Parliament Question: Role of Gram Panchayats

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATIRAJ LOK SABHA STARREDQUESTION NO. 244 ANSWEREDON 10.03.2026 ROLE OFGRAM PANCHAYATS *244.SHRIAASHTIKAR PATILNAGESH BAPURAO: Will the Minister of PANCHAYATIRAJ be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that several Government schools in the Hingoli Lok Sabha Constituency, particularly in rural and tribal areas, are facing shortage of teachers, inadequate classrooms, poor sanitation, irregular supply of electricity, shortage of drinking water and lackof basic infrastructure, where Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) play a crucial role inlocalgovernance; (b) whether it is a fact that students are deprived of quality education due to the absence of digital learning facilities, smart classrooms, libraries, laboratories, internet connectivity, transport and hostels, especially affecting girls and students from economically weaker sections; and (c) if so, the steps taken to strengthen the role of Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads in improving school infrastructure, digital education, sanitation and student support services through convergence of Central andStateschemes? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRIRAJIVRANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) to(c): Astatement islaid onthe Tableof the House. 1STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTIONNO. 244 ANSWERED ON 10.03.2026 REGARDING ROLE OF GRAM PANCHAYATS. (a) & (b): Subject matter of this Question relates to Ministry of Education. Further, in terms of Entry No. 5 of List-II (State List) of the 7th Schedule of Constitution of India, Panchayats, being local-government, are within the purview of the States. Accordingly, all matters relating to Panchayats come within the purview of State Governments. Information relating toschool infrastructure anditsquality isnot maintainedbythe Ministry of Panchayati Raj. (c) To strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as effective, efficient, and transparent instruments of local governance, social transformation, and public service delivery that reflect the aspirations of the local population, the Ministry supports State Governments through the Finance Commission grants allocated on the basis of population and area in the ratio of 90:10. These grants provide a major impetus to the Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) towards development of essential infrastructure and delivery of basic services to the rural citizens. Further, under the scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram SwarajAbhiyan, Ministry supports States and Union Territories (UTs) to develop governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopting thematic approach to localize SDGs at grassroot level. Under this scheme, support to States/UTs is also provided towards capacity building and training of Rural Local Bodies including institutional infrastructure and human Resource. In this context, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM- A), hasdeveloped specialised modulessuch asthe generation of Own SourceRevenue (OSR) bythe Panchayats. ***** 2