RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND

PANCHAYAT RAJ DEPARTMENT

POLICY NOTE
2023- 2024

DEMAND No. 42

Thiru. I. PERIYASAMY
Minister for Rural Development

Government of Tamil Nadu

2023
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sl. PAGE
TITLE
No. No.
1. Introduction 1
2. Panchayat Raj Institutions in 11
Tamil Nadu
2.1 History of Panchayat Raj Institutions 13
2.2 Elected representatives in RLBs 16
2.3 Three-tier Panchayat Raj 17
Institutions
2.4 Financial Resources of Rural Local 24
Bodies
2.5 Own Sources of Revenue 34
2.6 Pooled Assigned Revenue (PAR) 36
2.7 Awards and Recognitions to best 38
performing Village Panchayats and
Institutions
2.8 New Initiatives 41
3. State Schemes 43
3.1 Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi 45
Thittam-II (AGAMT-II)
3.2 Revival of Rural Libraries under 51
Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi
Thittam during the year 2022-23
3.3 Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram 52
3.4 Member of Legislative Assembly 59
Constituency Development Scheme
(MLACDS)
3.5 Namakku Naame Thittam (NNT)- 60
Rural
3.6 Rural Infrastructure – Roads 62
3.7 Mudhalvarin Grama Salaigal 64
Membattu Thittam (MGSMT)
3.8 NABARD - Rural Infrastructure 68
Development Fund (RIDF)
3.9 School Infrastructure – Child 69
Friendly School Infrastructure
Development Scheme (CFSIDS)
3.10 School Infrastructure Development 72
Scheme (SIDS)
3.11 Socio Economic Development 73
Programme (SEDP)
3.12 Infrastructure Schemes of Other 74
Departments
4. Union Government Sponsored 77
Schemes
4.1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural 79
Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS)
4.2. “Housing for All” Pradhan Mantri 99
Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G)

ii
4.3 Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 106
4.4 Member of Parliament Local Area 115
Development Scheme (MPLADS)
4.5 Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana 116
(SAGY)
4.6 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 118
(PMGSY)
4.7 Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) – 121
SBM (G)
4.8 Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban 132
Mission (SPMRM)
4.9 Infrastructure Scheme of Other 133
Departments
5. Establishment of Department 135
of Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj
5.1. Establishment 137
5.2. Gazetted Establishment 137
5.3. Engineering Establishment 139
5.4. Non-Gazetted Establishment 142

6. Training and Capacity Building 147

6.1 Capacity Building 149

6.2 Centres in State Institute of Rural 154

Development (SIRD) and
Panchayat Raj (PR)

iii
6.3 Training Methodology 155
6.4 Training Performance 155
6.5 Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj 156
Abhiyan (RRGSA)
6.6 Networking with Training 158
Institutions
6.7 Regional Institute of Rural 159
Development and Panchayat Raj
6.8 Activities of RIRD & PR 159
6.9 District Resource Centres for 161
Panchayats (DRCPs)
7. Localisation Sustainable 163
Development Goals (LSDGs)
8. Budget 2023-24 193
9. Conclusion 197

iv
1. Introduction

1
2
Introduction
“அைன�� ச�க�கைள�� உ�ளட��ய
வள�í�, அைன�� மாவ�ட�கைள�� உ�ளட��ய
வள�í�, அைன��� ���னைர�� உ�ளட��ய
வள�í� தா� ‘�ரா�ட மாட�’ வள�í�. அ�த
ேநா�க��ட� த��நா� வளர ேவ��� எ�ப� தா�
எ��ைடய ஆைச, வள�í� எ�ப� ெபா�ளாதார
வள�í�யாக ம��ம�ல, ச�க வள�í�யாக இ��க
ேவ���. ெபா�ளாதார� - க�� - ச�க� -
��தைன - ெசய�பா� ஆ�ய ஐ��� ஒ� ேசர வளர
ேவ���. அ�தா� த�ைத ெப�யா��, ேபர�ஞ�
அ�ணா��, கைலஞ�� காண����ய வள�í�.
அ�தா� �ரா�ட மாட� வள�í�!”
- �.க.�டா��,

மா���� த��நா� �தலைமíச�

Development that includes all communities,

districts and all sections of the population is the
'Dravidian Model of development’. My aspiration
is that Tamil Nadu should grow with that aim,

3
development should be measured not only by
economic development but also by social
development. Economy, education, society, thought
& action should grow together. That is the
development Thanthai Periyar, Perarignar Anna and
Kalaignar wanted to see, the Dravidian Model of
development!
- M.K. Stalin,
Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

A State is not considered as a developed state

on the basis of economic indices alone. The
Government of Tamil Nadu has pursued economic
growth with inclusive development, which has led to
improvements in the standard of living and quality
of life for the people. A strong foundation and
inclusive growth have helped Tamil Nadu stay on its
development trajectory for many years.

Tamil Nadu has been recognized as a pioneer

and frontrunner at the National level in formulating

4
innovative Rural Development Programmes and
implementing them effectively with a commitment
to development of all. This Department’s policies
and programmes are also strongly aligned with the
ideals of Social Justice, Equitable and
Inclusive Growth.
The State through its professional Rural
Development workforce closely works with the three
tier Panchayat Raj Institutions to ensure effective
implementation of the various Schemes of Rural
Development funded by the Union, State
Government and External Aided Projects.
The Rural development programmes have a
mandate to improve the income and livelihood of
the rural people. The Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)
and Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi
Thittam-II (AGAMT-II) are vital schemes which are
directly related to the livelihoods of the poor,
marginalised and vulnerable population, rural
infrastructure and natural resources management.

5
 The basic amenities like water, sanitation and
rural connectivity are ensured through the
implementation of SBM-G, JJM and PMGSY schemes
jointly funded by the Union and State. The Pradhan
Manthri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) provides house to
houseless and this scheme is implemented in Tamil
Nadu with a fund sharing pattern of 62:38, where
62% comes from the State Government, which
shows its commitment to provide good quality
houses to the houseless.
The State Government has a few flagship
State schemes fully funded by the State which
complement and supplement the Centrally
Sponsored schemes. The Periyar Ninaivu
Samathuvapuram, which ensures social justice and
equity, the Child Friendly School Infrastructure
Development Scheme (CFSIDS) ensures educational
infrastructure, and the “Mudalvarin Grama Salaigal
Membattu Thittam (MGSMT)’’ implemented along
with other rural road schemes improves the rural
connectivity.

6
 The Government under the dynamic
leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu Thiru. M.K. Stalin, follows the footsteps of
the Hon’ble Former Chief Minister Kalaignar
M. Karunanidhi and strives to fulfill Mahatma
Gandhi’s dream of self-sufficient and
self-reliant villages.
The Rural Development Department is the
pivot which supports all other sectoral departments
like Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Rural
Industries, Water Resources Management etc.,
by creating community infrastructure and livelihood
assets for sustainable development of rural areas.
The priority of the Government is to accelerate rural
development to bridge the disparity between rural
and urban areas both in terms of infrastructure
and income.

Rural areas comprise more than 85 percent of

Tamil Nadu's geographical area. These expansive
areas are administered by Village Panchayats,
Panchayat Unions and District Panchayats,

7
with 1,18,978 elected representatives in three tiers
of administration.
The Government of Tamil Nadu enacted Tamil
Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 and the elections are
conducted to the local bodies by the State Election
Commission, which ensures decentralisation of
power in the democratic system for the three-tier
Panchayats of rural local bodies. Hence, the
convening of Gram Sabha is compulsorily mandated
six times a year to ensure people's participation in
every stage of planning, implementation
and monitoring.
The 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations are reclassified
into “Localization of Sustainable Development
Goals” (LSDG), with the aim of embedding them in
the Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) with nine
themes. They are
● Poverty-free and Enhanced Livelihoods
Panchayat
● Healthy Panchayat

8
 ● Child-friendly Panchayat
● Water Sufficient Panchayat
● Clean and Green Panchayat
● Self-sufficient Infrastructure Panchayat
● Socially Just & Socially Secured Panchayat
● Panchayat with Good Governance
● Women-Friendly Panchayat.

The SDGs can be achieved through the attainment

of thematic indicators of the nine LSDGs. This is
possible when all the activities of the line
departments are converged at Rural Local Body.

An effective Government administration is

to realise the needs of those who cannot raise
their voice; the department keeps this aim in its
day-to-day functioning.

9
10
2. PANCHAYAT RAJ INSTITUTIONS IN
TAMIL NADU

11
12
2.1. History of Panchayat Raj Institutions

Archaeological evidence from Porunai and

Vaigai River Civilizations points to local planning
in Tamil Nadu, from about 2600 years ago.
Excavations at Keeladi, in Sivagangai district has
revealed the practices of construction of houses
with fire kiln bricks, sewage canals made of clay
pipes, ring wells, and the practice of purifying
water through filters were also evident.

Aganaanooru mentions a system similar to

the Kudavolai between the 2nd century BC to the
3rd Century AD. Manur inscription in Tirunelveli
District mentions elections and village
administration during the eighth-century AD.
Local self-governance was more prominent during
the Chola period, evident from the Uthiramerur
stone inscriptions in Kancheepuram District.
Tamil Nadu, in those days, was a land of village
republics, with community groups undertaking
many activities for their area local development.

13
 This tradition peaked during the 10th and
11th centuries under the reign of Cholas when
Village Councils used to levy taxes, improve
community life and administer justice in their
limited area. “Kudavolai murai” was the name of
the secret ballot method exercised to elect
members to the Village Councils.

During the British period, Thomas Munro

introduced the ryotwari system which laid the
foundation for collecting taxes directly from
peasants and ensured ownership of land vested
with them. In the late 19th Century, Lord Ripon,
the then Viceroy of India, gave importance
to Local Self Governments. In the
post-independence era, the first enactment
regarding democratic decentralisation in the State
was the Madras Village Panchayats Act of 1950.
Further, in its Directive Principles of State Policy,
the Constitution of India empowers the State to

14
constitute village Panchayats as units of Self
Government.

Many committees, such as Balwant Rai

Mehta Committee (1957), Ashok Mehta
Committee (1977), G.V.K Rao Committee (1985)
and L.M.Singhvi Committee (1986) have been
formed by the Government to study the
Panchayat Raj Administration. To institutionalise
the powers and functions of these local body
institutions, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment
Act, 1992 was passed and it came into effect in
April 1993.

Article 243-G, read with the Eleventh

Schedule of the Constitution, stipulates that the
States may, by law, endow the Panchayats with
twenty-nine subjects listed in the Eleventh
Schedule of the Constitution. The Tamil Nadu
Government, through various Government
Orders, have adequately provided devolution of
powers and responsibilities to Panchayats on

15
those 29 subjects such as education, health,
water supply, agriculture, animal husbandry,
cooperation, public distribution system etc.,

2.2 Elected Representatives in Rural Local

Bodies (RLBs)

The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission

was established in 1994 as an independent and
autonomous constitutional authority to conduct
elections to both urban and rural local bodies in
the State. Based on the delimited wards of Rural
Local Bodies (RLBs), elections to 27 Districts were
completed during 2019-20. After the assumption
of this new Government, the delimitation for the
wards of rural local bodies of newly reorganised
nine districts has been completed and conducted
by the State Election Commission.

The Government has made earnest efforts

to increase the representation of women in the
Panchayat administration. Based on the

16
Government’s reservation policy of 50% of the
offices and seats to women in the Rural Local
Body, elections were successfully held
in 2019 and 2021. In fact, 56% of the total seats
and offices are now occupied by women.
7,012 Village Panchayat Presidents (56%),
242 Panchayat Union Chairpersons (62%) and
20 District Panchayat Chairpersons (55%)
are women. 67,756 local body representatives are
women, constituting 56% of total members.
The Government is fully committed to
empowering its women representatives through
capacity-building and leadership programs.

2.3 Three-tier Panchayat Raj Institutions

2.3.1 Village Panchayats

There are 12,525 Village Panchayats

consisting of 79,395 habitations in the State
spread across 37 rural Districts. The Village
Panchayat President is the Executive Authority of

17
the Village Panchayat. Every Village Panchayat,
unless dissolved, shall continue for five years
from the date of its first meeting after each
ordinary election.

In coordination with the Director of Census

Operations, the Village Panchayat-wise rural
population data, as per Census 2011, for all the
Village Panchayats, were published in August
2014. The data contains the total population of
Village Panchayats, SC/ST and Women. The
same has also been uploaded in
https://tnrd.tn.gov.in/

Grama Sabha

Historical evidence in Tamil Nadu has

depicted the presence of ‘Oor’ and ‘Sabha’ during
the Chola period. These Sabhas aided the
administration and ensured democratic decision
making.

18
 After Independence, Article 243 was
inserted in the Constitution to give importance to
the Panchayats. Article 243 of the Constitution
ensures the formation of the Grama Sabha. All
the registered voters of a Village Panchayat
constitute Grama Sabha, which is provided with
specific powers and functions.

The Honourable Chief Minister made an

announcement in the legislative assembly under
Rule 110 that mandatory Grama Sabhas will be
held six times, on 26th January, 22nd March,
1st May, 15th August, 2nd October and
1st November, annually. Grama Sabha can also
be convened as and when the necessity arises.

Namma Grama Sabai App

A new mobile application, ‘Namma Grama

Sabai’ has been launched by the department
during this year to monitor the conduct of Grama

19
Sabhas. The application is user-friendly and
captures the following details:

● Quorum of the Grama Sabha

● Resolutions passed in the Grama Sabha
● Nodal officers present during the Grama
Sabha
● Timing of Grama Sabha
● Participation of line department officials
● Photographic evidence of the conduct of
Grama Sabha

The Mobile App has proved as an effective tool

in real time monitoring of conduct of Gram Sabha
and participation by Officials and general Public.

Village Panchayat Committees:

Every Village Panchayat shall constitute the

following Committees, namely-

 Appointments Committee
 Development Committee

20
  Agricultural and Watershed Committee
 Works Committee
 Education Committee

Village Panchayat Development Plan (VPDP)

As per section 240 of the Tamil Nadu

Panchayats Act, 1994, every Village Panchayat
will prepare a development plan for the Village
Panchayat every year.

For the preparation of the Village Panchayat

Development Plan (VPDP) for the ensuing
financial year, People’s Plan Campaigns are
organised from 2nd October to 31st December,
through a participatory approach in convergence
with other departments as per guidelines issued
by the Government.

As part of this campaign, needs assessment

is carried out by engaging Community Resource
Persons (CRPs) to arrive at the social and
economic requirements of all the Village

21
Panchayats in the State and the data is uploaded
on the Mission Antyodaya Mobile App of Union
Government. Special Grama Sabha meetings are
to be held mandatorily in the Village Panchayats
for the finalisation of the Village Panchayat
Development Plan.

This VPDP will be prepared in line with

themes of Localised Sustainable Development
Goals from the year 2023-24, for inclusive and
sustainable growth at the village level.

2.3.2 Panchayat Unions

At the intermediate level, there are 388

Panchayat Unions (Block Panchayats) in the state.
The Panchayat Unions are divided into territorial
wards for a minimum of every 5,000 population.

The Ward Members are directly elected

from the territorial wards, and the Panchayat
Union Chairperson is elected indirectly from

22
among the Ward Members. Panchayat Union
Council cannot levy taxes.

2.3.3 District Panchayats

There are 36 District Panchayats. District

Panchayat has been constituted in each District as
per Section 24 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats
Act, 1994. The Ward Members are elected directly
by the voters, whereas the Chairperson is
indirectly elected from among the Ward Members.
District Panchayat for Mayiladuthurai, the newly
formed district, will be formed after the next local
body elections.

In each district, an officer in the cadre of

Assistant Director from the Rural Development
and Panchayat Raj Department is appointed as
Secretary to District Panchayat. District Panchayat
cannot levy taxes.

23
Reconstitution of District Planning
Committee

The District Planning Committee has been

reconstituted in 31 districts, and newly
constituted for the first time in the districts of
Chengalpet, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Kallakurichi and
Tenkasi.

