PanchayatrajIntroduct ionThe constitution of free India envisaged organization of villagePanchayats and endows them with such powers and authorityas may be necessary to enable them to function as units of Localself government. The government of India set up a committeein June 1986, which recommended the Panchayati Raj institutions,should be constitutionally recognized, protected andpreserved. Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi’s government accepted therecommendations of the Committee and brought forward the64th Constitutional Amendment Bill. But the Bill could not beenacted.Panchayati Raj Institutions were constituted in the variousstates but it could not live upto the expectations for variousreasons. Keeping in view the past experiences, it becomeimperative to provide constitutional status to local selfgovernmentto impart certainty, continuity and strength. Thus,the constitution 73rd Amendment Act 1992 came into effectwhich envisages states to establish a three tier system of strong,viable and responsive Panchayats at the village, intermediate anddistrict level.Although, the Panchayati Raj in Punjab enjoys good reputationbut it could not go upto many expectations till today i.e.,strong, viable and responsive solidarity among large number ofmasses. Situation may not improve merely by amending theAct, What is to be needed today is a change in thinking andbringing about a sense of consciousness among the people aswell as the administrators. New norms and ethics need to becreated for both which will subserve the ideals of underlyingdecentralisation. Even learned foreign experts may be invited toform opinion before studying the situation. For achievingbetter results and greater commitments to PRI’s bodies.Likewise, Panchayats should be made more active and responsiveso that social awareness and consciousness could be createdat the grassroots level. It is then, that the true ideals andexperience in democratic decentralization would walk hand inhand. Then only, as Nehru said, every one in the country wouldbe a partner in the progress.Panchayati Raj Institutions since 1959As the working of Panchayati Raj Institutions since 1959 hasbeen argued as successful in a few states and a failure in most ofthe states. It means that the system has been experiencing upsand downs. Although, the concept of Panchayati Raj is a Statesubject but basically each state is free to evolve its own systemdepending upon Local needs, circumstances administrativeconveniences and experiences. With the result, we have a varietyof Panchayati Raj institutions with all kinds of combinationsand permutations. In fact, their success or failure depends upontheir structure, powers, function leadership, finances and statecontrol. In a big country like India, changes in different aspects

of these bodies have been taking place as per the changingcircumstances. Although the whole activities of Panchayati Rajinstitutions are broad based but their resource base are veryweak. As things stand today, the local economy is very weakwhich indicates that Panchayati Raj Institutions have verylimited scope to impose taxes in their jurisdiction.Introduction of Panchayati Raj was hailed as one of the mostimportant political innovations in independent India. It wasalso considered as a revolutionary step. Panchayati Raj is asystem of local self-government where in the people take uponthemselves the responsibility for development. It is also asystem of institutional arrangement for achieving rural Developmentthrough people’s initiative and participation. PanchayatiRaj involves a three-tier structure of democratic institutions atdistrict, block and village levels namely, Zilla Parishad, PanchayatSamiti and Village Panchayats respectively. These institutions areconsidered as training ground for democracy and gives politicaleducation to the masses. These institutions were established in1959 based on the philosophy of decentralization 4 and gramswaraj. Rural development plans and programmes are implementedat this level so that fruits of development can accrue tothe community directly.Both the Central and State Governments have appointedseveral Committees and Commissions for reviewing5 andrecommending reforms to strengthen Panchayati Raj during thelast three decades. Panchayati Raj that emerged in the states issubstantially in tune with Balwant Rai Mehta team recommendationsthough there are distinguishing differences from stateto state. Another Committee of Panchayati Raj appointed bythe Central Government under the Chairmanship of ShriAshok Mehta in 1978 is very important as it reviewed thesystem of Panchayati Raj in different states in the country andrecommended a different structure of Panchayati Raj. StartingLESSON 17:PANCHAYAT RAJ161INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSwith Rajstahan several states introduced Panchayati Raj in quicksuccession. In a handsome tribute, Prof. Maddick 7 describingthe Mehta report “ as an outstanding document and model ofthe way in which the growth of democratic institutitons in thecountry one of vital importance.while inaugurating Panchayati Raj at Nagour, Rajstahan onOctober 2, 1959, Nehru 8 said with understandable enthusiasm,“ we are going to lay the foundation of democracy or PanchayatiRaj in India,” . The focus was still on community projects andN.E.S and he thought that the reason for slow progress wasdependence on official Machinary , a situation which would beremedied, by Panchayati Raj. At a Seminar in Jaipur in Dec, 1964Balwant Rai Mehta clearly9 stated that community developmentis the object, the purpose, and Panchayati Raj is the instrument

