Parliament Question: Panchayati Raj in Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATI RAJ RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2170 ANSWEREDON 11.03.2026 PANCHAYATIRAJ IN MAHARASHTRA 2170: SHRIDHANANJAYBHIMRAO MAHADIK: Will the Minister of PANCHAYATIRAJ be pleased to state: (a) details regarding rural development programs implemented through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) inMaharashtra inthe last five years; (b) how many projects related to sanitation, water supply, road construction and communitywelfare have beensanctionedandcompletedunderPRIs; (c) what steps are being taken to ensure proper monitoring, transparency and accountabilityin projectexecution; and (d) how does the Ministry support Maharashtra in building the technical and financial capacity of Panchayats, promoting participatory planning and integrating social welfare schemes to improve rural infrastructure, livelihoods and overall development outcomesacross villagesinthe State? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRIRAJEEVRANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) & (b) The rural development, water and sanitation related schemes/programmes are implemented by the respective Ministries/Departments as per the respective scheme guidelines. As informed by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), in the implementation of one of the major rural development programmes in the last five years i.e. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which is a demand-driven wage employment scheme, the responsibility of implementation of the scheme vests with the Government of the States/UTs concerned. The Gram Panchayat is responsible for the identificationand execution of works. The category-wise details of works completed and total expenditure made in the State of Maharashtra under MGNREGS during last five yearsisgivenat Annexure-I. The details of persondays generated, works completed and fund released to Maharashtra StateunderMGNREGS during the last five financialyearsare asunder: 1FinancialYear PersondaysGenerated Workcompleted FundReleased(Rs.in (inlakh) (inlakh) crore) 2020-21 1356.52 2.62 1600.26 2021-22 968.82 2.32 2056.46 2022-23 709.46 3.54 2549.73 2023-24 711.16 3.37 3034.44 2024-25 562.31 4.35 4420.32 Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) of MoRD, in which the Gram Panchayats play an important role in identification of beneficiaries, a total of 12.42 lakh houses have been completedin the State of Maharashtra during the last five yearsand current FinancialYear i.e.FY2020-21 to2025-26 (asof 07.03.2026), As per information provided by the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)[SBM(G)] Phase II is being implemented during the period from 2020-21 to 2026-27, with the focus on Open Defecation Free (ODF) sustainability and to cover all the villages with solid and liquid waste management arrangements with visual cleanliness i.e. converting the villages from ODF to ODF Plus (Model) villages. As on 06.03.2026, as per the data recorded by the State of Maharashtra on online Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of SBM(G), 34,807 villages (86%) have been declared as ODF Plus (Model) in the State; 35,782 villages are reported to be covered with Solid Waste Management arrangements and 38,447 villages are reported to be covered with Grey Water Management arrangementsinMaharashtra under SBM(G) Phase II. As per information of Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Ministry, in partnership with States/UTs including Maharashtra is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) since August 2019 tomake provision of tap water supply to every rural household in the country. The State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) and District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) is responsible for the overall implementation of JJM at the state and district level respectively. JJM was approved for the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24 with Central outlayof Rs. 2,08,652crore andalmost entire available fund had been utilized during financial year 2024-25. Considering the progress achieved so far and ongoing works, extension of JJM till December 2028 has been announced with enhanced total outlaythrough budget announcements2025-26. The focusof the Mission isnow beingreorientedto ensuring quality, sustainability, and efficient operation & maintenance (O&M) of rural piped water supply systems through a citizen-centric and service