(The Gist of Kurukshetra) RASHRIYA GRAM SWARAJ ABHIYAN [JULY-2018]

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) RASHRIYA GRAM SWARAJ ABHIYAN

[JULY-2018]

RASHRIYA GRAM SWARAJ ABHIYAN

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) is an effort towards fulfilling vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister “Sabka Sath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas” to reach out to marginalised groups in rural areas through strong Panchayats and effective people’s participation. India lives in rural areas where nearly 2.55 lakh Panchayats in which about 31 lakh elected representatives (ERs) are participating. Interestingly, among them, about 46 per cent (14.39 lakh) are women. Although the Constitution empowers the States to devolve powers to the Panchayats to discharge their functions as institutions for rural self-government, the position with regard to empowerment of these institutions with respect of triple Fs (functions, functionaries and fund) is not encouraging as the studies of devolution of triple Fs show.

Objectives of the RGSA: The main objectives of the RGSA are (i) develop governance capabilities of PRIs to deliver on the 5065 (ii) enhance capabilities of Panchayats for inclusive rural governance with focus on optimum utilization of available resources and to address issues of national importance. (iii) enhance capabilities of Panchayats to raise their own sources of revenue (iv) strengthen Gram Sabhas to function effectively as the basic forum of people’s participation with focus on marginalized groups, transparency and accountability within the Panchayat system (v) support creation of enabling provisions for effective implementation of development programmers (vi) promote devolution of powers and responsibilities to Panchayats according to the spirit of the Constitution and PESA Act 1996(vii) develop a network of institutions of excellence to support capacity building and handholding for PRIs. (viii) strengthen institutions for capacity enhancement of PRIs at various levels and enable them to achieve adequate quality standards in infrastructure, facilities, human resources and outcome based training (ix) support Panchayats for local economic development and income enhancement with a view to sustainably increase economic activities, focused on processing and marketing of local products(x) promote e-governance and other technology driven solutions to enable good governance in Panchayats for administrative efficiency and improved service delivery (xi) recognize and incentivize PRIs based on performance.

Coverage and Funding Pattern: RGSA will not only be extended to all States and UTs of the Country where Panchayats are in existence but also in non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not exist. The RGSA would be having various components like Central Component in the form of national level activities including 'National Plan of Technical Assistance’, ’Mission Mode project on e-Panchayat, Incentivization of Panchayats” and State component in the form of capacity building of PRIs. As far as central component is considered, it would be fully funded by the Government of India, while funding pattern for the State component will be 60:40 (sixty by the centre and 40 by the states) for all States, except North East and Hill States where Centre and State funding pattern will be in the ratio of 90:10. There would be 100 per cent Central share in all UTs.

Pre requisites for accessing funds under RGSA: There are certain conditions to be fulfilled by the States and Union Territories to access fund under RGSA. These are (i) regular conduct of elections to Panchayats or local bodies in non-Part IX areas under the superintendence and control of the State Election Commission (SEC) (ii) not less than one third reservation for women in Panchayats or other local bodies (iii) Constitution of State Finance Commission (SFC) every five years, and placement of Action Taken Report on the recommendations of the SFC in the State legislature (iv) constitution of District Planning Committees (DPCs) in all districts, and issuing of Guidelines/rules to make these functional (v) preparation and submission of detailed annual State Capacity Building Plan for PRIs to Ministry of Panchayati Raj (vi) co-location of Common Service Centres (CSCs) with the Gram Panchayat buildings.

Under state component, States have to prepare detailed annual capacity building plans for PRIs which will be developed by the State following needs assessment and detailed stakeholders consultations with detailed components and budget estimates.

