Question : PANCHAYAT INFRASTRUCTURE

(a) whether the Union Government is implementing Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana (RGSY) to supplement the efforts of the State Governments for improving Panchayat Infrastructure including construction/upgradation of Panchayat Ghars;

(b) If so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of proposals received from State Governments for improving Panchayat infrastructure including construction/upgradation of Panchayat Ghars alongwith the funds allocated/released and expenditure reported by States thereunder during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise;

(d) whether the Government has evaluated the functioning of said Yojana;

(e) if so, the details thereof including shortcomings noticed therein and the measures taken/proposed to be taken to remove them; and

(f) the mechanism adopted by the Union Government to periodically review the working of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and to ensure proper utilisation of funds under the said Yojana?

MINISTER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ(SHRI V. KISHORE CHANDRA DEO)

(a)&(b): Yes, Madam. Under the scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana (RGSY) grants have been provided for construction / upgradation of Panchayat Ghars and Training & Capacity Building. From the current year, however, the cost norms for construction of Panchayat ghars have been revised upward from Rs. 2.50 lakh to Rs. 10.00 lakh per Panchayat Ghar and the assistance is given only for construction of new Panchayat Ghars.

(c): The scheme of RGSY is demand based. State-wise details of funds released and expenditure reported are at Annex.

(d) & (e): A mid-course evaluation of RGSY was commissioned in 2010, which covered several aspects of the programme in 6 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

The key findings and recommendations of the Evaluation Report are:

# Outreach of Capacity Building training needs improvement through collaboration with non-government bodies, academic institutions etc.

# A pool of trainers / resource persons should be developed at the States, Districts and Block levels.

# The SIRDs and ETCs need to be strengthened in terms of Human Resources.

# Training Needs Assessment of ERs and Functionaries should be carried out at regular intervals.

# Exposure visits to beacon Panchayats should be made mandatory.

# Monitoring and supervision mechanism needs to be set up at MoPR, State and District levels.

The report has been forwarded to States for further action.

(f): The working of the three tier Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and implementation of RGSY and other schemes is being regularly reviewed through interactions with State Government Officers and periodic visits to States by Senior Officers. MoPR has also empanelled National Level Monitors for monitoring the implementation of its programmes in various States and UTs.