Executive Summary:
This document presents the Indian government's response to questions regarding the ePanchayat project in Maharashtra, specifically concerning funds allocated under the 15th Finance Commission, the provision of digital facilities, and impact assessments. It details fund disbursement, the implementation of the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), and efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the e Panchayat project. The document includes annexures with state-wise data on financial allocations, computer approvals, and capacity-building training under RGSA.
Key Points / Main Content:
Financial Allocations and Disbursements:
* The Ministry of Finance releases Fifteenth Finance Commission grants to states, including Maharashtra, based on recommendations from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Department of Drinking Water Sanitation.
* These grants are distributed among Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) according to the State Finance Commission's (SFC) recommendations.
* Funds disbursed to Gram Panchayats in Maharashtra under the 15th Finance Commission:
* 2020-21: ₹466160.00 lakh
* 2021-22: ₹344560.00 lakh
* 2022-23: ₹353742.00 lakh
* 2023-24: ₹348002.36 lakh
* 2024-25: ₹302709.75 lakh
* Total: ₹1815174.11 lakh
ePanchayat Project and Digital Facilities:
* The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is implementing the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) from FY 2022-23 to 2025-26 to empower Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
* RGSA provides training, including epanchayat, to Elected Representatives (ERs), Panchayat functionaries, and stakeholders.
* The scheme supports states/UTs in creating basic infrastructure for Gram Panchayats, such as computers and co-location of Common Service Centres (CSC) with GP Bhawans.
* The BharatNet project aims to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats.
* 2.18 lakh out of 2.63 lakh GPs/TLBs are service-ready.
* The Amended BharatNet Programme was approved on 04.08.2023 for network upgrades.
* BSNL is the Project Management Agency, and GPs can apply for BSNL Fibre-To-Home connections through eGramSwaraj.
Impact Assessment and Feedback:
* The Ministry continuously works to enhance the e Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) by leveraging technologies and adopting a feedback-driven approach.
* Regular feedback is collected through workshops and consultations.
* Regional workshops were conducted in Shimla, Hyderabad, and Guwahati, with stakeholder interactions in Maharashtra and Lucknow.
* Preliminary outcomes indicate growing digital adoption, improved transparency, and enhanced service delivery.
Impact Analysis:
State Governments:
* Impact: Responsible for distributing Fifteenth Finance Commission grants to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) and implementing the RGSA scheme.
* Action Required: Distribute grants as per SFC recommendations and propose Annual Action Plans under RGSA.
Gram Panchayats:
* Impact: Beneficiaries of the Fifteenth Finance Commission grants and RGSA scheme, aimed at improving infrastructure and governance capabilities.
* Action Required: Utilize funds for development activities and participate in training programs under RGSA.
Elected Representatives (ERs) and Panchayat Functionaries:
* Impact: Enhanced skills and governance capabilities through RGSA training programs.
* Action Required: Participate actively in training programs and implement learned skills in their roles.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj:
* Impact: Responsible for overseeing the implementation of RGSA and the e Panchayat MMP, as well as gathering feedback for improvements.
* Action Required: Continue monitoring project progress, collecting feedback, and coordinating with state governments and other stakeholders.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Panchayati Raj: The central government ministry responsible for Panchayati Raj institutions in India.
Maharashtra: A state in western India, where the e-Panchayat project's implementation and impact are being assessed.
Gram Panchayats: Village-level local self-government institutions in India, focus of the funds allocation and digital infrastructure provisions.
15th Finance Commission: The fifteenth Finance Commission of India, responsible for recommending the distribution of funds to states, including grants for Gram Panchayats.
ePanchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP): A project aimed at digitizing the operations of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to improve efficiency and transparency.
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA): A centrally sponsored scheme to empower Panchayati Raj Institutions through training and infrastructure development.
BharatNet: A project by the Department of Telecommunications to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats in India.