for implementing the programme. The draft fifth plan stated“ The basic concept behind establishing Panchayati Raj was tocreate rural local self government agencies reasonable fordischarging certain selected functions pertaining to development.Panchayati Raj is the instrument of communitydevelopment, the apparatus of rural local self government ameans of reorganising district administration not adequatelypeople oriented in its traditional form and an agent of stategovernment for certain purposes. After the death of Nehruboth national and inter national problems, and understandableanxiety over performance on the development front; served toweaken this faith and Panchayati Raj came under attack. Duringthat time Hanson clearly stated, “ if Panchayati Raj was tofunction effectively, within a reasonably short span of time, as adevelopment institution, its introduction had to be accompaniedby revolutionary changes in the social and economicstructure of the village. However, a little later, Panchayati Raj ishailed as the most important political invention of independentIndia, because through it, the massess of Indian peopleare beginning, for the first time in their history, to experience therealities of democracy, in however, contradictory of distortedform.Process of DeclineAfter the mid sixties, the process of decline started. In manystates a tendency to postpone the Panchayati Raj electionsindefinitely was noticeable. In some states, parallel bodies cameto be set up at the district level, thus reducing the role ofPanchayati Raj in development planning & implementation.M ain ProblemsStarted with great hope and enthusiasm some of the majorproblems and short comings that devoted in the workingPanchayati Raj institutions can be identified as :(i) Election not being held on a regular basis.(ii) Lack of adequate transfer of powers and resources toPanchayati institutions.(iii) Lack of Panchayati Raj bodies to generate their ownresources such as tax on sale land.(iv) Non-Representation of woman and weaker sections in theelected bodies.Revival of Panchayati RajThe G.V.K. Rao committee 10 appointed by the PlanningCommission in 1985 to review the existing administrativearrangements for rural development strongly recommended forthe revival of Panchayati Raj institutitons all over the Country &highlighting the need to transfer power of state to democraticbodies at the Local level. The government of India their set upcommittee in June 1986 headed by L.M. Singvi.To prepare a concept paper on the revitalization of thePanchayati Raj institutions, the Committee recommended thatthe Panchayati Raj should be constitutionally recognized,protected and preserved by the inclusion of a new chapter in the

constitution. It also suggested a constitutional provision toensure regular, free and fair elections for Panchayati Raj institutions.Accepting these recommendations of the Committee thecentral government headed by late Rajiv Gandhi brought in theConstitution 12 64th amendment Bill which was passed by theLok Sabha on the 16th August 1989. This was comprehensiveBill covering all vital aspects of PRI ‘S. Unfortunately, this Billcould not be enacted as it was not approved by the Rajya Sabha.In the year 1990, the issues relating to strengthening ofPanchayati Raj institutions were considered afresh and based ondetailed discussions in the Cabinet committee set up for thispurpose. It was considered that a constitution Amendment Billmay be drawn up afresh. The matter was brought up before aConference of Chief Ministers held in June, 1990 presided overby the then Prime Minister. The Conference endorsed theproposals for the introduction of Constitution AmendmentBill and also the model guidelines with the modification thatthe number of tiers in the Panchayati Raj structure, may be leftto be decided by the State governments and the arrangement forconduct of elections for PRI’s may also be left to be made bythe state themselves. The Constitutitons Amendment Bill andmodel guidelines were approved by the Cabinet in July 1990and it was decided that there should be a Common ConstitutionAmendment Bill both for PRI’s and Urban Localbodies.13 Further modifications were made in the Bill on thebasis of the discussions with the leaders of various politicalparties.73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment perspective& Rebirth of Panchayati Raj :The Constitution 74th Amendment Bill introduced in the LokSabha on September 7, 1990 it could not however, be taken upin view of the political changes. A Comprehensive amendmentwas introduced in the form of Constitution Seventy SecondAmendment Bill 1991 by the then government. The Constitution72nd Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha onDec. 23, 1992. 73rd Amendment Act 1992 has came into effectfrom April 24, 1993. The Constitution 73rd 14 AmendmentAct 1992 indicates states to establish three tier system of strongviable and responsive panchayats at the Village, intermediateand district levels.The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 and theConstitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 have added newParts IX and IX A to the Constitution. Under these two parts,we have as many as 34 new articles - 243 to 243ZG - and twonew schedules viz. schedules 11 and 12. The 73rd Amendmentgives constitutional recognition to the Panchayats and the 74thAmendment to the Municipalities. Thus, to the Union and the162INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSStates, a third tier of governmental instrumentalities has beenadded.

