It came to light at a two-day state-level consultation workshop on “State of Panchayats Report: A Civil Society Assessment”, organised jointly by the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) for Haryana and Punjab that most lofty announcements by the government for establishing self-government at the grassroots level through panchayati raj had failed to materialise.

Talking to The Indian Express here today, Devi Prasad Mishra, president of IRMA, said the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj was preparing its annual report, “Status of Panchayati Raj” under the guidance of a steering committee headed by Prof Y.K. Alagh, former union minister and Member, Planning Commission, and in collaboration with various institutions, including PRIA, IRMA and others.

A joint team of PRIA and IRMA has been making an assessment of the actual situation on ground with regard to devolution of powers under the panchayati raj institutions. The assessment report on panchayati raj is expected to be completed within six months, he said.

Devi Prasad said the ground realities were far removed from the promises made for decentralisation of power in the country. In reality, those in power in the government were very reluctant to share it with others, leave aside handing it over. Haryana had signed an MoU with the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj as far back as 2005 and had prepared the activity mapping as well for 10 government departments.

Punjab, on the other hand, had reportedly done the same for six government departments. However, the actual decision making power or powers with regard to finances are yet to reach the panchayats and the gram sabhas. Things were much better in Punjab as compared to Haryana, said Dr Kesar Singh from CRIID, a voluntary organisation.

“We have toured many states now and got a mixed report about the status of the Panchayatis Raj. Representatives of one state told us they had done activity mapping of all 29 subjects. But when we checked, the ground realities were quite different. Haryana and Punjab have comparatively done better, but they still have a long way to go,’’ said Devi Prasad.