delivery-oriented approach, emphasizing Jan Bhagidari (community participation). The district/ village-wise status of tap water connection to rural households, asreported by the States/ UTs, includingthose inMaharashtra is availableon JJM dashboard, which isinpublic domainand maybe accessed at: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx (c) With regard to monitoring, transparency and accountability in implementation of MGNREGS and PMAY-G, it has been informed by the MoRD thattransparency and 2accountability are the prime focus of the schemes. The MoRD has adopted robust process for ensuring transparency and accountability in the implementation of these schemes across the States/UTs. Various monitoring and evaluation arrangements made to ensure proper monitoring, transparency and accountability under the schemes of MGNREGS and PMAY-G are givenat Annexure-II.As informedby MoJS, mmonitoring of SBM(G) indicatorsis done through digital platforms and helps ensure transparency by enabling data entry by States/UTs directly from the fieldlevel. DDWS hasvariousdigital toolslike the SBM(G) dashboard and mobile applications like SBM and SBM2.0 which are used by States/UTs to report real time progress of implementationof the programme. JJM is being implemented as per approved guidelines and extant financial rules, ensuring transparency, accountability, and community participation. The Government of India has taken several steps to strengthen the planning and implementation of JJM across the country, including Maharashtra. These steps include joint discussions and finalization of Annual Action Plans (AAPs) with States/UTs, regular reviews of implementation, organization of workshops/conferences/webinars for capacity building and knowledge sharing, and field visits by multi-disciplinary teams to provide technical support. For real-time and transparent monitoring, the JJM–Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) and JJM–Dashboard have been developed whereby the information on the progress of the Mission at state, district and panchayat levels are provided in public domain. Provision has also been made for transparent online financial management through Public Financial Management System(PFMS). (d) 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) ona continuousbasis thatincludes the PRIsinMaharashtra. The Ministry has been supporting the States in imparting training and capacity building of the PRIs in various areas including formulation of participatory Panchayat Development Plans of all tiers of Panchayats in all States including Maharashtra by implementing Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swraj Abhiyan. The present focus of planning is localisation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and as such the PRIs and their functionaries are being trained to formulate plans keeping in view the poverty reduction and livelihood support, women and child development, water sufficiency, climate action and clean environment, infrastructure development, social security, and promotion of good governance as the priority areas. Since 2022-23, about 24.91 lakh cumulative number of elected representatives of the PRIs and their functionaries have been imparted training in Maharashtra on various aspects including on thematic plan formulation. Of the 28,002 number of Gram Panchayats in Maharashtra, 27,909 have formulated their Gram Panchayat development Plans (almost 100%). The Ministry, incollaborationwith IIM Ahmedabad,hasdeveloped a trainingmodule on the generation of Own Sources Revenue (OSR) to strengthen the financial autonomy of Gram Panchayats. The module enableselected representativesand Panchayatfunctionaries to understand OSR generation through tax and non-tax sources. So far, 10,709 number of participants from Maharashtra have been imparted training under OSR. Besides, the Leadership/ Management Development Programme (MDP) are being conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Excellence such as Indian Institute of Management (IIM), IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT), Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), etc.with the major objective of honing the essential leadership skills, including but not limited to communication, decision-making, financial management, and conflict resolution, thereby nurturing effective leadership qualitiesof the Panchayats. 