There is nothing entirely new about the institutions ofPanchayats and Municipalities. Both these have existed for long.There were local self government and Panchayati Raj laws inmany parts of India. But, unfortunately these institutions werenot able to function satisfactorily for any length of time. Often,they stood superceded. Despite the Gandhian approach oftreating the villages as units of polity and Gandhi’s love forPanchayati Raj institutions, Dr. Ambedkar in the ConstituentAssembly did not favor them and even said some very harshthings like their being dens of corruption, localism, backwardnessetc. Finally, as a compromise or a concession to Gandhi’sviews, article 40 was included under the non- enforceable Part Von the Directive Principles of State Policy. It said that the stateshall take steps to organize Village Panchayats and endow themwith necessary authority “ to function as units of self-government”.Hardly any attention was paid to article 40 until Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi took serious interest and initiative to bringforward a constitutional amendment. It was, however opposedon grounds of its being an effort to reach the Panchayatsdirectly, bypassing the States. The amendment finally became areality during Narasirnha Rao’s time.The seventy-third and seventy-fourth constitutional amendmentshave made some fundamental changes in our politicalstructure and in the status of local institutions. These institutionsnow have constitutional protection. The twoamendments provide for the state legislatures making their ownlaws under the constitutional provisions for establishingPanchayats, Municipalities, etc. and conferring on them suchpowers and authority as may be necessary to enable them tofunction as institutions of selfgovernment. In every State, athree-tier system is envisaged. Panchayats are to be established atthe Village and district levels and at the intermediate level. Stateswhich have a population of less than two million, need nothave the intermediate level Panchayats.The important thing is that now Panchayats have to be electeddirectly by the people in the same manner as members of thepopular houses at the Union and State levels are elected i.e.through territorial constituencies. For a Village Panchayat, theelectorate would be the Gram Sabha which would consist ofthose registred in the electoral rolls. These Panchayats cannotremain superceded for long; fresh elections would have to beheld within six months of the dissolution of a Panchayat.Secondly, in all panchayats, seats would be reserved for women,Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. There shall be a fixedfive year term for all Panchayats. They shall have their ownbudget, power of taxation and list of items in their jurisdiction.In their respective areas, the Panchayats shall be able to formulatetheir own development plans and implement them. EveryState shall have a State Election . Commissioner for conductingPanchayat elections and I every five years a State Finance

COmp1ission shall be constituted to take stock of the economiccondition of the Panchayats.Similarly, in the 74th Amendment, there are provisions for thesetting up of Nagar Palikas and Nagar Panchayats. In the matterof reservations, elections, power of taxation, formulation andimplementation of development projects, constitution of aFinance Commission, fixed term, etc., the provisions are verysimilar to those in the 73rd Amendment in respect ofPanchayatsUnder the distribution of legislative powers between ! theUnion and the States, local government in both rural and urbanareas has been in the exclusive State List. As it is, all the States -some reluctantly - have already passed legislation as requiredunder the new constitutional provisions. Elections to localbodies have also been held in almost all the States. Bihar is anexception. Also; the 73rd and 74th Amendments do not applyto the States of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Jammuand Kashmir, the Union Territory of Delhi, hill areas inManipur and Darjeeling in W. Bengal. Also, these do not applyunless extended to Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas underarticle 244. The Constitution (Eighty-third Amendment of theyear 2000 has added a clause to article 243M to