2.4 Financial resources of Rural Local Bodies

In Tamil Nadu, among the three tiers of

Rural Local Bodies, the village panchayat is the
only body empowered to levy and collect taxes.
The village panchayats receive revenue from the
following sources:

a) Grants

b) Tax Revenue

c) Non-Tax Revenue

24
a. Grants to Rural Local Bodies

State Finance Commission Grant

Tamil Nadu is one of the States that
regularly constitutes the State Finance
Commission once in 5 years as mandated by the
73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India and
Section 198 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats
Act, 1994. The major functions of the State
Finance Commission are:

1. Distribution of the net proceeds of taxes,

duties, tolls and fees leviable by the
Government between the State and the
panchayats.

2. Determination of taxes, duties, tolls and

fees which may be assigned to the
panchayats.

3. Grants to the panchayats from the

consolidated fund of the State.

4. Measures needed to improve the financial

position of the panchayats.

25
 So far, Six State Finance Commissions have
been constituted, since the year 1994, for the
devolution of funds to the local bodies.

i) Sixth State Finance Commission (2022-23

– 2027-28)

The Sixth SFC constituted in the year 2020

by the Government has submitted its
recommendations, and most of the
recommendations have been accepted by the
Government.

Key recommendations of the Sixth SFC:

1. Award period of the Sixth SFC is 2022-23 to

2027-28.

2. Sixth SFC recommended devolving 10% of

the State’s own Tax Revenue to Local
Bodies.

3. The vertical sharing ratio between Rural and

Urban Local bodies will be 51:49.

26
 4. The Government has also ordered to share
the devolution grant among the Rural Local
Bodies, the District Panchayats, Panchayat
Unions and Village Panchayats in the ratio of
6:39:55, respectively.

5. The Grant allocated to the three tiers will be

devolved on the basis of the multiplier
formula recommended by the Sixth State
Finance Commission.

6. Sixth SFC has categorised the grants into

two major heads as detailed below:

1. Special Grant

2. Devolution Grant.

Special Grant:

Special grants are granted to the

department to carry out specific functions as per
the recommendations in priority sectors. The
special grants are further divided into Capital

27
Grant Fund (CGF) and Operations, Maintenance
and Deficit Grant Fund (OMDGF). The grants are
earmarked at the State and District levels.

I. Capital Grant Fund:

As under the Fifth SFC, the Capital Grant

fund is continued during the Sixth SFC award
period too. The Capital Grant fund is further
divided into State level and District level
components. The State level component will be
utilised for the following categories as per the
Sixth SFC recommendations.

State Level - CGF

● Rural Infrastructure - Rs.600 crore

● ODR – Road Conversion - Rs.120 crore
● Regional Institute of Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj - Rs.1 crore
● School maintenance - Rs.140 crore.

28
District Level- CGF
● Capital Grant Fund at District level: Rs.200
crore
As per the recommendations of Sixth SFC,
an amount of Rs.1061 crore has been allocated
under the head of Capital Grant Fund for
the year 2022-23.

II. Operation, Maintenance and Deficit

Grant Fund (OMDGF):
The Operation, Maintenance and Deficit
Grant Fund has replaced the Pooled Fund for
Deficit RLBs. An amount of Rs.782.60 crore has
been allocated for the year 2022-23 earmarked
as below.

1. An amount of Rs.100 crore has been

earmarked to pay long-standing water
charge dues to the TWAD Board.
2. An amount of Rs.200 crore has been
allocated to TANGEDCO to settle the arrears
of electricity consumption charges.

29
3. An amount of Rs.280 crore per annum
allocated to be released to deficit RLBs as
per the recommendations of the Sixth SFC
4. The Sixth State Finance Commission, for the
first time, allocated an amount of Rs.69
Crore to Peri-Urban Panchayats and Rs.30
Crore to hill area Panchayats.
5. The Sixth SFC has recommended
appropriating an amount of Rs.28 Crore as
advance library cess to the Directorate of
Libraries on behalf of Village Panchayats.
The Village Panchayats, in turn, would
collect the same from the rural households
along with Property tax and utilise it.
6. An amount of Rs.5 Crore has been allocated
to the Sanitary Worker’s Welfare Board to
undertake welfare activities of sanitary
workers working in the Panchayats.
7. To ensure capacity building among the
elected representatives and officers, an
amount of Rs.60 lakh has been allocated to

30
 Regional Institutes of Rural Development
and Panchayat Raj.
8. Sixth SFC has allocated an amount of
Rs.60 crore for school improvement and
Rs.10 Crore as a reward for the
implementation of the Forests Rights Act in
rural areas.
An amount of Rs.1843.60 crore has been
allocated under the head of Special Grant for the
year 2022-23.

Devolution Grant

The Devolution Grants are shared in the

ratio of 6:39:55 among Three Tiers of Rural Local
Bodies for District Panchayats, Panchayat Unions
and Village Panchayats, respectively.
An amount of Rs.5593.20 crore has been
allocated by the Government towards the
devolution Grant for the year 2022-23.

31
Union Finance Commission (CFC) Grant

The award period of the Fifteenth Union

Finance Commission is 2021-22 to 2025-26.

● The ratio of Tied and Untied Grant will

be 60:40.
● The 50% portion of the Tied Grant (30%)
shall be utilised for water supply,
water conservation, rainwater harvesting
and recycling of water, and the
remaining 50% (30%) shall be utilised
for sanitation.
● Untied Grant may be utilised for the specific
local needs as permitted by the Government
other than salary and establishment
expenditure.

The Fifteenth Union Finance Commission

has also recommended that its Grants should be
distributed horizontally, within the respective tiers
of the Panchayats, on the basis of the accepted
recommendations of the latest State Finance

32
Commission (SFC). The following vertical sharing
ratio among three tiers of Rural Local Bodies is
adopted.

District Panchayats 5%
Panchayat Unions 15 %
Village Panchayats 80 %

The total allocation for the entire award

period of the Fifteenth Union Finance Commission
is detailed below:
TABLE 2.1
(Rs.in crore)

Total Untied Tied

Year
Grant (40%) (60%)
2021-22 2666 1066.4 1599.6
2022-23 2761 1104.4 1656.6
2023-24 2791 1116.4 1674.6
2024-25 2957 1182.8 1774.2
2025-26 2884 1153.6 1730.4
Total 14059 5623.6 8435.4

33
2.5 Own Sources of Revenue

1. Tax Revenue

● Section 172 of Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act,

1994 empowered the Village Panchayats to
levy House Tax / Property Tax.

● Section 198-B of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats

Act, 1994 provides for the levy and
collection of Professional Tax payable by
the employees from their salaries or wages,
and the employer has to deduct the same
and remit to the village Panchayats
concerned.

● The Panchayats are empowered to levy

Advertisement Tax in the exercise of the
powers conferred by sections 172, 220 and
242 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act,
1994.

34
2. Non-Tax Revenue

The Village Panchayats are entitled to get

revenue from the following sources as non-tax
revenue:

i) Licensing fee for building plan and layout

approval

ii) Fees and charges on Dangerous and

Offensive trades

iii) Market fee

iv) Water charges

v) Fee on cart stand

vi) Social Forestry auctions

vii) Fishery rentals

viii) 2-C Patta fee

ix) Income from markets and fairs

x) Fee from ferries

35
xi) Fines and penalties

xii) Mines and Minerals seigniorage fee and

lease amount

2.6 Pooled Assigned Revenue (PAR)

The assigned revenues due to Rural Local

Bodies from the proceeds of surcharge on stamp
duty collected by the Registration Department are
being pooled at the State level for apportioning
the same to the Village Panchayats and Panchayat
Unions.

Accordingly, the Government has sanctioned

and released from the proceeds of surcharge on
stamp duty an amount of Rs.1003.00 crore as
Pooled Assigned Revenue for the year 2022-23,
as detailed below:

● One-third (1/3) of the total allocation,

Rs.334.33 Crore, has been apportioned to
Village Panchayats and Panchayat Unions

36
 ● The balance two-thirds (2/3), an amount of
Rs.668.66 Crore has been earmarked for
the Priority Schemes in rural areas.

Under SCPAR, based on need and necessity,

special infrastructure works such as Roads,
Bridges, Office buildings for Rural Local Bodies,
Gasifier Crematorium, Integrated Office Complex
for RD&PR Department etc., are sanctioned. So
far, 277 Panchayat Union Office buildings have
been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs.672.11
Crore, 15 Integrated Office Complex buildings at a
cost of Rs.104.46 Crore. During the year
2021-22, 82 new vehicles have been purchased at
a total cost of Rs.6.82 Crore. 10 Gasifier
Crematoriums have been taken up at a total cost
of Rs.20 Crore in peri-urban areas of 10 Districts
as a new initiative during the year 2021-22.

37
2.7 Awards and Recognitions to best
performing Village Panchayats and
Institutions

a. Uthamar Gandhi Award:

Village Panchayat President plays a major

role in development of the village from
preparation of plans, pooling resources,
prioritising needs and implementing the schemes
of the Government to bring out the holistic
development of the Panchayat. He acts as an
executive and public representative and also acts
as a bridge between the local people and various
government departments. Therefore, the
development of a panchayat largely hinges on the
leadership, enterprise and ingenuity of the
President who is the fulcrum for the convergence
of all programmes and schemes and last mile
delivery of services.

38
 The Honourable Chief Minister made an
announcement in the legislative assembly under
Rule 110 to re-institute the “Uthamar Gandhi
Award” from the year 2022 to encourage
Panchayat Presidents to lead from the forefront in
the development of their Panchayats and achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals. This Award
was earlier given between 2006-2010 and later
discontinued.

This award will be conferred to One best

performing Village Panchayat per district with a
cash award of Rs.10 lakh. The eligible village
Panchayats will be selected based on a standard
set of indicators for assessing their performance
in fulfilling Sustainable Developmental Goals.
The selected Panchayat President will be
recognised to motivate similar good practices
which will serve as a model for the other
Presidents and Panchayats.

39
Corporate Social Responsibility Award:

NGOs and corporates take up infrastructure

and livelihood activities as part of their social
outreach programmes. The corporates have to
spend 2% of their net profit towards
Social Responsibility activities as per Companies
Act, 2013. In recognise the contribution of Private
sector and Corporates in the development of
Villages, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Award was constituted. The award was conferred
to the best performing Corporates till 2010.
Now, the Corporate Social Responsibility Award
has been reinstituted to recognise the outstanding
work under CSR social responsibility by Industrial
houses and Private sector in the area of
community and Village development in rural
areas. Every year one best performing Institution
per district will be selected for the award
which carries a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh cash and
a citation.

40
2.8 New Initiatives

1. 648 Village Secretariat buildings have been

taken up to ensure physical convergence of
important department offices at the Village
Panchayat level at an approximate
estimated cost of Rs.260 crore.

2. IT Infrastructure at Village Panchayats has

been upgraded by providing Computer
Hardware to ensure better service delivery
in Panchayats.

3. Online tax portal to collect House Tax /

Property Tax, Water Charges, Professional
Tax, Trade Licences and Non-Tax revenues
etc., have been initiated in all Panchayats of
the State. Further, Layout Approval,
Building Permits and Industrial licensing will
also be brought online shortly.

4. Enhancement of powers of administrative

sanction of Village Panchayats from

41
 Rs.2 lakh to Rs.5 lakh, Block Panchayats
from Rs.10 lakh to Rs.25 lakh and that of
the District Panchayats from Rs.20 lakh
to Rs.50 lakh.

5. State Nodal Account (SNA) for Grants and

Revenues to ensure better administration at
the Village Panchayat level by reducing the
workload and operating the accounts
at ease.

6. A help desk is being established at the

Directorate of Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj with a toll-free number
(155340) to redress the grievances of the
citizens and elected representatives.
This help desk will work 24 X 7 on all days.

42
3. State Schemes

43
44
3.1. Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi
Thittam–II (AGAMT-II)

The State Government launched the

Landmark Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi
Thittam during 2006-2011 with a focus on
comprehensive development of all Village
Panchayats. This scheme aimed at improving the
overall basic infrastructure facilities in all Village
Panchayats in a phased manner over a span of
five years. An amount of Rs.20 Lakhs was
provided to every Village Panchayat to ensure
minimum basic facilities. The compulsory works
included rejuvenation of a Pond, establishment of
a Rural Library with provision of furniture and
books, creation / improvement of Common Burial
Grounds / Cremation sheds and establishment of
Community / School Sports Centre with required
equipment in every Village Panchayat.
The scheme created a positive impact on the
rural people.

45
 The Flagship scheme of the Government has
now been relaunched as Anaithu Grama Anna
Marumalarchi Thittam–II (AGAMT-II) to ensure
holistic development of all habitations in every
Village Panchayat in the State through equitable
distribution of resources. It will be implemented in
a phased manner over a period of five years
from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The scheme is
designed to address critical infrastructural needs
and holistic development of the people in all
habitations by leveraging and converging schemes
across 16 Departments towards better impact on
rural people.

3.1.1 Selection of Village Panchayats

Under AGAMT-II around 20% of Village

Panchayats are selected every year.

Fund Allocation
In AGAMT – II minimum basic grant of
Rs.30 lakh is provided to all village panchayats

46
and Rs.5 lakh to each village panchayat as
Performance Incentive fund. Population Grant,
Habitation Grant have been assessed by giving
weightage of 50% for number of Habitations and
50% for Population.

For Performance Incentive Fund, the Village

Panchayats are assessed based on 9 criteria by
the District Collector and sanction is accorded in
proportion to the number of parameters achieved.

Comprehensive Habitation Survey

Infrastructure Gap Survey was conducted in

all the habitations by a local team consisting of
panchayat President, Panchayat Secretary and
PLF members. Based on the Gap survey, the
works were taken up under three broad
categories (1) works taken up using AGAMT
funds, (2) Dovetailing with other Rural
Development Schemes (3) Other Department
Schemes.

47
Scheme components:
The components are as follows:

TABLE 3.1

Sl.
Fund
No Work Category
Allocation
.
1. Rejuvenation of Water Bodies 30%
2. Creation and Upgradation of 25%
Streets and Lanes in Habitation
3. Creating Infrastructure facilities to 10%
the burial ground which are
proposed as Samathuva
Burial Ground
4. Infrastructure Development 15%
in Schools and Creating
Public Utilities
5. Clean and Green Villages 10%
6. Livelihood and Marketing 10%
Facilities in Convergence

48
 Minimum 30% of the fund will be allocated
to SC/ST Habitations / areas.
In the year 2021-22, 2,657 Village
Panchayats were selected with an outlay of
Rs.1455 crore and for 2022-23, 2,544 Village
Panchayats have been selected with an allocation
of Rs.1,155 crore. In 2023-24, 2,504 Village
Panchayats will be taken up with an allocation
of Rs.1,148 crore.

TABLE 3.2
Details of works taken up in 2021-22
and 2022-23

2021-22 2022-23

Sl. Total Total

Type of Works Total Total
No. Cost Cost
Works Works
(Rs. (Rs.
(in Nos) (in Nos)
in Crore) in Crore)
1. Rejuvenation of
2616 257 2152 198
Water Bodies
2. Creation and
Upgradation of 8954 415 6309 309
Streets and Lanes

49
 3. Infrastructure
facilities to
900 47 553 29
Samathuva Burial
Ground
4. Infrastructure
Development to
4256 303 2933 254
Schools and
Public Utility
5. Clean and Green
1410 68 1164 56
Works
6. Livelihood and
Marketing 2296 149 1828 127
Facilities

Convergence with Other Departments

Convergence of schemes and programs is

given importance under AGAMT-II. Important
16 Line Departments have to prioritise AGAMT-II
Village Panchayats taken up in a particular year in
order to ensure all scheme benefits are saturated
to deserving eligible beneficiaries. Special camps
are conducted by the Line Departments in these
Village Panchayats to create awareness about

50
government schemes and provide benefits to the
rural people.