3Further, as informed by the MoRD, it implements a Centrally Sponsored Scheme-'Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), with the objective to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor households by mobilizing rural poor households into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and continuously nurturing and supporting them to take economic activities till they attain appreciable increase in income over a period of time and come out of abject poverty. In Maharashtra, 65.25 Lakh rural households have been mobilised into 6.41 lakh SHGs. Under the Panchayati Raj Institutions-Community Based Organisations (PRI-CBO) convergence, capacity building of both PRI members andSHG members is conducted to foster better collaboration between the two parties for the overall development of the people & area under the Gram Panchayats (GP). Efforts are beingmade toput inplace mechanisms for the convergentworking of the PRIs and CBOs for mutual benefit. Strengthening the convergence of SHGs and their federations with PRI has been an important agenda item for DAY-NRLM. As part of convergence with the PRIs strategy, Village Prosperity Resilience Plan (VPRP) preparation has been introduced for capturing demands of SHG members, which is then included in the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) process, preparation and incorporation of Village Prosperity Resilience Plan (VPRP) into GPDPand participation in Gram Sabha, etc. Also, in FY2025-26, inMaharashtra, VPRPwas prepared for 17932GPs. 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 Public Financial Management System (PFM)S enables real-time paymentsto vendorsandservice providers, ensuring seamless fund flow and reducingdelays. The eGramSwarajapplicationhasbeenintegratedwith the Governmente-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 NIRNAY App is an online application which aims to bring transparency and better management 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 accounts andsupports improvedfinancialmanagement. *** Annexure-I 4Annexure Referred to in Reply to parts (a) & (b) of the Rajya Sabha un-starred Question No.2170 answered on 11.03.2026 regarding Panchayati Raj inMaharashtra Category-wise detailsof workscompleted andtotal expenditure made(Rs. inlakh)inthe State of MaharashtraunderMahatmaGandhi NREGS duringlast five years Name of 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 the No. of Total No. of Total No. of Total No. of Total No. of categories works Exp worksExp worksExp worksExp worksTotal Exp Rural Infrastruct ure 90 2,139.06 187 2,027.11 914 5,427.77 584 4,824.74 676 5,031.31 Bharat Nirman Sewa Kendra 24 17.71 21 12.83 3 0.49 7 4.35 11 1.22 Drought 42,168.9 13,71 36,405.9 13,37 27,304.9 14,66 24,970.5 19,52 Proofing 22,336 3 8 4 7 9 0 4 0 24,816.82 Fisheries 2 2.16 3 3.00 3 10.93 1 5.27 - 0.36 Flood Control and Protection 557 3,460.10 551 4,663.09 1,090 4,280.15 720 3,784.35 1,022 5,096.78 Land Developme nt 3,539 5,185.94 2,682 2,120.34 2,760 1,802.30 1,084 2,505.30 1,406 2,548.38 Micro Irrigation Works 124 650.22 116 713.36 213 694.06 171 891.31 258 1,883.66 Other Works 61 3.22 17 3.17 27 - 49 - 4 - Play Ground 12 4.64 1 7.08 4 - 1 2.22 2 - Individual 82,260.6 194,6 107,610. 314,9 135,830. 307,7 232,095. 395,7 355,711.4 works 210,387 0 97 23 36 01 46 38 79 2 Renovation of traditional water bodies 1,022 5,552.39 900 4,941.18 1,665 7,170.49 955 7,498.41 1,350 10,452.46 Rural Connectivit 15,876.6 29,365.7 63,834.8 106,055. 121,525.5 y 3,789 8 4,173 1 4,780 8 4,565 60 7,572 0 Rural Drinking Water 536 72.18 275 32.36 147 30.26 29 10.54 45 1.96 5Rural Sanitation 14,202 1,097.19 8,081 1,354.77 7,979 2,276.45 3,329 1,122.48 3,459 855.49 Water Conservati onand Water 23,023.1 24,389.2 24,895.1 26,209.4 Harvesting 5,776 7 7,235 7 6,587 1 3,863 8 4,614 26,560.31 181,514. 232,6 213,649. 354,4 273,557. 337,7 409,979. 435,7 554,485.7 Total 262,457 24 57 40 85 76 64 92 18 3 Annexure-II 6Annexure Referred to in Reply to part (c) of the Rajya Sabha un-starred Question No.2170 answered on 11.03.2026 regarding Panchayati Raj in Maharashtra (A) Details of Various Monitoring and Evaluation Arrangements for monitoring, transparency andaccountabilityundertheMGNREGS of the MoRD. (i) Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system in wage payment has been adopted under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS). The payment of wages to the bank/ post office accounts of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS workers is through National Electronic Fund Management System(NeFMS)/Electronic FundManagement System (eFMS). (ii) NationalMobileMonitoringService(NMMS):Itenablescapturingofattendance