provide thatreservation of seats for the Schduled Castes under article 243Dshall not apply to the State of Arunachal Pradesh.It was hoped that the new Panchayats and Municipalities wouldbegin a new era of real representative and participatory democracywith nearly three and a half million elected representatives -one third of them women - involved in the business ofgovernance all over India thereby bringing power to the peoplewhere it belonged.As things stood, matters causing someconcern were:(i) The Constitution (87th Amendment) Bill, 1999 introducedby the Minister for Rural Development on 16 December1999 seeks to amend article 243 C of the Constitution with aview to give discretion to State Legislatures to provide that allthe seats in panchayats at the intermediate and district levelsshall be filled by persons elected as Chairpersons at the villagelevel panchayats and intermediate level panchayats and also toprovide discretion in the manner in which the Chairpersonsof the panchayats at the intermediate level or the district levelhave to be elected as has been allowed in case of panchayatsat the village level.The Amendment Bill followed a request contained in aresolution passed by the Andhra Assembly. The pending Billis being used as an alibi for postponing elections to thedistrict and intermediate level panchayats.(ii) The Area Development Scheme which places at the disposalof every member of Union Paliament a sum of Rupees twocrares every year for being spent in his! her area on his/ herrecommendation on items mentioned in the guide list.There are similar schemes placing funds at the disposal of

MLAs at the level of States. All the Items on which theselarge funds can be spent at the discretion of MPs and MLAsare covered by the eleventh and twelfth schedules of theConstitution listing schemes to be entrusted to thePanchayats, Municipalities etc. The Area DevelopmentSchemes and the like are tantamount to legislators’ foray intothe area of executive functions. Secondly, this may seem tobe an affront to and a violation of the federal scheme as alsoof the basic spirit of Panchayati Raj institutions.163INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS(iii) Much can be said for and against the ex-officio membershipof local Lok Sabha members and M.L.A.s on the district andintermediate level panchayats.(iv) The ground realities indicate that, for their own reasons,those elected to Parliament and State Legislatures - the M.P.s,M.L.A.s and M.L.C.s - have not(v) The details of functioning of the Local Governmentinstitutions are largely left to the initiative of the StateGovernments and are to be settled by them. The States havepassed vastly varied laws according to their own perceptionof what and how much can be devolved on the localauthorities. While the States naturally want the Union totransfer more of effective legislative, executive and financialpowers in wider areas to them, the question is to what extentthey would be themselves willing to decentralise furtherdown and share effective power with local self-governmentinstitutions. So far as the 73rd and 74th ConstitutionAmendments are concerned, these do not themselves conferany powers on panchayats and MunicipalitiesReservation for Woman in Panchayati RajInstitutionsThe Constitution 73rd Amendment Act in order to revive theexisting Panchayati Raj system due to its structural and functionalinadequacies has made mandatory on the part of thestates that they would reserve a minimum of 30 per cent ofseats to woman in their Panchayati Raj institutions so as toinvolve actively in the decision making process. In accordancewith the 73rd Amendment 33 per cent of seats have beenreserved for rural woman in the Panchayati Raj Institutions.The Statutory reservation of seats for woman in Panchayati Rajbodies has provided an opportunity for their formal involvementin the development and political processes at the grassroot level thereby to enabling them to influence the decisionmaking process in the local governments.15Implications of constitutional 73rd & 74Amendment:The 73rd & 74th Constitutional Amendment 16 has been madeto many weakness. It has certain features which are binding onthe state legislature where they can go to discretion :1. Constitutional Status to Panchayati Raj Institutions.

