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Panchayat Governance in India
Context:
The popular web series Panchayat, set in the fictional village of Phulera, humorously portrays the trials of a city-bred protagonist navigating the complexities of rural governance.
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- While the series captures the everyday struggles of running a local government body, real-life panchayats across India face similar challenges, as highlighted in a recent government report.
- A report published this month by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, based on a study by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), sheds light on the devolution of powers and responsibilities to panchayats across states.
Panchayat Devolution Index (PDI)
The 2024 Panchayat Devolution Index (PDI) evaluates the performance of panchayati raj institutions on six key parameters: framework, functions, finances, functionaries, capacity building, and accountability.
Top-Performing and Lagging States:
- Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have emerged as the top-performing states in the latest index, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar recorded the most significant improvements.
- The study examined 172 panchayats across 68 districts, assigning scores on a scale of 0 to 100. Since the last index in 2014, the national average score has increased from 39.92 to 43.89.
- A decade ago, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh led the rankings.
- However, in the latest assessment, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand ranked lowest, with Manipur, Arunachal, and Haryana witnessing the steepest declines.
- Despite Maharashtra securing the fourth position overall, it was the only state in the top 10 to experience a drop in performance.
Representation in Panchayats
- Number of Panchayats: India currently has 2.62 lakh panchayats, up from 2.48 lakh in 2013-14.
- Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh have the highest number of panchayats, while West Bengal, Assam, and Bihar report the most densely populated ones.
- Gender Representation: Regarding gender representation, 21 states and Union Territories meet or exceed their respective women’s reservation quotas in panchayats, while seven states, including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Tripura, fall short.
- Odisha leads with the highest proportion of women representatives at 61.51%, followed by Himachal Pradesh (57.5%) and Tamil Nadu (57.32%).
- Uttar Pradesh, where only one-third of seats are reserved for women, has the lowest proportion at 33.33%.
- The national average for women representatives in panchayats stands at 46.44%, slightly up from 45.9% in 2013-14.
- Communities: While there are no mandated reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in panchayats, Punjab has the highest SC representation (36.34%), Chhattisgarh leads in ST representation (41.04%), and Bihar records the highest OBC representation (39.02%).
- The national average stands at 18.03% for SCs, 16.22% for STs, and 19.15% for OBCs.
- These figures have remained largely consistent over the past decade.
Key Challenges Facing Panchayats
- Funding: A major challenge for panchayats is inadequate and inconsistent funding.
- In 2023-24, state governments allocated Rs 47,018 crore for panchayats, but only Rs 10,761 crore was released as of November 2023.
- The previous year, Rs 46,513 crore was allocated, with Rs 43,233 crore being disbursed.
- Infrastructure: Infrastructure deficiencies also hinder panchayat operations.
- While seven states and Union Territories reported that all their panchayat offices were housed in pucca (permanent) buildings, in Arunachal Pradesh, only 5% had such structures, followed by Odisha at 12%.
- Similarly, while 12 states and UTs reported 100% computer availability in panchayats, Arunachal Pradesh had none, and Odisha only 13%.
- Internet access is another challenge, with 14 states and UTs reporting full connectivity, while in Haryana, no panchayat had internet access, and only 1% did in Arunachal Pradesh.
