How to Check Gram Panchayat Funds and Expenses (eGramSwaraj, RTI)

OnlineWhere to Check Gram Panchayat Funds Online

eGramSwaraj

egramswaraj.gov.in → choose State, district, block, panchayat. See the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), approved works, and receipts and payments made through PFMS, including Finance Commission grants.

Meri Panchayat app

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj app shows your panchayat's elected members, plans, funds and work photos on your phone.

nrega.nic.in

For MGNREGA works: job cards, muster rolls (who worked, how many days, wages paid) and social audit reports, village by village.

Step by stepHow to Check Panchayat Expenses: 6 Steps

1
🖥️ Start online (5 minutes)
Open eGramSwaraj or the Meri Panchayat app and note the works and amounts shown for your panchayat for the last two years. Take screenshots.
2
👀 Check on the ground
Walk to the work sites. Is the road, drain, hand pump or community hall actually there? Is there a citizen information board with the cost, which most schemes require at the site?
3
🗣️ Ask in the Gram Sabha
Every voter of the village is a member of the Gram Sabha (Article 243(b)). Ask for the accounts to be read out and for the works list to be passed in the meeting minutes. State Acts require the Gram Sabha to consider the annual accounts and audit report.
4
📝 File an RTI to the Panchayat
The Panchayat Secretary or Village Development Officer is usually the PIO. Ask for cash book, bills, vouchers, measurement book and photos of named works. Use the format below.
5
🔍 Join the social audit
For MGNREGA, the Gram Sabha must hold regular social audits and the panchayat must show muster rolls, bills and measurement books (Section 17). Attend, compare names on the muster roll with real workers, and get your objections recorded.
6
⚠️ Found a gap? Complain with proof
Send the RTI papers and photos to the Block Development Officer and the CEO of the Zila Parishad, and to your State's Lokayukta if money was taken. See our guide on how a Sarpanch can be removed.

Free formatRTI Format for Gram Panchayat Expenses

Send this to the Panchayat's PIO. Ask about one or two works at a time for faster replies.

To,
The Public Information Officer,
(Panchayat Secretary / Village Development Officer)
Gram Panchayat __________, Block __________, District __________

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005

Please provide the following for the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26:
1. Total funds received by the Gram Panchayat, scheme-wise (Finance Commission grants,
   State grants, MGNREGA, own income), with dates.
2. List of all works sanctioned and completed, with location, sanctioned amount and amount spent.
3. Certified copies of the cash book, bills, vouchers and measurement book for the work
   __________________ (name and location of the work).
4. Copy of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan approved by the Gram Sabha.
5. Copies of the minutes of Gram Sabha meetings held during this period.
6. Copy of the latest audit report of the Gram Panchayat accounts.

I am paying the fee of Rs 10 by __________ (OR: BPL card copy attached).

Name: __________________  Address: __________________________
Date: __/__/2026          Signature: __________

Red flagsGood Signs and Red Flags in Panchayat Accounts

Information board at every work site

Muster roll names match real workers

Wages reach bank accounts on time

Gram Sabha minutes show the works list

Payment shown for a work that does not exist

Same work paid twice under two schemes

Dead or migrated people on the muster roll

Gram Sabha 'held' but nobody was told

The lawArticles 243A, 243J and MGNREGA Section 17

📜 Official text · Constitution · MGNREGA

Constitution of India · Article 243A. Gram Sabha. A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.

Article 243J. Audit of accounts of Panchayats. The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the maintenance of accounts by the Panchayats and the auditing of such accounts.

Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, 2005 · Section 17(2). The Gram Sabha shall conduct regular social audits of all the projects under the Scheme taken up within the Gram Panchayat.

Section 17(3). The Gram Panchayat shall make available all relevant documents including the muster rolls, bills, vouchers, measurement books, copies of sanction orders and other connected books of account and papers to the Gram Sabha for the purpose of conducting the social audit.

In Simple Words / आसान शब्दों में

Panchayat money is public money, and the people who are supposed to watch it are the villagers themselves, sitting together as the Gram Sabha. The 73rd Amendment gave the Gram Sabha a place in the Constitution, and MGNREGA gave it the right to audit works line by line.

🏠 Everyday analogy

Like a housing society: every flat owner can ask the treasurer to show the maintenance account in the general body meeting.

🇮🇳 Real Indian example

Suppose a social audit in your village finds 14 names on the muster roll of people who moved to Surat years ago. The Gram Sabha records it, the amount can be recovered and the officials responsible can face action.

ConstitutionPanchayat Accounts and the Constitution

Article 40Read →

Article 40: Organisation of village panchayats

This Directive Principle asked the State to make panchayats real units of self-government. The 73rd Amendment (1992) made that a constitutional duty in Part IX (Articles 243 to 243O).

Article 19Read →

Article 19(1)(a): Right to know

Knowing how your village's money is spent is part of the right to information that the courts read into free speech.

Rajasthan Panchayat Chunav 2026All Rajasthan Panchayat Election 2026 Guides in One Place

Practice MCQTest Yourself: Panchayat Accounts

Under which law must the Gram Sabha conduct regular social audits of works taken up in the Gram Panchayat?

Doubts ClearedFrequently Asked Questions

How can I see my Gram Panchayat's funds online?

On egramswaraj.gov.in or the Meri Panchayat app: choose your State, district, block and panchayat to see plans, works and payments. MGNREGA details are on nrega.nic.in.

Who is the PIO in a Gram Panchayat?

Usually the Panchayat Secretary or Village Development Officer. If unsure, address the RTI to 'The PIO, Gram Panchayat ___'; it must be forwarded within 5 days if wrong.

Can any villager ask for panchayat accounts?

Yes. Any citizen can file an RTI, and every voter is a member of the Gram Sabha where accounts are placed.

What is a social audit?

A public check of works by the Gram Sabha itself, comparing records like muster rolls and bills with what happened on the ground. MGNREGA Section 17 makes it compulsory.

Sources and further readingSources We Checked

Facts checked on 23 October 2026 against Part IX of the Constitution, MGNREGA 2005 and the eGramSwaraj and nrega.nic.in portals. Gram Sabha rules differ by State.

How to Check Gram Panchayat Funds and Expenses