of workers at Mahatma Gandhi NREGA worksites (except for individual beneficiary works) along with geo-tagged photograph twice in a day. This app aids in increasing citizenoversight of the programme. (iii) AreaOfficerMonitoringVisitApplication: ThisAppfacilitatestheofficialsofthe State/UTtorecordtheirfieldvisit findingsonline.The App also allowsthe officials to record time stamped and geotagged photograph for all the schemes launched by Department of Rural Development. Also, this App helps in developing hassle-free reportingof thefieldvisits. Thisapprecordsthe fieldvisitfindingsandviewsthe field visit outcomereport bythe seniorofficials. (iv) GISbasedplan–UseofSpaceTechnology:GISbasedGPlevelplan(ridgetovalley approach) preparation using Remote Sensing technology in a saturation mode for all the GPsof the country. (v) Yuktdhara: GISbasedplanningtool–Tosimplify theGIS basedplanningat GP level under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA “ Yuktdhara” a Geospatial planning portal is developedincollaboration with ISRO-NRSC. (vi) SECURE – Software for Estimate Calculation for using Rural Rates for Employment: - Application is being used to estimate the cost of works to be undertakenunderthe scheme. (vii) GeoNREGA: the apphasbeendeveloped byusing SpaceTechnologytotrack the creation of assets by geotagging it, at “Before”, “During” and “After” stages of the asset creation. (viii) JALDOOTApp:JALDOOTapphasbeendevelopedtoenablemonitoringofground water tablesacross the country. The Jaldoot app enablesGram Rojgar Sahayak (GRS) to measure the water level of selected wells twice a year (pre-monsoonand post-monsoon). (ix) JANMANREGAapp: this app helps in proactive disclosure of information to its citizens in reference to the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. Citizen awareness isa keytoefficient, effective, andtransparent executionof the scheme. (x) Ombudsperson App- An Ombudsperson App has been developed for smooth reportingandcategorizationof grievancesreceivedfromvarioussourcesviz.physical, digitalandmass mediarelatedtotheimplementationofthe MahatmaGandhi NREGS, 7easy tracking and timely passing of awards on each case as per the guidelines and easy uploadingof quarterlyandannual report onthe website. (xi) SocialAudit:Asperthe mandateof theAct, the Ministryhaslaidemphasison the setting up of an institutional structure at the States/UTs level for facilitating social audits of all the Gram Panchayats at least twice a year. With the consistent efforts by Ministry,atotalof27Statesand1UThaveestablishedIndependentSocialAuditUnits. Further, monitoring byNational level monitorsregular andspecial monitoring, monitoringby teamofcentrallevelofficers,monitoringvisitsbyCommonreviewMissionteams,monitoring through use of Area Officers app is being conducted for better implementation of the programme.Also,State/UTspecificreviewsarealsoundertakenfromtimetotime. (B) Details of Various Monitoring and Evaluation Arrangements for monitoring, transparency andaccountabilityunderthePMAY-G of theMoRD. The following are some of the measures for ensuring quality, transparency and timely completionof construction inallStates/UTsincluding Maharashtra: (i) The physical progress of construction of a PMAY-G house is monitored through the geotagged, time and date-stamped photographs to be uploaded at every stage of construction andupon completion. (ii) Every house sanctioned under PMAY-G is to be tagged a village-level functionary whose task is to follow-up with the beneficiary and facilitate construction. Officers at the Block level are inspect, as far as possible, 10% of the houses at each stage of construction; district-level officers are toinspect 2% of the houses at each stage of construction. (iii) National-level Monitors and Area Officers of the Ministry also visit PMAY-G houses during the field visits to assess the progress, the procedure followed for the selection of beneficiaries,etc. (iv) Formal Social Audit is conducted in every Gram Panchayat at least once a year, involvinga mandatoryreview of allaspects. (v) Use of end-to-end MIS AwaasSoft to ensure single platform of information for all the stake holders. The progress of different parametersfor implementingthe scheme ismonitored through the Performance Index Dashboard which is helping in planning appropriate interventioninrequired areas. (vi) Regular follow upswith the State toensure release of centralandstate share of funds and provision of landtolandless beneficiaries inrural areas. *** 8