Srinagar, Feb 20: More than a year after the tenure of Panchayats and Block Development Councils (BDCs) expired in Jammu and Kashmir, the financial consequences of the institutional vacuum are becoming visible.
The data show that of the ₹97.42 crore approved under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for 2024–25 and 2025–26, only around 15 per cent has been utilised so far, leaving nearly ₹82 crore unspent.
The RGSA allocation is meant to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through structured training programmes, governance planning modules, exposure visits, digital capacity building and institutional support systems. However, with no elected Panchayats in place since January 9, 2024, the framework required to absorb and deploy these funds has remained significantly constrained.
The slowdown is stark when compared to the previous two financial years. During 2022–23 and 2023–24, when elected PRIs were functional, ₹159.13 crore was released under RGSA, of which ₹109.11 crore was utilised, an expenditure rate of 68.56 per cent.
In contrast, in the current two-year cycle, only about ₹14–15 crore of the sanctioned ₹97.42 crore has been spent so far. Nearly ₹82 crore remains pending absorption.
Under RGSA guidelines, funds are tied to governance-linked activities such as mandatory training of elected Panchayat representatives, preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs), strengthening of social audit mechanisms, and institutional capacity-building in budgeting and digital governance. Many of these components presuppose the presence of elected leadership at the village and block levels, making full implementation structurally difficult in their absence.
The impact extends beyond RGSA. Separate data under the District Capex head indicates substantial allocations routed through District Development Councils (DDCs), BDCs and PRI-linked sectors over the past three financial cycles.
While DDCs continue to function until February 2026, Panchayats, the first interface of decentralised planning, remain non-functional. In the absence of elected village-level representatives, project identification, prioritisation and community monitoring are being handled administratively rather than through politically accountable institutions.
Officials concede that prolonged underutilisation could affect future planning cycles. Central schemes linked to decentralised governance are often performance-sensitive, and slower absorption in one cycle can influence fund releases in subsequent years. Though there is no immediate lapse of funds, delayed implementation carries cumulative administrative implications.
Since January 2024, rural Jammu and Kashmir has functioned without elected Panchayats and BDCs, creating a structural gap in the three-tier governance system. Gram Sabha processes, beneficiary identification and local-level accountability mechanisms have continued in a limited administrative form, but without elected representation.
Preparations for Panchayat and Urban Local Body elections are underway. Delimitation has largely been completed and electoral rolls updated. However, the reservation framework linked to the OBC Commission report remains pending, delaying the formal notification of polls.
Until elected bodies are restored, the fiscal absorption mechanism tied to decentralised governance will remain only partially operational.
The financial arithmetic underscores the institutional reality: of ₹97.42 crore approved, nearly ₹82 crore remains largely unutilised. Utilisation has dropped from over 68 per cent during the last functional PRI cycle to around 15 per cent in the current period.