3.2 Revival of Rural Libraries under

Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam
during the year 2022-23

The Article 243-G, along with the XI Schedule

of Constitution of India and Section 111 of the
Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 empowers the
Village Panchayats to open and maintain libraries /
reading rooms in the Villages. Accordingly, 12,618
Rural Libraries were established from
2006-07 to 2010-2011 under Anaithu Grama Anna
Marumalarchi Thittam. Due to lack of periodical
maintenance these libraries were not functioning to
their optimum capacity.

Plan for Revival of AGAMT Libraries

Government issued orders to revive all the

12,525 rural libraries established under AGAMT in
the Village Panchayats in three years i.e. from

51
2021-22 to 2023-24. The library buildings will be
repaired and renovated with provision of ramp
and toilet, replacement of damaged furniture and
improved collection of books.

During 2021-22, 4,116 libraries were

renovated at an estimated cost of Rs.91.75 crore.
In the year 2022-23, 3808 libraries have been
taken up for renovation at an estimated cost of
Rs.84.27 crore. In 2023-24 remaining libraries
will be taken up for revival.

3.3 Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram

To promote social justice and to spread

Thanthai Periyar’s message of social equality, the
Government of Tamil Nadu had launched
“Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram'' scheme
as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of
Indian Independence during the year 1997-98
and 238 Samathuvapurams were established in
two spells. In the first spell,

52
145 Samathuvapurams were constructed during
the period from 1997 to 2001 and
93 Samathuvapurams were established in the
second spell during the period from 2008 to 2011.
The vision was to enable people belonging to
various communities to live together without
caste or communal differences. An area of
8-10 acres was identified to create a model village
with 100 houses along with civic infrastructure.
The houses were allotted to houseless poor people
belonging to different communities.

Renovation of Samathuvapurams

Since Samathuvapurams were left without any

maintenance over a period of time, it was decided
by the Government to repair and renovate all
238 Samathuvapurams that stand as a symbol of
social justice and communal harmony in a phased
manner, duly issuing guidelines.

53
❖ The renovation of Samathuvapuram involves
three components:
 Minor repair to houses at the cost of
Rs.50,000/- for each house;
 Reconstruction of houses from
various levels as per the estimate;
 Renovation of common infrastructure
facilities
❖ In the case of houses occupied by the original
beneficiary or by their legal heir, minor repair
works are executed through the concerned
beneficiaries. Reconstruction works are
executed by adopting the tender procedure
with the consent of the beneficiary.
❖ In the case of unallotted / abandoned
houses, minor repairs and reconstruction
works are executed by adopting the tender
procedure and such houses are allotted to
eligible beneficiaries as per the guidelines.

54
 ❖ Repairs to common infrastructure works are
executed by adopting the tender procedure.
❖ Since the fund provided by the Government
will be one-time support, Resident Welfare
Association is formed in each
Samathuvapuram to ensure the participation
of beneficiaries in the repair and
reconstruction of houses to ensure proper
execution of works.

3.3.1 Renovation of Samathuvapurams

Phase- I (2021-22)

Under phase-I, 149 Samathuvapurams were

taken up for renovation wherein Minor repairs to
houses, repair / reconstruction of houses and
renovation of common infrastructure facilities like
water supply, roads, street lights, playgrounds,
parks, community hall, library, anganwadi
centres, public distribution shop, school
building, etc., were executed at an estimated
cost of Rs.190.44 crore.

55
 Out of the five Samathuvapurams which
remained unallotted in 2011 due to the change of
Government, one Samathuvapuram in Villupuram
district and one in Sivagangai district were
inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu and the other three Samathuvapurams one
each have been renovated at Tiruchirapalli,
Cuddalore and Tiruvallur will soon be inaugurated.
In 149 Samathuvapurams, minor repairs to
11,332 houses, reconstruction of 2,364 houses
and renovation of 1,939 common infrastructure
works were executed for the benefit of the people
residing in the Samathuvapuram.

3.3.2 Renovation of Samathuvapurams

Phase-II
Under Phase-II, in 88 Samathuvapurams,
minor repairs to 7,574 houses, reconstruction of
60 houses and renovation of 650 common
infrastructure works have been taken up.

56
Housing for All Survey
The Government of Tamil Nadu aims to
achieve the status of “Hut free Tamil Nadu”.
An enumeration of households who are actually in
need of permanent houses was conducted.
In the “Housing for All” survey families living in
huts, unstable houses and unliveable (damaged /
dilapidated) houses which were not included in
the SECC-PWL, Awaas plus, KVVT Resurvey &
New Hut Survey databases have been
enumerated and field verification being done.

Repairs to Rural Houses Survey

The Government of Tamil Nadu has been
providing houses to the rural poor under State
and Union Government sponsored housing
schemes since 1970’s. A survey is being carried
out to assess the present condition of the houses
constructed prior to 2010-11. The Survey is being
taken up by Community Resource persons (CRPs)

57
and SHGs under Tamil Nadu Corporation for
Development of Women.

Housing Schemes for Other Departments

Apart from the housing schemes of RD&PR,
the construction of houses for specialised groups,
such as Fishermen, Sri Lankan Refugees and
Scheduled Tribes are also being undertaken by
this Department.

 Construction of 4,069 houses for

fisherman at an estimated cost of
Rs.69.17 crore under the Blue Revolution
Scheme was taken up and 2,901 houses
have been completed.
 Rehabilitation and Welfare of
Non-Resident Tamils Department has
sanctioned 3,510 houses in 32 refugee
camps located in 19 districts at an
estimated cost of Rs.175.747 crore.
These works are under progress and will
be completed as per timeline.

58
  Tribal Welfare Department has sanctioned
1,094 houses during the year 2022-23
at an estimated outlay of Rs.50 crore
in 12 Districts. All houses are under
progress and will be completed soon.

3.4 Member of Legislative Assembly

Constituency Development Scheme
(MLACDS)

The Member of Legislative Assembly

Constituency Development Scheme (MLACDS) is
a ‘plan scheme’ fully funded by the Government
of Tamil Nadu. The fund allocation under the
scheme is Rs.3.00 crore per constituency
per annum to the 234 constituencies of the State.
Members of the Legislative Assembly can propose
important works in their constituency to fulfil the
critical gaps in infrastructure. This scheme is
being implemented in rural and urban areas in
the State.

59
 For the Year 2022-23, the Government
released new guidelines for the scheme, and the
selection of works has been made time-bound for
timely execution. The MLAs have to recommend
works within three months of the issue of
guidelines, and sanction has to be accorded within
one month of recommendation. Also, it is
reiterated that 22% of the overall allocation must
be utilised for areas predominantly inhabited by
SC/ST persons in rural areas and slums in
urban areas. For 2022-23, Rs.702 crore has been
released to all districts, and works are under
progress.
For 2023-24, Rs.702 crore has been
allocated.

3.5 Namakku Naame Thittam (Rural)

Dr Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, Hon'ble former

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, during the Budget
Speech 1997-98, announced the Namakku Naame
Thittam (NNT) to encourage people's participation

60
in the creation of public assets. The scheme aims
to promote and strengthen the self-help and
self-reliant attitude of the rural community.

Individuals, groups, institutions, companies

or the local community can choose work by
accepting to contribute a minimum of one-third of
the cost for the works under this scheme.
If the public contribution is 50% or more of the
estimated value of the work, the District Collector
can permit the contributor or the agency to
execute the work without tender. In an
amendment to the existing guidelines, the
Government reduced the minimum public
contribution requirement for works taken up
in SC/ST habitations to 1/5th of the overall value
of work.

During the year 2022-23, Rs.100 crore has

been sanctioned for the implementation of
Namakku Naame Thittam. A total of 2,819 works
were taken in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

61
 For 2023-24, the scheme will be continued
with an outlay of Rs.100.00 crore.

3.6 Rural Infrastructure - Roads

Tamil Nadu has a vast network of Rural

roads, consisting of Village Panchayat
Roads (VPR) and Panchayat Union Roads (PUR).
Rural roads play a major role in the economic
growth of rural areas. The continuous
improvement and maintenance of these rural
roads in serviceable condition is a critical activity
of the Department.
In Tamil Nadu, there are 1,44,083 number
of VPRs and PURs measuring to 1,55,351 km of
which 68% are paved roads and 32% are
unpaved. The upgradation of other surfaces to
BT roads is taken up based on necessity and
priority. There are 1.02 lakh km length of
BT roads and out of these, 58,875 km (58%) of
rural roads were not re-laid or strengthened in the
last five years. The roads below five years should

62
be under routine maintenance and those above
five years should be subjected to periodic
maintenance or strengthening considering the age
and Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of the road.

The surface wise details of the Village

Panchayat and Panchayat Union roads are
given below.
TABLE 3.3

Panchayat Village
Sl. Surface Union Panchayat Total
No. category Roads roads
Length in Km
1. Black Topped 25,720 76,369 1,02,089

2. Cement 319 3,246 3,565

Concrete
3. Double layer 140 1,771 1,911
WBM
4. Single layer 360 9,575 9,935
WBM
5. Gravel 149 4,622 4,771
6. Earthen 901 32,179 33,080

Total 27,589 1,27,762 1,55,351

63
3.7 Mudalvarin Grama Salaigal Membattu
Thittam (MGSMT)
At present, roads constructed under various
schemes are neither under routine maintenance
nor periodic maintenance except for Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana roads. The asset value
of 1.02 lakh km length of Black Topped roads is
around Rs.54,000 crore. The lack of maintenance
of these roads will result in premature failure of
these roads and substantial asset loss to the
Government.
The Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
during the debate on the Governor’s speech in the
Legislative Assembly on 13.01.2023, announced
that the Government would implement a new
scheme called ‘Mudalvarin Grama Salaigal
Membattu Thittam’ (MGSMT) and in two years,
10,000 Km of Panchayat Union Roads will be
improved at a cost of Rs.4,000 crore.
The objective of the “Mudalvarin Grama Salaigal
Membattu Thittam (MGSMT)” is to Upgrade /

64
Strengthen / Maintain Village Panchayat and
Panchayat Union roads.
Reclassification of roads
i. Block Rural Road Plan (BRRP) will be
prepared to provide a complete profile of the
road network in the block and a score will
be assigned to each road based on
select parameters.
ii. To rationalise and remove the imbalance in
the rural road network, important Village
Panchayat roads providing Single
connectivity, Bus plying roads, roads of
length more than 3 km, roads
connecting National Highways (NH),
State Highways (SH), Major District
Roads (MDR), By-pass roads and road
connecting other important utilities will be
reclassified as Panchayat Union Roads.
Approximately, 38,600 Km length of Village
Panchayat roads will be re-classified as
Panchayat Union roads.

65
 iii. The Panchayat Union roads will be further
classified as Major Union Roads (MURs) and
Other Union Roads (OURs) for better
management of the rural road network.

Salient Features
● The roads proposed by the Blocks will be
verified with spatial data (Geographic
Information System) available with the
department.
● This is the first State scheme under Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj department
that will be implemented with 5-year Routine
Maintenance by the same contractor after
improvement.
● The quality of the works will be verified
through independent State Quality Monitors
and/or other third-party agencies for the
works taken under this Scheme, and quality
will be maintained on par with the Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

66
 ● Road intersection improvement will be a
mandatory aspect for the rural roads merging
into major roads. Road safety measures,
including speed calming works, protective
barriers, road furniture, etc. will be provided
to ensure safe roads.

Tamil Nadu Rural Roads Improvement

Scheme (TNRRIS)

The objective of the Tamil Nadu Rural Roads

Improvement Scheme is to address the critical
gaps in the upgradation and strengthening of the
road network. The scheme was funded by State
Finance Commission Grants. So far, 29,194 km of
roads have been taken up under this scheme at
an estimated cost of Rs.6,427.23 crore. During
the year 2022-2023, 2,325 km of roads were
completed at an expenditure of Rs.718 crore.

67
3.8 NABARD - Rural Infrastructure
Development Fund (RIDF)

The Union Government instituted the Rural

Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) under
NABARD in 1995-96 for financing the
implementation of rural infrastructure projects by
the State Governments (80% Loan, 20% State
Grant). Improvement of damaged Village
Panchayat and Panchayat Union roads,
upgradation of non-BT roads to BT standard and
construction of bridges to ensure all-weather road
connectivity in rural areas are taken up under
this Scheme.

Salient features

● Bus/minibus plying roads, roads used for

agricultural purposes, roads leading to
industrial clusters and marketing centres,
roads leading to tourism and pilgrimage
centres, roads linking hospitals, schools and

68
 other amenities are being taken up under
this scheme.
● Minimum length of roads taken up should
be 1 Km.

From 2006-07 to 2022-23, 19,063 km length

of roads and 510 bridges were taken up at the
cost of Rs.4,312 crore under this scheme.
During the year 2021-22, 113 bridges were
sanctioned at the cost of Rs.333 crore. Out of
this, 15 bridges have been completed and the
remaining 98 bridges are under progress. For the
year 2022-23, 80 bridges were sanctioned at a
cost of Rs.262 crore.

3.9 School Infrastructure - Child Friendly

School Infrastructure Development
Scheme (CFSIDS)

The Government of Tamil Nadu has

introduced various welfare schemes and measures
to improve the quality and standard of school

69
education. This has resulted in the increase of
student enrolment in Government schools.
There are 21,136 Panchayat Union Primary
Schools (PUPS) and 6,502 Panchayat Union
Middle Schools (PUMS) in the State.
These schools have 58,835 buildings.
The infrastructural development and maintenance
of the above school buildings are under the
control of the respective Panchayat Unions.
Due to inadequate allocation of resources towards
the maintenance and repair of these buildings
compounded by closure of schools during
Covid-19 has affected the availability of safe and
adequate class rooms conducive to learning.
The Government took expeditious action to
demolish 2,745 dilapidated buildings to ensure
the safety of students.
Further, it was assessed that
13,157 additional classrooms are required in
4,847 schools. In order to bridge this critical gap
for new classrooms, the Government introduced

70
the Child Friendly School Infrastructure
Development Scheme (CFSIDS) during the
year 2022-23, in Panchayat Union Primary and
Middle Schools located in rural and urban areas.
During the year 2022-23, the construction
of 5,483 new classrooms have been taken up at
the cost of Rs.823 crore. In addition to this,
472 classrooms in 236 PUPS & PUMS schools have
been taken up at the cost of Rs.51.63 crore
during the year 2022-23 under various other
schemes like Member of Legislative Assembly
Constituency Development Scheme, Member of
Parliament Local Area Development Scheme,
Namakku Naame Thittam, etc.
Child-friendly school buildings under
CFSIDS envisages provision of better
teaching-learning environment by using the
school building as a learning aid.
Educational information and life skills will
feature in the form of visual paintings.
Child-friendly design modifications have been

71
made in school buildings to ensure adequate
lighting, better ventilation, safety features and
attractive colourful maps & pictures.

3.10 School Infrastructure Development

Scheme (SIDS)

The School Infrastructure Development

Scheme was reintroduced in 2021-22, with an
objective to ensure maintenance and renovation
of existing infrastructure facilities in the
Panchayat Union Primary and Middle Schools
located in rural and urban areas.

During the year 2021-22, 10,171 repair and

renovation works were taken up at the
cost of Rs.135.87 crore. Similarly, during the
year 2022-23, 8,824 repairs in renovation works
at cost of Rs.194.65 crore is being taken up.

72
3.11 Socio-Economic Development
Programme (SEDP)

To curb the rise of Naxalism in the

backward districts of Dharmapuri and

Krishnagiri, the Socio-Economic Development

Programme (SEDP) was launched in the

year 2003-04. Under this scheme, a sum

of Rs.750 lakh is allocated to take up various

works for the socio-economic empowerment of

people in remote areas in sectors such as

education, health, livelihood and employment

generation and infrastructure for last-mile

connectivity to fast-track the development of

erstwhile Naxal affected areas in the two districts.

