Construction of Panchayat Ghars

The Union Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Dr. C.P.Joshi today informed the Rajya Sabha that Panchayati Raj being a State subject, State Governments need to provide the required manpower & infrastructure, including buildings to the Panchayati Raj Institutions. However, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) provides limited financial support to the States under the RGSY for taking up construction and up-gradation of the Panchayat infrastructure / building, for which the details are enclosed at Annexure. In addition to RGSY, the MoPR and Ministry of Rural Development also provide funds to the States under the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) which are in the nature of untied grants for the PRIs to undertake works based on felt local needs. Many States have taken up construction of Panchayat Ghars under these schemes.

In reply to a written question the Minister said As per information furnished by the Government of Himachal Pradesh, out of 3243 Gram Panchayats in the State, 2101 Gram Panchayats do not have Panchayat Ghars. However, The allocation of funds under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana (RGSY) is not sufficient to fund construction of Panchayat Ghars in every Gram Panchayat.

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