"The Gram Sabha is the cornerstone of participatory democracy, yet it remains largely ceremonial." Assess this in light of the People's Plan Campaign.

Article 243G makes Panchayats "institutions of self-government" that plan for economic development and social justice, and the Gram Sabha is where these plans are approved [1]. The People's Plan Campaign (PPC), "Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas", has run every year since 2018 [1]. It has put the Gram Sabha at the centre of the planning procedure. Its real power to deliberate and decide is still weak.

How PPC makes the Gram Sabha a cornerstone

• Scale and regularity: more than 17.73 lakh GPDPs were uploaded between 2019-20 and 2025-26 [1]. Special Gram Sabhas on 2 October 2026 launch PPC 2026-27 for FY 2027-28 plans [2].
• Whole-of-Government convergence: Gram Sabhas review Finance Commission grants, JJM, SBM(G) and SVAMITVA [2]. 20 line Ministries took part in 2025 [1].
• Inclusion: Village Prosperity and Resilience Plans prepared by SHGs feed into GPDPs. Tribal needs are addressed under the Adi Karmayogi Abhiyaan [1].
• Legal backing: under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, all works must come from Gram Sabha-approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans [3].
• Evidence-based priorities: the Panchayat Advancement Index uses 435 indicators [4]. It helps the Gram Sabha set its yearly "Sankalp" [2].

Why it remains largely ceremonial

• Lists, not plans: the CAG (Haryana, 2019-24) found GPs "only submitting lists of works". Blocks then added or removed works without the GPs [5].
• Convergence decided by officials: officials chose convergence works with "no discussion" in the Gram Sabha [5].
• Little follow-up: of 14,468 social audit observations, action was taken on only 117 [5].
• Weak capacity: 61.2% of GPs were "Aspirants" in the PAI baseline [4].
• Limits set from the top: VB-G RAM G restricts works to four themes and links plans to PM Gati Shakti. The Centre fixes each State's funding in advance [6]. The village picks the works but not the budget.

The statement is largely valid. PPC has given the Gram Sabha its formal place, but not yet real decision-making power. Three steps would help:

• record on eGramSwaraj whether each work came from a Gram Sabha resolution;
• direct RGSA training to Aspirant GPs first [2];
• present action-taken reports on social audits at the next Gram Sabha.

A Gram Sabha that decides, rather than only approves, would fulfil Gandhi's Gram Swaraj and the self-government promised by Article 243G.