Unlimited Bandwidth: How Panchayat services are being planned through a mouse click

The Great Digital Divide between urban and rural areas is fast being bridged under the Digital India Programme. While services in urban areas are mostly available at a click of the mouse, villagers still need to trudge to the nearest Panchayat office and fill out forms to get their work done. Moreover, Panchayats are yet to be digitised with massive mountains of files adorning their offices.

Considering the fact that Panchayats are heavily reliant on paperwork, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is implementing the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) to transform the functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and making them more transparent, accountable and effective.

eGramSwaraj, a work-based accounting application for PRIs under the e-Panchayat MMP was launched on April 24, 2020 to encompass all aspects of the functioning of Panchayats (planning, budgeting, accounting, monitoring, asset management, etc) on a single digital platform, including online payments.

To ensure better financial management and to enhance transparency and accountability in the maintenance of accounts, eGramSwaraj was integrated with Public Financial Management System (PFMS). As a result, Panchayats can now transfer payments online to their vendors.

So far, 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayat across the country have prepared and uploaded their Gram Panchayat Development Plans for 2022-23 on eGramSwaraj. Moreover, 2.24 lakh Panchayats have carried out online transactions under the 15th Finance Commission during 2022-23.

In Financial Year 2022-23 (as on March 15, 2023), out of the total 2,65,335 Panchayats across the country, 2,51,371 have uploaded their development plans, while 2,24,614 have started online payments. In the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, out of 58,842 Panchayats, 58,064 have uploaded their development plans, while 58,135 have started online payments.

Citizen’s Charter for speedy delivery of services:

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj has prepared a Model Panchayat Citizen’s Charter for delivery of services across 29 sectors. This has been aligned with localised Sustainable Development Goals for the Panchayats to adopt and customise. The aim is to provide services to people in a time-bound manner, redress their grievances and improve their lives.

The “Meri Panchayat, Mera Adhikaar - Jan Sevaayein Hamaare Dwaar” campaign was conducted between July 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021. It emerged as an effective strategy for ensuring that Gram Panchayats have a Citizen’s Charter approved by the respective Gram Sabhas, cataloguing different categories of services rendered to people by the Panchayat and the time limit for providing such services.

Till date, over 2.32 Lakh Gram Panchayats across the 31 States and Union Territories have conducted Gram Sabha and 2.15 Lakh have finalised their Citizen’s Charters.