in more revenue-rich panchayat samiti, they may be local employees. A government-appointed block development officer (BDO) is the supervisor of the extension officers and executive officer to the panchayat samiti and becomes, in effect, its administrative chief. Functions The panchayat samiti collects all the prospective plans prepared at Gram Panchayat level and process them for funding and implementation by evaluating them from the angles of financial constraints, social welfare, and area development. It also identifies and prioritizes the issues that should be addressed at the block level. Sources of income The income of the panchayat samiti comes from: land and water use taxes, professional taxes, liquor taxes and others income-generating programmes grants-in-aid and loans from the state government and the local zila parishad voluntary contributions For many panchayat samiti, the main source of income is state aid. For others, the traditional taxing function provides the bulk of revenues. Tax revenues are often shared between the gram panchayats and the panchayat samiti. They also host fairs and events to gather money References Panchayati raj (India)