Transforming Grassroots Governance in Assam

Financial performance of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) is critical to strengthening local self-governance at the grassroots through successful implementation of government schemes and programmes. The findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that PRIs in Assam had not submitted utilisation certificates (UCs) of Rs 3971 crore to the Panchayat and Rural Development Department present a worrying picture of grassroots governance. In its report on local bodies in the state, CAG observed that in the absence of UCs, they could not ascertain whether the PRIs utilised the funds for the purpose for which they were provided to them. Overall development indices of the state will be adversely affected if the flow of funds to the PRIs is affected due to non-submission of UCs. The CAG also pointed out irregularities of cash management and failure of the PRIs to reconcile cash books with cash balances to detect any discrepancy. The prevalence of such deficiencies in the performance of PRIs even after the lapse of more than three decades since the 73rd amendment of the Constitution for devolution of powers, responsibilities and finance to these constitutional bodies is baffling. It reflects a poor awareness level among elected representatives of the PRI about the importance of financial autonomy given to the local bodies. Without the capacity to properly utilise funds, the purpose of decentralised planning through the PRIs will remain unachieved. Apart from the implementation of various central and state government schemes and programmes, the PRIs have been given the power to prepare plans for economic development and social justice at the panchayat level. The CAG report highlighted that own sources of revenue of the local bodies in the state ranged between just 2.09% and 6.15% during the period from 2018 to 2022-23, and own resources of revenue of PRIs showed a declining trend during the last five years. Most of the resources coming from grants from the central and state finance commissions are pointers to the overdependence of PRIs on the central and state governments for funding support. In such a situation the PRIs are constrained by development priorities set by the central and state governments, under which there is little scope for achieving village- or panchayat-specific development requirements as desired by electors and elected representatives of the PRI. If the PRIs in the state fail to increase their own sources of revenue, the scope of grassroots planning to address the special development requirement of a particular village or cluster of villages under a panchayat will always be limited. Under the prevailing circumstances, improving financial performance in respect of funds provided in accordance with the central and state finance commission grants is essential to ensure that whatever funds have flowed to PRIs are judiciously utilised and there are no discrepancies or irregularities. Strengthening e-panchayat is one way of improving transparency in financial performance, as it allows the citizens to know about the amount of the fund released for different schemes and programmes, the specific schemes against which it has been provided, the targeted list of beneficiaries, etc., and make their elected representatives accountable for proper utilisation of funds. The capacity of PRIs to utilise funds through administrative reforms and training needs to be prioritised. Strengthening of the internal auditing system will ensure timely submission of UCs to prevent any financial fraud or embezzlement. Government prioritising panchayat infrastructure through the construction of panchayat offices and equipping the offices with digital governance will not bring about the required transformation in PRI performance if elected representatives and panchayat officials are not empowered to deliver and made accountable. Digital dashboards developed by various central ministries and state government departments are an innovative way for governments to keep track of the flow of funds, utilisation, target achievement, etc. Building the capacity of local bodies to develop their own dashboards will allow governments at all levels to track the flow of funds and their utilisation in real time. This will facilitate elected representatives to make timely intervention to improve delivery of services and fund utilisation if dashboards show slow progress in target achievement in both financial performance and physical progress. The idea behind providing power to the people through the strengthening of grassroots governance was not to reduce the PRIs to institutions of implementing only central and state schemes and programmes but to allow people to take an active part in the development planning process. There is an urgent need to recognise that in a state like Assam with wide geographic and socio-cultural diversities, development priorities and requirements also vary from village to village and region to region. The CAG report is an eye-opener for development policy planners in the state that without improving financial performance and without increasing their own resources of revenue, the PRIs cannot be expected to perform this basic function of decentralised planning. It is hoped that these issues crucial for grassroots governance will get priorities in the electoral discourse of parties and candidates during the ensuing panchayat polls.