Parliament Question: Sarpanch Pati Practice

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATIRAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5199 ANSWEREDON- 24.03.2026 SARPANCHPATI PRACTICE

5199.SHRITATKARE SUNILDATTATREY:

Will the Minister of PANCHAYATIRAJ be pleased to state:

(a) the steps that are being taken by the Government to address the issue of 'Sarpanch Pati' or proxy sarpanch by malesacross variousPRIs;

(b) the mannerinwhich prevalent such practicestop invariousStates;

(c) the grievance redressal process/complaint mechanism of such instances and the action takeninthisregard;

(d) the details of the penalties imposed when someone is found practicing as a proxy sarpanch;

(e) the role of various stakeholders, such as State Governments and civil society organizations inpreventingsuch practices;

(f) the details of actions taken as per the report of the Advisory Committee on this issue, which was submitted inFebruary2025;

(g) the steps taken under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for empowerment and trainingof elected women inPRIs; and

(h) the utilization of the budget for RGSAtill date, along with the initial budget outlay, year wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRIRAJEEVRANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)

(a) to (f) “Panchayat”, being “Local Government”, is a State subject and part of the State List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Therefore, any issue related to Sarpanch Pati or Proxy Sarpanch by males across various Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), including mannerto stop such practices, grievanceredressal process/complaint mechanism of such instances, toimpose penaltieswhen someone in found practicingasa proxy sarpanch, to decide the role of various stakeholders in preventing such practices, etc. liesin the domain of the States.

1On the direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj constituted an Advisory Committee in September 2023 to examine the issue of Women Pradhans being represented by the male members of their families and also to examine other issues related to proxy practices. The Committee has submitted its Report with recommendations to the Ministry in February 2025, and the same has been accepted by the Ministry.

The Advisory Committee recommended that the State Governments take necessary measures, including social campaigns, legal reforms, monitoring and schemes to eliminate Sarpanch Patis in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and ensure empowerment of women Sarpanches. Owing to the importance of this matter and its impact on women's leadership in PRls,thisMinistry hasalso constituted a TaskForceon 17thApril 2025.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, from time to time, issues advisories to the States to address the matter of Sarpanch Pati, Recently, an advisory has been issued to the States and Union Territories onthe matterdated05.03.2026.

(g) to (h) This Ministry has implemented the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) w.e.f. FY2022-23 in States/ Union Territories with mainobjectiveofcapacitatingPRIsthroughimpartingtrainingtothe ElectedRepresentatives, including Women Elected Representatives (WERs), functionaries and other stakeholders to develop their governance capabilities for leadership roles and to function effectively. A total of 30,94,748 Women Elected Representatives were trained from FY 2022-23 to FY 2025-26

(ason28thFebruary2026) underthisscheme.

Further, in order to effectively curb the practice of proxy leadership and to promote women’s participation and leadership in PRIs, the Ministry has launched a Specialized Training Module for the capacity building of WERsof Panchayati Raj Institutions. The focus of this training module is to build the capacity of WERs across different aspects of rural governance and enhance their knowledge and practical skills for the effective discharge of roles and responsibilities as elected representatives, thereby promoting women-led governance. Under the Specialised Module of WER,1,05,966WERs have beentrained so far ason28.02.2026.

The financial outlay of Revamped RGSAis Rs.5911 crore for the period of 2022-23 to 2025-26, which includes Central Share of Rs.3700 crore and State share of Rs.2211 crore.

The year-wise funds released and utilised under revamped RGSAfrom FY2022-23 to 2025- 26(ason28.02.2026) isasfollows: (Rs. incrore) 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 (ason

28.02.2026) Funds Fund Funds Fund Funds Fund Funds Fund Released Utilised Release Utilised Released Utilised Release Utilised d d Total 682.98 1141.03 814.86 1319.68 694.17 1375.34 752.03 1008.71 2Fund utilisation includes the Central Share, the State Share and the unspent balance of the previous year. Funds released represent the Central Share only. For FY 2025-26, the releases comprise funds through bothSNAtill 30thJune 2025andSNA-SPARSH since 1stJuly 2025.

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