District Development Coordination And Monitoring Committee (DISHA), 2016

Policy Update
Ayush Pal

Genesis and Legal Foundation

Introduced by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) in June 2016, the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee—emerged from a pressing need: streamline oversight of 41+ key centrally sponsored schemes across rural India. Evolving from the predecessor District Vigilance and Monitoring Committees, DISHA became a statutory fixture under MoRD guidelines and parliamentary directives.

At its core, DISHA is a tri-level stakeholder platform—bringing together MPs (Lok Sabha), MLAs, municipal leaders, district officials, and civil society—to ensure participatory, accountable, time-bound development at the district level

As of now, chairpersons/co-chairpersons of DISHA committees have been appointed in 689 out of 718 districts, with states reporting approximately 1,500 DISHA meetings in the past two years.

The design of DISHA is essentially guided by the Constitutional framework that delineates the functions of central, state, and local government. Part IX of the Constitution establishes Panchayats, Part XI legislates the Union and state relationship, the Seventh Schedule enumerates the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists, and the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules define the role of rural and urban local governments, respectively. Article 243G provides for the power of state legislatures to give the power of planning and implementation to local governments, and Article 243ZD provides for the power of District Planning Committees (DPC). DISHA is an attempt to put together development coordination and monitoring in this constitutional framework.

Composition

It is led by a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) who is elected from the district and appointed by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) as the chairperson. The other MPs from the district are appointed as co-chairpersons. The member secretary is the district collector, CEO of the Zilla Panchayat, or an Additional District Magistrate (ADM), who is senior and responsible for conducting the meetings as per schedule.

There is sufficient representation from national and state governments as well as civil society; this includes elected state members of the district, one representative from the state government, and mayors or chairpersons of the whole municipalities with a minimum of one female representative to ensure gender balance. Additionally, five Gram Panchayat heads—with at least two women—are part of the committee, along with the chairperson and CEO of the Zilla Panchayat, and the chairpersons of block panchayats.

There is also a head of the Autonomous District Council, who is a member in Sixth Schedule areas. The committee is also supported by officials such as the Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), the lead bank officer, the senior superintendent of posts, and nodal officers for specific kind of programs. There is also one member from a reputed NGO or SC/ST/women’s organization to open space for civil society and marginalized groups.

Performance

Over the last two years, the DISHA’s adherence to its mandate of holding quarterly meetings has been inconsistent. In 2016–17, a mere 854 meetings were held across 485 districts, as compared to the ~1,940 meetings per quarter that were expected. Things deteriorated further—820 meetings across 441 districts in 2017–18, and merely 662 meetings across 398 districts in 2018–19. Of the estimated 5,000 meetings during this three-year period, only 2,336 were convened, i.e., just 47% of the anticipated rate of adherence.

State-wise figures for 2019–20 show some shocking variations in performance. Kerala was able to hold 33 of the 56 meetings scheduled (around 59%), whereas Haryana held 49 of the 88 (56%). Ironically, West Bengal did not hold a single meeting for the entire period, which is a stark demonstration of implementation’s absence.

At the district level, Jammu & Kashmir has lagged behind in the last few years. Just 20 meetings were held in the state in 2022–23, whereas 80 were scheduled, showing at a low compliance rate of 25%. Even the recent numbers show ongoing issues—official documents indicate that just two meetings were held in the entire year 2019–20, the parliamentary panel has found.

On the other hand, DISHA has enhanced its convergence of central schemes with a centralized digital dashboard. Now the system monitors 18 flagship schemes, out of which coverage is going to be expanded to 42 schemes in the future. The platform aggregates data from 20 ministries and handles over 3.5 billion dynamic data points on 50+ interactive dashboards, which facilitates granular analysis up to gram panchayat levels.

Functionally, DISHA has assisted in the monitoring and evaluation of rural development schemes to a great extent. It is necessary for overseeing large schemes such as the MGNREGS and the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – NRLM. The committee tracks fund flows, examines allocations and expenditures by central and state governments, and facilitates prompt releases. Along the way, it creates bottlenecks, promotes inter-agency coordination, and validates evidence-based decision-making to ensure maximum effectiveness in rural development schemes.

