New beginning for Rural India

The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP), adopted by the UPA Government, envisaged a renewed thrust on poverty alleviation and rural development.  At the center of its strategy in this direction was the strengthening of devolutions to Panchayats. The NCMP laid down several goals relating to the empowerment of Panchayats.  In pursuance of these goals, the Government has taken several initiatives to accelerate, widen and deepen the process of empowerment of the Panchayati Raj institutions so that Panchayati Raj develops as an instrument of vigorous local self government to secure effective participation of the people in the decision making processes and for overseeing implementation of developmental programmes in respect of all matters listed in Schedule XI of the Constitution, in accordance with Article 243 G of the Constitution of India.          

 

Convening of seven Round Tables

To provide an impetus to the implementation of Part IX of the Constitution in letter and spirit by the States, the Government convened seven Round Tables of State Ministers in charge of Panchayati Raj between July and December, 2004 as follows:

 

Round Table No.	Date	Location	Subject for discussion
I	July 23-24, 2004	Kolkata	Effective Devolution, comprising Functions, Functionaries and Finances, as well as empowerment of Gram Sabhas.
II	August 28-29, 2004	Mysore	Planning and Implementation, including the question of Parallel bodies; Rural Business Hubs
III	September 23-24, 2004	Raipur	Reservations in Panchayati Raj, comprising Scheduled Tribes (including implementation of PESA), Scheduled Castes and Women.
IV	October 7-8, 2004	Chandigarh	Panchayati Raj in Union Territories; Panchayati Raj Jurisprudence.
V	October 28-29, 2004	Srinagar	Annual Reports on the State of the Panchayats (including preparation of a Devolution Index).
VI	November 28-29, 2004	Guwahati	Panchayati Raj Elections and Audits.
VII	December 17-19, 2004	Jaipur	Capacity Building and Training for Panchayati Raj Institutions, IT enabled e-Governance for Panchayats.

 

            The consensus from the Round Tables comprised of

150 action points pertaining to 18 dimensions of Panchayati Raj, which have been put together in a Compendium that was adopted unanimously at the conclusion of the last Round Table in Jaipur. Inter-alia, the joint programme of action seeks to ensure that on the basis of Activity Mapping, Panchayats at various levels are devolved with funds, functions and functionaries to enable them to emerge as institutions of self–government.

 

Constitution of a Group of Ministers

The Government has constituted a Group of Ministers, headed by the Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Arjun Singh, to strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions.  The terms of reference of the GoM included, inter-alia, rationalisation of CSS Policy in accordance with the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.  The GoM had met on August 24, 2005, and as per its directions, 22 key Central Ministries are carrying out an Activity Mapping exercise delineating what is to be done at the Central, State and Panchayat levels in respect of functional areas of the Ministries and the Centrally Sponsored Schemes being handled by them.

 

Empowerment of Women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

            The empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions has led to the emergence of women as leaders.  Their participation at the three levels- district, sub-district and village level, has not only led to their personal growth but has also enabled them to respond to the needs of the more vulnerable sections of the village community. Instead of the constitutionally reserved one third seats, women members and office bearers in Panchayats today account for approximately forty two per cent of the elected representatives.  The Constitutional mandate for the marginalised sections- Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has also provided them political space.  Today, around 16 per cent of the elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions at the three levels in the country belong to Scheduled Castes and 11 per cent belong to Scheduled Tribes.  To ensure the protection of the special rights of tribal people in full measure, implementation of the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), which applies to Fifth Schedule Areas in nine States, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan are also being monitored and reviewed. 

 

Planning at the Grass roots level

The Government had appointed an Expert Group, under the chairmanship of Shri V. Ramachandran, to recommend concrete steps for making planning at grass roots level a reality, since planning for economic development and social justice is a mandated function of Panchayats and other local governments in the Constitution.  The Group has submitted its report.  It has suggested a practicable action programme for local level planning in  the Eleventh Plan, which is to start in April 2007.  It has also suggested in detail the manner in which national programmes of importance in education, health, employment, poverty alleviation, housing and rural infrastructure could achieve their objectives better if centrality is given to Panchayats in working out details and in implementation.  Based on the recommendations of the Expert Group, the Planning Commission has sent out guidelines to all State governments/UT Administrations, for preparation of District Plans and their incorporation into the Annual Plans of States for 2006-07. The ultimate objective is to make integrated local level planning for area development a reality by the end of the XI Five Year Plan. 

