More than 92 per cent of Goa’s village panchayats have been classified as “Sankalp Defaulters” by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj for failing to conduct mandatory Gram Sabha procedures or upload developmental resolutions on the Panchayat Nirnay Portal during the last financial year.
Official records from the Centre’s Panchayat governance monitoring system show that 177 out of Goa’s 191 village panchayats were marked under the defaulter category. Of these, 91 panchayats are located in North Goa while 86 fall within South Goa district.
The “Sankalp Defaulter” classification applies to Gram Panchayats that fail to schedule Gram Sabha meetings, upload meeting agendas, digitally record resolutions, or submit Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) decisions on the Union government’s Panchayat Nirnay platform.
The Union government has made digital reporting of Gram Sabha proceedings mandatory under its Panchayat e-governance framework aimed at increasing transparency, accountability and citizen participation in village-level governance.
Officials familiar with the system said the Panchayat Nirnay portal functions as a real-time monitoring platform for village administration. Panchayats are expected to use the platform to schedule meetings, upload agendas, record attendance, document developmental discussions and maintain digital records of resolutions passed during Gram Sabha sessions.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has described Panchayat Nirnay as a “fully automated workflow” designed to reduce dependence on paper-based systems and strengthen monitoring of local self-governance institutions.
Sources indicated that concerns have also emerged over the current financial year, with several Goa panchayats reportedly showing “zero” meeting scheduling entries so far on the portal. Officials said this suggests that compliance gaps may be continuing despite repeated digital governance directives from the Centre.
Officials in the state Panchayat Department attributed delays and non-compliance to a combination of manpower shortages, technical difficulties and insufficient trained staff at the village level to manage digital governance systems.
The broader Panchayat digitisation programme introduced by the Centre also integrates GPDP planning, budget tracking, social audit documentation and meeting records into a single governance framework. The initiative is intended to improve public access to village-level decisions, financial records and details of developmental works undertaken by local bodies.
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