Parliament Question: Participation of SC, ST and Minorities in PRIs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO– 3811 ANSWERED ON- 11.08.2026 PARTICIPATION OF SC, ST AND MINORITIES IN PRI

3811. MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken steps to promote participation of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and minority communities in Panchayati Raj Institutions in Assam;

(b) whether representation norms are being effectively implemented, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether targeted capacity-building programmes have been undertaken; and

(d) the outcomes achieved so far? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)

(a) and (b) The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, through Article 243D in Part IX, provides for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in every Panchayat in proportion to their population in the Panchayat area, and also mandates the reservation of the offices of Chairperson in Panchayats at each level for SCs and STs, in such manner as the State Legislature may, by law, determine. The provisions for reservation of seats and offices of Chairperson for SCs and STs have been incorporated in respective State Panchayati Raj Acts of States/Union Territories (UTs).

As informed by the State Government of Assam, 'The Assam Panchayat Act, 1994' provides for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) at all three tiers of the Panchayati Raj Institutions, namely the Gaon Panchayat (Section 9), Anchalik Panchayat (Section 34) and Zilla Parishad (Section 66). The number of seats reserved shall, as nearly as may be, bear the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled through direct election as the population of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in the respective Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area. The reserved seats shall be allotted to different territorial constituencies by rotation in the manner prescribed under above said State Act.

1As informed by the State of Assam, the reservation norms are being effectively implemented in the State.

(c) and (d) ‘Panchayat’, being a “Local Government”, is a State subject and part of the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, targeted capacity building programmes for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and their outcomes are the responsibility of the concerned States/UTs. However, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has implemented the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, namely the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), w.e.f. financial year 2022-23, with the objective of supporting Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) by imparting training to elected representatives, including SCs, STs and minority communities and other stakeholders to develop leadership abilities, thereby enabling Gram Panchayats to function effectively across all States/UTs.

The details of SCs, STs, and minority community participants trained under Revamped RGSA in the State of Assam since financial year 2022-23 to 2026-27 (as on 10.07.2026) is as

under:

Financial Scheduled Scheduled Minority Year Caste Tribe Community 2022-23 20,778 38,296 593 2023-24 33,476 47,654 699 2024-25 12,498 25,441 113 2025-26 18,410 22,761 121 2026-27* 163 328 - *(till 10.07.2026) *** 2