New Delhi: Panchayat being State subject, providing infrastructure facilities is primarily the responsibility of States/UTs. However, following programmes are also being implemented for providing adequate infrastructure facilities to Panchayats including Uttar Pradesh by the Government:
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) has recommended Rural Local Body Grants grants of Rs. 60750 crore for the year 2020-21 and Rs. 2,36,805 crore for the five year period 2021-26 to 28 States for all tiers of Panchayats including the Traditional Bodies of non-Part IX areas. The XV FC Grants are being devolved in two parts, namely (i) Basic (Untied) Grantsfor felt needs under the 29 subjects enshrined in the XI schedule, except for salaries and other establishment costs. and (ii) Tied Grants for the basic services of (a) sanitation and maintenance of open-defecation free (ODF) status and (b)supply of drinking water, rain water harvesting and water recycling.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj, under the scheme of Rashtriya Gram SwarajAbhiyan (RGSA) being implemented with effect from 2018-19, has been providing financial support to states for certain infrastructural facilities for Gram Panchayat such as Gram PanchayatBhawans, computers and peripherals etc.
To facilitate adequate communication infrastructure, BharatNet project is being implemented by Department of Telecommunications in a Phased manner to create network to connect all the Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats) by broadband in the country. As on 01.11.2021, 33,858 Gram Panchayats (including Block Head Quarters) have been made Service Ready of Uttar Pradesh.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been implementing e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) under which a suite of core common applications has been developed to address various aspects of Panchayats’ functioning including planning, budgeting, implementation, accounting, monitoring, social audit and delivery of citizen services like issue of certificates, licenses, etc. to make them more transparent, accountable and effective as organs of decentralized self-governing institutions.
Further, for strengthening the transparency and accountability at grassroots level, the Ministry has rolled out an application – AuditOnline under e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP). It allows online audit of Panchayat accounts and records detailed information about internal and external audit of expenditure incurred out from Central Finance Commission Grants by the Panchayats.
