Rajya Sabha
All the States and Union Territories where Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act is applicable, except Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Pondicherry, have transferred a number of functions to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) but in varying degrees. A Conference of Chief Ministers and State Ministers in charge of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj on Poverty Alleviation and Rural Prosperity through Panchatyati Raj was organized at New Delhi on 29-30 June, 2004 jointly by the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The Conference decided to hold Seven Round Table Conferences to formulate a draft action plan towards achieving the objective of the strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions to enable them to become true institutions of self-government for the planning and implementation of programmes of economic development and social justice as envisioned in the Constitution. The first Round Table Conference was held at Kolkata on 24-25 July, 2004 on the subject of “Panchayati Raj: Effective Devolution” relating to measures to be taken towards the effective devolution of Functions, Functionaries and Finances to the three tiers of the Panchayati Raj System, as well as the effective empowerment of Gram Sabhas. It was agreed that effective devolution is predicated on Activity Mapping of Institutions to each of the three tiers and that, to this end, efforts would be made to complete Activity Mapping within the current fiscal year, with technical assistances where required from the center.
This information was given in Rajya Sabha today by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar in reply to a question of Shri Harish Rawat.
(Release ID :5657)