 

Rationalisation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes

The Government is undertaking an exercise to review the guidelines of Centrally Sponsored Schemes to ensure the centrality of Panchayats in planning and implementation. All Ministries operating Centrally Sponsored Schemes have been asked to review their Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the light of Article 243 G read with the Eleventh Schedule, with a view to incorporating into these Schemes the Constitutional provisions in this regard in letter and spirit. Similar exercise is also being carried out in respect of the new schemes.  Accordingly, under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes are to be formulated by the State governments while the Panchayati Raj Institutions are to be the “Principal Authorities” for planning and implementation. Similarly, the schemes of Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran Yojana, National Rural Health Mission and Total Sanitation Campaign have also been oriented to ensure Planning and Implementation by Panchayat.

 

Devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to Panchayats

All States/UTs to which the Constitution (73^rd Amendment) Act, 1992 applies, except Jharkhand and Pondicherry, have held elections and constituted Panchayats in accordance with the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution.  States have also devolved powers and responsibilities to the Panchayats in varying measure as per provisions of Article 243 G of the Constitution and as listed in the Eleventh Schedule.  The Government is taking steps to see that this is followed by Activity Mapping which ought to touch all levels of the Government and be strictly based on the principle of Subsidiarity and the assignment of activities should be followed by a concomitant transfer of funds pertaining to that activity to the level of Panchayats assigned that activity and by the devolution of functionaries.

 

Electronic tagging and transfer of funds to Panchayats

One of the goals set by the Government in the NCMP was to ensure that the funds going to the Panchayats are neither delayed nor diverted.  In pursuance of this goal, a Committee in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj went into this issue in detail and submitted its report in May, 2005. Recommendations of this Committee are being put in to operation for transfer of 12^th Finance Commission grants to PRIs from Consolidated Fund of the States to the Panchayats at the three levels. 

 

Empowerment of Gram Sabha

            Schedule XI of the Constitution provides for  the devolution of powers  to Gram Panchayats and Panchayati Raj Institutions with regard to subjects that have a bearing on economic development and social justice in rural areas.  A joint programme of action was chalked at the seven Round Tables held during July to December, 2004, between the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj and State Ministers of Panchayati Raj to ensure that on the basis of Activity Mapping, Panchayats at various levels are devolved with funds, functions and functionaries to enable them to emerge as institutions of self-government.  Efforts are also being made to institutionalise social audit measures through Gram Sabhas so that  Gram Panchayats are made  responsible to the Village Community as a whole.

 

Council of State Ministers of Panchayati Raj

To monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the seven Round Tables, a Council of State Ministers of Panchayati Raj, under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Panchayati Raj has been constituted. The inaugural meeting of the Council was held on August 5-6, 2005, at Kochi, Kerala. In the meeting, the progress in empowerment of Panchayats was reviewed. It was concluded that while in some States, the preliminary work has been completed in terms of the assignment of functions to the three levels of Panchayats, in several more, the matter is pending at the finalisation stage. It was also concluded that there is a need to take several more substantive steps in the direction of reforms for strengthening Panchayats in the true letter and spirit of the Constitution.  To this end, State Ministers of Panchayati Raj reiterated their commitment to address the resolutions of the Kolkata Round Table with all deliberate speed.  The next meeting of the Council is scheduled to be held at Bhubaneswar in Orissa in June, 2006. 

 

Committee of Chief Secretaries of States and State Panchayati  Raj Secretaries

To monitor the progress on the implementation of the recommendations of the Round Tables and the Council of State Ministers of Panchayati Raj, a Committee of Chief Secretaries of States and State Panchayati Raj Secretaries has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Secretary (Panchayati Raj) of the Union Government.   Five review meetings have so far been held on April 11, 2005, June 29, 2005, September 9, 2005, November 18, 2005 and April 18, 2006. These meetings have served very useful purpose in that while on the one hand the progress on different aspects affecting Panchayati Raj in the States/UTs has been reviewed, on the other hand they have provided an opportunity to interact with State governments/UT Administrations about the efficacy and usefulness of various Programmes and Schemes of the Government. The sixth meeting of the Committee is scheduled for June, 2006.

 

State visits of Union Minister of Panchayati Raj

With a view to interacting with Panchayats and carrying out a review with the authorities concerned of the progress in implementing the points for action mutually agreed upon in the Round Tables, a process of visiting the States and UTs at the level of Union Minister for Panchayati Raj has been initiated. Twelve States and two Union Territories have been covered so far, including Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep. Each visit is concluded with a Statement of Conclusions jointly signed by the Union Minister with the Chief Minister of the State concerned, highlighting the key points of action on which the State would move to operationalise the recommendations of the Round Tables. (In the case of Union Territories, the Statement of Conclusions is signed with the Authority concerned, such as the Administrator or Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.)

