National Council of Applied Economic Research
In order to improve the financial base of the Local Bodies including Panchayati Raj Institutions, Central and State Finance Commissions have been providing many recommendations towards augmentation of the Own Source of Revenues of the panchayats to complement the grants provided to them by the Central and State Governments. Despite this, it is observed that the own source of revenue levels of the Rural Local Bodies in many States are very limited and they largely depend on the devolution of funds from the Central and the State Governments and the awards of the Central Finance Commission. It has also been observed that the management practices towards monetization of the Common Property Resources have often found to be lacking in the Rural Local Bodies resulting in their underutilisation. In light of the above, a primary data-based comprehensive study to assess the constraints and performance of Rural Local Bodies in generating own revenue is conducted. The study is proposed in selected 23 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal to have an objective assessment of the status of own sources of revenue of the Rural Local Bodies and management of Common Property Resources in the States. Also the study would map the best practices and provide guidelines for improving the same which could be adapted by other States.
The main emphasis of the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India is to ensure uniformity between the functional responsibilities and the financial resources of the three-tier Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). For this, the Gram Panchayat (GP) plays a dynamic role as an agency of local self-government. In order to become self-reliant, the Panchayats need... Read More
Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, Fellow at NCAER. He has been the Principal Investigator for an evaluation study of MGNREGA by the Planning Commission. His expertise is survey-based research in the social sector with strong skills in qualitative research methods.
Poonam Dhawan is working as a Research Team Assistant at NCAER.
