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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATI RAJ
RAJYASABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO.4230
ANSWEREDON 01.04.2026
IMPLEMENTATION OFGRAM PANCHAYAT DEVELOPMENTPLANS IN
ODISHA
4230SHRISUBHASISHKHUNTIA:
Will the Minister of PANCHAYATIRAJ be pleased to state:
(a) whether funds have been released to Odisha under Finance Commission grants for the
preparation and implementation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) during the
last three yearsandif so, the details thereof;
(b) whether such funds have beenutilised bythe Panchayatsandif so, the detailsthereof;
(c) whether capacity-building and technical support measures have been provided to
strengthen GPDPplanningandexecutionandif so, the detailsthereof; and
(d) whether audit and social audit mechanisms have been implemented for GPDPs and if so,
the detailsthereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
(SHRIRAJIVRANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)
(a) & (b): Article 243G of the Constitution of India acknowledges Panchayats as institutions
of "LocalSelf Government” andmandatesthemtoprepare plansfor Economic Development
and Social Justice. It is envisaged that the planning process should be evidence based,
comprehensive, and participatory, which involves convergence with Finance Commission
Grants and schemes of all related Central Ministries/Line Departments related to 29 subjects
listed inthe EleventhSchedule of the Constitution. Hence, it isthe responsibility of the Gram
Panchayats to prepare Gram Panchayat Development Plans(GPDPs) with the approvalof the
Gram Sabhas keeping in view the availability / allocation of funds under various Schemes as
well as Finance Commission Grants for the respective year and to implement them
accordingly. As such, Central Finance Commission Grants are not released based on the
GPDPs prepared by the Gram Panchayats, but as per the year-wise allocation and fulfilment
of the eligibility conditions as envisaged in the Operational Guidelines on the matter issued
by the Ministry of Finance in July 2021. Accordingly, status of GPDP–wise utilization of
Finance Commission Grants inrespect of Gram Panchayats in all States, includingOdisha, is
not maintainedcentrally asat the GPDPstage nofund utilisation,it beingthe planning stage.
1During the award periodof the FifteenthFinance Commission (bothInterim and Final
2020-21 to 2025-26), an amount of ₹10,965.89 crore has been released against the total
allocation of ₹11,058.00 crore to the State of Odisha. Of this, the following amounts have
beenreleasedoverthe last three years:-
S.No. Year Allocation Release
1 2022-23 1728.00 1728.00
2 2023-24 1747.00 1746.91
3 2024-25 1851.00 1851.00
Total 5326.00 5325.91
(c): Panchayat, being “Local Self Government”, is a State subject. However, the Ministry of
Panchayati Raj is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj
Abhiyan (RGSA) since the financial year 2022-23 in States/UTs, including the State of
Odisha. The main objective of the scheme is to build the capacity of Panchayati Raj
institutions (PRIs) by creating a learning ecosystem especially through imparting training to
the Elected Representatives (ERs), functionaries and other stakeholders to develop their
governance capabilities for leadership roles to enable the Panchayats to function effectively
and also by supporting for exposure visits, development of training modules and materials,
etc.
Under the scheme of revamped RGSA, the Ministry provides support for Capacity
building and Training of elected representatives, functionaries, and other stakeholders of
Panchayats in different categories, viz., general orientation and refresher training, thematic
training, specialized training, panchayat development plan training, etc. Capacity-building
initiatives have enabled Panchayat representatives to undertake participatory planning,
particularly in the preparation and implementation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans
(GPDPs). Since the launch of the scheme, a total of 34,79,016 participants have attended the
Panchayat Development Plan-related trainings, including 45,732 participants from the State
of Odisha ason28.02.2026.
(d): The Audit-Online application was launched in April 2020 to enable online auditing of
Panchayat accounts and their financial management. This tool facilitates the transparent
utilisation of Central Finance Commission grants and enhances Panchayat-level financial
oversight.
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