73
3.12 Infrastructure Schemes of other
Departments

a. Adi Dravidar Habitations Improvement

Scheme (ADHIS)

The Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal

Welfare provides funds to Rural Development
Department to provide Basic amenities like water
supply, streetlights, improvement of roads /
internal streets, community toilets, cremation
sheds / waiting sheds, pathways to burial
grounds, improvements to play grounds and
repair and renovation of existing infrastructure.
Adi-Dravidar habitations are selected based on
their population. An amount of Rs.100 crore has
been allocated for the year 2022-23.

During 2023-24, the Focus will be

converging all scheme components earmarked for
SC population and habitations to saturate the
Villages with basic amenities.

74
b. Infrastructure Development in Tribal Areas

The objective of the scheme is to provide

basic amenities like streetlights, water supply
and link roads to people in tribal areas.
The Tribal Welfare Department has sanctioned
Rs.25.19 Crore for the year 2021-2022,
to provide street lights, water supply and
solar lights in tribal areas.

75
76
4. Union Government
Sponsored Schemes

77
78
4.1 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS)

4.1.1 MGNREG Scheme implementation in

Tamil Nadu

The Union Government launched the

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme in February 2006 to provide
100 days of employment in a financial year to any
rural household whose adult members volunteer
to do unskilled manual work.

4.1.2 Salient Features of the Scheme

1. Ten major entitlements of the scheme are:

a. Right to a Job Card

b. Right to demand and receive work

within 15 days

c. Right to un-employment Allowance

d. Right to plan and prepare a Shelf

of Projects.

79
 e. Right to obtain work within a
radius of 5 km

f. Right to work-site facilities

g. Right to notified wage rate

h. Right to receive wages within

15 days

i. Compensation for delay in

payment of wages

j. Right to time-bound redressal of

grievances and right to conduct
concurrent social audits of all
MGNREGS expenditure

2. MGNREGS ‘work week’ starts every

Thursday and ends on next Wednesday.
Works are taken up in clusters within
a village.

3. The wages for unskilled labour have been

fixed based on the Rural Schedule of
Rates (RSoR). As per the revised Schedule-I

80
 of MGNREG Act, the Schedule of Rate for
wages of unskilled labour is so fixed that an
adult unskilled labourer working for eight
hours which includes an hour of rest (i.e.,7
hours of effective work), will earn wages as
per the wage rate.

4. Government Order for a Special Rural

Schedule of Rates (RSoR) for the
differently-abled was adopted, which
provides either special activities for the
differently-abled workers or special
provisions for undertaking earthwork-
related activities.

5. No contractors or labour displacing

machinery is allowed.

6. For all civil construction works, RSoR should

be adopted for unskilled labour and PWD
SoR in respect of materials and skilled
labour.

81
 7. Every individual worker in a household is
entitled to a job card so that they can apply
for and receive work. Renewal of job cards
is done once in 5 years. New job cards were
issued to all active workers after
100% verification from 01.04.2022, and it
will be valid for 5 years.

8. From 2017-18, e-MR has been adopted in

all 12,524 Village Panchayats.

9. The wage rate has been revised to

Rs.294 per day with effect from 01.04.2023
for Tamil Nadu for both men and women
without any difference.

10. If the distance to the worksite exceeds

5 Km, an additional wage of 10% of the
wage rate is paid. However, in Tamil Nadu,
worksites are being selected in such a way
that works are available within a radius
of 2 km.

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11. Facilities such as drinking water, first-aid
kit, shade etc., are provided in all work
sites.

12. Grama Sabha conducts the Social Audit in

respect of MGNREGS works through Social
Auditors, i.e. Community Resource Persons
trained from among SHG members.

13. All workers shall have a right to participate

in the Grama Sabha and decide the Shelf of
Works with the order of priority to be taken
up under MGNREGS in their Village
Panchayat.

14. Citizen Information Boards depicting the

details of work i.e., name of the work,
sanctioned amount, duration of work etc.,
are installed in all worksites.

15. 75.01 lakh workers have been provided

employment out of the 65.17 lakh rural
households in the year 2022-23.

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4.1.3. Funding Pattern

The funds for MGNREGS is divided into

three main components:

1. Wage Component for Unskilled Labour

(100% funded by Union Government).

2. Material component for civil works, including

use of materials (75 % by Union
Government and 25% by State
Government).

3. Administrative Component for Salary and

other expenditure (100% by Union
Government).

As per guidelines, the overall material

expenditure should not be more than 40% of the
total expenditure.

4.1.4. Timely Payment and Payment through

Banks

During the financial year 2022-23, 100% of

wage payments to workers have been made

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within 15 days. The revised timely payment norm
for stage I is T+8 days, and stage II
is T+9 – T+15 days.

100% of wages are credited to the workers’

bank accounts. All transactions under MGNREGS
are made through e-FMS.

4.1.5. Permissible Works

MGNREG Act provides a list of permissible

works categorised into 4 parts. Based on the

various works mentioned in the Schedule I,

the Management Information System (MIS) has

listed 268 types of works permissible under the

Programme. Of these, 182 works are related to

Natural Resource Management, and 164 works

are related to agriculture and allied activities.

85
4.1.6 Natural Resource Management Works
under MGNREGS (NRM) / Agriculture
and Allied Activities.

The focus under MGNREGS has been on

Natural Resource Management works, which
include drought-proofing activities like
afforestation, avenue tree plantation, and artificial
recharge of groundwater through water
harvesting structures like check dams, recharge
shafts, percolation ponds, trenches, soak pits,
farm ponds, etc. Also, works for increasing the
storage capacities of surface water sources
through desilting of supply channels / field
channels, rejuvenation of traditional water
bodies, etc., are permitted.
Union Government (MoRD) has issued the
Water Conservation Mission framework. Based on
that, 65% of expenditure should be made on
Natural Resource Management works, and
60% of expenditure on Agriculture and

86
Allied works. Tamil Nadu has been focusing on
Natural Resource Management (NRM) works for
individuals and communities, particularly in the
water-stressed blocks. In 2022-23, a total of
2,86,804 NRM works were taken up, out of which
1,71,752 works were completed at an expenditure
of Rs.7,308 crore, which is 73.95% of the total
expenditure.

4.1.7 100-day Campaign for Water

Harvesting (2021)

A 100-day campaign in mission mode

across the State was taken up during the months
from September–November, 2021 and
27,973 water harvesting structures were
constructed. The Campaign was designed to
complement the Jal Shakti Abhiyan-Catch The
Rain Campaign (JSA:CTR) of the Government of
India. Nearly 4,057 Check dams, 5,681 Trenches,
16,784 Farm ponds, 6,283 Sunken Ponds and

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1,562 Percolation Ponds were taken up during this
period. The Campaign has revived the interest
among local communities in water conservation
and protection of water bodies.

4.1.8 75 Day Campaign for water

conservation works (2022)

In 2022, a 75 Day Campaign was launched

from March 22 (World Water Day) to
June 5th (World Environment Day) with
two objectives:

During this period, 15,397 water harvesting

structures like farm ponds, check dams, trenches,
and rooftop rainwater harvesting structures have
been completed to ensure that every drop of
rainwater is harvested in rural areas. In order to
increase the green cover, 10,000 saplings were
raised in nurseries present in every block across
the State. In these 75 days, around 30,00,000
saplings were planted. This year under JSA, on

88
March 22nd a campaign was launched with the
theme ‘Ensuring the Sustainability of Drinking
Water Sources’.
In all the Village Panchayats, on
March 22nd World Water Day, Gram Sabha
meeting was held and pledge taken to preserve
and conserve local water bodies, reduce wastage
of water and construct rain water harvesting
structures in all buildings.

4.1.9 Monitoring

National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS)

Union Government has launched the

National Mobile Monitoring System App on
21st May 2021 and mandated its daily use by all
states. The NMMS App enables transparent
monitoring of daily attendance by logging
attendance details at the site, twice a day. The
field level implementing officers have to monitor
and ensure that everyday attendance of

89
MGNREGS workers is taken through NMMS App
for all ongoing works across the State. Proper
training has been given to all worksite facilitators
and field Officials at the Block and District levels
to monitor the progress on daily basis.

Area Officer Inspection App

Area Officers Monitoring Visit Application

was launched on 21.05.2021 by the Union
Government for the effective implementation of
Rural Development schemes. This app will
facilitate the officials of the state to record
their field visit findings through online mode.
The App will also allow the officials to record time-
stamped and geotagged photographs for all the
schemes launched by the Department of Rural
Development. This App will help hassle-free
reporting of field visits with a provision to view
the field visit report by the senior officials through
the rural.nic.in portal.

90
4.1.10 Transparency

Social Audit

As per the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Audit of Schemes Rules,
2011, Section 3 (1), the State Government shall
facilitate the conduct of Social Audits of the works
taken up under the Act in every Gram Panchayat
at least once in six months by the Gram Sabha.
Social Audit is a comprehensive audit done by the
people with the guidance of the Social Audit staff.
Apart from financial aspects, it looks at processes,
social equity and performance. It is an
Information, Education and Communication (IEC)
tool, which enforces transparency and
accountability and promotes the participation of
stakeholders in all stages (planning, design,
implementation and evaluation) of Development
initiatives.

91
Institutional arrangement for Social Audit

As per the guidelines issued by Government

of India, the Social Audit Society of Tamil Nadu
(SASTA) has been constituted under the Tamil
Nadu Societies Act, 1975.
District Resource Persons assisted by Block
Resource Persons are placed in all Districts and
Blocks to facilitate Village Panchayat Resource
Persons (VPRP). VPRPs are selected by Gram
Sabha and randomly allocated Villages where they
facilitate the process of Social Audit by Gram
Sabha.

Impact of Social Audit

The beneficiaries / stake holders themselves

are conducting Social Audits, and the impact of
Social Audits is seen, both among the
beneficiaries and the implementing agencies.
Deliberations that take place during the Special
Gram Sabhas convened to discuss the Social Audit

92
report are akin to public hearings. The process of
Social Audit also helps the workers become aware
of their rights and entitlements. Rectifications of
the findings of the Social Audit take place in the
Special Gram Sabhas. As a result of Social Audits,
the practice of proper maintenance of records at
Village and Block levels are getting better.

Social Audit Activities during 2022-23

Regular Social Audit, 2022-23, for the

Expenditure years of 2020-21 and 2021-22 of
MGNREGS has been completed in 11,905 Village
Panchayats, and the remaining 619 Village
Panchayats will be completed by 08.04.2023.

Social Audit has now been extended to other

Schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awaas
Yojana–Gramin (PMAY-G) and 15th Finance
Commission Funds.

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4.1.11 Ombudsperson
At the district level for the redressal of
grievances and disposal of complaints relating to
MGNREGS the institution of Ombudsperson has
been created. Ombudspersons have been selected
and placed for all 37 districts.

4.1.12 Delay Compensation and

Unemployment Allowance

The MGNREG Act provides for compensation to

workers in case of delayed payment and payment
of unemployment allowance to workers where
work is not provided within 15 days of its
demand. The Government of Tamil Nadu in 2022
notified Delay Compensation rules and
Unemployment Allowance rules.

4.1.13 Labour Budget for 2023-24

The Labour Budget was prepared through a

‘bottom up’ approach by each Village Panchayat.
Cluster-wise analysis was undertaken for the

94
preparation of the Labour Budget and finalisation
for the year 2023-24. It is proposed to get a
Labour Budget of 35 crore person-days for the
year 2023-24 from the Union Government.

4.1.14 Convergence with KAVIADP

The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Department has launched a state flagship
scheme – KAVIADP (Kalaignar All Village
Integrated Agricultural Development
Program) and is being implemented in the same
villages as Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi
Thittam (AGAMT-II), thereby ensuring
geographical convergence. Both the schemes are
jointly implemented in 2,657 Village Panchayats
during 2021-22 and in 2,544 Village Panchayats
during 2022-23. The components of AGAMT-II
pertaining to the rejuvenation of water bodies,
marketing and livelihood support, and common
infrastructural facilities directly converge with the
objectives and outcomes of KAVIADP.

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Similarly, a substantial portion of KAVIADP has
been planned in convergence with components of
MGNREGS, particularly with respect to water
conservation works such as construction of check
dams (CC/Gabion), farm ponds, trenches, sunken
ponds, recharge shaft arrangements etc.,
In addition, soil conservation works such as the
construction of earthen bunds, stone bunds and
other land development activities are undertaken
for agriculture farmers. Similarly, the Department
has established dedicated horticulture
nurseries (1,500) and moringa nurseries (3,500)
to support plantations in the farms of small and
marginal farmers.
Thus, both KAVIADP and AGAMT-II are
converged both geographically and
Programatically to achieve the objectives of
Natural resource management and water
conservation for the benefit of farmers.
Special thrust under MGNREGS will be given for
convergent components in KAVIADP villages.

96
Such a holistic approach to rural development will
ensure substantial improvement in Quality of Life
indices on a saturation mode in rural areas.

4.1.15 Convergence with Tamil Nadu State

Rural Livelihood Mission

To improve the livelihood of SHG women,

Panchayat Level Federations will be designated
as the Project Implementation Agency (PIA).
During 2022-23, 388 block nurseries,
3,500 Moringa nurseries and 1,500 horticulture
nurseries were established with Panchayat Level
Federation (PLF) as PIA.

4.1.16 Efforts taken to increase Person days

Generation

A. Cluster Increase
The concept of clusters is adopted to provide
work to more people within a radius of 2 km from
the residence of the worker. In order to provide
100 days of employment to all households,

97
District Collectors are empowered to create
additional clusters as per requirement of each
Village Panchayat. The number of clusters has
increased from 23,849 to 27,261, with an addition
of 3,412 new clusters.

B. Workmate
Under MGNREGS, workmates have to be
engaged in all work sites for the supervision of
the workers in the work site for a period
of 100 days. The Workmate should be one among
the workers who is able to take attendance and
give simple instructions. Now, they are strictly
replaced on completion of that work or 100 days,
whichever is earlier.

C. Deployment of Employment Guarantee

Scheme Work Coordinator.

To implement MGNREGS more effectively,

erstwhile Makkal Nala Paniyalargal or their legal
heirs, who are willing to work are deployed as

98
Employment Guarantee Scheme Work Coordinator
with the monthly honorarium of Rs.7500 (i.e.)
Rs.5000/- from the administrative cost of the
scheme and Rs.2500/- from Panchayat funds.

4.2 Housing for All - Pradhan Mantri Awaas

Yojana – Gramin

4.2.1 Introduction

The Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana–Gramin

(PMAY-G) is a Union Government Sponsored
Scheme which is being implemented from the
year 2016-17 replacing the erstwhile Indira
Awaas Yojana to address the gaps in the Rural
Housing programme. The fund-sharing ratio
between Union and State governments under this
scheme is 60:40 as per the guidelines issued by
the Union Government, whereas, in Tamil Nadu,
this ratio is 38:62 i.e., the state provides 62 % of
the funds for the house constructed under the
Housing for All – PMAY-G.

99
4.2.2 Objective
The objective of the scheme is to provide
permanent houses with basic amenities to all poor
houseless households and households living in
huts and dilapidated houses in rural areas to
achieve “Housing for All” by 2022. The Union
Government has currently extended the
programme till 2024.

4.2.3 State Support to Housing

In Tamil Nadu, the unit cost of a house is
Rs.2.77 lakh under PMAY-G, which is inclusive of
State support cost for RCC roofing, convergence
with MGNREGS and SBM (G) as detailed below:
TABLE 4.1
Fund given to a house in Tamil Nadu
Union State
Total
Details Share Share
(in Rs.)
(in Rs.) (in Rs.)
Unit cost 72,000 48,000 1,20,000
State additional
funds for RCC - 1,20,000 1,20,000
Roofing

100
 Union State
Total
Details Share Share
(in Rs.)
(in Rs.) (in Rs.)
Construction of
Individual
7,200 4,800 12,000
Household
Latrine
90 Man Days
under 25,290 - 25,290
MGNREGS

Total 1,04,490 1,72,800 2,77,290

4.2.4 Key Features

 Minimum unit (house) size is 25 sq.m. (269

Sq.ft.), including a dedicated area for
hygienic cooking.
 Out of the total target, 60% is earmarked
for SC/ST, 40% for others (including 15%
for minorities subject to the availability of
eligible households). In all categories, 5% of
allocation is made for Differently abled
persons.