II. Reservation of Seats for Weaker Section of Society.III. Direct Election of Panchayati Raj, every five years at alllevels.IV. Finance Commission to be set up by State Government todevolve funds and suggest ways of financingV. Election Commission at State Level to Conduct PanchayatiRaj Elections.All these elected bodies have now, been in position for morethan five years. It is thus, important to verify whether the aimsand objectives of the Constitutional amendment and theaspirations generated by it have been met and if so, to whatextent. Various discussions, debates, conferences are beingorganized to see and many issues are debated for new experience.Panchayati Raj Institutions.1. Devolution of finances to PRI’s bodies.II. Exercise of Power and responsibility by Panchayati RajI nstitution.III. What has been the impact of the reservations especially forwoman and to what extant this has helped the weakersection of society.IV. Whether the PRI’s in the new set up have improved theirposition regarding devolution of powers and financialresources in view of setting up State Finance and ElectionCommissions.V. What sort of training and orientation 18 would be requiredfor the newly elected Panchayati Raj bodies.In a net-shell the 73rd Amendment had aroused a lot ofexpectations and it is to be expected that it would usherPanchayati Raj Institutions in a new and dynamic role.The PRI in the district comprises of one Zilla Parishad at thedistrict level, 7 Panchayat Samitis/ 4 Block Advisory Committee(BAC) at the Block level and 155-Gram Panchayats/ 167 ADCVillages at the village level.The Chief Executive Officer (DM & Collector) Zilla Parishad,Additional Chief Executive Officer (ADM & Collector) ZillaParishad and Secretary Zilla Parishad (Member Secretary) are theOfficial Members in the Executive Committee of Zilla Parishad.The Executive Officer (Block Development Officer) PanchayatSamiti and the Secretary (Panchayat Extension Officer - MemberSecretary) are the Official Members in the Executive committeeof the Panchayat Samitis.It consists of 21 directly elected members and 24 Ex-officiomembers. The Chairman of the different Panchayat Samitis/BACs of the district, the MLAs elected from the constituenciesfalling under District and MPs of the two parliamentaryconstituencies constitute the Ex-officio members. All thePanchayat Samitis in the district is being constituted from 22directly elected members and 29 Ex-officio members.Each Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad consist of 7 StandingCommittees.i) Finance, Audit and Planning Committee (to be known as

Finance Committee).ii) Education, Environment, Cultural, Health and SportsAffairs Committee (to be known as Education and HealthCommittee).iii) Communication, Rural Electrification and non-conventionalEnergy Committee (to be known as Works Committee)iv) Industries including Cottage Industry and SericultluralCommittee (to be known as Industries Committee).v) Social Justice Committee.vi) Agricultural, Food, Irrigation, Cooperation, Fisheries andAnimal Husbandry Committee (to be known as AgricultureCommittee).vii) Poverty Alleviation Programme, Social and Farm Forestry,Rural Housing and Drinking Water Committee (to beknown as Poverty alleviation Committee).164INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSThe number of members to be elected for each standingcommittee and the Zilla Parishad has been notified by the StateGovernment.The Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Panchayat Samitiand the Sabhadhipati and the Sahakari Sabhadhipati of the ZillaParishad are the Ex-officio members of the Standing Committeesof the Panchayat Samities or the Zilla Parishad as the casemay be. Also, the Chairman of the Panchayat Samiti and theSabhadhipati of Zilla Parishad shall be the President of theStanding Committee in Finance, Audit and Planning of thePanchayat Samiti or the Zilla Parishad, as the case may be.In case of Hrishyamukh Panchayat Samiti and AmarpurPanchayat Samiti, a member of the Panchayat Samiti other thanthe Chairman and the Vice-Chairman shall be eligible to serveon maximum 3 Standing Committees. In case of otherPanchayat Samitis, no member other than the Chairman andthe Vice-Chairman shall be eligible to serve on more than 2Standing Committees.Similarly, in case of DTZP, no member other than theSabhadhipati and the Sahakari Sabhadhipati shall be eligible toserve on more than 2 Standing Committees. The Ex-officiomembers of the Panchayat Samiti or Zilla Parishad could beelected as Members and Presidents of Standing Committees ofPanchayat Samiti or Zilla Parishad, except, as the President ofStanding Committee for Finance, Audit and Planning.The elections of the members of the Standing Committeesand their respective Chairmans and Vice Chairman’s are to beheld after every 2 years for Panchayat Samiti and 5 years forZilla Parishad.Project Director DRDA, District Panchayat Officer, DistrictPlanning Officer, Deputy registrar of Co-operative Societies,Development Officer Institutional Finance, District StatisticalOfficer, Lead Bank officer, Senior Deputy Collector looking afterRevenue Section of the Office of the DM & Collector and a

