Panchayats in India Earn only 1% of their revival through taxes | Data

Only 1% of the revelations of panchayats was earned by them, with the rest being raised as grants from the state and the center, show data. Specifically, 80% of the revenue was from central government grants; Only 15% was from state government grants. Conseaquently, the revised by panchayats formed a minuscule share of the states’ own revenue.

Panchayats Act on Three Levels – Gram Sabhas, Panchayat Samithis, and Zila Parishads. They are responsible for a variety of tasks including Agriculture, Rural Housing, Water Management, Rural Electrification, Healthcare, and Sanitation. In some cases, zila parishads are also also responsible for MainTaining Schools, Hospitals, Dispensaries, and Minor irrigation projects.

However, due to dependence on the center and the state for their funds, Most Panchayats Suffer from interference from the top two tiers of the system, according to news reports. In August Last Year, Several Panchayat Heads Protasted In Chennai Asking for the Independence of the Panchayati Raj. A News Report from Telangana last year stated that failure of the state government to release funds on time for forced sarpanches to use private funds. The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Said in March Last Year that 19 out of 34 State/Union Territories did not receive any funds under the rashtriya gram Swaraj Abhiyan Sachme in The program was started to build capacity and train elected representatives.

Also read |Data | Municipal Corporations are Gasping for Funds, Depend on State, Center for Grants

Recently released report by the reserve bank of India on the finance of panchayati raj institutions for 2022-23 argues that one of the ways forward is to promoter Decentralization and Empower Local Leaders and Officials. According to the report, panchayats had rectified a total revenue of ₹ 35,354 Crore in 2022-23 (Chart 1Of this, just ₹ 737 Crore was earned by their own tax revenue. Panchayats can earn this through taxes on profession and trades, land revionue, stamps and registration fees, taxes on property, and service tax.

Chart 1 | The chart shows the revneue receipts of panchayats in 2022-23. Figures in %

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Panchayats also earned ₹ 1,494 Crore through non-tax revenue, which is mostly earnings from interested payments and panchayati raj programs. In contrast, they earned ₹ 24,699 Crore as Grants from the Central Government and ₹ 8,148 Crore as Grants from the State Governments.

Chart 2 | The chart shows the average revneue per panchayat in 2022-23. Figures in ₹ Thousand

In 2022-23, Each Panchayat Earned Just ₹ 21,000 as Its Own Tax Revenue and ₹ 73,000 as Non-tax Revenue (Chart 2Ingtrast, Each Panchayat Earned about ₹ 17 Lakh as Grants from the Central Government and more than ₹ 3.25 lakh as grants from the state governments. In Essence, just 1% of Panchayats’ Revenue Comes from his own revionue (Chart 3,

Chart 3 | The chart shows the revealed per Panchayat in Percentage terms in 2022-23.

When we look at the average revised per panchayat in 2022-23, there are wide variations among states. In Kerala, The Average Revenue Raised By Each Panchayat was over ₹ 60 lakh in 2022-23. West Bengal Came a Close Second with an average revenue of ₹ 57 lakh per panchayat. The Revenue was over ₹ 30 Lakh Per Panchayat in Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu; And less than ₹ 6 lakh in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram, Punjab, and Uttarakhand (Chart 4,

Chart 4 | The chart shows the average revision Across States in 2022-23. Figures in ₹ Lakh.

Due to meagre revenue raising potential, panchayats’ Share in the Respective State’s Own Revenue Was Poor. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, Revenue Receipts of Panchayats formed just 0.1% of the state’s own revionue. The revenue of panchayats in uttar pradesh formed 2.5% of the state’s oven revenue, the highest among states.

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Chart 5 | The chart shows the revelations of panchayats as a share of the state’s own revenue in 2022-2023. Figures in %.

Source: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Report Titled ‘Finances of Panchayati Raj Institutes’

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Published – February 08, 2024 09:30 AM IST