Parliament Question: Impact of Limited Involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions

GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATIRAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 1697 ANSWERED ON10.02.2026 IMPACTOFLIMITED INVOLVEMENTOFPANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS 1697: DR. T.SUMATHYALIAS THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN: Will the Minister of PANCHAYATIRAJ be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has assessed the impact of limited involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions in centrally sponsored schemes such as PM-KISAN and PMAYin TamilNadu, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether it is a fact that delays in central releases, including under MGNREGS and watershed programmes, have affected rural employmentandservice delivery; (c) the details of NABARD rural development funds allocated and released to Tamil Nadu for 2024–25; (d) whether the Government has considered concerns regarding migration and beneficiary identification issues arising from bypassing Panchayats, if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps taken to strengthen the role of local bodies through adequate funding and autonomy? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRIRAJEEVRANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) The role of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the implementation of central and centrally sponsored schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) are defined and delineated in the scheme guidelines of the respective implementing Ministries/Departments. For the implementation of PMAY-G, as per the information provided by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), PRIs play a vital role in identification and selection of beneficiaries through the forum like Gram Sabhas or Village Sabhas of the local self-governments asrecognised by the respective State PanchayatiRaj Acts including the State of Tamil Nadu. The MoRD hasallocated a total target of 4.15 crore houses, of which 3.87 crore have been sanctioned and 2.95 crore have been completed. For the next phase (2024-25 to 2028-29) of PMAY-G, a nation-wide survey was conducted using Awaas+2024 mobile App for identification of additional eligible households for providing the benefits under the PMAY-G scheme. The State of Tamil Nadu didnot participateinthe survey. 1As per the information provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, as per operational guidelines of the PM-KISAN Scheme, due to the nature of the scheme the role of PRIsinimplementationof theSchemeislimited.Asperguidelinesof thescheme,beneficiary lists are to be displayed at Panchayats to ensure greater transparency and information by the State/UTGovernment concerned. (b) Timely release of funds under the scheme such as Mahatma Gandhi NREGS and Watershed Development programmes is contingent upon fulfilment of conditions, compliance of procedure and submission of documents like utilisation certificates etc.. As informed by the MoRD, under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, States/UTs furnish funds release proposals to the Government of India. The Ministry releases funds periodically in two tranches with each tranche consisting of one or more installments, keeping in view the “agreed to” Labour Budget, demand for works, opening balance, pace of utilization of funds, pending liabilities, overall performance and subject to submission of relevant documents by the States/UTs. First instalment of the first tranche is released in the first half of April after adjusting unspent balance available with the States and considering the pending liabilities, if any. The second tranche isreleased on submission of proposal inthe prescribed format bythe State andsubject to fulfilmentof allthe prescribed conditions. The proposal can be submitted after a State has utilized 60percent of the total available funds. Thishas been revised to 75% of the total funds this financial year. If the proposal for second tranche is submitted after 1st October, then the Audit Report and Audited Utilization Certificate (UC) of the previous financial year are also required. Quantum of funds to be released as part of second tranche depends upon the performance of the State/UT and compliance of others conditions towards fund released. Further, as has been informed by the Department of land Resources (DoLR), MoRD, under their Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee 2.0 (WDC-PMKSY2.0), DoLR has sanctioned 34 watershed projects covering an area of 1.66 lakh ha with total project cost of Rs. 368.66 crore (Central share Rs. 221.20 crore) in Tamil Nadu. During 2020-21 to 2025-26, central share of Rs.190.43 crore has been released to the State and anexpenditure of Rs.305.95 crore has beenreported by the State thatincludes state share and unspent balances. Moreover, under the new dispensation of fund release under SNA-SPARSH, during the 2025-26, so far an amount of Rs. 32.42 crore as Central share has been issued to State as Mother Sanction, out of which Rs.23.04 crore has been utilized as on 31.12.2025.There isthussufficient