(a) whether the Government has reviewed or assessed the functioning of local Governments
during the last three years;
(b) if so, the details of such review alongwith the measures taken to strengthen the
local Governments envisaged as ‘Institutions of Local Governments’; and
(c) the administrative reforms needed to strengthen the panchayats and to dismantle the
present ‘collector raj’ to bring about effective panchayati raj institutions?
MINISTER OF THER STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (SHRI MANI SHANKAR AIYAR)
(a): After the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was set up, a Conference of Chief Ministers
and State Ministers in charge of rural development and Panchayati Raj on “Poverty Alleviation
and Rural Prosperity through Panchayati Raj†was organized in New Delhi on 29-30 June 2004,
jointly by the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. Issues
relating to effective implementation of Part IX and IX A of the Constitution on Panchayati
Raj were tabled as the agenda for discussions by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. In this
Conference, a decision was taken to hold seven Round Table Conferences to formulate a draft
action plan towards achieving the objective of strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions to
enable them to emerge as institutions of self-government for the planning and implementation
of programmes of economic development and social justice as envisioned in the Constitution.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj convened seven Round Table Meetings with the State
Ministers in charge of Panchayati Raj between July, 2004 and December, 2004. A set of around
150 action points was evolved by consensus and adopted unanimously at the conclusion of the
last Round Table in Jaipur in December, 2004. Consultative mechanisms have been set up by
the Government of India and State Governments to follow up the Round Table Conferences which
comprise a Council of Ministers of Panchayati Raj under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister
for Panchayati Raj and a Committee of Chief Secretaries of States and Panchayati Raj
Secretaries under the Chairmanship of the Union Secretary (Panchayati Raj).
The Council of Ministers of Panchayati Raj has been convened thrice, at Kochi, Kerala
in August 2005, at Bhubaneswar, Orissa in June 2006 and at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in
August 2007, respectively. The Empowered Sub-Committee of National Development Council also
reviews the progress of implementation of the provision of the Constitution during its
meetings, which are held periodically. Most of these action points revolve around follow up
measures on activity mapping, matching transfer of funds and functionaries, creation of
Panchayat sector-window in the state budget, constitution and operational guidelines for the
district Planning Committees within an agreed time frame.
(b): The full details of these and associated measures may be seen the 2000–page, three–
volume report in The State of the Panchayats – A Mid–term Review and Appraisal tabled in both
Houses of Parliament on 23 November, 2006. The Institute of Rural Management at Anand (IRMA)
has now been commissioned by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to undertake an independent
evaluation of the State of the Panchayats.
(c): The Panchayat Raj regime, as set out in Part IX read with Part IXA of the
Constitution, and the various laws enacted thereafter by Parliament and the State Authorities
provided for the devolution of functions, functionaries and finances to Panchayati Raj
Institutions(PRIs), and the formation of District Planning Committees (DPCs), as well as
other institutional measure, to strengthen the PRIs and make them more effective.