nominated Professor/ Assistant Professor of Economics arethe Official Members of the Finance Standing Committee.The Official Members of Education and Health StandingCommittee comprises of Chief Medical Officer, DeputyDirector of Education, District Level Officer from Science andTechnology Department, Assistant Director of ICAT Department,Deputy Director of Physical Education, District Inspectorof Social Education, one nominated Headmaster and Representativeof the Ramkrishna Mission.The Official Members of Works Standing Committee comprisesof Superintending Engineer (PWD), SuperintendingEngineer (Electrical), District Level Officer of the Science andTechnology Department, Executive Engineer RD Department,Senior Deputy Collector looking after Development Section ofthe office of the DM & Collector and the Executive Engineer(PWD) from different Divisions of the district.Project Director DRDA, General Manager District IndustriesCentre, Officer-in-Charge of the Cluster Constituted fordevelopment of Sericulture and Handloom of the District,Representative of KVIC and the Assistant Marketing Officer /Assistant Development Officer of THHDC LTD constitutesthe Official Members in Industry Standing Committee.District Tribal Welfare Officer, any Member of the MahilaCommission, District Inspector of Social Education, Representativeof State Social Welfare Board for the district andrepresentative of the Ramkrishna Mission constitutes theOfficial Members in Social Justice Standing Committee.The Official Members of Agriculture Standing Committeecomprises of Senior Collector looking after the Food and CivilSupplies in the office of the DM & Collector, ExecutiveEngineer of concerned MIFC Division, Deputy RegistrarCooperative Societies Deputy Director of Agriculture, Horticulturist,Deputy Project Officer (Soil Conservation), DeputyDirector of Fisheries and the Deputy Director of AnimalResources Development.The Official Members of Poverty Alleviation Standing Committeeis constituted of the Conservator of Forest, AdditionalDistrict Magistrate & Collector, Project Director DRDA,Executive Engineer RD Division, Deputy Director of Fisheries,Horticulturist and the Executive Engineer PHE.The Gram Panchayats in the non-tribal areas and the ADCvillages in the tribal areas are directly responsible to the villagersfor all the development activities of their electoral constituency.The Gram Panchayat is regularly conducting Gram Sabha, aforum of active participation by the electorates in the constituency.The following agendas are being normally laid down anddiscussed in the Gram Sabha:(a) Accounts of income & expenditure of the Gram Panchayat.(b) Annual Administrative Report for the last financial year(c) Last Audit Note and resolutions regarding rectification.(d) Budget of the Gram Panchayat for the current financial year.

(e) Details of the receipt of fund and developmental activitiestaken up and completed during the last financial year.(f) Likely receipt of fund and proposed developmental activitiesto be taken up during the current financial year.As per the provisions of Panchayat Act, Gram Sansad has alsobeen constituted at the Gram Panchayat Constituency level(Wards) to involve citizens more in the development aspects ofthe Gram Panchayat.ObjectivesIt has now become clear that, for sustainable economic andsocial development to take place in any country, it is necessarythat people participate in the political process. The process ofparticipation is complex-and it is by no means clear that it iscomprehensively inclusive. By this, we mean that it is notpossible to assume that all sections of the population take parteffectively in the political and democratic processes of society.There are many reasons why people may not participate—fromapathy to a sense of helplessness.In particular, unless specific conditions are met, women facemultiple hurdles and find it difficult to participate in thepolitical process that has hitherto been a male bastion. Thereasons for this are gender specific. Women are less mobile thanmen are. They have domestic responsibilities, which puts limitson the time they can spend in such processes. There arehistorical prejudices. Consistent efforts will have to be made165INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSover a period of time to engender the political process andinstitutions and issues that are critical to this process. This paperexplores some aspects of this process in the context ofdecentralised governance ushered in by the 73rd Constitutionalamendment in India in the last five years.Recognizing this limitation where gender is concerned, Indiahas passed laws that make it mandatory for local governmentsto include women. [These laws do not apply to state andnational level legislatures.] One third of the seats in localbodies—gram or village panchayats, municipalities, citycorporations and district bodies—are “ reserved” for women.This means the contests can only be between women in theseconstituencies. The first step in enabling women to participatehas been taken. This reservation of seats, in the 1993-94elections, has brought in about 800,000 women into thepolitical process in a single election. They are now just aboutcompleting their first term [of five years] in elected office.Elections for the second round will soon have to be held. Whathas been the experience with this experiment in social engineering?A M inimum of BackgroundGrassroots democracy has been ushered in by an amendment tothe Constitution from the “ top” . This was not because of amass movement by the people. This is also true of the 1/ 3rdreservation for women: it was not because women who were