101
 Socio-Economic Caste Census-2011 (SECC-
2011) database was used to identify the
beneficiaries through the Grama Sabha by
arriving at a permanent waitlist (PWL) using
exclusion and inclusion criteria mentioned in
Framework for Implementation of PMAY-G
up to 2019-20.
 For the year 2021-22, sanction of houses is
being made from the “Awaas plus”
database.
 Payment to the beneficiaries is being made
directly to their bank account.

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 TABLE 4.2
Number of Houses constructed under PMAY-G

Completed
% of
During
Sanctio Completion
Year Target Up to 01.04.22 Pending
against
ned Total
31.03.22 - sanction
24.03.23

2016-17 176338 176338 145065 6195 151260 25078 85.78

2017-18 130214 130214 100268 6745 107013 23201 82.18

2018-19 21000 21000 13927 1902 15829 5171 75.38

Sub Total 327552 327552 259260 14842 274102 53450 83.68

2019-20 200000 187183 76352 32275 108627 78556 58.03

2021-22 289887 265409 31 117470 117501 147908 44.27

Sub Total 489887 452592 76383 149745 226128 226464 49.96

Grand
817439 780144 335643 164587 500230 279914 64.12
Total

The remaining houses are in various stages of

construction and it is planned to complete all the
pending houses by 31.12.2023.

103
4.2.5 Receipt of funds (2022-23)

A sum of Rs.2492.90 crore has been

released till date under PMAY-G during the
financial year. Out of the funds released,
expenditure to the tune of Rs.2430.89 crore has
been incurred under the programme fund
of PMAY-G. Further, a proposal has been sent to
the Union Government requesting further release
of Rs.667.46 crore.

4.2.6 Efforts taken in 2022-23 for

expediting construction of houses

The following efforts have been taken

to expedite the construction of houses
under PMAY-G.
i. One technical person for every 200 pending
houses has been engaged for the speedy
completion of the houses.

104
ii. Formation of State Level Task Force with
the Officials of the Revenue Department and
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
Department as Members. Out of
the 98,923 landless households,
14,235 were provided with house sites.
iii. To redress various genuine grievances of
the poor beneficiaries across the State
under PMAY-G, a Call Centre has also been
established in the Directorate. Grievances
received from the Public are being
forwarded to the concerned officials for
taking immediate action.
iv. A Mobile App has been developed to closely
monitor the construction of PMAY-G houses
in the field.
v. 13550 motivators have been engaged to
monitor the daily progress at the doorstep
of the beneficiaries in the App.
vi. To monitor the expenditure and also to
ensure the timely release of RCC roofing

105
 costs to the beneficiaries, action is being
taken to open a separate State Nodal
Account.
4.2.7 Alternative Technologies in House
Construction
For economical and speedy construction of
houses, various new / alternative technology
initiatives such as Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
panels, interlocking bricks, Autoclaved Aerated
Concrete (AAC) blocks / panels, fly ash bricks, rat
trap bond with filler slab technology etc., are
being followed by the Department for construction
of houses.

4.3 Jal Jeevan Mission

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was launched

during the year 2019-20 for providing water
supply to every rural household in adequate
quantity (55 LPCD) and prescribed quality on a
regular basis, through a Functional Household Tap
Connection (FHTC). Community participation in

106
planning, monitoring of water supply,
ensuring sustainability of sources through
source-strengthening, water recharge and re-use
are the other main objectives of the scheme.

4.3.1 Community Contribution towards

Capital cost
JJM guidelines specifies collection of
community contribution from the rural households
to the extent of 5 percent of the capital cost in
cash/kind/labour in villages having 50% SC
and/or ST population, hilly and forested areas,
and 10 percent of the capital cost in other village
Panchayats for in-village piped water supply
infrastructure works including source
development.

4.3.2 Components of Jal Jeevan Mission

i. Development of in-village piped water
supply infrastructure to provide water
supply through tap connections to every
household.

107
ii. Development of reliable drinking water
sources and/or augmentation of existing
sources to ensure long-term sustainability of
water supply system.
iii. In water-stressed areas, bulk water transfer
systems like CWSS (Combined Water
Supply Schemes), treatment plants, and
distribution networks to cater to every rural
household.
iv. Retrofitting of completed and ongoing Single
Village / Multi Village schemes (Combined
Water Supply Schemes).

4.3.3 Funding Pattern:

The fund sharing pattern for implementation

of works under Jal Jeevan Mission is shared by the
Union Government (50%) and the State
Government (50%). However, for support
activities and water quality monitoring and
surveillance, the sharing pattern is 60:40 in
respect of Union and State Governments.

108
4.3.4 Implementation Mechanism

The State Nodal Department for the

implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in
Tamil Nadu is Municipal Administration and Water
Supply Department. The Managing Director,
Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board is
the Mission Director for Jal Jeevan Mission in
Tamil Nadu.

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj

Department undertakes the design, estimate
preparation, and implementation of Single Village
Schemes provided the source is within the
concerned Village Panchayat and for the In-Village
infrastructure of Multi Village Schemes (MVS)
undertaken by TWAD Board.

TWAD Board implements Multi Village

Schemes (MVS), to provide water supply to
more than one Village Panchayat.

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4.3.5 The other Salient features of the
scheme are:
● Third party verification and quality check.
● Functionality Assessment based on the
Quality, Quantity, and Regularity of the
water supplied.
● Integrated Management Information
System (IMIS) to monitor the
implementation, operation, and functionality
of water supply schemes.
● Water Quality is ensured through tests
conducted using Field-Test Kits by trained
Self-Help Group women.

4.3.6 Operation & Maintenance

The Village Panchayat will be responsible for the

Operation and Maintenance of the Water Supply.

i. Minimum User Charge of Rs.30/- is being

collected.

110
 ii. The Bulk water transfer charges to the
TWAD Board has to be paid by the Village
Panchayats at the tariff rate fixed by the
Government.
iii. Water Supply Works under Jal Jeevan
Mission are monitored by Village Water
Supply and Sanitation Committee–(VWSC)
and Village Panchayat.

4.3.7 Convergence from 15th UFC and other

Funds

The water supply infrastructure in the

Village Panchayats are developed through
convergence of funds under various schemes viz.,
the 15th Union Finance Commission tied
Grant (30%), State Finance Commission Grant,
District Mineral Fund and other scheme funds
apart from JJM.

111
 TABLE 4.3
Details of Drinking Water Supply works taken up
during the year 2021-22 & 2022-23
Works Taken up Works Completed
S. Scheme Amount
No. No. of Amount No. of
Works (Rs. in Cr) Works (Rs. in Cr)
1. Jal Jeevan 18510 2558.59 15427 1595.42
Mission
2. MLACDS 1930 104.01 972 45.90
3. MPLADS 115 8.03 34 1.49
4. CFC (30%- 47878 2311.94 31507 1347.51
Tied)
5. Namakku
Naame 146 11.30 70 4.71
Thittam (NNT)
6. State Finance
Commission 23382 695.06 10518 254.84
Grant
Total 91961 5688.93 58528 3249.87

In Tamil Nadu out of 1,25,51,754 rural

households, 78,92,962 households have been
provided with Functional Household Tap
Connections. So far, 31,832 habitations (40% of
79,395 habitations) have been provided

112
100% Functional Household Tap Connections.
During the year 2023-2024, it is planned to
provide 24.3 lakh Functional Household Tap
Connections with an estimated amount
of Rs.3,037 crore.

4.3.8 Pilot for Monitoring water supply

distribution system
Automatic sensor-based monitoring &
control system improves the efficient usage of
electricity in public water supply systems.
This prevents unwarranted wastage of water due
to controlled usage of the motor.
The sensor-based automatic monitoring systems
are installed in the following Panchayats on a
pilot basis:
S.
District Panchayat
No.
1. Chengalpattu Mambakkam
Marudur
2. Kanchipuram
Melkathirpur

113
 Alinjivakkam
3. Tiruvallur
Malliankuppam
4. Erode Kathiramppati
5. Coimbatore Arasur

In a phased manner, this automatic

monitoring system for water supply will be
extended to all Panchayats.
4.3.9 Water Quality Monitoring

JJM has trained 62,625 women from

SHGs to use field test kits to
test 13 basic water quality parameters i.e.,
pH Value, Total Dissolved Solids, Turbidity,
Chloride, Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness,
Sulphate, Iron, Total Arsenic, Fluoride, Nitrate,
Total coli-form Bacteria, E-coli or thermos tolerant
coli-form bacteria.
Tamil Nadu was honoured by the Hon’ble
President of India for the exemplary performance
in the functionality of water supply during the

114
celebration of Swachh Bharat Diwas on
2nd October 2022 at New Delhi.

4.4 Member of Parliament Local Area

Development Scheme (MPLADS)

In 1993, the Union Government launched

the Member of Parliament Local Area
Development Scheme (MPLADS).
The scheme’s objective is to enable
Members of Parliament to recommend works of
developmental nature with an emphasis on
creating durable community assets based on the
felt needs of the people in their constituencies.
The annual allocation under this scheme
is Rs.5 crore per constituency. The Union
Government, for 2022-23 has allocated Rs.5 crore
per constituency.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
Department is the nodal department for
implementing this scheme. The District Collectors

115
accord administrative sanction for the works
proposed by the MPs. The guidelines contain
‘permissible works’ and a ‘negative list of works’
not permitted under the scheme.
In 2021-22, 1,269 works and during
2022-23, 1,139 works have been taken up, and
the works are in progress.

4.5 Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)

The Union Government launched Saansad

Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) in 2014.
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana aims at holistic
development through the convergence of various
schemes at the village panchayat. Each Member
of Parliament should identify one village
panchayat with a population of 3000-5000 in plain
areas and 1000-3000 in hilly / tribal and difficult
areas. Village Panchayat is the Basic unit for the
implementation of this scheme.
The Member of Parliament is to identify a
suitable village panchayat as a model village

116
panchayat (Adarsh Gram) other than their or the
spouse’s village. The Lok Sabha MP has to choose
a village panchayat from within their
constituency, and Rajya Sabha MP has to choose
a village panchayat from the rural area of a
district of their choice from which they are
elected. Nominated MPs may select a village
panchayat from the rural area of any district in
the country. In the case of urban constituencies
(where there are no village panchayats), the
Member of Parliament will identify a village
panchayat from a nearby rural constituency.
Thus, five such model village panchayats (one per
year) will be selected and developed by 2024.

The village panchayats identified under

SAGY will be developed by converging
and implementing existing Government
schemes (Union and State) in a saturation mode.

117
4.6 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMGSY)
4.6.1 PMGSY III
PMGSY I and II have been completed by the
State, and PMGSY III (2019-25) is under
implementation. The objective of PMGSY III is to
upgrade existing ‘Through-routes’ and Major Rural
Links that connect habitations to Gramin
agricultural markets (GraMs), High / Higher
Secondary Schools and Hospitals. An overall
target of 7,375 Km length of roads was allocated.
From 2019-20 to 2022-23, 1,154 roads to
a length of 4,449 km and 55 bridges have
been sanctioned for the state at the
cost of Rs.2,883 crore.
Tamil Nadu will submit proposals for the
upgradation of 2,926 Km length of roads to the
Union Government shortly. PMGSY was initially
implemented with 100% funding from the Union
Government, from 2015 the funding pattern was

118
revised to 60:40 between Union and
State Governments.

4.6.2 Maintenance
The routine maintenance of PMGSY roads is
being monitored through eMARG (Electronic
Maintenance of Rural Roads under PMGSY).
An amount of Rs.41.46 crore for the year 2021-22
and Rs.52.68 crore for the year 2022-23 was
allocated by the State Government towards
routine maintenance.

4.6.3 Quality Control Mechanism

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
Department has a separate Quality Control wing
headed by Superintending Engineer (QC) at State
level. The National Quality Monitors (NQMs)
deputed by the Government of India and State
Quality Monitors (SQMs) are carrying out Quality
tests of works periodically at all stages of
execution. To improve the skills of field engineers

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in the Department, various capacity building and
quality control training have been imparted
through reputed training institute at national level
and state level.

There are 30 State Quality Monitors (Roads)

and 15 State Quality Monitors (Schemes) for
quality monitoring of roads and scheme works.

4.6.4 Quality Control Labs

District-level quality control laboratories

have been established in all districts by the
Department to conduct required quality
control tests. Further, the Department has
established seven mobile Quality Control
laboratories to enable real-time onsite Quality
control tests of various works. In addition, basic
Quality control equipment is available in the
vehicles of Department Officials to test the quality
of work during their field inspection. The Quality
Control Registers are being maintained for all the

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works. Payment for all works is made only upon
satisfactory Quality Control results after
verification of the Quality Monitors / Executive
Engineers / Assistant Executive Engineers
concerned.

4.7 Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)-

SBM(G)

Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched

in 2014, with a focus on behavioural change
among the people to end open defecation and
efforts were accelerated to achieve Universal
Sanitation Coverage by 2019. The SBM has
two phases - SBM Phase-I (2014-2019) focused
on constructing individual household latrines
and community sanitary complexes,
while SBM Phase-II (2020-21 to 2024-25) aims to
sustain and improve the gains of Phase-I.
Tamil Nadu achieved ODF (open defecation-free)
status in 2019. The key objective of

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SBM(G) Phase II is to sustain the ODF status of
villages and improve the cleanliness levels in rural
areas through solid and liquid waste management
activities, making villages ‘ODF Plus’ by ensuring
sustainability.
Villages should have ODF sustainability,
solid and liquid waste management and visual
cleanliness to achieve Model status. As per the
SBM (G) Operational Guidelines for Phase II, all
the program components, except for the IHHL
component, are implemented in convergence with
the 15th Finance Commission grant and the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

4.7.1 Village Sanitation Saturation Plans

(VSSP)

Tamil Nadu has made considerable strides

in rural sanitation in terms of access, and usage
of improved sanitation facilities in households and

122
Institutions. To consolidate these gains, assess
gaps and bridge them and improve the status of
Panchayats from ODF + Aspiring Category to
‘Model’ category, a comprehensive and holistic
assessment of the existing sanitation facilities and
the requirements at the household level and
community level for each panchayat had to be
taken up.
The state embarked on the preparation of
the ‘The Village Sanitation Saturation Plan’ with
the involvement of the Local Body
representatives, and people, who took up
street-wise transect walks to understand the
existing infrastructure and evaluate any further
requirements, with greater focus on solid and
grey water management. Upon finalisation of
the VSSP, based on the needs identified, funds
are allocated from SBM(G) components and from
other schemes like MGNREGS and 15 CFC.
The aim is to reinforce a bottom-up approach, and
needs-based planning to enable the effective and

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sustainable achievement of access to sanitation,
solid and greywater management to create a
clean and green state.

4.7.2 Individual Household Latrines

The Mission aims to ensure that all rural

families have access to safe toilets. A duly
completed IHHL shall consist of a sanitary
substructure, a superstructure and a water
storage facility to ensure that proper hygiene is
maintained. Identified eligible households are
provided with an incentive amount of Rs.12,000
for the construction of IHHL. During the year
2022-23, a total of 19,156 IHHLs were
constructed at Rs.22.99 crore.

4.7.3 Community Sanitary Complexes (CSC)

An ODF Plus village is expected to have at
least one community sanitary complex, which
may cater to the sanitation needs of the floating
population. The CSCs have a separate facility for

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men and women and consist of an appropriate
number of toilet seats, including one for the
physically challenged, bathing cubicles, wash
basins, etc. It should be set up in a place in the
village that is acceptable and accessible to all.
During the year 2022-23, a total of 491 CSCs
were constructed at Rs.31.53 crore.

