Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary has called for strengthening the financial position of gram panchayats by increasing revenue from commercial activities operating in rural areas.
Addressing the ‘Gram Sansad, Bihar Chapter’ in Patna on Monday, the Chief Minister said panchayats should collect revenue from activities such as brick kilns, private schools and mobile towers, while ensuring that poor people are not subjected to additional tax burdens.
He said the revenue generated from commercial activities could be used to improve basic facilities and development works in villages.
Brick Kilns and Private Schools Among Revenue Sources
Chaudhary emphasised that panchayats should become more financially self-reliant instead of depending entirely on government funds.
He said commercial establishments and activities operating within villages, including brick kilns and private schools, should contribute to local revenue according to applicable provisions.
The Chief Minister also highlighted mobile towers as another potential source of revenue for panchayats.
The proposal is aimed at creating stronger local revenue streams while keeping the focus of taxation away from poorer sections of rural communities.
Revenue to Support Basic Village Services
According to the Chief Minister, additional revenue collected by panchayats can be directed towards improving essential services in rural areas.
He cited areas such as drinking water and waste management as examples where stronger local finances could support better services.
The broader objective, he said, is to ensure that increased revenue collection translates into improved facilities for residents at the local level.
Panchayat Representatives Asked to Show Their ‘GDP’
Chaudhary also spoke about accountability among elected representatives.
He said mukhiya, block-level representatives and zila parishad members should present a report card of their panchayat’s development and financial position before the public.
Referring to the concept of a panchayat’s “GDP”, he said local representatives should be able to explain the development work and economic activity taking place within their respective areas.
The emphasis was on making local development and financial performance more visible to residents.
Over Rs 1 Lakh Crore in Panchayat Development Funds Mentioned
The Chief Minister also highlighted the funds expected to be available for panchayat-level development over the next five years.
He said Bihar’s panchayats would receive around Rs 52,000 crore under the 16th Finance Commission over the five-year period.
In addition, around Rs 47,000 crore would be available through various schemes, taking the overall amount to more than Rs 1 lakh crore for development activities through panchayat representatives.
According to the figures cited by the Chief Minister, the funding under the schemes would involve a 40:60 contribution between the state and Centre.
Panchayat Delimitation Underway
Chaudhary also spoke about the ongoing process of delimitation of panchayats.
He said that, under the prescribed norms, a panchayat should generally have a population of around 7,500, while some existing panchayats have populations of around 20,000 and include multiple villages.
The State Election Commission has started the delimitation process, and the Chief Minister said the upcoming panchayat elections would be conducted on the basis of the revised delimitation.
CM Raises Concern Over Repeated Inclusion of Villages in Urban Bodies
The Chief Minister also called for an end to the repeated inclusion of rural areas in urban local bodies.
He said frequent changes in the status of rural areas could affect the implementation of development programmes in villages.
The government’s stated focus is to strengthen panchayats financially and administratively so that they can generate local resources and use them for development and basic services.