Rural Local Bodies (RLBs): Local government bodies in rural areas that receive grants from the Finance Commission.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATIRAJ
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2685
ANSWEREDON 05.08.2025
E-PANCHAYAT PROJECTIN MAHARASHTRA
†2685.SHRIBALYAMAMASURESH GOPINATHMHATRE:
Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased tostate:
(a) the funds allocated and disbursed to Gram Panchayats in Maharashtra under the 15th
FinanceCommission, State andyear-wise;
(b) whether all Gram Panchayats have been provided with digital facilities like Computers,
internet and training under the e-Panchayat project, if so, the details thereof, State-wise
includingMaharashtra;
(c) whether the Impact assessment of the e-Panchayat project in all Gram Panchayats of
Maharashtra hasbeenmade by the Government assessment; and
(d) if so, the detailsthereofand if not,the reasons therefor,State-wise?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FORPANCHAYATIRAJ
(PROF.S.P.SINGH BAGHEL)
(a) Allocationand release of Fifteenth FinanceCommission Grants to the Rural LocalBodies
intheStates,includingMaharashtra,year-wise,isgiveninAnnexure-I.
TheMinistryofFinancereleasestheFifteenthFinanceCommissiongrantstoallStates,
based onthe recommendations of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, for the untied grant and the
Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, for the tied grant. These
grantsare distributed among alltiers of the Rural LocalBodies(RLBs) and transferred bythe
State Government on the basis of the accepted recommendations of the latest State Finance
Commission(SFC)andinconformitywiththebandsoftheCentralFinanceCommission.
AspertheinformationprovidedbytheStateGovernmentofMaharashtra,theyear-wise
funds disbursed to Gram Panchayats in the State of Maharashtra under the 15th Finance
Commissionareasunder:-
(Rs.inlakh)
Sr. No. Financial Year Fundsdisbursed
1 2020-21 466160.00
2 2021-22 344560.00
3 2022-23 353742.00
4 2023-24 348002.36
15 2024-25 302709.75
Total 1815174.11
(b) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj hasbeen implementingthe Centrally SponsoredScheme
of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) from the financial year 2022-23 to
2025-26. Themainobjectiveofthe scheme istoempower PanchayatiRaj Institutions (PRIs)
by providing training, including on e-panchayat, to the Elected Representatives (ERs),
Panchayat functionaries and other stakeholders, so they can develop their governance
capabilities for leadership roles and enable the panchayats to function effectively. Under the
scheme, Ministry also supplements the efforts of States/UTs on limited scale for creation
basic infrastructure for effective functioning of Gram Panchayats such as Construction of
Gram Panchayat Bhawans, Computers and Co-location of Common Service Centres (CSC)
with GP Bhawans with focus on NE States, as proposed by States/UTs in their Annual
Action Plans and later approved by Central Empowered Committee. The e-Panchayat
Mission Mode Project (MMP) is one of the Component of the Revamped Rashtriya Gram
SwarajAbhiyan (RGSA).
State-wise status of computers approved under this Scheme at Annexure-II &
ParticipantstrainedunderRGSAat Annexure-III
To attain the vision of Digital India, the BharatNet project is being implemented by
the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in a phased manner to provide broadband
connectivity to all Gram Panchayats in the country. So far, out of a total of 2.63 lakh Gram
Panchayats and Traditional Local Bodies (TLBs), 2.18 lakh GPs/TLBs have been made
service-ready for providing high-speed internet services under the BharatNet project. To
further improve digital connectivity, the Amended BharatNet Programme was approved by
the Cabinet on 04.08.2023 for the upgradation of the existing network of BharatNet Phase-I
and Phase-II and the creation of a network in the remaining Gram Panchayats. BSNL has
been nominated as the Project Management Agency. For convenience, the GPs have been
enabledtoapplyfor BSNLFibre-To-Homeconnections directlythrough eGramSwaraj.
(c)& (d) The Ministry continuously strives to enhancethe effectiveness and impactof the e-
Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) by leveraging emerging technologies and adopting
a consultative, feedback-driven approach. Regular feedback is collected from users at
various levels, including through regional workshops and stakeholder consultations, to
identifyareasof improvementandprioritize future developments.
Feedback from State Governments and Panchayat functionaries is regularly
incorporatedtoimprove theusability andimpactof digitalplatforms.As part ofthese efforts,
the Ministry has conducted regional workshops in Shimla, Hyderabad, and Guwahati to
gather feedback from stakeholders. To brainstorm and develop a roadmap for strengthening
its e-Governance applications, the Ministry also organized an industry consultation event,
“Manthan,” inNew Delhi inJanuary, 2023.Focusedinteractionswith stakeholders were also
held in Maharashtra and Lucknow. In addition, several online meetings were convened to
maintain active engagement with State Governments. These interactions have been
instrumental in collecting actionable feedback for system improvement and rationalization,
alignedwith ground-level requirements.
