PANAJI
More than 92 per cent of Goa’s village panchayats have been flagged as “defaulters” by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj for failing to conduct mandatory meetings or upload developmental resolutions on the Panchayat Nirnay Portal during the last financial year.
Official data accessed from the Centre’s Panchayat governance monitoring system shows that out of Goa’s 191 village panchayats, as many as 177 have been listed under the “Sankalp Defaulter” category. Of these, 91 panchayats are from North Goa district while 86 are from South Goa.
The “Sankalp Defaulter” or GPDP defaulter classification is used for Gram Panchayats that fail to schedule mandatory Gram Sabha meetings, upload meeting agendas, record resolutions or submit Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) related decisions on the Union government’s digital governance platform.
The Centre has made digital reporting of Gram Sabha proceedings and development planning mandatory under its Panchayat e-governance framework aimed at improving transparency and citizen participation in rural governance.
Officials said the Panchayat Nirnay system functions as a real-time monitoring platform for village-level meetings and resolutions. The platform enables panchayats to schedule Gram Sabha meetings, upload agendas, record developmental decisions, capture attendance and maintain digital records of resolutions passed during meetings.
The Ministry describes Panchayat Nirnay as a “fully automated workflow” intended to replace paper-based meeting systems and strengthen accountability in local self-governance.
Sources said the latest data has also raised concerns because the current financial year reportedly shows “zero” meeting scheduling entries for several Goa panchayats so far on the portal, indicating continued gaps in compliance.
Officials in the Panchayat Department attributed delays partly to manpower shortages, technical issues and lack of trained staff handling digital governance systems at the village level.
The Ministry’s broader digital governance initiative includes integration of GPDP planning, budget tracking, social audit records and meeting documentation. The growing dependence on digital reporting systems is also aimed at enabling public access to panchayat-level decisions, financial records and developmental works.