consentised demanded their due share in power, or contested inlarge numbers to capture seats in these bodies. It happened,and women [as a group] were caught quite unprepared by thisdevelopment.For a number of reasons, the Indian State felt that the implementationof development programmes, like the IRDP, forexample, would be most effective if local people were involved.The strident debate on Centre-State relations, the poor targetingof poverty alleviation programmes and the like led to therealisation that local involvement-participation-is essential ifsuch programmes are to succeed. This is specially so forbeneficiary identification, and to a smaller extent, for decisionson how to spend the limited amount available locally ondifferent local projects. And given the lack of interest indevolving such power in most of the states, coercion through aConstitutional amendment was the chosen route for introducingsuch decentralisation. The amendment prescribed athree-tier system of local governance for the entire country. Thishas been effective since 1993.The Three Tiers of PRIsThese bodies, which are legally local government, have apyramidal structure. At the base is the gram Sabha-the entirebody of citizens in a village or “ grama” . This is the general bodythat elects the local government and charges it with specificresponsibilities. This body is expected to meet at specific timesand approve major decisions taken by the elected body. Abovethis basic unit of democracy, is the gram panchayat or GP,which is the first level elected body, covering a population ofaround five thousand people. This may include more than onevillage. It is not uncommon to find several villages comingunder one GP. This has implications for women’s participation,as women have limited mobility.At the district level is a Zilla panchayat, which is the link withthe state government. In between the two is an intermediatebody called, in Karnataka, the taluk panchayat, which isexpected to play a co-ordinating role among the GPs in itsjurisdiction and the ZP in planning and administration. Whilethe levels are common across the country, states have passedlaws that are not necessarily similar with respect to rolesfunctions and responsibilities. There is thus much variation andit is essential we learn from this. But that is another question.In this system, the gram sabha has to play a crucial role- inensuring downward accountability, transparency and voice to thepeople. In reality, this is far from being the case. There is evensome confusion about the gram sabha-for example, has theelectorate of an entire gram panchayat to meet together for thegram sabha, or do smaller habitations have their own gramsabhas in their own area? Are the members of the GPs to bepresent in all such gram sabhas? If not, what is the mechanismto co-ordinate the decision making and conveying the constituentvillages’ views upward to the elected body? Who does this,

and how is it done?This is basically an empirical question and the answer will lie inwhat is happening in the villages. Factors that aid or abetwomen’s participation can be identified in “ process” issues likethese-when are meetings held? Is the hour and place convenientto women members? Will 2 to 3 elected women’s representativescoming in from neighbouring habitations feel free enoughto participate in gram sabha meetings? Are all communications[meeting notice, agenda, and minutes of proceedings…] inwritten form? Who writes them and who has access to readwhat has been written and recorded? Our impression is thatmuch needs to be done to make gram sabhas effective. This willbe crucial to the success of thus entire system. At the moment itis enough if we note these concerns as they clearly placeconstraints on women’s full and effective participation in thesystem.The Impetus for PRIsThe word “ panchayat” is a traditional one, referring to the fiveelders in a village who mediated conflict and spoke on behalf ofall the residents of a village in pre-modern times. In thesetraditional bodies, the lower castes-and women-had norepresentation. The question did not arise!The word Panchayat has been retained for use after the 73rdamendment to the Constitution. The meaning is now a formalone referring to a body - not of five persons - elected accordingto law. Further the same word is used for the three tiers of localadministration brought in by the 73rd amendment - the highestbeing the district or zilla panchayat. The lowest is the grampanchayat that may consist of several traditional villages. Allcitizens of these villages constitute the gram sabha, which thenbecomes the basic unit of democracy. In between is a coordinatinglevel - the taluka panchayat. The powers