 

Public Private Panchayat Partnership Initiatives (Rural Business Hubs)

Public Private Panchayat Partnership constitutes the basic and distinguishing strategic underpinning to enable better market access for locally available resources and skills by encouraging entrepreneurs in finding markets for product and skills by involving Panchayats at all levels as promoters and facilitators so as to catalyse tie-ups between farmers and skilled artisans/ craftsmen on the one hand and entrepreneurs on the other. Panchayats are also to provide a variety of facilitator support including identifying land, providing common work–sheds and other infrastructural support and organising appropriate training. The PPPP concept aims at utilising the synergies of different stakeholders in given area to stimulate economic development of the area concerned through Panchayats based on a self sustained, self supporting commercial models.

 

  As a follow up of the National presentation on Rural Business Hubs organised in November 2004, by the Ministry and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), it was decided that the CII and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj would work together to facilitate building linkages between Panchayats and Industries and business for the purpose of building Rural Business Hubs through Panchayats.  The concept is also to build on the experience of Thailand which has adopted the strategy of “One Tambon (district) one Product (OTOP).  In India, we could have the concept of “One Block, One Product” or “One Block, One Skill”.

 

  A Rural Business Hubs Council has been set up for the purpose of overseeing the task of Business Hubs and reviewing action taken.  The Council is jointly Co-chaired by the Minister, Panchayati Raj, and Shri S.K. Munjal, former Chairperson of CII. The first meeting of the Council was held on July 29, 2005. This initiative was initially limited to 9 States but has since been extended to all States/UTs covered by Part IX of the Constitution.

 

  The process of setting up of RBHs has already begun with the signing of three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the States of Uttaranchal and Haryana. The first MoU under the RBH initiative was signed in Dehra Dun (Uttaranchal) for setting up of a Rural Business Hub for processing fruit grown in the Ramgarh Block and few other Blocks of Nainital District.  Thereafter, three more MoUs have been finalised and signed to set up RBHs for Jatropha plantation and production of Bio-Diesel in Faridabad and Mewat Districts of Haryana and Dungarpur District of Rajasthan.

 

Core Group on Textiles

As a follow up action to the National Presentation on Rural Business Hubs through Panchayati Raj Institutions, held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on November 5, 2004, a Core Group on Textiles was constituted in the Ministry with Shri Laxmi Dass, ex-chairman KVIC as Chairperson. Additional Secretary in the Ministry is the Member Secretary. The terms of reference of the Core Group include, inter-alia, to develop an Action Support Programme, which would broadly cover identification of Panchayats wherein a focussed approach could be adopted for Public Private Partnership for promotion of Handlooms, Khadi and Handicrafts.

 

  The Core Group has held several meetings during course of the year. It has also made field visits to the Handloom areas in Burdwan and Nadia districts of West Bengal to study the ground situation and possibility of linkage of Panchayats with Handloom development. The Group is undertaking an Action Research Proposal in PRI– Handloom Collaboration in West Bengal and North East and has completed an  Impact study for the Ambedkar Hasta Shilpa Rozgar Yojana and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana of the Ministry of Textiles.

 

Core Group on Power    

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Confederation of India Industry (CII) have jointly constituted a Core Group on Power under the initiative of setting up Rural Business Hubs through Panchayats for the economic development of rural areas. The Terms of Reference of the Core Group on Power inter-alia include identifying Key Panchayats where a focused approach could be developed for Public-Private-Panchayat Partnership in Power Generation and distribution.  The Core Group has held several meetings and is coming out with two handbooks detailing the possibilities and modalities of the engagement of Panchayats in electricity generation and distribution in grid and non grid areas, respectively.

Jan Kerosene Pariyojana 

The Jan Kerosene Pariyojana has been launched with a view to bringing about a system where the diversion of PDS supplied subsidised Kerosene to the black market and misuse through adulteration is minimised. The innovation in this scheme is to use both technical and institutional measures to check the above, also introducing a measure of transparency and public accountability by way of involvement of PRIs. A pilot scheme has been launched in 458 blocks across the States. Under this scheme, the PRIs at all levels, i.e. village, block and district, have been given the responsibility of monitoring the scheme through constitution of Vigilance Committees.

 

  The pilot scheme is based on the premise that the involvement of PRIs would bring accountability into the system whereby the Oil Marketing Companies, wholesale dealers, Sub Wholesale dealers etc., involved in kerosene distribution, are together responsible for fixed duties in order to maintain pre determined supplies on  predetermined rates.  .  The pilot scheme has been launched for six months. An independent impact study has also been entrusted to the NCAER. Ministry of Panchayati Raj is actively involved in implementation of the Scheme.

 

  A massive awareness campaigning through TV/Radio and Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) has been launched. The campaign through ZCCs is configured in such a way so that the rural populace are informed about these provisions and their rights in their own languages and through the medium of song, dance and drama.

 

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