The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) SOUTH ASIA | India | Governance Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing | FY 2013 | Seq No: 15 | ARCHIVED on 11-Sep-2019 | ISR38224 | Implementing Agencies: Department of Panchayati Raj , Government of Bihar, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Bihar Gram Swaraj Yojana Society (BGSYS) Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 27-Sep-2012 Effectiveness Date: 21-Aug-2013 Planned Mid Term Review Date: -- Actual Mid-Term Review Date: Original Closing Date: 31-Dec-2017 Revised Closing Date: 30-Dec-2019 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The Project Development Objective is to support Bihar's capacity to promote and strengthen inclusive, responsive, and accountable Gram Panchayats in selected districts across the state. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name Sub-component 1a (Construction of Panchayat Sarkar Bhawans) Sub-component 1b (Functional Panchayats ):(Cost $65.00 M) Capacity Building for Panchayat Raj Institutions:(Cost $32.50 M) Strengthen the State Government capacity to manage decentralization:(Cost $7.50 M) Project Management and Coordination:(Cost $15.00 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating High High Implementation Status and Key Decisions The project has been extended by 6 months in order to allow time for completion of project activities. The revised closing date is December 30, 2019. The Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (BPSP) is implemented by the Government of Bihar in twelve districts of Bihar. Over the last two years, the project has made significant progress under all components. Targets for PDO and most intermediate indicators are on track for completion before December 2019, the proposed closing date. Project PDO and IP ratings are Moderately Satisfactory. 9/11/2019 Page 1 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) Under the component 1 (a) the project is constructing 330 Gram Panchayat Offices called Panchayats Sarkar Bhawans (PSB). Substantial progress has been made under the construction component in comparison to the previous implementation support mission. The project informed that total 334 contracts for construction of the local government offices (i.e. Panchayat Sarkar Bhawan (PSB)) at the Gram Panchayat level had been awarded and construction started in 303 locations last year. Based on the discussions with the Project Director and the LAEO, the Bank team expects that the construction of 30 percent PSBs (out of 303 contracts awarded) will be completed by July 2019, 50 percent PSBs by September 2019, 70 percent PSB by October 2019 and 90 percent PSBs by November 2019. So far, the 41 Panchayat Sarkar Bhawans has been constructed by June 2019 and another 20 PSBs are expected to be completed by mid- July 2019. However, the completion of all 303 buildings for which contracts were awarded can be achieved by project closing date provided: -  LAEO receives the remaining allocation of INR 129 crores for the entire period from the Department of Planning within a week of the state budget approval.  The pace of uptake of funds by contractors is accelerated with more intense monitoring by the project and LAEO. Special attention to be paid to the sites where physical progress needs to be geared up, wherein the contractors can be made monthly payments so that financial disbursement is commensurate to the physical progress in construction works.  Active monitoring of the works by the senior management of the Local Area Engineering Organization, which is responsible for all the construction works under the project. In case all the 303 buildings couldn't be completed by project closing date, the Government of Bihar has taken a decision to complete all the remaining works on the buildings post closure of the project so that there is no unfinished/semi-finished Panchayat Sarkar Bhawan in the identified 12 project districts. The Financial Management performance rating remains Moderately Satisfactory. Disbursements have picked up since the last mission and has reached 57 percent. Budget provision including counterpart funding for the project is satisfactory. There was no allocation of funds to LAEO during the first quarter of FY2019/20 due to transition to new treasury application by Government of Bihar and hence no expenditure incurred during this period. However, this has been resolved. The mission advised the implementing agencies to submit the project financial statements for 2018- 19 to the auditors at the earliest so that the delay in previous year is avoided. Internal audit has been completed up to March 2019. The mission noted with concern the delays in addressing the internal audit observations by divisions of LAEO. It was agreed that during the next visit by the internal auditors, the focus would be on adequate resolution of internal audit. The status of resolution of the audit observations (internal and external) in LAEO will be monitored. An exception to the State Finance and Appropriation account for 2017/18 has been sought due to the delay in tabling of the accounts by the Govt. of Bihar. The Procurement rating remains Moderately Satisfactory. The Bank team observed that the progress in Procurement has improved and contracts for 303 Panchayat Sarkar Bhawans have been signed. The Project Procurement plan has been uploaded on the Bank’s procurement management system - Systematic Tracking of Exchanges in Procurement (STEP). Mission has reviewed the progress of the awarded packages against the commitment and advised to expedite completion of the work within the project period. The project has made remarkable progress towards addressing the monitoring and evaluation needs of the project. Implementation of Gram Panchayat Management System (GPMS) was evaluated by the Bank team for managing the finance and accounting function at the Gram Panchayats. The Panchayat Secretaries (Sachivs), accountants and data entry operators have been trained on the system. Financial data in respect of 330 Gram Panchayats has been entered into the individual GP computers. Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance -- High High Macroeconomic -- Low Low Sector Strategies and Policies -- High High Technical Design of Project or Program -- High High Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability -- High High Fiduciary -- High High Environment and Social -- Moderate Moderate Stakeholders -- High High 9/11/2019 Page 2 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) Other -- -- -- Overall -- High High Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes Project Development Objective IN00733949 ►Gram Sabhas in Project GPs meet regularly to consider issues of importance to the GP. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 96.00 330.00 336.00 330.00 Date 12-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Baseline value according to the baseline survey (conducted during November - December 2018) report . Organizing regular Gram Sabha meetings, discussing issues of importance and making key decisions Comments: are key indicators for GPs being responsive institution of governance. IN00733950 ►Women participate at regular Gram Sabha meetings in Project GPs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 96.00 330.00 336.00 330.00 Date 12-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Baseline value according to the baseline survey (conducted during November - December 2018) report. Participation of women in Gram Sabha meetings is a key indicator for inclusion in GP functioning and their Comments: stake in local decision making. IN00733986 ►Project GPs disclose annual plans, annual budget, statement of accounts and progress reports. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 50.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 12-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Baseline value according to the baseline survey (conducted during November - December 2018) report. Key planning and financial documents and activity reports being disclosed indicates the progress Comments: achieved in terms of the GPs being more accountable. Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Sub-component 1a (Construction of Panchayat Sarkar Bhawans) Sub-component 1b (Functional Panchayats ) IN00733988 9/11/2019 Page 3 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) ►Number of new Panchayat Sarkar Bhawan Constructed (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 41.00 65.00 330.00 Date 01-Jun-2016 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Status as on December 2017: 200 land details shared for PSBs with Local Area Engineering Organization for preparation of DPRs in October 2017. Contracts issued for construction of 20 PSBs in December 2017*. Comments: Status as on October 2018: Contracts issued for 295 PSBs. Construction commenced in 166 locations. Status as on July 2019 - Contracts issued for 334 PSBs. Construction commenced in 303 locations. IN00733990 ►Number of functional Project GPs with newly constructed Panchayat Bhawans (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 01-Jun-2016 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Status as on October 2018: Furniture and Fixtures supplied to all 330 PSBs. Power back up systems installed in 192 PSBs. Fire extinguishers are installed at 173 PSBs. Comments: Status as on April 2019: All 330 are functional and DLI verification completed Status as on July 2019: All 330 are functional and DLI verification completed IN00733992 ►Standing Committies constituted in Project GPs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 96.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 12-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Baseline value according to the baseline survey report of 12 March 2018. The survey was conducted Comments: during November - December 2017. IN00733994 ►Project GPs where Standing Committies meet regularly to discharge their statutory functions (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 19.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 12-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Baseline value according to the baseline survey report of 12 March 2018. The survey was conducted Comments: during November - December 2017. IN00733996 ►Project GPs where attendance to Gram Sabhas is systematically recorded (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 01-Jun-2016 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 9/11/2019 Page 4 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) Capacity Building for Panchayat Raj Institutions IN00733987 ►Project GPs preparing annual plans and monitoring implementation (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 96.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 12-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Baseline value according to the baseline survey report of 12 March 2018. The survey was conducted during November - December 2017. Annual plans based on the needs of the community are being Comments: prepared and its implementation is monitored by GPs shows progress achieved towards being responsive and accountable institutions. IN00733989 ►Strengthened capacity of vigiliance committees (VC) on subject matters (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 321.00 330.00 330.00 Date 14-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Constituting Vigilance Committees in GPs indicates progress achieved for increased accountability of Comments: GPs. IN00733991 ►Financial management capacity of GPs is strengthened (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 273.00 330.00 330.00 Date 01-Jun-2016 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Cabinet approval is awaited for The Bihar Gram Panchayat Budget, Accounting, Taxation, and Auditing Rules. GPs historical (FY 2018-19) and current financial transactions (Till Dec’ 2018) is already updated in the GPMS system. GPMS will benefit the Gram Panchayats in managing the existing registers such as Cash Book, Scheme Register, Cash issue book, and Bank Passbook. The project is planning to roll- out Comments: GPMS in all 3186 GPs by 15th December 2019. . Once Bihar Gram Panchayat Budget, Accounting, Taxation, and Auditing Rules approved, the project will constitute a committee to review alignment of the approved financial rules with GPMS. IN00733993 ►Number of trained Project Elected Represetatives (ER) (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 236.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 14-Mar-2018 05-Oct-2018 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Elected representatives of all Project GPs have been trained on a number of aspects which will enable Comments: improvement in the performance of GPs as responsive and accountable institutions. IN00733995 ►Project GPs producing consolidated annual financial statements (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target 9/11/2019 Page 5 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) Value 96.00 330.00 330.00 330.00 Date 14-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Progress in preparation consolidated annual financial statements shows significant improvement in terms of making GPs more accountable institutions. The financial statements are being audited and are Comments: presented before the Gram Sabhas. IN00733997 ►Coverage of GP annual audit (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 96.00 308.00 330.00 330.00 Date 14-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2019 31-Jul-2019 30-Dec-2019 Increase in the number of GPs completed annual audit shows significant improvement in terms of making Comments: GPs more accountable institutions. Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P102627 IDA-51600 Effective USD 84.00 84.00 0.00 47.21 29.43 62% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P102627 IDA-51600 Effective 27-Sep-2012 27-Jun-2013 21-Aug-2013 31-Dec-2017 30-Dec-2019 Cumulative Disbursements 9/11/2019 Page 6 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report India - Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project (P102627) Restructuring History Level 2 Approved on 10-Jun-2016 ,Level 2 Approved on 30-Apr-2019 Related Project(s) There are no related projects. 9/11/2019 Page 7 of 7