Govt wants panchayats to monetise assets | Economic Times

With an aim to make them self-sustainable, the Centre has suggested that gram panchayats should deliberate on "assets' monetisation" which is the leasing of assets to raise their own revenue.The Department of Panchayati Raj, under the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, on August 16 issued an advisory suggesting a number of activities for gram panchayats across the country.Signed by the Panchayati Raj secretary, the advisory has given a year-long agenda suggesting activities for every month.For August, the department has suggested that the gram panchayats deliberate on various means to raise "own sources of revenue", including by "monetisation of assets, lease of common property and property tax".When contacted, officials in the department said an advisory has been sent to states suggesting a list of activities for gram panchayats for every month, mainly comprising of welfare schemes.They have also been suggested to explore their own sources of revenue in order to become self-sufficent, the officials said.With this purpose, the gram panchayats have been urged to look for ways to generate revenue from their assets by using them for economic activities, they said.The gram panchayats own land, ponds, small buildings which can be utilised in various ways for generating funds for public welfare, the officials said.