2Preliminary outcomes indicate growing digital adoption at the grassroots level,
improved transparency in planning and accounting, and enhanced efficiency in the delivery
of services through PanchayatiRaj Institutions.
***
3Annexure-I
(Annexure referredtoinreplytopart (a)of the LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 2685answered on05.08.2025)
State-wise allocation andrelease of FifteenthFinance Commission Grants tothe PanchayatsandRural LocalBodies during the last five years
(Rs. incrore)
Sl. States 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
No. Allocation Release Allocation Release Allocation Release Allocation Release Allocation Release
1 Andhra 2625.00 2625.00 1939.00 1917.85 2010.00 1976.75 2031.00 1997.45 2152.00 2109.97
Pradesh
2 Arunachal 231.00 231.00 170.00 170.00 177.00 35.40 179.00 0.00 189.00 0.00
Pradesh
3 Assam 1604.00 1604.00 1186.00 1186.00 1228.00 1228.00 1241.00 1241.00 1315.00 0.00
4 Bihar 5018.00 5018.00 3709.00 3709.00 3842.00 3842.00 3884.00 3855.33 4114.00 4109.01
5 Chhattisgarh 1454.00 1454.00 1075.00 1075.00 1114.00 1114.00 1125.00 1125.00 1192.00 1185.25
6 Goa 75.00 75.00 55.00 55.00 57.00 48.46 58.00 21.55 62.00 0.00
7 Gujarat 3195.00 3195.00 2362.00 2362.00 2446.00 2446.00 2473.00 2473.00 2619.00 1271.50
8 Haryana 1264.00 1264.00 935.00 935.00 968.00 967.30 979.00 953.59 1036.00 1012.51
9 Himachal 429.00 429.00 317.00 317.00 329.00 329.00 332.00 318.04 352.00 229.19
Pradesh
10 Jharkhand 1689.00 1689.00 1249.00 1249.00 1293.00 1293.00 1307.00 1307.00 1385.00 0.00
11 Karnataka 3217.00 3217.00 2377.00 2375.50 2463.00 2093.55 2490.00 2086.59 2637.00 2133.25
12 Kerala 1628.00 1628.00 1203.00 1203.00 1246.00 1246.00 1260.00 1260.00 1334.00 1334.00
13 Madhya 3984.00 3984.00 2944.00 2944.00 3050.00 3050.00 3083.00 2819.24 3265.00 1629.45
Pradesh
14 Maharashtra 5827.00 5827.00 4307.00 4267.16 4461.00 3696.71 4510.00 3629.21 4776.00 3169.72
15 Manipur 177.00 177.00 131.00 65.50 135.00 0.00 137.00 0.00 145.00 0.00
16 Meghalaya 182.00 182.00 135.00 67.50 140.00 0.00 141.00 0.00 149.00 0.00
17 Mizoram 93.00 93.00 69.00 69.00 71.00 71.00 72.00 0.00 76.00 0.00
18 Nagaland 125.00 125.00 92.00 92.00 96.00 48.00 97.00 0.00 102.00 0.00
19 Odisha 2258.00 2258.00 1669.00 1669.00 1728.00 1728.00 1747.00 1746.91 1851.00 1851.00
420 Punjab 1388.00 1388.00 1026.00 1026.00 1062.00 1062.00 1074.00 1058.35 1138.00 788.90
21 Rajasthan 3862.00 3862.00 2854.00 2854.00 2957.00 2955.34 2989.00 2847.96 3166.00 2803.69
22 Sikkim 42.00 42.00 31.00 31.00 33.00 33.00 33.00 33.00 35.00 32.34
23 Tamil Nadu 3607.00 3607.00 2666.00 2666.00 2761.00 2761.00 2791.00 2791.00 2957.00 2270.74
24 Telangana 1847.00 1847.00 1365.00 1365.00 1415.00 1415.00 1430.00 1424.18 1514.00 0.00
25 Tripura 191.00 191.00 141.00 141.00 147.00 147.00 148.00 148.00 157.00 156.31
26 Uttar Pradesh 9752.00 9752.00 7208.00 7208.00 7466.00 7466.00 7547.00 7547.00 7994.00 7994.00
27 Uttarakhand 574.00 574.00 425.00 418.70 440.00 439.21 445.00 444.13 471.00 234.91
28 West Bengal 4412.00 4412.00 3261.00 3261.00 3378.00 3378.00 3415.00 3415.00 3617.00 3472.22
Total 60750.00 60750.00 44901.00 44699.22 46513.00 44869.71 47018.00 44542.51 49800.00 37787.97
5Annexure-II
(Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2685
answered on 05.08.2025)
Statusof ComputersApproved Under Revamped Rashtriya Gram SwarajAbhiyan
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
Sl.