National Plan for Technical Assistance: The activities which will be covered under National Plan for Technical Assistance (NPTA) are: (i) planning, management and supervision of the programme (ii) technical assistance in preparation and appraisal of State capacity building Plans (iii) ensure implementation of capacity building programmes following National Capability Framework (NCBF) (iv) creation and development of resource pool of trainers at various levels to facilitate improvement in quality of training capability in States. (v) Facilitate convergence with other Ministries and States (vi) Carrying out Research studies on various aspects of decentralization and governance (vii) cross State sharing and learning, documentation and dissemination of good practices (viii) Conduct of workshops/conferences on issues relevant to capacity building and strengthening of

Panchayats(ix) Support to institutions, specialised agencies for piloting innovative/specific activities (xi) Development and maintenance of online monitoring and reporting of RGSA (xii) Evaluation of the effectiveness of the scheme of RGSA (xiii) Setting up a National Programme Management Unit (NPMU) for overall management, monitoring of various activities under RGSA. (ivx) Collaboration with Academic Institutions/National Institutions working in the area of capacity building/Institutions of excellence including National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) for specific purposes.

Mission Mode Project on e-Panchayat: This would leverage ICT in the decision making at Panchayat level. Among others, it includes (i) development & maintenance of web based applications for Panchayats (ii) development of mobile apps for monitoring activities (iii) Efforts will also be made for access to and convergence with Department of Telecommunication under BharatNet Project.

Incentivization of Panchayats: In order to encourage competitive spirit among Panchayats and States, awards will be given to best performing Panchayats and States/UTs in recognition of their good work for improving delivery of services and public goods. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar would be given to best performing Panchayats for overall governance and different thematic categories like Sanitation, natural resource management, development of marganised groups, etc. Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar to Gram Panchayats who have made outstanding contribution to the local socio-economic development by involving Gram Sabhas and e-Panchayat Puraskar would be given to states in recognition of significant progress in implementation and roll out of e-Panchayat Mission mode project.

Capacity Building and Training of PRIs: Base of the capacity building and training activities would be the National Capability Building Framework (NCBF) with following activities

Training programmes for PRIs would be phased saturation approach for elected representatives and functionaries. However, GPs covered under Mission Antyodaya and 115 Aspirations districts identified by NITI Aayog would be prioritized
capacity building & training programmes for PRIs with focus on subjects of National importance like primary health and immunization, nutrition, education, sanitation, water conservation, digital transactions etc, GPDP, participatory planning, etc
collaboration with academic institutions/ Universities/Colleges, civil societies organizations
development of training modules and materials including E-modules, open online courses, mobile apps, printed materials, short films on good practices, hand held projectors for wide dissemination of films on good practices, and other forms of materials
regular exposure visits for ERs and Panchayat functionaries both within and outside the State. Development of model Panchayats as Peer Learning Centres (PLCs)/immersion sites.
support for capacity building of local institutions that facilitates local governance such as village councils and Autonomous District Councils in non-Part IX areas including Schedule VI areas.

Institutional Structure for Training: Under RGSA need based infrastructure and training facilities will be created in the training institutions of the State, and district levels. For better access to training State Panchayat Resource Centres (SPRCs) and District Panchayat Resource Centres (DPRCs) will be created so that these centres besides imparting training to personnel would also help in conducting research and documentation as per prescribed standards. These Centres and other major training Institutions utilised for training of Panchayats should be connected through distance learning facilities. Distance learning facility through SATCOM, Internet Protocol (IP) based technology or L other technology. Under RGSA, capital expenditure and maintenance cost for a specific period would be met out. It is expected that State Government would develop state-specific content and ensure optimal utilisation of the facility for capacity building and awareness building of key stakeholders.

Administrative & Financial Data Analysis and Planning Cell in States: Under RGSA human resources and operational support for an Administrative and Financial Data Analysis and Planning cell at the State level will be provided for (i) collection, collation and analysis of fiscal and performance data of Panchayats and suggest corrective intervention (ii) resource augmentation of Panchayats through capacity building, improved reporting and monitoring (iii) operationalising Panchayat Performance Assessment Systems (M\ improvement of the budgeting, accounting and auditing systems of panchayats and simplification of processes, formats, registers, by-laws etc.