4.7.4 Solid and Liquid Waste Management

Solid and Liquid Waste Management are one

of the key components of SBM (G).
Under SBM (G) Phase-II, the total assistance for
SLWM projects in the Village Panchayat is worked
out on a per capita basis. Also, the works are
taken up in convergence with the 15th Finance
Commission Grants and Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
(a) Solid Waste Management
Solid waste management facilities have
already been established in all the panchayats in
Tamil Nadu. 66,130 ThooimaiKavalars across all

125
village panchayats do the door-to-door collection
of garbage. One ThooimaiKavalar is responsible
for 150 households. ‘Waste Audit’ was conducted
in all panchayats, and the types of solid waste
generated in the respective panchayats are
analysed. Overall, more than 70% of the waste
generated is bio-degradable.
Awareness is being given to the public to
segregate the waste at the source so that the
waste can be easily converted into compost. In
order to effectively manage the solid waste
generated in the peri-urban / bigger panchayats,
287 micro-composting centres are already
established and are functional.
(b) Plastic Waste Management
Under SBM (G) Phase-II, Rs.16.00 lakh is
provided to set up block-level plastic waste
management units (PWMUs). The plastic waste
processed from these units run by SHGs will be
used for laying BT roads by mixing the plastic in
bitumen. SHG-run units will also be facilitated to

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undertake value-added products using plastic
waste like paver blocks, and park benches. To
encourage households to segregate recyclable
plastic at source, a ‘Direct Plastic Buyback Policy’
has been proposed, and such centres will be
established in village panchayats. In the last two
years, a total of 98 PWMUs were set up at the
cost of Rs.7.20 crore.
(c) Grey Water Management
A total of 776 village panchayats have been
selected for creating ‘Models’ at the rate of two
village panchayats per block. In order to saturate
the village panchayats under Grey Water
Management, detailed plans have been made in
the VSSPs. To prevent the stagnation of
wastewater in roads/streets and public places and
to ensure efficient handling of wastewater,
community soak pits and horizontal/vertical filters
are constructed under SBM (G) phase-II in
convergence with the 15th Finance Commission
Grant.

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(d) Faecal Sludge Management
Cluster mapping was conducted for all panchayats
and ULBs for decanting of the faecal sludge from
rural areas in existing and proposed sewage
treatment Plant (STP) and Faecal Sludge
Treatment Plant (FSTP) facilities in Urban areas.
9,344 panchayats will be clustered in four phases,
with the nearest treatment facility on a
cost-sharing basis. Where clustering is not
feasible with Urban areas, faecal sludge treatment
plants will be constructed under SBM(G) after
mapping the left out Village Panchayats.

4.7.5 IEC Campaigns

Approximately 12,000 motivators selected
from SHGs/PLFs are trained to do effective
interpersonal communication (IPC) at the
grassroots to promote behaviour change towards
better sanitation practices.

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4.7.6 Namma Ooru Superu Campaign

The 'Namma Ooru Superu' campaign was

conducted from August 15th to October 2nd 2022,
across all village panchayats. The primary aim
was to create a people’s movement for creating
clean and green villages with specific focus on
sanitation and liquid waste management through
behaviour change among people.
During the campaign period, around
47,339 garbage hotspots, 16,829 public places,
21,775 schools, 22,695 anganwadis,
45,824 Government buildings/institutions,
47,949 water bodies, 10,011 community sanitary
complexes and 1569.35 km of drain were
cleaned. Motivators and SHG/PLF members
undertook awareness activities in 13,659 schools
and 343 colleges. Four lakh trees were
also planted. The campaign will be organised
every six months to sustain the behaviour and
ensure cleanliness.

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4.7.7 GOBARdhan

GOBARdhan aims to improve rural

sanitation by transforming agro-waste into a
valuable resource, converting animal waste,
kitchen leftovers, crop residue, and market waste
into biogas and bio-slurry. Under SBM (G) Phase-
II, the project is eligible for a one-time grant of
up to Rs.50.00 Lakh per district for the entire
project period. There are currently 16 operational
Gobardhan plants in 5 districts of Tamil Nadu,
with plans to establish them in all rural districts of
the state during the project period.

4.7.8 Convergence with Other Schemes

Infrastructure facilities for sanitation and

Solid waste management has to be created by
converging the funds under SBM (G) with various
schemes such as 15th CFC, MGNREGS, AGAMT-II,
MLACDS, NNT, MPLADS, etc.,

130
● Biogas Programme: This scheme under
Ministry of Non-conventional Energy funds the
setting up of small and medium biogas plants
ranging from 1 m3 to 2500 m3 biogas
generation per day for individual users,
farmers, poultry farms, goshalas,
slaughterhouses, diaries / co-operatives /
industries / organisations and others.
Beneficiaries are given subsidies based on
claims.
● AGAMT-II Rural Sanitation: 10% of the total
fund is allocated to the Clean and Green Village
Component, which includes drain network and
soak pits.
● MGNREGS: Construction of various sanitation
facilities, such as individual and community
soak pits, horizontal/vertical filters, etc., are
taken up under MGNREGS.
● 15th Union Finance Commission: As per the
guidelines issued by the Department of
Drinking Water and Sanitation, GoI, any SBM
(G) works related to SWM and LWM may be
taken up only in convergence with 30% of
15th UFC funds.

131
4.8 Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban
Mission (SPMRM)
The Union Government launched Shyama
Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) with the
aim to develop clusters of villages with facilities
perceived to be essentially urban in nature, thus
creating ‘Rurban Villages’.
The Union Government has allocated 11
non–tribal clusters to Tamil Nadu in a phased
manner from the year 2016-17 onwards. The five
phase-I (2016-17) clusters are Tirunelveli –
Suthamalli, Coimbatore - Madukkarai, Sivagangai
- Vaniyankudi, Tiruppur - Velayuthampalayam,
Tiruvallur – Kuthambakkam. The three phase-II
(2017-18) clusters are Chengalpattu -
Singaperumalkovil, Madurai – Kovilpappakudi,
and Thanjavur – Thirumalaisamudram. And the
three phase-III (2018-19) clusters are
Kanyakumari - Chadayamangalam, Theni –
Seelayampatti, and Krishnagiri – Alasapalli
Batravapalli. Under the Critical Gap Fund (CGF),

132
out of 976 works taken up, 847 works were
completed, and the remaining 129 works are in
progress. Out of the financial allocation of
Rs.330.00 crore, a sum of Rs.311.32 crore was
released, and Rs.270.70 crore was expended.
143 assets created have been brought under
livelihood activities.
All the pending works will be completed this
year and assets handed over to Local bodies and
Panchayat Level Federations.
4.9 Infrastructure Schemes of other
Departments

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana

(PMAGY)

The objective of this Scheme is to ensure

integrated development of the selected villages
with more than 40% SC population. The Union
Government has identified 473 villages under
PMAGY Phase II in Tamil Nadu for the
years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The amount

133
allocated for gap filling in these villages is
Rs.20 lakh per village. The Adi-Dravidar and
Tribal Welfare Department is the nodal
department for the scheme and the
implementation is being done by the RD & PR
department. Basic amenities like water supply,
streetlights, toilets, link roads, drainage and other
infrastructure facilities are created under this
scheme. During the years 2018-19 & 2019-20,
a total number of 1,993 works were taken up at
the cost of Rs.94.20 crore.
For the year 2021-22, the Union Government
has identified 1,342 Villages in 22 Districts.
Similarly, for the year 2022-23, the Union
Government has selected a list of 1,123
Villages in 36 Districts. The State Government
provides 3 to 4 times value of funding through
convergence from other State
Government Schemes.

134
5. Establishment of
Department of Rural
Development and
Panchayat Raj

135
136
5.1 Establishment

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj

Department is a vital Department through which
works relating to the provision of basic amenities,
creation of rural infrastructure, sanitation,
housing, livelihood in rural areas, and local
governance and development works through state
and central schemes are executed in rural areas.
There are 65 Gazetted Officers,
27 Engineers / Technical Officers and
251 Non-Gazetted Officials at the State Level and
1580 Gazetted Officers, 5,290 Engineers /
Technical Officers and 98,326 Non-Gazetted
Officials at the District / Other Offices.

5.2 Gazetted Establishment

State and District level officer posts are
created in this Department to plan, execute and
monitor the works related to the department.

137
 TABLE 5.1
Category-wise Staff Strength
Government Officials – Gazetted
Establishment
Sanctioned Strength
Sl. District/
Name of the Post
No. Directorate Other Total
Offices
1. Additional Director 8 15 23
2. Joint Director 2 95 97
3. Assistant Director 10 398 408
4. Block Development
45 1072 1117
Officer
Total 65 1580 1645

● In the cadre of Additional Director, 6 officers

are working in other departments on
deputation.
● In the cadre of Joint Director, 6 officers are
working in other Departments on deputation.

138
5.3 Engineering Establishment

The engineering wing of this Department,

consisting of technical officers, is entrusted with
the duties and responsibilities of executing the
works relating to the construction and
maintenance of infrastructure, basic amenities
and implementation of schemes of Union and
State Governments in rural areas.
TABLE 5.2
Category-wise Technical Staff Strength
Sanctioned Strength
Sl. District
Name of the Post
No. Directorate / Other Total
Offices
1. Chief Engineer 2 - 2
2. Superintending 3 - 3
Engineer
3. Executive Engineer 2 43 45
4. Assistant 4 193 197
Executive Engineer
5. Assistant Engineer 13 932 945

139
 6. Senior Draughting - 37 37
Officer
7. Junior Engineer - 315 315
8. Overseer / Junior 3 2619 2622
Draughting Officer
9. Road Inspector - 1151 1151
Total 27 5290 5317

● There are 45 Executive Engineers working in

this Department, and among them,
4 Executive Engineers are on deputation to
other Departments.
● Out of 197 Assistant Executive Engineers
working in this Department, 11 of them are on
deputation to other Departments.
● There are 945 Assistant Engineers, 315 Junior
Engineers, 37 Senior Draughting Officers,
2,622 Overseers / Junior Draughting Officers
and 1,151 Road Inspectors working in this
Department. Out of 945 Assistant Engineers
working in this Department, 17 of them are on
deputation to other Departments.

140
Deputation of Senior Officers to other
Departments
The Senior Officers of this department in the
cadre of Additional Director, Joint Director,
Executive Engineer, Assistant Director and
Assistant Executive Engineer have also been
deputed to other Departments / Agencies such as
the Special Programme Implementation
Department, Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat
Development Board (TNUHDB), Tamil Nadu
Adi-Dravidar Housing and Development
Corporation Limited (TAHDCO), Chennai
Metropolitan Development Agency (CMDA), State
Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu
(SIPCOT), National Health Mission (NHM),
National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency
(NRIDA), Tamil Nadu Fibernet Corporation Limited
(TANFINET), Tamil Virtual Academy (TVA) etc.
The exposure to schemes and experience gained
by the officers in other departments offers them

141
an opportunity to learn from other departments
and develop their professional skills.

5.4 Non-Gazetted Establishment

The Non-Gazetted Establishment Unit deals

with officials covered under various Service Rules,
i.e., Basic Service, both Government and
Panchayat Union, Tamil Nadu Ministerial Service
and General Subordinate Service and
Village Panchayat Establishment matters.
All Non-Gazetted Establishment service matters
are looked after in this unit.

Under Non-Gazetted Establishment,

251 staff at state level and 98,326 staff are
working at district level and other offices.

142
 The sanctioned strength in each category of
staff under Non-Gazetted Establishment is
furnished below:
TABLE 5.3

Details of the Employees under Non-Gazetted

Establishment
Sl. Designation of the Sanctioned Strength
No Post Directorate District /
Other
Office
Government Employees
i) Deputy Block 47 3936
Development Officer
ii) Assistant 49 5642
iii) Junior Assistant 38 3171
iv) Steno Typist 17 185
v) Typist 26 1054
vi) Driver 11 934
vii) Record Clerk 7 149
viii) Office Assistant 54 670
ix) Night Watchman 2 135
x) Masalji 0 14

Total 251 15890

143
Sl. Designation of Sanctioned
No the Post Strength
Category of Local body Employees

a) Panchayat Union Employees

i) Driver 776
ii) Record Clerk 390
iii) Office Assistant 1533
iv) Night Watchman 380
v) Masalji 9

Total 3088

b) Village Panchayat Employees

i) Panchayat Secretary 12525
ii) Thooimai Paniyalar 26404
iii) OHT Operator 40419

Total 79348

144
Post-sanctioned to the Newly Constituted
District Panchayat Offices
The following posts are sanctioned to
District Panchayat Offices for the newly created
districts viz, Chengalpattu, Kallakurichi,
Tirupathur, Ranipet and Tenkasi Districts.
TABLE 5.4

Sl. Designation of the Posts No. of

No. sanctioned
Posts
1. District Panchayat Secretary 5
(Assistant Director)
2. Assistant 5
3. Junior Assistant 5
4. Driver 5
5. Office Assistant 5
Total 25

145
146
6.Training and Capacity
Building

147
148
6.1 Capacity Building

Capacity building and training programmes

are critical to improve the capability, capacity,
productivity, performance and effectiveness of
officials, staff and rural local body representatives
entrusted with the responsibility of implementing
Government schemes. The training programmes
not only enhance skills and competencies but also
contribute to a better attitude and behavioural
change. The following three categories of training
institutes are functioning in Tamil Nadu.

TABLE 6.1

Sl. Name of Districts

Name of the Institution
No. Covered
1 State Institute of Rural All Districts
Development and Panchayat
Raj

149
2 Regional Institute of Rural Development
and Panchayat Raj
Name of the Name Year of Name of
Institution of the Establish Districts
Headquarter ment Covered
District
S.V.Nagarm Tiruvannamalai 1956 Chengalpattu,
Cuddalore,
Kallakurichi,
Kancheepuram,
Tiruvallur,
Tiruvannamalai,
Villupuram
(7 districts)

Krishnagiri Krishnagiri 1958 Dharmapuri,

Krishnagiri,
Namakkal,
Ranipet,
Salem,
Tirupattur,
Vellore
(7 districts)

150
Pattukottai Thanjavur 1954 Mayiladuthurai
,
Nagapattinam,
Pudukottai,
Sivagangai,
Thanjavur,
Tiruvarur,
Tiruchirappalli
(7 districts)

Bhavanisagar Erode 1972 Ariyalur,

Coimbatore,
Dindigul,
Erode,
Karur,
The Nilgiris,
Perambalur,
Tiruppur
(8 districts)

151
 T.Kallupatti Madurai 1948 Kanyakumari,
Madurai,
Ramanathapura
m,
Tenkasi,
Theni,
Tirunelveli,
Thoothukudi,
Virudhunagar
(8 districts)
3 District Resource One each at District
Centres for Panchayats headquarters (36 Nos.)
(DRCPs)

6.1.1 State Institute of Rural Development

and Panchayat Raj (SIRD&PR)
State Institute of Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj is the apex institution at the State
level organising training programmes for various
target groups to update their knowledge, upgrade
their skills and change their attitude for successful

152
implementation of the various schemes of the
department effectively and efficiently. It is also
vested with the responsibility of developing course
content and training of trainers (ToTs) for various
courses. SIRD&PR has been registered as a
Society under the Tamil Nadu Societies
Registration Act of 1975. Since 1991, the Institute
has been functioning on a 25 acre campus at
Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai.

6.1.2 Funding Pattern

SIRD&PR receives grants-in–aid to meet the

salary and non-salary expenditure from the
recurring grant of the Union Government and
State Government on a 50:50 basis. It also
receives financial support for conducting training
programmes from schemes like Revamped
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RRGSA), State
Finance Commission (SFC) and Jal Jeevan
Mission (JJM).

153
 The Ministry of Rural Development provides
100% assistance to upgrade the infrastructure
facilities like construction of hostels, training halls
and for the purchase of teaching equipment’s etc.,
every year on need basis.

