Parliament Question: Reservation for Women in Panchayati Raj Institutions

GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATIRAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO - 2550 ANSWEREDON- 05.08.2025 RESERVATIONFORWOMENINPANCHAYATIRAJINSTITUTIONS 2550. SHRIGAURAVGOGOI Will the Minister of PANCHAYATI RAJ be pleasedtostate: (a) whether the Government intends to implement 50% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in all states and Union Territories; (b) if so, the details of the proposed amendments or policy measures to achieve this, alongwith the timelinefor such implementation, Stateanddistrict-wise; (c) whether any States have already implemented 50% reservation for women in local Governance,andif so, the detailsthereof; (d) the total number of women currently serving as elected representatives in Gram Panchayats,BlockPanchayats,andZila Parishads, Stateanddistrict-wise; and (e) whether the Government is considering additional measures such as financial incentives, mentoring programs or awareness campaigns to encourage greater women'sparticipationinlocal Governance andif so, the detailsthereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FORPANCHAYATIRAJ (PROF.S.P.SINGH BAGHEL) (a) to (c) Article 243D of the Constitution of India provides not less than one-third reservation for women out of total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat and total number of offices of Chairpersons inthe Panchayats. However, 21 States and 2Union Territories have gone evenfurther and have made provisions of 50% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts/Rules. Similarly, Article 243T of the Constitution of India provides not less than one-third reservation for women out of total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality, and also mandates the reservation of the offices of Chairpersons in the Municipalities, in such manner as the State Legislature may, by law, determine. As per the information furnished by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 17 States and 2 Union Territories have given50% reservation for women inUrban LocalBodies. 1The details of the States and Union Territories which have made provisions for 50% reservation of seats for women inPanchayats andMunicipalitiesare asunder- Panchayats Municipalities States (i)AndhraPradesh,(ii)Assam,(iii) (i) Andhra Pradesh, (ii) Assam, (iii) Bihar, (iv) Chhattisgarh, (v) Bihar, (iv) Chhattisgarh, (v) Gujarat, Gujarat, (vi) Haryana, (vii) (vi) Himachal Pradesh, (vii) Himachal Pradesh, (viii) Jharkhand, (viii) Karnataka, (ix) Jharkhand, (ix) Karnataka, (x) Kerala, (x) Madhya Pradesh, (xi) Kerala, (xi) Madhya Pradesh, (xii) Maharashtra, (xii) Odisha, (xiii) Maharashtra, (xiii) Odisha, (xiv) Punjab, (xiv) Sikkim, (xv) Tamil Punjab, (xv) Rajasthan, (xvi) Nadu, (xvi) Telangana and (xvii) Sikkim, (xvii) Tamil Nadu, (xviii) Tripura. Telangana, (xix) Tripura, (xx) Uttarakhand and (xxi) West Bengal. Union (i) Lakshadweep and (ii) Dadra & (i) Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman Territories Nagar Haveli andDaman & Diu. & Diu and(ii)Delhi (d)AstatementshowingtotalnumberofWomenElectedRepresentativesinPRIsacrossStates and Union Territories is placed in Annexure. Panchayat-wise details of Elected Representatives/WomenElectedRepresentativesarenotmaintainedintheMinistry. (e) The Ministry is implementing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) w.e.f. FY 2022-23 in States/ UTs with main objective of capacitating Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) through imparting training to the Elected Representatives (ERs), including Women Elected Representatives (WERs), functionaries and other stakeholders to develop their governance capabilities for leadership roles and to function effectively. A total of 25,13,543 WERs were trained from FY 2022-23 to FY2025- 26 (till 24th July 2025). Increased capacity-building training in different subject matters pertaining to Panchayats,service delivery mechanismsand leadership skills hasenhanced the capacities and capabilities of Women Panchayat Members in undertaking theirassigned tasks as ERs. Women Panchayat Members are trained on different aspects of rural governance in multiple training programmes for effective delivery of their roles and responsibilities at the grassroots level. To strengthen women’s participation in grassroots governance, the Ministry has mandated Mahila Sabhas before Gram Sabhas, encouraging greater involvement of women in decision- making processes. In addition, a dedicated training module has been introduced to further develop the leadership, communication, and decision-making skills of WERs, supporting effective women-ledgovernance.The Ministryisalso guidingStatesandUTsintransforming one Gram Panchayat per district into a Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat under Theme 9of the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals. Thisinitiative aimsto create inclusive, gender-sensitive governance modelsthatcanbe replicated across the country. Further, the Ministry has launched a comprehensive Specialised Training Module for assisting the States/UTs in building capacities of Women Panchayat Members to strengthen 2their leadership and managerial, communication and negotiation skills for effective delivery of good governance. The focus of the training module is designed to address the key challenges faced by the Women Panchayat Members in delivering their roles and responsibilities; enhance their knowledge and skills on different aspects of governance, and equipthemtodrive local development. *** 3Annexure Annexure referred to inreply to part(d) of theLok SabhaUnstarred QuestionNo. 2550 answeredon 05.08.2025 State-wise list of WomenservingasElectedRepresentatives inPanchayatiRaj Institutions Numberof Numberof Women Sl. Category State/UT Elected Elected Remarks No. Representatives Representatives (ERs) (WERs) 1 State AndhraPradesh 154414 85593 2 State ArunachalPradesh 8568 2820 24509 Not available The compilationof the 3 State Assam exactcount of WERs isunderprocess 4 State Bihar 247658 110964 5 State Chhattisgarh 174926 98787 6 State Goa 1555 709 7 State Gujarat 103397 54164 8 State Haryana 71455 32892 9 State HimachalPradesh 30578 15250 10 State Jharkhand 56808 32014 11 State Karnataka 93801 49554 12 State Kerala 18365 10055 13 State MadhyaPradesh 395553 204131 14 State Maharashtra 28248 14135 27933Gram Panchayats,2Block Panchayats& 2 District Panchayats are functioning.Elections inremainingBlockand District Panchayat are pendingdue tocourt case. Panchayatsdissolved 15 State Manipur in Oct, 2022. Nil Nil Elections Not heldyet. 16 State Meghalaya N/A N/A Notcoveredunder 17 State Mizoram N/A N/A PartIX ofthe 18 State Nagaland N/A N/A Constitution 19 State Odisha 106353 57001 20 State Punjab Nil Nil Gram Panchayat electionconducted. 4BlockandDistrict PanchayatElections are underprocess 21 State Rajasthan 11590 6358 22 State Sikkim 1273 655 Panchayat body 23 dissolved in December Nil Nil State TamilNadu 2024. Election not heldyet. Panchayats have been 24 State Telangana dissolved in Nil Nil May,2024. Electionnot heldyet 25 State Tripura 6909 3126 26 State UttarPradesh 677382 276181 Panchayat Election 27 State Uttarakhand Nil Nil underprocess 28 State WestBengal 74424 40537 29 Union Andaman& 861 415 Territory NicobarIsland Dadra & Nagar Union 30 HaveliandDaman 462 263 Territory andDiu Panchayats have been 31 Union dissolved in Jammu& Kashmir Nil Nil Territory Dec.,2023. Electionnot heldyet. Union Panchayats have been 32 Territory Ladakh dissolved in Nil Nil Dec.,2023. Electionnot heldyet. Union Panchayats have been 33 Territory Lakshadweep dissolved in Nil Nil Dec.,2022. Electionnot heldyet. Union Panchayats havebeen 34 Territory Puducherry dissolved inJuly, Nil Nil 2011. Electionnot heldyet. *** 5