The devolution of funds to all the three tiers of Panchayats including District Panchayats under the XV Finance Commission (XVFC) has necessitated a need to prepare District Panchayat Development plans which is a mandatory condition under XVFC Grants. In this context, Ministry of Panchayati Raj has developed a Framework for Preparation of Block Panchayat Development Plan (BPDP) and District Panchayat Development Plans (DPDP) on 28.10.2020 to Support States in preparation of the Block and District Development Plans for FY 2020-21 onwards and shared with states. Further, handholding support and capacity building & training has been provided through National Institute for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) to stakeholders in cascade mode in preparation of Developments Plans at the Block and District level. Training has been imparted to 327 State Level Master Trainers from 34 States/ UTs for implementation of BPDP & DPDP in coordination with NIRD&PR. For preparation and monitoring of BPDP & DPDP, 27 States/UTs have set up their District Level and 15 States have set their Block Level Control Room and a total of 540 District level Control Rooms have been set up so far. To provide instant guidance to Planning Teams operating at District Level, all the States/ UTs have been advised to set-up a District level Control Room cum Project Management Unit (PMU) that serves as a mechanism for proper preparation and implementation of DPDPs. Panchayat being State subject, monitoring of the works being executed by Gram Panchayats is primarily responsibility of State Governments.
To facilitate States to monitor the progress of activities being undertaken at Gram Panchayat level, the Ministry has launched e-Gram SWARAJ (https://egramswaraj.gov.in/), a unified tool for effective monitoring and evaluation of works taken up in the Panchayats on 24th April, 2020. The application improves reporting and tracking of Panchayat activities, providing a single interface for capturing Panchayat information. The (e-Gram SWARAJ) application strengthens and decentralizes planning process so that the development funds consumed by the Plans result in effective outcomes. The application focuses on Work Based Accounting, tracking the expenditure incurred for each of the activities proposed under the Panchayat Development Plan.
The States have been advised to issue suitable instructions to District Panchayats/ Intermediate Panchayats/ equivalent Traditional Bodies to prepare Plans and upload them on eGramSwaraj portal after due approvals so that the expenditure from the XV FC funds are incurred by them as per those plans only.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
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