See Full Document Text
GOVERNMENTOF INDIA
MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATIRAJ
RAJYASABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO - 2974
ANSWEREDON- 18.03.2026
DEVOLUTION OFPOWERS TOPANCHAYATS
2974 SHRIMILIND MURLI DEORA
Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleasedtostate:
(a)State-wise/UT-wise status of devolution of funds, functionsandfunctionaries;
(b) mechanismsfor periodic monitoringandreview;
(c)transfer of untied fundsand posting of functionariesat Panchayatlevel;
(d) the steps takento enhanceautonomyandaccountability; and
(e)performance-based incentivesor grant-linkedmechanismsavailable?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
(SHRIRAJIVRANJAN SINGH)
(a) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj 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 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. Details of Ranking of States/UTs in Devolution Index and Sub-indices is placed
asAnnexure.
(b) to (d) “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 Acts, 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
1in 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 relatingtoPanchayats,including,periodic monitoring
& review of Panchayats, posting of functionaries at Panchayat level and to take steps to
enhanceautonomy& accountability, fall within the purviewof StateGovernment.
However, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj reviews performance of Panchayats,
from time to time, through studies, review meetings, field visits, video conferencing,
InformationTechnology applicationsetc.
This Ministry has launched eGramSwaraj (https://egramswaraj.gov.in), a user
friendly web-based portal, which aims to bring in better transparency in the decentralized
planning, progress reporting, financial management, work-based accounting and details of
assets created. The eGramSwaraj portal has also been integrated with Public Financial
Management System for online transfer of the Central Finance Commission funds by the
States to PRIs and enabling Panchayats to make real-time payments to vendors/service
providers. Panchayats prepare and upload their Annual Panchayat Development Plans on
eGramSwaraj portal. In addition, the Ministry has integrated eGramSwaraj with the
Government e-Marketplace (GeM)to bring transparency toPanchayatprocurement.
An application of ‘AuditOnline’ has been developed for online audits of
Panchayat accounts and their financial management. AuditOnline for transparent auditing
of Central Finance Commission funds utilization for strengthen financial management of
Panchayatslaunched inApril 2020.
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 functioneffectively 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,aswell asdevelopment of trainingmodulesandmaterialsetc.
Further, toenhanceskills andknowledge,a majorstep hasalso beentaken tobuild
capacity and train elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayats through
Institutes of excellence such asIIMs/IITs underthe Leadership/Management Development
Program(MDP).
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with IIM Ahmedabad, has also
developed a training module on Own Sourceof Revenue (OSR)to strengthen the financial
self-reliance of Gram Panchayats. The module helpselectedrepresentatives andPanchayat
functionariesunderstand how OSRisgenerated through taxandnon-taxsources.
Additionally, the Ministry has launched a Specialized Training Module 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
2across different aspects of rural governance and enhance their knowledge and practical
skills for the effective discharge of roles and responsibilities as elected representatives,
therebypromotingwomen-led governance.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV-FC) recommended grants to the tune of
₹2,97,555 crore for the period 2020–2026 (including interim period 2020-21) for
Panchayats across all three tiers, including Traditional Local Bodies and Sixth Schedule
areas in 28 States. Out of this total, ₹60,750 crore was recommended for the interim year
FY2020–21, while ₹2,36,805 crore was recommended for the award period FY2021–26.
During the interim year FY 2020–21, the Fifteenth Finance Commission allocated
₹30,375 crore as Untied Grants. For the award period FY 2021–26, ₹94,722 crore was
earmarked as Untied Grants for Rural Local Bodies in 28 States, out of which
₹1,16,006.30crore hadbeenreleasedasof 11th March 2026
(e) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been incentivizing the best performing Panchayats
through National Panchayat Awards under the Incentivization of Panchayats scheme, one
of the central components of Centrally Sponsored scheme of revamped Rashtriya Gram
Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA). These awards have been revamped w.e.f. National Panchayat
Award 2023 to assess the performance of Panchayati Raj Institutions in attainment of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through 9 identified Localisation of Sustainable
Development Goals (LSDG) themes aggregated from 17 SDGs 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 (ix) Women-friendly Panchayat. To encourage the efforts of
awardee Panchayats, financial incentives have been provisioned, ranging from ₹50 lakh
for a Gram Panchayatto ₹5crore for a District Panchayat.