6.2 Centres in SIRD&PR

The following four Centres have been

established at the State Institute of Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj.

1. Centre for Panchayat Raj / State

Panchayat Resource Centre.
2. Centre for Programme Implementation
and Coordination.
3. Centre for Livelihood, Women
Empowerment and Enterprise
Promotion.
4. Centre for Rural Engineering and
Technology.

154
6.3 Training Methodology

The participants in the training at SIRD&PR

are exposed to various participatory training
methodologies like group discussions, role play,
experience sharing, exposure visits, etc.,
‘Cascading model’ is adopted by creating master
resource persons, who in turn build the capacity
of the stakeholders at Regional, District, Block
and Community levels.

6.4 Training Performance

During 2022-23 SIRD&PR conducted
85 different Training Programmes in which
8,065 participants were trained on campus and
also 85,486 participants were trained through
online mode.
In 2022-23, officials along with elected
representatives, were trained in national level
institutions like the Administrative Staff College of
India (ASCI), Institute of Rural Management,
Anand, Gujarat, etc. Against the target of 1000,

155
so far, 707 officers and Panchayat Raj
representatives have been trained. The remaining
training programme will be completed by
June 2023.

6.5 Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj

Abhiyan (RRGSA)
The Union Government has launched
Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
scheme in the year 2022 to strengthen the
capacities of Panchayat Raj Institutions to become
more responsive towards local development
needs. It also aims to facilitate participatory
planning, leveraging technologies for effectively
utilising available resources and realising
sustainable solutions to local problems which are
linked to Localisation of Sustainable Development
Goals (LSDGs). The Panchayats have therefore
been designated as a key player in the
implementation of the United Nation’s Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved
by 2030.

156
6.5.1 Funding Pattern

Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

is executed with a financial sharing pattern
of 60:40 (Union and State Government) for
training, infrastructure and human resources,
distance learning, innovative activities, technical
support to Panchayat Raj Institutions,
administrative and financial data analysis and
planning cell, e-enablement of panchayats,
project-based support for economic development
and income enhancement, IEC (2%) and
programme management (1.5%).

In 2023-24, RRGSA will focus on the

Localization of Sustainable Development
Goals (LSDGs) by Panchayat Raj
Institutions (PRIs) through convergence of
Government schemes and various activities for
achieving the 9 LSDG themes.

157
6.6 Networking with Training Institutions
Memorandum of Understanding have been
signed with Indian Institute of Technology-
Madras, Gandhi Gram Rural Institute, Institute of
Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat,
Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI),
Hyderabad, Madras School of Social Work,
National Institute of Technical Teachers Training
and Research (NITTTR), Avinashilingam
University, SRMIST University, Bharathiar
University, etc., to undertake joint training
programmes, share resources and resource
persons.
This networking is aimed at bringing in
expertise in the areas such as Faculty
Development, Research, Exposure visit, Skill
Development, Field placements, Publications etc.,
Similarly, the Organizations may benefit through
Internship, Orientation, Training for Students,
Joint Research and Evaluation Projects, Faculty
Support, Documentation of best practices etc.

158
6.7 Regional Institute of Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj

Regional Institutes of Rural Development

and Panchayat Raj is headed by Principals in the
cadre of Additional Director / Joint Director of
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.

6.8 Activities of RIRDs & PR

Based on the course content and modules
developed by SIRD, the RIRDs directly train
various stakeholders like officials and
functionaries of the Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj Department, elected
representatives of Panchayat Raj Institution such
as Ward Members of Block Panchayats, Village
Panchayat Presidents, Panchayat Secretaries and
Government functionaries, Self Help Group
Members, Community Based Organisations, line
Department Officials on various Government
schemes and ongoing programmes. Each Regional
Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj

159
has got capacity to train a minimum of 6,000
Trainees (on campus) and a maximum of
25,000 (including off campus) during a year.
During 2022-23, the five RIRD&PRs
conducted 154 programmes in which 58,584
participants have been trained.

6.8.1 Resources and Funds

State Government is providing Rs.7 crore

every year for the five Regional Institutes of Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj. The Union
Government provides Rs.20 lakh every year to
each RIRD&PR as a recurring grant for the
training programmes. It also provides 100% non-
recurring grants on a need basis to improve the
infrastructure facilities and develop training
equipments. The RIRD&PRs also receive funds
from Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
(RRGSA), State Finance Commission (SFC) and
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) schemes to conduct
trainings.

160
6.9 District Resource Centres for
Panchayats (DRCPs):
District Resource Centres for
Panchayats (DRCPs) have been established under
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan to focus
exclusively on Panchayat Raj training and capacity
building at the District level. It functions under
the administrative control of the District Collector
concerned. They train Village Panchayat Ward
Members, Road Inspectors, Panchayat Secretaries
and Village Panchayat staff including OHT
Operators, Thooimai Paniyalargal, Community
Based Organisations and Village Panchayat level
committees.
During 2022-23, DRCPs have conducted
nine thematic trainings for sub-district level
officers and Panchayat Raj Institution members.
In these 79,368 participants were trained.

161
162
 7. Localisation of
Sustainable
Development Goals
(LSDGs)

163
164
7. Localisation of Sustainable Development
Goals (LSDGs)

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj

Department is a key stakeholder in Tamil Nadu’s
journey towards achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, particularly
in leading the State’s efforts towards enabling
convergence and local action at the Panchayat
level. Localising SDGs is the Government’s most
critical step in ensuring the efficient and
sustainable achievement of the SDGs.
The Panchayat is the common platform where all
the schemes, programs, missions and
interventions converge to achieve Sustainable
Development Goals. Therefore, the Union
Government, Ministry of Panchayati Raj has
converged the SDGs into nine themes relevant at
the Panchayat level.

165
7.1 Poverty-Free and Enhanced Livelihoods
Panchayat

TABLE 7.1

Theme Other Line Schemes Concerned

Departments
Concerned
Poverty-free  Agriculture and  Mahatma Gandhi
and enhanced Farmers’ Welfare National Rural
livelihoods  Health and Family Employment
Panchayat Welfare Guarantee Scheme
 Revenue and (MGNREGS)
Disaster  Anaithu Grama
Management Anna Marumalarchi
 Labour Welfare and Thittam-II (AGAMT
Skill Development II)
 Cooperation, Food  Kalaignarin All
and Consumer Village Integrated
Protection Agriculture
 Welfare of the Development
Differently Abled Programme
 Micro, Small and (KAVIADP)
Medium Enterprises  Tamil Nadu State
(MSME) Rural Livelihoods
 Handlooms, Mission (TNSRLM)
Handicrafts,  Deen Dayal
Textiles and Khadi Upadhyaya
 Adi Dravidar and Grameen
Tribal Welfare Kaushalya Yojana
(DDU-GKY)

166
  Pradhan Mantri
Awaas Yojana
Gramin
(PMAY-G)
 Old Age Pension
(OAP) and other
social security
schemes
 Chief Ministers’
Comprehensive
Health Insurance
Scheme (CMCHIS)
 Public Distribution
System (PDS)
 New Entrepreneur-
cum- Enterprise
Development
Scheme (NEEDS)
 Vaazhnthu
Kaattuvom Project
(VKP)
 Skill Development
Training - MSME,
Agriculture,
Horticulture,
SC/ST, Differently
Abled etc.,

167
 The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
Department has been working towards poverty
reduction, enhancing social protection and
livelihood security through the convergence of
schemes such as MGNREGS, AGAMT-II, KAVIADP,
DDU-GKY, DAY-NRLM and the SHG-Bank Linkage
Programme at the panchayat level. In addition,
social security for the elderly, widows, and
persons with disabilities is ensured through
different schemes and programs of line
departments. Food security is ensured through
the PDS. Further, skill training and development
programs to enhance livelihoods and opportunities
are undertaken by the Tamil Nadu Skill
Development Corporation, Tamil Nadu Adi
Dravidar Housing and Development
Corporation (TAHDCO), etc.,

168
 The Government continues to prioritise
‘Housing for All’ to achieve ‘Hut Free Tamil
Nadu’. As a prelude to this, a ‘Housing for all’
survey is being conducted in all the Panchayats
led by the Panchayat President, Panchayat
officials and representatives of Panchayat level
federation of SHGs to benefit the weaker sections
of the population.

The Department will strengthen the capacity

of the Village Panchayat to prepare a holistic and
comprehensive Village Panchayat Development
Plan (VPDP) and ensure that the Village Poverty
Reduction Plan prepared by Panchayat level
federation captures the most important needs and
requirements of the poor and vulnerable.

169
7.2 Healthy Panchayat

TABLE 7.2

Theme Other Line Schemes Concerned

Departments
Concerned
Healthy  Health and Family  Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
Panchayat Welfare  Swachh Bharat Mission –
Grameen (SBM-G)
 Social Welfare and  AGAMT II
Women  MGNREGS
Empowerment  CMCHIS
 Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam
 Welfare of the (MTM)
Differently Abled
 Dr.Muthulakshmi Reddy
Maternity Benefit Scheme
 Integrated Child
Development Services
(ICDS)
 Poshan Abhiyaan 2.0
 Rashtriya Bal Swaastha
Karyakram (RBSK)
 Pradhan Mantri Matru
Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)
 Ayushman Bharat
 Union Finance Commission
Grants/ State Finance
Commission Grants etc.

The pandemic has reinforced the significant

role panchayats have to play in the delivery of
public health and sanitation. Several innovative

170
schemes to improve the health and well-being of
the population have been formulated keeping
Panchayats in focus as they have the most
important role in addressing the social
determinants of health, such as housing,
sanitation, hygiene, clean air and water.

The Panchayats have to ensure basic

amenities like access to adequate and safe
drinking water for all households through
Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC)
under JJM, improve hygiene and sanitation
practices through behaviour change under SBM-G,
reduce the IMR and MMR ensuring safe
institutional delivery and address the nutritional
challenges of women and pregnant mother and
vector control and other measures to reach their
SDG by 2030.

Under the AGAMT-II scheme, the Panchayats

are prioritising plantation of Moringa and Papaya
saplings in nurseries through SHGs and PLFs

171
which are distributed to households with
malnourished children, adolescent girls and
pregnant and lactating mothers. This activity will
also provide sustainable livelihoods and contribute
to poverty alleviation efforts of the Panchayat.

The Women Health Volunteers (WHVs), over

11,000 SHG members under TNCDW serve as a
critical link between the community and the
health system by carrying out routine screening
for Blood Pressure and Diabetes in households,
facilitating referrals to the Primary Health
Centres (PHCs), and delivering medicines to
people’s doorsteps under MTM.

The Village Health and Sanitation

Committee has to play a lead role in ensuring that
all measures are taken up to ensure all schemes
are implemented properly and benefits reach the
target population and monitor the health status of
the marginalised and Vulnerable to achieve the
status of Healthy Panchayat.

172
7.3 Child-Friendly Panchayat

TABLE 7.3

Theme Other Line Schemes Concerned

Departments
Concerned
Child- ● Health and Family ● MGNREGS
Friendly Welfare ● Child-Friendly
Panchayat ● School Education School
● Social Welfare and Infrastructure
Women Development
Empowerment Scheme (CFSIDS)
● Information ● ICDS
Technology and ● Sarva Shiksha
Digital Services Abhiyan
● Youth Welfare and ● Illam Thedi Kalvi
Sports ● Beti Bachao Beti
Development Padhao
● Khelo India
● Poshan Abhiyaan
2.0
● Breakfast Scheme/
Noon Meal
Programme
● Union Finance
Commission Grants
etc.

Panchayats are the most suited to ensure

the holistic growth and development of the
Children in rural areas. The Panchayats capacity

173
will be built to play a critical role and lead from
the in creating awareness of Infanticide,
Malnutrition, Education, Child labour, Child
marriage etc., and create necessary infrastructure
to provide a safe and nurturing environment at
Anganwadis to children's educational and
nutritional needs.

Panchayat Presidents / Members are

included as part of the School Management
Committee (SMC), which gives them a
responsibility in ensuring the quality in education
through providing a safe learning environment in
schools for the children of their village.

The recent launch of the Chief Minister’s

Breakfast Scheme, in addition to the existing
noon meals scheme, is an important step to
improve attendance and learning outcomes.
The Panchayats are given the responsibility for
repairing of Noon meal centre for CMBFS,
identifying a suitable SHG cook to prepare and

174
serve breakfast and monitor the
day-to-day activities.

Panchayats have to closely monitor the

various infrastructure facilities now being created
in schools under SIDS and CFSIDS which aims at
creating child friendly buildings and BaLA ‘Building
as a Learning Aid’ with visually educative content.
The cleanliness of school premises is also being
ensured by appointing Sanitation workers using
Finance Commission funds.

Maintenance of the rural libraries

constructed under the AGAMT are now being
repaired and renovated in a phased manner.
Panchayats have to play a important role in
ensuring education, knowledge and information
dissemination through Libraries and access to
e-services through the e-sevai maiyams.

As per the State Policy for Children released

in 2021, Bala Sabhas will be created at the

175
panchayat level to discuss children-related issues
and pass resolutions that will be submitted to the
Gram Sabha for appropriate action.

7.4 Water-Sufficient Panchayat

TABLE 7.4

Theme Other Line Schemes

Departments Concerned
Concerned
Water ● Municipal ● JJM
Sufficient Administration ● SBM-G
Panchayat and Water ● KAVIADP
Supply ● MGNREGS
● Pradhan Mantri
● Agriculture and Krishi Sinchayee
Farmers’ Yojana (PMKSY)
Welfare ● Irrigated
Agriculture
● Water Modernization
Resources and Water Bodies
Restoration and
Management
(IAMWARM) etc.

The traditional concept of ‘Kudimaramathu’,

unique to the State, involving the participation of
local people in the maintenance of Water bodies

176
and for ensuring water conservation has to be
revived to attain the goal of water sufficient
Village.
The Jal Shakti Abhiyan - ‘catch the rain
where it falls and when it falls’ has been captured
in essence in Tamil Nadu through various
convergence activities undertaken through
MGNREGS, PMKSY and IAMWARM to protect and
conserve water and water bodies. As an essential
step towards water conservation, all newly
constructed public buildings in the panchayat
include rainwater harvesting structures.
By effective convergence under MGNREGS
and the 15th Union Finance Commission grants
released to the Panchayats, community assets are
developed to support the conservation and
protection of water bodies.
The Village Water & Sanitation
Committees (VWSC), panchayats are vested with
important role of ensuring adequate drinking
water @ 55 lpcd through FHTCs to all rural

177
families by the year 2024 under JJM.
The responsibility of operation and maintenance
of water supply systems and testing the quality of
water delivered through Field-Testing Kits (FTK)
by SHGs is also vested with the Panchayat.

The Panchayats are now preparing the

Village Water Saturation Plans (VWSP) for Water
sufficiency at the Panchayat level.

7.5 Clean and Green Panchayat

TABLE 7.5

Theme Other Line Schemes Concerned

Departments
Concerned
Clean and ● Environment, ● MGNREGS
Green Climate Change & ● AGAMT II
Panchayat Forests ● SBM-G
● Agriculture & ● Namma Ooru
Farmers’ Welfare Superu
● Tamil Nadu Skill ● Meendum
Development Manjappai
Corporation ● Green Tamil Nadu
Mission
● Wetland Mission
etc.

178
The Panchayats are bestowed with responsibility
of sanitation and overall cleanliness in rural areas
under the functions delegated under the
73rd Constitutional Amendment Act.
Through SBM-G panchayats have taken up
various activities for improving sanitation
coverage, ODF Sustainability, Solid Waste
Management, Liquid Waste Management and
Visual Cleanliness.

The Panchayats are continuing their efforts

to promote behavioural change towards
sustainable Sanitation practices and proper SWM
through the “Namma Ooru Superu” campaign.
SWM systems, including compost pits,
micro composting centres, plastic shredding units
and vermicomposting, to enable recycling and
safe disposal of garbage are being established in
all the Panchayats in a phased manner.
Panchayats have taken up ‘Plastic Buyback’

179
initiatives to clear plastic waste and promote
plastic recycling.

