Context

Recently, a Reserve Bank of India report highlights that states with a higher devolution index perform better on socio-economic development. 

Role of Panchayats and Sarpanches

• Challenges Amidst Urbanization: Though urbanization is making rapid strides, 64.1% of our rural population (as per World Bank) governed by Gram Panchayats still has miles to go.
• Amrit Kaal Imperative:The current Amrit Kaal cusp calls for us to examine the crucial role of Panchayats led by Sarpanches.
• Centrality of Panchayats in India’s Development: As Panchayats play a pivotal role in grassroots empowerment and societal progress, it is essential to keep them at the center of India’s developmental agenda, anchored by the decentralization of authority.

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Recommendations to Improve Panchayats in India

• Independent Functioning of Gram Panchayats: A Reserve Bank of India report highlights that states with a higher devolution index perform better on socio-economic development. So, for Viksit Bharat, Gram Panchayats (GPs) need to operate independently.
• Empowering Gram Panchayats for Local Development: They must identify, plan and implement projects with agility, aligning them with local needs established through community consultations. 
• Local Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs): The government has categorized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into neatly defined Local Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) and issued guidelines for theme-based planning. 
• Facilitating Community Participation and Stakeholder Engagement: The GP Development Plan (GPDP) necessitates the formation of a GP Planning Facilitation Team (GPPFT) at each GP as a forum to facilitate the participation of various community stakeholders and departmental representatives and guide the planning and implementation of initiatives.

Strengthening Devolution for Effective Gram Panchayats

• Significance of Devolution for LSDGs: For achieving LSDGs, the devolution of three Fs (funds, functions and functionaries) is crucial. This will empower Gram Panchayats (GPs) and make their functioning transparent, accountable and efficient. 
• Regional Disparities in Devolution: The devolution of powers and functions to GPs varies considerably across the country. 
  • Kerala, for example, has devolved major functions to GPs. Its welfare programme Kudumbashree has made a significant difference in the lives of citizens. 
  • Similarly, Karnataka has devolved powers to GPs and introduced a system of preparing a GP Human Development Index.
• Need for Collective Effort in Devolution: We need collective effort in various states to devolve authority to GPs and leverage their capacity to achieve our collective aspirations. 

Benefits of Panchayats Digitalization

• Data-Driven Governance in India: India is leading the way for the world with digital technology to transform citizen services, exemplified by innovations like Aadhaar, UPI, Co-win and ABHA.
• Role of Universal Citizen Interface: Another useful innovation, the Universal Citizen Interface is expected to act as an interface between citizens and government welfare schemes at the GP level. 
• Empowering Sarpanchs with Data: This tool’s data orientation can guide the village Sarpanch on domain and locality-specific issues, enabling prioritization, planning and alignment with state and central schemes.
• Utilizing Data for Hyper-Local Problem-Solving: By disseminating information on various welfare schemes in local languages, GPs can use its potential for hyper-local problem-solving at scale.

Empowering Women Leaders in Panchayats for Transformation

• Empowering Women Leaders for Transformation: Empower women leaders for a Viksit transformation: With women comprising nearly half of India’s population, the participation of women at all levels of governance is the need of the hour. 
• Reservation for Women: The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act mandates 33.3% reservation for women and marginalized communities in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) nationwide. 
• Case Studies of Empowered Women Leaders: Jyoti Behar Devi, Sarpanch from Gumla, Jharkhand, who stopped the sale and consumption of alcohol in her panchayat and directed people towards livelihood opportunities. 
  • Anita Devi, Sarpanch from Gaya, Bihar, converted her vehicle into a 24×7 ambulance, mobilized multiple stakeholders and led last- mile convergence, which reduced home deliveries from 65% to 8% in less than a year.
• Harnessing the Potential of Women Representatives: India has an opportunity to harness the potential of elected women representatives at PRIs to drive crucial social behaviour changes in health, education, water, agriculture, sanitation and more.
• Supporting Women Leaders for Micro Innovations: Empowering these women with additional support can spark millions of micro innovations required to address local challenges.
• Creating Motivation and Competence: Create motivation and competence: India has some of the world’s best policies, legislation and welfare schemes. 
• Effective Teams for Quality Service Delivery: The efficacy of these is determined by an effective team with an enabling structure to drive the delivery of quality services on time. 
  • Top leaders at all levels can deliver on their development agendas thanks to such teams. This needs to happen just as efficiently at the rural level.

Empowering Panchayat Governance: Andhra’s Village Secretariat Model

• Andhra Pradesh’s Village Secretariat Initiative: Andhra Pradesh has enabled the setting up of a ‘village secretariat’ at the GP level to induct teams for good governance, streamline administrative processes, enhance service delivery and empower local communities.
• Scaling Up for Nationwide Empowerment: If scaled up, this model, with appropriate customization as per local contexts, can empower more GPs across the country.

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Conclusion

Our national aspiration of Viksit Bharat will require collective reflection aimed at a re-imagination of how Gram Panchayats are enabled to deliver services to citizens.

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