{"id":37488,"date":"2025-02-17T19:13:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=37488"},"modified":"2025-02-19T12:32:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T07:02:14","slug":"devolution-to-panchayats-state-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/17-02-2025\/devolution-to-panchayats-state-2024","title":{"rendered":"Status of Devolution to Panchayats in State 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj has released the report titled <strong>\u2018Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States \u2013 An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking\u2019 (2024).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The devolution index is an approach in assessing the implementation of 73rd and 74th Amendments and is prepared by <strong>the Indian Institute of Public Administration.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It evaluates the <strong>current state of power and resource devolution to Panchayati Raj Institutions across all States and Union Territories.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>States\/UTs were ranked as per the <strong>six key dimensions of framework, functions, finances, functionaries, capacity enhancement, and accountability.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for the Assessment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The mandatory constitutional provisions\u2014 such as regular Panchayat elections by state election commissions, reservations for SCs\/STs and women, and the constitution of state finance commissions\u2014have been implemented.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The devolution of functions, finances, and functionaries to Panchayats <strong>has been inconsistent across States.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The effective local governance <strong>cannot be achieved <\/strong>through these transfer mechanisms alone.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It necessitates <strong>\u2018capacity enhancement\u2019 measures and \u2018accountability\u2019<\/strong> to ensure fairness and transparency in Panchayat operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Findings<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Karnataka tops the overall Devolution Index (DI) ranking<\/strong> of the Panchayat Raj system among States, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu are in the second and third spot.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Devolution has increased<\/strong> from 39.9% to 43.9% between the period 2013-14 to 2021-22.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e7e8ec\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"619\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Status-of-Devolution-to-Panchayats-in-State-2024.png\" alt=\"increase in devolution of panchayats\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-37489\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e7e8ec; width:537px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Status-of-Devolution-to-Panchayats-in-State-2024.png 619w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Status-of-Devolution-to-Panchayats-in-State-2024-300x158.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>With the launch of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-04-2022\/rashtriya-gram-swaraj-abhiyan-rgsa\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-04-2022\/rashtriya-gram-swaraj-abhiyan-rgsa\">Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA)<\/a>, the capacity enhancement component<\/strong> of the Index during this period has increased from 44% to 54.6%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During this period, the component of the <strong>Index pertaining to functionaries<\/strong> has seen a substantial jump of more than 10% (from 39.6% to 50.9%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the framework criterion,<\/strong> Kerala ranks first followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Haryana.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the functional criterion,<\/strong> Tamil Nadu tops the list followed by Karnataka, Odisha, and Rajasthan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the finances criterion,<\/strong> Karnataka has secured the top place followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the functionaries criterion, <\/strong>Gujarat ranks first followed by Tamil Nadu and Kerala.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In the capacity building criterion,<\/strong> Telangana has secured the first spot followed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges Identified in Report<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Legal and Institutional Gaps: <\/strong>Some states have not conducted regular panchayat elections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited Role in Policy Implementation<\/strong>: Panchayats have a nominal role in major centrally sponsored schemes (MGNREGA, PMAY, NHM, etc.).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Disparities Among States<\/strong>: Some states perform significantly better due to <strong>strong governance structures and legal provisions<\/strong>, while others struggle due to poor implementation and political unwillingness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low Public Participation: <\/strong>Gram Sabhas, which are essential for participatory governance, are often poorly attended and lack effectiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recommendations and Suggestions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening the Legal Framework: <\/strong>Ensure regular and timely elections for panchayats.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Empower State Election Commissions (SECs) to function independently without state government interference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial Empowerment: <\/strong>Establish a Consolidated Fund for Local Government to provide direct and assured funding to panchayats.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Implement recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission to ensure panchayats receive an adequate share of GST revenues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhancing Functional Autonomy: <\/strong>Decentralize key service delivery functions to ensure panchayats play a leading role in rural development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promoting Accountability &amp; Transparency: <\/strong>Strengthen Gram Sabha participation by making them more accessible and effective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/karnataka\/karnataka-tops-in-devolution-index-ranking-of-panchayat-raj-system\/article69222864.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj has released the report titled \u2018Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States \u2013 An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking\u2019 (2024).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37488"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37616,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37488\/revisions\/37616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}