Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has announced a committee to implement the financial distribution and administrative reform recommendations of the Fifth State Finance Commission, with the move aimed at strengthening gram panchayats and decentralised governance across the state.
Speaking after a meeting of the Karnataka State Decentralisation Planning and Development Committee at the official residence Krishna in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said the committee would be headed by the Rural Development Minister. He said grants had already been released to local bodies in line with the commission’s recommendations, and that further steps would be taken to improve the financial position of gram panchayats.
The Chief Minister also directed the government to strengthen the functioning of urban local bodies through ward-level planning. He said measures would be taken in line with the intent of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which provides for an effective role for urban local governments. The state will consult experts from the National Law School of India University on amendments to the relevant laws, according to the announcement.
Shivakumar proposed that ward committees should prepare and implement local plans on the model of gram sabhas. District, taluk and village-level planning committees have already been formed, and these committees have been instructed to meet once every three months and submit reports.
The state government will also submit a proposal to the Goods and Services Tax Council seeking a share of GST revenue for rural and urban local bodies. The proposal could add a new revenue discussion to the broader question of how municipalities and panchayats can finance basic services and local development.
The Chief Minister directed officials to accelerate the demarcation of village panchayat boundaries using data from the SVAMITVA programme. The Panchayat Raj and Revenue departments have been asked to coordinate on the exercise. The announcement did not specify a completion deadline.
He also raised concerns about the loss of revenue to gram panchayats after the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board took over the authority to levy taxes on industries. Shivakumar said the law provides for 30% of the property tax collected by the authority to be transferred to gram panchayats. Officials were instructed to provide complete details of the tax collected by the authority so far and the amount distributed to gram panchayats.
The government further directed the Rural Development and Urban Development departments to issue guidelines for implementing ‘People’s Plan’. The initiative is intended to collect demands from residents at the grassroots level and incorporate them into the state budget. The departments have also been asked to develop the software required for the process and provide funding to establish project management units at district and taluk levels.
All departments have already been instructed to prepare responsibility maps identifying which programmes related to gram panchayats, taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats will be implemented by each tier of government. The departments must submit these maps within the prescribed period, the Chief Minister said.
The meeting was attended by committee vice-president D.R. Patil, Fifth State Finance Commission chairman C. Narayanaswamy, legislators Latha Mallikarjun and B.G. Govindappa, Legislative Council member S. Ravi, Chief Minister’s economic adviser L.K. Atheeq and Development Commissioner Uma Mahadevan. The newly announced committee, departmental guidelines and the required revenue details are the next formal steps outlined by the government.