State/UTs Computers Computers Computers
No
Approved Approved Approved
1 Andhra Pradesh 500 0 1422
2 Arunachal Pradesh 800 0 400
3 Assam 500 0 687
4 Bihar 267 0 2000
5 Chhattisgarh 0 600 5896
6 Goa 0 0 0
7 Gujarat 0 0 0
8 Haryana 0 0 1363
9 HimachalPradesh 334 0 0
10 Jammu andKashmir 318 1000 0
11 Jharkhand 240 0 2066
12 Karnataka 0 0 0
13 Kerala 0 0 0
14 Madhya Pradesh 0 0 289
15 Maharashtra 0 0 945
16 Manipur 60 0 81
17 Meghalaya 1177 500 0
18 Mizoram 591 0 0
19 Nagaland 244 0 151
20 Odisha 0 50 100
21 Punjab 0 0 8334
22 Rajasthan 1554 0 0
23 Sikkim 185 50 0
24 Tamil Nadu 0 0 1594
25 Telangana 1812 0 1640
26 Tripura 475 0 0
27 Uttar Pradesh 3145 0 0
28 Uttarakhand 0 500 3760
29 West Bengal 0 0 112
UTs
30 Andaman& Nicobar 0 0 0
The Dadra And Nagar Haveli And
31 0 0 4
DamanAnd Diu
32 Lakshadweep 0 0
33 Ladakh 63 60 4
34 Puducherry 0 0 0
Total 12265 2760 30848
6Annexure-III
(Annexure referredtoinreplytopart (b) of the LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 2685
answered on 05.08.2025)
CapacityBuilding& Training underRGSA
Sl.No States/UT 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
1 Andaman& Nicobar Islands 1874 2865 5221
2 Andhra Pradesh 649156 165001 325643
3 Arunachal Pradesh 3,711 6138 12344
4 Assam 227733 348183 144936
5 Bihar 404406 163809 435896
6 Chhattisgarh 121099 163292 90559
7 Dadra andNagar Haveli 575 1000 1073
8 DamanandDiu
9 Goa 1777 3548 4519
10 Gujarat 250 1938 90368
11 Haryana 4859 12431 11909
12 HimachalPradesh 9531 92458 120455
13 Jammu & Kashmir 284138 350026 82534
14 Jharkhand 8302 54056 135817
15 Karnataka 213467 363317 321380
16 Kerala 179478 149153 129632
17 Ladakh 0 0 26
18 Lakshadweep 0 0 0
19 Madhya Pradesh 281610 86884 242279
20 Maharashtra 1041165 984321 363111
21 Manipur 894 5591 195
22 Meghalaya 11,588 74410 78537
23 Mizoram 2659 9800 9841
24 Nagaland 1832 3435 4725
25 Odisha 79116 160774 279505
26 Puducherry 0 0 0
27 Punjab 36378 13359 122848
28 Rajasthan 2481 96389 71795
29 Sikkim 13,552 11249 6709
30 Tamil Nadu 106560 101513 78490
31 Telangana 14506 2441 1701
32 Tripura 7743 63715 54228
33 Uttarakhand 48241 144374 22342
34 Uttar Pradesh 263409 82712 76302
35 West Bengal 174974 272762 228081
NIDPR andOthers 5229 1438 1941
Total 4202293 3992382 3554942
***
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