The initiative seeks to promote healthy competition among Panchayats and inspire them
toachieveexcellenceinlocalgovernance.Toenable cross-learningandknowledgesharing,
best practices and innovative initiatives of award-winning Panchayats are systematically
documented and disseminated through workshops, conferences, training programmes, and
exposure visits. Furthermore, compendiums and booklets showcasing these practices are
published and circulated widely among Panchayati Raj stakeholders across the country.
These measures facilitate the replication of successful models and contribute to the overall
strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions.
***
3ANNEXURE
Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2974 for answer on 18.03.2026
Details of Rankingof States/UTs inDevolutionIndex(DI) andSub-indices
DI Framework Functions Finances Functionaries Capacity Building Accountability
Ran
Scor Scor Scor Scor Scor Scor
k State State State State State State State Score
e e e e e e
GeneralCategory States
60.2 70.6
1 Karnataka 72.23 Kerala 83.56 TamilNadu Karnataka Gujarat 90.94 Telangana 86.19Karnataka 81.33
4 5
57.6 62.8
2 Kerala 70.59 Maharashtra 74.74 Karnataka Kerala TamilNadu 84.25 TamilNadu 84.29Kerala 81.18
2 9
57.4 55.7
3 TamilNadu 68.38 Karnataka 74.43 Odisha TamilNadu Kerala 82.99 Gujarat 83.96Maharashtra 80.36
6 8
56.1 54.5
4 Maharashtra 61.44 Haryana 73.3 Rajasthan Rajasthan Karnataka 80.11 Goa 77.7Uttar Pradesh 76.07
3 6
Madhya 53.8 53.5 Andhra
5 Uttar Pradesh 60.07 70 Kerala Odisha Chhattisgarh 78.33 76.69TamilNadu 71
Pradesh 6 7 Pradesh
46.8 52.9 Andhra
6 Gujarat 58.26 Odisha 69.2 Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Bihar 75.13 Uttar Pradesh 74.44 60.49
9 6 Pradesh
46.5 51.7
7 Rajasthan 56.67 Rajasthan 68.54 Maharashtra Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra 73.63 Maharashtra 73.35Telangana 60.43
2 6
42.3 51.4 Andhra
8 West Bengal 56.52 Chhattisgarh 68.51 Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh 68.78 Karnataka 71.59Chhattisgarh 58.17
9 5 Pradesh
41.2 46.8
9 Chhattisgarh 56.26 TamilNadu 66.83 Gujarat Telangana West Bengal 67.76 Kerala 71.11West Bengal 57.87
3 6
Madhya 39.4 43.8
10 Telangana 55.1 West Bengal 62.3 Bihar Rajasthan 64.03 West Bengal 70.63Odisha 51.92
Pradesh 7 6
38.7 Andhra 43.1 Madhya
11 Andhra Pradesh 54.43 Gujarat 61.65 Telangana Uttar Pradesh 63.13 70Bihar 51.64
7 Pradesh 9 Pradesh
433.0 42.9 Madhya
12 Madhya Pradesh 50.94 Andhra Pradesh 60.08 West Bengal Maharashtra 62.22 Rajasthan 61.43Gujarat 47.9
7 6 Pradesh
31.9 Madhya 42.3
13 Odisha 50.03 Uttar Pradesh 54.64 Punjab Telangana 58.01 Bihar 55.27Haryana 41.93
