|
A task force of officials in charge of Panchayati Raj in the states was constituted for examining the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) with Secretary (Panchayati Raj) Government of Karnataka as the convener. The Centrally Sponsored Schemes, which are currently being implemented in the states relate to the role that Panchayats are being entrusted with, according to provisions of Part IX of the Constitution and the State Legislations on Panchayati Raj. The recommendations of the task force were presented to the state ministers in charge of Panchayati Raj during the Seventh Round Table Conference held at Jaipur and were unanimously adopted by ministers in charge of Panchayati Raj in the states.
This information was given in Rajya Sabha today by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar in reply to a question of Shri Nand Kishore Yadav.
The main recommendations of the task force include:
Every state should undertake activity mapping in the manner agreed and this ought to be the necessary pre condition to its seeking Centrally Sponsored Schemes Reform based on the theory of subsidiarity.
Once central ministries undertake activity mapping, they are ideally placed in modifying individual scheme guidelines to be in tune with their activity mapping and those of the states.
Departments should broadly accept a threshold of allocation below which a scheme need not exist. All parallel bodies created by, or through the scheme conditionalities of CSSs should be wound up.
A good monitoring system should be in place for making evaluation a part of the daily routine.
One pre-condition for the reform of the schemes should be that the centre insists on a legal and administrative framework for holding Panchayats to account for transparency and for full and voluntary disclosure of information.
These recommendations have to be implemented by the state and central governments with assistance from the Union Government. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj will be initiating a process of making visits to the States/UTs to review progress in implementing these recommendations. In so far as implementation by the central government is concerned, in terms of Cabinet Secretariat directives in this regard, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj is in interaction with the central ministries concerned and the Planning Commission to work towards ensuring the centrality of Panchayati Raj Institutions in all Centrally Sponsored Schemes impinging on the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, the Minister said.
SBK:CP:rajya(p)22.3
|