Impact

DISHA has enhanced the application of data in monitoring rural development strategically by leveraging real-time dashboards. The dashboards enable members, such as MPs and MLAs, to view where money is being spent and the progress of major government schemes. Greater visibility fosters greater accountability and transparency, enabling data-based decisions at the grassroots level.

One obvious impact of DISHA has been in ensuring efficient money management. In Jammu & Kashmir, where DISHA meetings have not been conducted regularly, more than ₹1,100 crore was not utilized in the rural development sector during 2024–25. In contrast, states such as Haryana and Kerala, which conducted regular DISHA meetings, indicate that they utilize funds in time and exhaust their budget earlier. This correlation illustrates how vital it is to conduct regular committee meetings to utilize resources optimally.

DISHA has also produced significant advancement in the processes of governance and coordination across departments. With the availability of digital dashboards, bureaucratic delays have been reduced and discussions at quarterly meeting can be more factual. Elected representatives can now better identify the bottlenecks and can engage more departments. In Namchi district, Sikkim, the assistance of the local MP in reporting has improved overall coordination, improved data quality and rural-urban interface.

Overall, DISHA has contributed to better efficiency and quality in rural program delivery and implementation. Regular reporting ensured projects and services were completed in a timely fashion. Continuous oversight by the committee of program pillars improved agencies overall execution. DISHA has also facilitated better coordination between central and state level and local (grassroots) governance increased enabling conditions for policy alignment and more cooperative and cohesive action plans. DISHA has also heightened the responsiveness to citizens’ complaints and increase public confidence with development programs and increased satisfaction with development programs.

Way Forward

To cement DISHA’s evolution into a truly strategic engine for district-level transformation by 2030, we propose five interconnected shifts:

First, embed accountability at every level through institutionalized quarterly meetings where MP/Collector performance is formally linked to DISHA compliance and via indications of DISHA reviews in Parliament and State Cabinet meetings. This will, in effect, turn a voluntary forum into a performance-oriented governance framework.
Second, enhance data analytics through a standardized DISHA Data Harmonization Protocol for both O&M financial and physical performance monitoring. Smart dashboards that automatically flag outliers, lags, and top performers will allow local leaders to act on data earlier.
Third, automate follow-through by embedding DISHA action items into the e-office ecosystem. Each decision, deadline, and deliverable will be tagged, tracked, and escalated to closure until it is completed and relieve “file-on-file” inertia.
Fourth, engage citizens and communities in the process. An online feedback process will allow citizens to submit proposals before the meetings and subsequently see how their ideas were incorporated into the meeting deliberations. In addition, invite selected NGOs and grassroots leaders to join DISHA as voting members so that public deliberations are firmly anchored in people’s lived experiences.
Finally, build lasting capacity and scale. Establish district-level DISHA secretariats with dedicated staff and IT support, and run annual bootcamps on flagship schemes.

Together, these suggestions will transform DISHA from a monitoring committee into a dynamic, data-powered engine of rural and urban convergence, deepening democratic oversight and driving district-wide development.

References

Ministry of Rural Development. DISHA Guidebook
CBGA. Acharya, N. (2019). Making DISHA meetings effective
Excelsior. (2024, Nov 2). DISHA committees directionless in J&K
MoRD (2021). Key initiatives & achievements, including DISHA dashboard upgrades
Performance Committee report, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India
Press releases from Tumakuru, Chengalpattu, Namchi District websites
PTI / Hindustan Times / India Today coverage on DISHA’s launch & remit

Author: Ayush Pal is a Research Intern at IMPRI, currently pursuing MA in Economics with specialization in International Trade and Finance from IIFT, with a keen interest in Energy Economics and macroeconomics.

Acknowledgement: The author extends his sincere gratitude to the IMPRI team and Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja for her invaluable guidance.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.