E-enablement of Panchayats: The Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES) (e-applications) developed by MoPR under e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project will form the bedrock of e-enablement of Panchayats to increase their effectiveness for governance and service delivery. Where State led initiatives for e-governance have been undertaken, these will be supported and aligned with the PES. States need to ensure that Common Service Centres (CSCs) are co-located in GP office buildings. This will help to ensure that GPs are perceived as effective institutions for local governance and better align them to ensure delivery of citizen centric services.

Strengthening Gram Sabhas in Fifth Schedule Areas: ln Fifth Schedule Areas, Gram Sabhas are the cornerstone of functioning of panchayats. Under RGSA, Gram Sabhas would be strengthened in Fifth Schedule Areas and for that (HR support for mobilising, capacity building and strengthening of Gram Sabha and PRIs and orientation/handholding support for capacity building and strengthening of Gram Sabha and PRIs through competent institutions or Voluntary organisations/NGOS would be provided.

Information, Education, Communication (IEC): Comprehensive communication strategy is very important for better governance through Panchayats and therefore IEC activities in the form of (i) IEC-BCC drive in campaign mode in line with Gramoday-se-Bharat Uday Abhiyan or Panchayat week/fortnight celebration across the State (ii)Showcasing good practices and innovations by Panchayats (iii) Use of social media, mobile apps, audio visual media, community radio (iv) Special programmes/features in television channels (iv) Cultural activities, exhibitions, mobile vans to disseminate information about Panchayats and benefits of relevant Government schemes or issues (v) Communication materials including printing, and publication as well as electronic and social media would be funded under RGSA.

Gap funding for micro projects at the GP level: As per Article 2436 of the Constitution Panchayats are expected to prepare plans for economic development and social justice including 29 subjects listed in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution. In view of the spirit of this Article projects through Panchayats/ cluster of Panchayats will be supported under RGSA to trigger overall economic development in the area in convergence mode. The activities inter-alia may be related to manufacturing/processing, product development, local market development and creation of common facility centres, marketing for the secondary agriculture/minor produce including medicinal plants, bamboo, handloom, handicraft etc. cultivation of medicinal plants, non-food crops, horticulture, tourism development etc. However, funds from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj would be limited to critical gaps, which are not available under any other scheme or require more resources in Critical areas.

Technical support to Panchayats: This is very important provision available under RGSA because there has been lack of technical manpower at village levels. The support to be provided under RGSA would be used for : (i) technical staff/ services at GP / cluster level, (ii) support staff/ services for IT and accounting and for exploring possibilities of outsourcing some work to CSC, training SHGs, CRPs etc. and (iii) engaging staff for GPs with less than 10,000 population at cluster level. These personnel will be engaged on outsourcing basis.

Gram Panchayat Buildings: Without Panchayat building, it is very difficult to function Gram Panchayat as rural government. This is again a very important provision available under RGSA. States are expected to obtain funds for GP buildings with /and community hall from various sources especially in convergence with MGNREGS. However, where funds cannot be accessed from other schemes, financial assistance for construction/ repair of GP buildings and/with community hall will be provided in acute cases to GPs.

Programme Management: To support the Panchayati Raj departments of the States, Programme Management Units at the State level may be set up for planning, implementation and monitoring of RGSA from within the Programme management costs. Professionals with relevant experience and expertise in capacity building, Panchayati Raj & social development, IEC, monitoring & evaluation etc. may be engaged. Implementation and supervision of the RGSA would be done by various committees constituted at national and state level.

Conclusion: The RGSA is itself evolving. The provisions made under it are very relevant in the present context. Recently, The Ministry of Rural development has released a report entitled “Performance Based Payments for Better Outcomes in Rural Development Programmers”. In this report among others, it is empathized that capable Panchayats can address the rural development programmers effectively. And for making Panchayats capable they not only need training but also support mechanism in the form of requite personnel and infrastructure. The RGSA addresses all these issues at cutting edge levels. It may be said that the experiences of various programmes which either were implemented or are being implemented have been incorporated in RGSA. How effectively the RGSA would be implemented is depend on activeness on the part of elected representatives of Panchayats numbering more than three million. If they would not be active and vigil then the political leaders and Bureaucracy would be holding the balance and RGSA may be proved as another cog in the wheel.

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