for strengthening Panchayat governance, as well as development of training modules and materials etc.

Further, to enhance skills and knowledge, a major step has also been taken to build capacity and train elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayats through Institutes of excellence such as IIMs/IITs under the Leadership/Management Development Program (MDP).

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with IIM Ahmedabad, has also developed a training module on Own Source Revenue (OSR) to strengthen the financial self-reliance of Gram Panchayats. The module helps elected representatives and Panchayat functionaries understand how OSR is generated through tax and non-tax sources.

Additionally, the Ministry has launched a Specialized Training Module as a part of “Shashkta Panchayat Netri Abhiyan” for the capacity building of Women Elected Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions. The focus of this training module is to build the capacity of Women Elected Representatives 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.

ANNEXURE-I Ranking of States/UTs in Devolution Index (DI) and Sub-indices Rank DI Framework Functions Finances State Score State Score State Score State S General Category States 1 Karnataka 72.23 Kerala 83.56 Tamil Nadu 60.24 Karnataka 7 2 Kerala 70.59 Maharashtra 74.74 Karnataka 57.62 Kerala 6 3 Tamil Nadu 68.38 Karnataka 74.43 Odisha 57.46 Tamil Nadu 54 Maharashtra 61.44 Haryana 73.3 Rajasthan 56.13 Rajasthan 5 5 Uttar Pradesh 60.07 Madhya 70 Kerala 53.86 Odisha 5 Pradesh 6 Gujarat 58.26 Odisha 69.2 Uttar Pradesh 46.89 West Bengal 5 7 Rajasthan 56.67 Rajasthan 68.54 Maharashtra 46.52 Uttar Pradesh 5 8 West Bengal 56.52 Chhattisgarh 68.51 Chhattisgarh 42.39 Chhattisgarh 5 9 Chhattisgarh 56.26 Tamil Nadu 66.83 Gujarat 41.23 Telangana 4 10 Telangana 55.1 West Bengal 62.3 Madhya 39.47 Bihar 4 Pradesh 11 Andhra 54.43 Gujarat 61.65 Telangana 38.77 Andhra 4 Pradesh Pradesh 12 Madhya 50.94 Andhra 60.08 West Bengal 33.07 Maharashtra 4 Pradesh Pradesh 13 Odisha 50.03 Uttar Pradesh 54.64 Punjab 31.97 Madhya 4 Pradesh 14 Bihar 48.24 Goa 52.88 Andhra 30.5 Gujarat 4 Pradesh 15 Haryana 39.33 Bihar 49.76 Jharkhand 27.56 Haryana 4 16 Goa 37.71 Punjab 47.26 Bihar 18.69 Punjab 3 17 Punjab 29.34 Telangana 45.35 Haryana 16.82 Jharkhand 3 18 Jharkhand 27.73 Jharkhand 42.3 Goa 6.63 Goa 2 Northeastern / Hilly Area States 1 Tripura 57.58 Uttarakhand 70.95 Sikkim 42.59 Tripura 52 Himachal 53.17 Tripura 66.5 Assam 28.66 Himachal 4 Pradesh Pradesh 3 Uttarakhand 49.11 Sikkim 65.27 Himachal 23.01 Uttarakhand 4 Pradesh 4 Assam 49.06 Himachal 62.22 Tripura 21.5 Sikkim Pradesh 5 Sikkim 43.81 Assam 54.04 Uttarakhand 16.68 Assam 3 6 Arunachal 17.96 Arunachal 41.5 Arunachal 12.7 Manipur# 1 Pradesh# Pradesh# Pradesh# 7 Manipur# 17.13 Manipur# 34.05 Manipur# 11.23 Arunachal Pradesh# Union Territories 1 Jammu and 27.85 Andaman 55.21 Jammu and 11.88 Puducherry 1 Kashmir &Nicobar Kashmir Islands 2 Andaman 27.15 Lakshadweep# 31.42 Ladakh 11.08 Jammu and 1 &Nicobar Kashmir Islands 3 Lakshadweep# 18.32 Jammu and 23.07 Lakshadweep# 10.36 Andaman Kashmir &Nicobar Islands 4 Ladakh 16.18 Ladakh 22.21 Puducherry 4.63 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu# 5 Puducherry 16.16 Dadra & 22.06 Andaman 4.5 Lakshadweep# Nagar Haveli &Nicobar and Daman & Islands Diu#6 Dadra & 13.62 Puducherry 9.31 Dadra & 0 Ladakh Nagar Haveli Nagar Haveli and Daman & and Daman & Diu# Diu# National 43.89 54.29 29.18 3 Average

Source: Report titled “Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States - An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking, 2024”

Note: #States for which previous data is used This information was given by Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha on 21st July 2026. *** AA (रलीज़ आईडी: 2287261) आगंतुक पटल : 1345 इस वज्ञ को इन भाषाओ ंम पढ़: Urdu , ही