Parliament Question: Gram panchayats in Belagavi

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATI RAJ RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2967 ANSWEREDON 18/03/2026 GRAM PANCHAYATS IN BELAGAVI 2967SHRIIRANNAKADADI: Will the Minister of PANCHAYATIRAJ be pleased to state: (a) the number of gram panchayats in Belagavi district that have their own pucca office buildings; (b) the status of the construction of new panchayat bhawans under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan(RGSA) scheme; (c) the measures taken to provide basic amenities like toilets and drinking water in the panchayat offices; (d) the status of the co-location of Common Service Centres (CSCs) in the panchayat buildings; and (e)Government's vision todevelop'Model Panchayats' inthe district? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRIRAJIVRANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) and (b) ‘Panchayat’ being “Local Government” is a State subject and part of the State list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Thus, the primary responsibility of providing dedicated office infrastructure, including Panchayat Bhawan, computers, and Co- locationof Common Service Centres(CSCs) inGram Panchayats,lieswith States/UTs. The Gram Panchayat (GP) Bhawan functions as the office for Panchayats to carry out their variousadministrative functions. The States/UTs are expected to mobilize funds for the construction of Panchayat Buildings, toilets, drinking water, and CSC Co-location from various sources. Under the Revamped RGSA, as of 28thFebruary 2026, construction of 13,848 Gram Panchayat Bhawans has been approved,and6022have beenconstructed for differentStates/UTs. Additionally, as per the information received from the State of Karnataka, out of the total 500 Gram panchayats in the Belagavi District of the State of Karnataka, 489 Gram Panchayatshave their own pucca officebuildings. 1(c) and (d) ‘Panchayat’ being “Local Government” is a State subject, therefore States/UTs have to ensure that the Gram Panchayat Bhawan is functional, with provisions such as public seating, space for Gram Sabha meetings, information walls, multifunctional rooms, toilets, availabilityof drinking water,etc.,tosupport effective governance andcommunity use. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan(RGSA) approvedfor implementation from 2022-23 to2025-2026, Ministry with its limited resources supplements the efforts of all States/UTs with focus on NE States, towards supporting the functioning of GPs by providing Panchayat Bhawan, Computers and co- location of CSC as proposed by States/UTs in their Annual Action Plan and approved by Central Empowered Committee on a limited scale. Under the scheme, as of 28thFebruary 2026, co-location of 17,537 Common Service Centres has been approved, and 9,778 have beenco-locatedfor different States/UTs. (e)The developmentof ‘Model Panchayats’ primarilyfallswithin the domainof States/UTs, as Panchayats are a State subject under the Constitution. However, the Government of India supports States/UTs in strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA). The vision of Model Panchayats is to promote well-functioning Gram Panchayats equipped with adequate infrastructure, including Panchayat Bhawans, digital facilities such as computers, co-location of Common Service Centres (CSCs), and spaces for Gram Sabha meetings and citizen services. These Panchayatsare expectedtoserve asdemonstration unitsfor goodgovernance, participatory planning, transparency, and effective service delivery, thereby encouraging other Panchayats in the district to adopt similar best practices to improve local governance andrural development. *** 2