fund availablewith Tamil Nadu. (c) As perinformation furnished bythe NABARD through Department of Financial Services, MinistryofFinance,thedetailsofNABARDruraldevelopmentfundsdisbursedtoTamilNadu during 2024–25isat Annexure. (d) Question doesnot arise inviewof part (a)of the reply. (e) Panchayat is a State subject and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) supplements and complements the efforts of State Governments, including financial support under its schemes towards strengthening and efficient functioning of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) on a continuous basis. In order to strengthen the financial autonomy and technical supports to Panchayats to enable them to undertake local development projects effectively, all Finance Commission grants are deposited directly into the accounts of Panchayats by the States. These funds are spent byPanchayatsfrom theirown accounts, without the involvementof the States, through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) system in accordance with 2the norms prescribed by the Finance Commission in respect of tied and untied grants. In order to ensure end-to-end tracking of funds—from receipt to expenditure—and effectively prevent any misuse or misappropriation, it has been made mandatory to record all transactions on PFMS and eGramSwaraj portal. A total of Rs.47764 crore was allocated for the PRIs in Tamil Nadu under the Fifteenth Finance Commission grants, of which Rs.43837.96 crore hasbeenreleasedasso far. The Ministry has been focusing on the capacity building of the PRIs in various areas with due emphasis on mobilisation of own sources of revenue towards attaining financial independenceandself-sufficiency. Further, the Ministry undertakes periodical studies to compile the Panchayat Devolution Index(PDI)which reviews the status of devolution tothe Panchayats by the States/UTs inthe areas of funds, functions and functionalities to foster competitiveness among the States to devolve more and more powers to the Panchayats for their autonomy. As per the latest devolutionstudy, PDIscore for Tamil Nadu is68.38. On technical front, particularly for promotion of eGovernance in the Panchayats, under the Digital India initiative, the MoPR have developed various digital platforms and applications. The eGramSwaraj application has been designed to facilitate planning, accounting, monitoring, and online payments at the Panchayat level. The integration of eGramSwaraj with the PFMS enables real-time payments to vendors and service providers, ensuring seamless fund flow and reducing delays. The eGramSwaraj application has been integrated with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to bring transparency in Panchayat procurement. This integration allows Panchayats to procure goods and services through GeM via the eGramSwaraj platform. Further, applications developed by the Ministry like Meri Panchayat have endeavoured to bring transparency in Panchayat Governance by making information on planning, activities, and progress of works in Panchayat accessible to public. Panchayat NIRNAYis anonline application which aimstobring transparency andbettermanagement in conduct of Gram Sabhas by Panchayats. Further, the ‘AuditOnline’ application developed under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) facilitates online audits of Panchayat accountsandsupports improvedfinancial management. *** Annexure 3Annexure referred to in replyto Part(c) of theLok SabhaUnstarred Question No. 1697 answered on 10.02.2026 regarding Impact of Limited Involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions Details of grants released under NABARD Development Programmes in Tamil Nadu during2024-25 Grant Fund/ disbursement Briefdescription of theFund/ Programme during 2024-25 Programme (in₹lakh) Supports financial literacy, digital onboarding, financial Financial inclusion infrastructure, and bridging regional gaps by Inclusion 1,111.81 assisting banks/communities to adopt digital and Fund(FIF) inclusive financial services. Promotes rural innovation, offfarm livelihood activities, Gramya cluster development, capacity building, and skill VikasNidhi 371.37 training for rural youth and artisans to enhance (GVN) sustainable rural employment. Supports participatory watershed development focusing Watershed on soil & water conservation, climate resilience, Developmen 1,212.99 groundwater recharge, livelihood enhancement, and t Fund sustainable natural resource management. Tribal Aims at holistic tribal development through the “Wadi Developmen model,” horticulturebased livelihoods, soil/ water 343.92 t Fund conservation, animal husbandry, SHG promotion, and (TDF) improvedquality of life for tribal families. Facilitates adoption of innovative farm technologies, FarmSector climateresilient agriculture, valueadded processing, Promotion 176.98 capacity building, and market linkages to enhance farm Fund(FSPF) productivityand incomes. Farmer Supports formation and strengthening of FPOs through Producer seed funding, capacity building, market linkage support, 810.95 Organization infrastructure creation, valueaddition activities, and (FPO) working capital assistance. *** 4