PANAJI
Goa has scored 37.71 per cent in the Panchayat Devolution Index, well below the national average of 43.9 per cent, placing it 16th among 18 general category States. The information was provided in the Lok Sabha by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj Rajiv Singh. The rankings, tabled in Parliament, are based on the Ministry's "Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States -- An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking, 2024", which evaluates how effectively States have devolved powers, finances and administrative responsibilities to Panchayati Raj institutions.
The report noted that the overall national extent of devolution increased from 39.9 per cent in 2013-14 to 43.9 per cent in 2021-22. Goa, however, remained significantly below this national benchmark with a score of 37.71.
The Ministry said the Devolution Index assesses States on six parameters -- Framework, Functions, Finances, Functionaries, Capacity Building and Accountability -- to gauge the extent to which powers have been transferred to Panchayati Raj institutions and to strengthen grassroots democracy. Interestingly, except for Capacity Building, Goa’s performance remained much below national average across all other five parameters.
The State's weakest performance was in the Functions component, where it scored 6.63, placing it last among all 18 general category States. This is far below the national average of about 35 per cent for the indicator.
The State also ranked last in the Finances category with a score of 26.88, compared to the national average of around 46 per cent, indicating limited fiscal devolution to panchayats.
In the Framework category, Goa scored 52.88, below the national average of about 63 per cent, while in Functionaries it scored 46.31, lower than the national average of around 58 per cent.
The only area where the State performed well was Capacity Building, securing 77.27 to rank fourth among general category States, above the national average of around 60 per cent.
The coastal State also lagged in Accountability, scoring 31.75, substantially below the national average of about 55 per cent, and ranking 16th in the country.
Overall, Karnataka topped the Devolution Index with a score of 72.23, followed by Kerala (70.59) and Tamil Nadu (68.38), while Punjab and Jharkhand were the only States ranked below Goa.
The Minister said that in order to strengthen fiscal decentralisation, digital governance and accountability of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Ministry has implemented the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) under Revamped RGSA, which has significantly enhanced transparency, efficiency, and governance at the grassroots level.