7 Pradesh 4
Andhra 41.6
14 Bihar 48.24 Goa 52.88 30.5 Gujarat Goa 46.31 Chhattisgarh 47.61Rajasthan 41.43
Pradesh 3
27.5 40.3 Madhya
15 Haryana 39.33 Bihar 49.76 Jharkhand Haryana Haryana 38.48 Odisha 43.43 36.55
6 8 Pradesh
18.6 36.3
16 Goa 37.71 Punjab 47.26 Bihar Punjab Jharkhand 27.83 Haryana 35.35Goa 31.75
9 6
16.8 30.0
17 Punjab 29.34 Telangana 45.35 Haryana Jharkhand Odisha 27.42 Punjab 26.34Punjab 24.87
2 5
26.8
18 Jharkhand 27.73 Jharkhand 42.3 Goa 6.63 Goa Punjab 8.2 Jharkhand 24.72Jharkhand 16.47
8
Northeastern/ HillyArea States
42.5 59.1 Himachal Himachal
1 Tripura 57.58 Uttarakhand 70.95 Sikkim Tripura 70.06 83.68Tripura 70.69
9 6 Pradesh Pradesh
Himachal 28.6 Himachal 48.4
2 53.17 Tripura 66.5 Assam Assam 65.12 Tripura 76.82Assam 57.14
Pradesh 6 Pradesh 1
Himachal 23.0
3 Uttarakhand 49.11 Sikkim 65.27 Uttarakhand 47.11 Uttarakhand 60.49 Assam 71.96Uttarakhand 52.72
Pradesh 1
Himachal Himachal
4 Assam 49.06 62.22 Tripura 21.5 Sikkim 43.5 Tripura 52.22 Uttarakhand 56.02 39.41
Pradesh Pradesh
16.6 34.0
5 Sikkim 43.81 Assam 54.04 Uttarakhand Assam Sikkim 31.42 Sikkim 53.23Sikkim 34.94
8 6
Arunachal Arunachal Arunachal 13.1 Arunachal
6 17.96 41.5 12.7 Manipur# Manipur# 21.4 37.4Manipur# 28.75
Pradesh# Pradesh# Pradesh# 7 Pradesh#
Arunachal Arunachal Arunachal
7 Manipur# 17.13 Manipur# 34.05 Manipur# 11.23 6.83 5.74 Manipur# 3.75 22.56
Pradesh# Pradesh# Pradesh#
UnionTerritories
5Andaman &
Jammu and Andaman & Jammu and 16.1 Lakshadweep Jammu and
1 27.85 55.21 11.88 Puducherry 39.53 55.08Nicobar 45.73
Kashmir Nicobar Islands Kashmir 6 # Kashmir
Islands
Andaman &
Andaman & Jammu and 13.2 Jammu and Jammu and
2 27.15 Lakshadweep# 31.42 Ladakh 11.08 36.97 Nicobar 54.82 39.76
Nicobar Islands Kashmir 9 Kashmir Kashmir
Islands
Dadra &
Andaman &
Jammu and Lakshadweep 10.3 Nagar Haveli
3 Lakshadweep# 18.32 23.07 Nicobar 9.09 31.69 Ladakh 29.32Puducherry 29.33
Kashmir # 6 andDaman&
Islands
Diu#
Dadra &
Nagar Haveli Lakshadweep Lakshadweep
4 Ladakh 16.18 Ladakh 22.21 Puducherry 4.63 5.45 Ladakh 25.25 15.18 28.13
and Daman & # #
Diu#
Dadra & Nagar Andaman &
5 Puducherry 16.16 Haveli and 22.06 Nicobar 4.5 Lakshadweep# 3.99 Puducherry 21.49 Puducherry 13.75Ladakh 27.43
Daman& Diu# Islands
Dadra & Dadra & Dadra &
Dadra & Nagar Andaman &
Nagar Haveli Nagar Haveli Nagar Haveli
6 Haveli and 13.62 Puducherry 9.31 0 Ladakh 0 Nicobar 20.94 8.57 24.91
andDaman & andDaman& andDaman&
Daman& Diu# Islands
Diu# Diu# Diu#
National 29.1 37.0
43.89 54.29 50.96 54.63 47.51
Average 8 4
Source:Report titled “Statusof Devolution toPanchayatsinStates - An Indicative Evidence-BasedRanking,2024”
Note: #Statesfor which previousdata isused.
6