To reduce the carbon footprint, the

Panchayats are planting trees on a massive scale.
In the year 2022-23, 69 lakh avenue trees,
fruit-bearing and native tree species have been
planted across all the Village Panchayats under
MGNREGS. These efforts by the Panchayats are
complementing the Green Tamil Nadu Mission,
which targets to take up two crore tree
plantations in this year.

7.6 Self-Sufficient Infrastructure Panchayat

TABLE 7.6

Theme Other Line Schemes

Departments Concerned
Concerned
Self- ● Information ● JJM
Sufficient Technology & ● Augmenting Own
Infrastructure Digital Services Source Revenue
Panchayat ● Agriculture & ● Nammaku Naame
Farmers Welfare Thittam
● Animal Husbandry ● AGAMT II

180
 Dairying, Fisheries ● KAVIADP
& Fishermen ● Mudhalvarin
Welfare Grama Saalaigal
● Public Works Membattu Thittam
● School Education (MGSMT)
● TANGEDCO ● Tamil Nadu Rural
● Municipal Roads
Administration and Improvement
Water Supply Scheme (TNRRIS)
● Youth Welfare & ● PMAY-G
Sports ● Saansad Adarsh
Development Gram Yojana
(SAGY)
● Socio-Economic
Development
Programme
(SEDP)
● Pradhan Mantri
Gram Sadak
Yojana (PMGSY)
● Shyama Prasad
Mukherji Rurban
Mission (SPMRM)
● National Bank for
Agriculture and
Rural
Development -
Rural
Infrastructure
Development Fund
(NABARD-RIDF)
● Union Finance
Commission and
State Finance
Commission
grants etc.

181
 The vision of the 73rd Constitutional
Amendment was to create panchayats which are
self-sufficient and self-reliant through devolution
of funds, functions and functionaries.

Village Panchayat plays a major role in

development of the village from preparation of
plans, pooling resources, prioritising needs and
implementing the schemes of the Government to
bring out the holistic development of the
Panchayat.

At present, the focus is on creation of

infrastructure in the Village Panchayats like
Schools, AWCs, Village Haats, Food Grain
Godowns. Basic amenities like water, street lights,
water supply, sanitation and roads are core
functions of village and block panchayats which
are being implemented through various schemes
such as MGNREGS, MPLADS, MLACDS, SIDS, JJM,
15th Union Finance Commission Grants and State
Finance Commission Grants, ADHIS, PMAGY etc.

182
 Panchayat is the platform for convergence
of all schemes and this can be achieved through
the preparation of a Village Panchayat
development plan which captures the immediate
and long term needs of the panchayat and
prioritises it based on urgency and availability
of funds.

The capacity of the Panchayats will be built

to prepare a comprehensive plan for the village
which not only includes creation of infrastructure
facilities like roads and buildings, but
improvement in agriculture, livelihoods,
education, health, nutrition and overall
development of the village through dovetailing
and convergence of resources available across
schemes.

183
7.7 Socially Just and Socially Secured
Panchayat

TABLE 7.7

Theme Other Line Schemes

Departments Concerned
Concerned
Socially ● Social Welfare & ● MGNREGS
Just and Women ● Periyar Ninaivu
Socially Empowerment Samathuvapuram
Secured ● Welfare of the ● AGAMT-II
Panchayat Differently Abled ● NSAP
● Labour Welfare ● Pudumai Penn
and Skill Thittam
Development ● Dr.Muthulakshmi
● Revenue & Reddy Ammaiyar
Disaster Memorial Inter-
Management Caste Marriage
● Adi Dravidar and Assistance
Tribal Welfare Scheme
● Animal ● Blue Revolution
Husbandry Scheme
Dairying, ● Adi Dravidar
Fisheries & Habitations
Fishermen Improvement
Welfare Scheme (ADHIS)
● Public ● Umbrella schemes
Department for SC, ST, BC,
MBC, Minorities
etc.

184
 The Panchayat is the last tier of governance
that has to deliver not only basic amenities and
services but also ensure social security to the
poor, marginalised, women and vulnerable.
In a horizontally and vertically stratified society
ensuring social justice at the grassroots level can
be done only by the Panchayat.
The Government is fully committed to
promote and nurture social justice, to take forward
Thanthai Periyar’s message of social equality, the
Government launched the scheme “Periyar
Ninaivu Samathuvapuram'' as a part of the
Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Indian Independence
during the year 1997-98. The vision was to enable
people belonging to various communities to live
together without caste or communal differences.
The Department has been building the
capacities of Panchayats headed by vulnerable
sections and women to exercise their
constitutional and statutory rights. Also, it
supports and guides them in discharge of their

185
duties and has put in place a grievance redressal
mechanism at district level.

AGAMT-II scheme has earmarked 30% of

the funds to be utilised for infrastructure creation
in vulnerable Population and similarly under
MLACDS 22% of the funds has to be proposed by
MLAs for works benefitting marginalised sections
of society.

The State Government is also implementing

various State and Union schemes like MGNREGS,
CMCHIS, TNSRLM, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy
Ammaiyar Memorial Inter-Caste Marriage
Assistance Scheme, Pudhumai Penn Thittam,
ADHIS and PMAY-G which as a specific earmarked
share for the marginalised and Vulnerable
communities to ensure social security.

The PMAGY is also being implemented to

ensure the integrated development of selected
villages with more than 50% SC population.

186
7.8 Panchayat with Good Governance

TABLE 7.8

Theme Other Line Schemes

Departments Concerned
Concerned

Panchayat ● Information ● Rashtriya Gram

with Good Technology and Swaraj Abhiyan
Governance Digital Services (RGSA)

● Mudalvarin ● Mudalvarin
Mugavari Mugavari

● DDU-GKY etc.

Through the revamped RGSA scheme

(2022), the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
Department aims to strengthen the capacities of
institutions for rural local governance to become
more responsive towards the people’s felt needs.
The State Institute for Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj (SIRD & PR) offers training and
capacity building to its officials and elected

187
representatives in leadership, governance, and
innovation.

To introduce transparency and promote

accountability, the Department in the year
2022-23 has made all public services, such as
property tax, water charges, professional tax etc.,
online through a single portal developed by the
National Informatics Centre. People at the Village
Panchayat level have also become tech-friendly
through the use of banking correspondents/ATM
for withdrawal of MGNREGS wages as well as
registering their daily attendance through the
National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS).

The Gram Sabha app was recently

developed as an administrative tool to monitor
proper conduct of Grama Sabhas. Further, an
Inspection app has been developed to enable
real-time reporting of field visits with
time-stamped and geo-tagged photographs.

188
This leads to improved monitoring of the
implementation of various schemes.

As a good governance initiative, the

Government has launched Mudalvarin Mugavari,
an inclusive, integrated and convenient platform
for the public to express their grievances.

7.9 Women-Friendly Panchayat

TABLE 7.9

Theme Other Line Schemes Concerned

Departments
Concerned
Women ● Social Welfare ● Mahalir Thittam
Friendly & Women ● Pudhumai Penn
Panchayat Empowerment Thittam
● Girl Child Protection
● Health & Family Scheme
Welfare ● Kaavalan App
● ICDS
● Home, ● Beti Bachao Beti
Prohibition and Padhao, etc.
Excise

A vital step to ensure women’s

representation and participation in Panchayats is
the reservation of 50 per cent of the total number

189
of seats and offices for women as a mandate. The
original mandated percent of 33 % reservation for
women was enhanced to 50 % based on visible
changes and development of Panchayats with
participation of women.

Promoting Village Panchayats that are

women-friendly is a crucial mandate of the
Department as it ensures the equal participation
of women in local governance and
decision-making processes and ensures their
access to the resources and opportunities to build
a more equitable and sustainable future.

The department closely works with Health

and Family Welfare, Social Welfare and Women
Empowerment Department to create awareness
on various social evils and issues which act as
hurdles and affect the health, education, nutrition
and empowerment of women. The capacity and
skills of the women SHGs are improved and

190
micro-enterprises promoted through facilitating
bank credit.
The PRI-CBO linkage component under the
TNSRLM programme focuses on forging effective
partnership to synergise the efforts of the Village
Panchayat and PLFs for development of women.
The Panchayats are closely working with the
Panchayat level federations and SHGs for the
empowerment of rural women and through them
address the other developmental issues in the
Village.

7.10 The Way Forward

In order to familiarise themselves with

LSDGs and channel their efforts towards effective
implementation, the Village Panchayats were
initially presented with the option of selecting up
to three of the nine LSDG themes and achieving
the fulfilment of all respective indicators.
Consequently, all 12,525 village panchayats in the
State have taken up to 3 LSDG themes during the

191
Gram Sabha on 24th April 2022 for their fulfilment
over the next two years, i.e., till 2024. All nine
themes are expected to be taken up by the village
Panchayats in a phased manner during the years
2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.

Enabling local action towards the attainment

of SDGs is undoubtedly the most crucial step
needed to advance the State’s progress in
indicators outlined by the year 2030. The Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj Department is
committed to continuing its various measures
with renewed vigour for strengthening the
capacities of Village Panchayats for taking the
lead in attaining the nine themes of LSDGs in
their Village Panchayats.

The Department will extend the required

support to other Line Departments and facilitate
the process of strengthening the Panchayats to
ensure that all Panchayats in Tamil Nadu reach
SDGs by 2030.

192
8. Budget

193
194
8. Budget Estimate for 2023-2024

A sum of Rs.22,562 crore is provided in the

Budget Estimate for the year 2023-2024.
Out of which, the Revenue Expenditure is
Rs.20,954 crore, and Capital Expenditure is
Rs.1,608 crore.

195
196
9. Conclusion

197
198
9. Conclusion

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj

Department is committed to creating thriving and
self-sufficient rural communities by providing access
to basic amenities such as drinkable water,
sanitation, road connectivity, street lighting, etc.,
while alleviating poverty and promoting sustainable
development for all. The Government aims to
transform panchayats into clean, green, resilient,
liveable, economically vibrant and well-connected
rural hubs that contribute to the State's overall
development.
The panchayats act as a bridge between the
government and the local community, ensuring that
the activities of all government departments
converge at the village level. MGNREGS, along with
KAVIADP, AGAMT, TNSRLM, SBM-G, 15th Union
Finance Commission grants and other department
schemes get converged at the Panchayat level to
achieve synergy and improved outcomes at the
grassroot level. The inter departmental convergence

199
results in efficient service delivery, betterment of
rural livelihoods, better natural resources
management, increasing the green cover and
reducing the carbon footprint.
Localising sustainable development goals at
the panchayat level is critical to achieving the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We have to develop tailored solutions addressing
local challenges and opportunities by focusing on
each village's needs and context. Localising
sustainable development goals at the village level
strengthens local governance and institutions,
fosters social cohesion, and promotes community
resilience. Overall, localising sustainable
development goals is crucial in creating a
sustainable and equitable future for all.
The strategy of the department is to further
empower the village and block panchayat in terms
of implementation of programmes along with the
various e-Governance initiatives and quality control
mechanisms already put in place, that has started

200
yielding results reflected in the implementation of
schemes. The synergy between the elected
representatives of the three-tier panchayat raj
institutions and highly competent department
professionals will ensure that the gains in the recent
past are consolidated and further momentum is
attained in the delivery of schemes and services and
improvement to physical and social infrastructure.
Improving the rural infrastructure is a critical
activity of the department. CFSIDS has plugged an
important gap in school infrastructure in
rural areas. Mudalvarin Grama Salaigal Membattu
Thittam (MGSMT) is a seminal attempt at structural
revamping of rural roads classification and
management. Asset gap survey has provided a tool
for better targeting during micro level planning.
Village Sanitation Saturation and Village Water
Saturation Plan along with Gram Panchayat
Development Plan provides the base for grassroot
planning, which is vital for effective resource
utilisation and service delivery.

201
 The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj
Department, under the dynamic leadership of the
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Thiru. M.K. Stalin is unwavering in its commitment
to carry forward this Unique development model
to enable Tamil Nadu to attain number one status in
all spheres of development in the country.

I.PERIYASAMY
Minister for Rural Development
Government of Tamil Nadu

202
 Inauguration of Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram, Singampunari

The Hon'ble Chief Minister inaugurated the “Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram”

Kottaivengaipatti at Kannamangalapatti Village Panchayat,
Singampunari Block of Sivagangai District on 08.06.2022
Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram, Kozhuvari Panchayat–Vanur Block, Villupuram District
 Inspection of Rural Development works by Hon’ble Minister
for Rural Development

Inauguration of Vannivelanpatti Panchayat Office in

T.Kallupatti Block, Madurai District

Inspection of MGNREGS works in Vizhuppanur Tree Plantation at Vannivelanpatti Panchayat

Panchayat, Srivilliputtur Block, Virudhunagar District Office in T.Kallupatti Block, Madurai District
Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam-II
1.Rejuvenation of Water Bodies
 Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam-II
2. Creation and Upgradation of Streets and Lanes
 Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam-II
3. Infrastructure facilities to Samathuva Burial Ground
 Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam-II
4. Infrastructure Facilities to schools and creation of Public Utility
Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam-II
5. Clean and Green Works
Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam-II
6. Livelihood and Marketing Facilities
 “Namma Ooru Superu “ Awareness Campaign

Promotion of Manjapai by SHG women Women Creating awareness on Namma Ooru Superu Campaign

School students participating in School Students taken on exposure visit to SWM Unit
Namma Ooru Superu awareness rally
 MGNREGS- Water Resource Management (WRM)

Boulder Check Dam CC Check Dam

Amrit Sarovar Pond Trenches

 MGNREGS- Natural Resource Management (NRM)

Farm Pond Individual Dug Well

Earthen Bunding in Farmers Field Block Nursery

 Roads

Kolathur Block, Salem District Nambiyur Block, Erode District

Mohanur Block, Namakkal District Orathanadu Block, Thanjavur District

 Bridges

Kovilpatti Block, Thoothukudi District Anaimalai Block, Coimbatore District

Thirumanur Block, Ariyalur District Valapady Block, Salem District

 School Infrastructure Development Scheme (SIDS)

Panchayat Union Middle School, Kattangudi Panchayat, Panchayat Union Primary School, Poochampatti Panchayat,
Arupukottai Block, Virudhunagar District Vadipatti Block, Madurai District

Panchayat Union Middle School, Kattangudi Panchayat, Panchayat Union Middle School, Muniyampatti,
Arupukottai Block, Virudhunagar District Vellalapuram Panchayat, Konganapuram Block,
Salem District
New Houses constructed under Housing for All - PMAY(G)
Water Supply works taken up under Jal Jeevan Mission
Sanitation and Solid Waste Management facilities under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0
 Village Panchayats selected for
ANAITHU GRAMA ANNA MARUMALARCHI
THITTAM II - 2023-2024
DISTRICT WISE RURAL ROAD LENGTH
DISTRICT WISE RURAL ROAD DENSITY
Rs. in Crore MGNREGS Financial Progress - Yearwise

Year
MGNREGS Infrastructure Works - 2022 - 2023
No. of Houses Year wise Completion of PMAY-G Houses

Year
 Functional Household Tap Connections provided to
Rural Households in last 3 years
No. of Households

Year
Percentage of Functional Household
Tap Connections
The districts are covered under on going
Major Combined Water Supply Schemes
Rs. in Crores Receipt of funds from Government of India in last 5 years

Year
Best Practices of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department
Scan for Booklets and Videos

Booklet on Natural Rersources Management Booklet on Namma Our Superu Campaign

Booklet on Water Resources Management Best Practices Video

 RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND
PANCHAYAT RAJ DEPARTMENT

POLICY NOTE
2023- 2024

DEMAND No. 42

Thiru. I. PERIYASAMY
Minister for Rural Development

Government of Tamil Nadu

2023