that thesepanchayats enjoy are enshrined in the laws enacted by each state,and, in India, there is considerable variation across states. Thus,this traditional word must now be understood in a thoroughlymodern context. And this is quite recent. But this does notmean the traditional bodies had disappeared. What influence166INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSthey wield at an informal level in the rural society, is anothermatter that merits careful study.The Constitution provided, [in Part 4, The Directive Principlesof State Policy, Article 40] for the setting up of villagepanchayats. But this is non-justiciable, and there was nopressure on any state to set up such a system. Many saw thisarticle as a concession to Gandhi, rather than as a serious matterto be immediately implemented. The reason for this was thepowerful voice of Dr Ambedkar. Drawing on his own experienceof rural India as it then was, he argued that local elite andupper castes were so well entrenched that any local self governmentonly meant the continuing exploitation of the

downtrodden masses of Indian society. Nehru shared this view.Thus, in addition to affirmative action enshrined in theConstitution, the distribution of powers was deliberately madeto favour the Union as against the local, even state governments.The Union, being far away from the squalid battles ofrural India, and being looked after by an educated and urbanstrata of society, would, it was felt, be more just - or at leastmore impartial - in its dealings with the downtrodden.Historical experience would tend, we suspect, to justify this earlyexpectation. But is this still true after 50 years of gradualchange? Has not the power of the upper castes in the rural areasdeclined? To what extent have things changed for the SC/ STsfor the better?The Union in those early days took up what was called theCommunity Development Programme. This was meant for allround social and economic development, and it was animportant ministry headed for long by S.K. Dey. It was thisprogramme that brought in such functionaries as the VillageLevel Worker and the Block Development Officer. After the1960s this programme declined, as centrifugal forces led to thegradual dominance of the Union. Finally, the Ministry ofCommunity Development ceased to exist. That philosophybecame a thing of the past. But the bureaucracy it createdremained. Whether this helps the new PRIs is still an openquestion.This is not the place to trace the experience of this ambitiousprogramme. Suffice it to say that, when it was being reviewed,the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee in the late 1960s came upwith the idea of local governments, which was given thetraditional name of panchayat. Later, in another context, theAshok Mehta Committee in the late 1970s too made recommendationsfor the setting up of local governments. As weshall see, these had an important impact many years down theline. It is from the Union’s experience of developmentprogrammes that the idea/ need for local governments came tobe pushed. It has been a top-level initiative for local developmentand decentralised administration. And, we might add, itcontinues to be so.Given the overall centralising trends in the Indian polity, theStates too developed an authoritarian system of governance.States almost became subservient to the Union. Art 356 wasused to keep a firm check on the behaviour of state governments.This ensured that strong hierarchical systems developed.All this was further strengthened during the Emergency. Thestates behaved in the same dominating way with lower tiers ofgovernance - or, more correctly, administration. Strong linedepartments of the state governments took over developmentprogrammes. This is true, perhaps in varying degrees, of all thestates. Indian democracy lost the grass roots link: it became atop down system. At the same time the bureaucracy grew ininfluence. Women were suddenly brought into this system as

one dimension of this complex process-and it defines thecontext in which they have to function.Yet, and this is the Indian paradox, several state governmentsconducted their own experiments with local self-government.This is the result of the shift in power from the traditionalupper castes to the OBCs or intermediate castes-certainly instates like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The changes thatoccurred over the last 50 years of planned development alsoresulted in pressures from below, to which political forces havehad to respond. How this impacted on the SCs and STs thatAmbedkar was concerned about is another question. Caste andclass are not overlapping categories. Grabbing political powerfrom the brahmin and other upper castes does not mean thatSC/ STs will automatically be empowered-and the same appliesto women as well. An interesting point missed out in alldebates on reservations is that there are women in all castes,class and religions!Tasks To Be Undertaken by Panchayati Raj(Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution)• Agriculture, including agricultural extension.• Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, landsconsolidation and soil conservation.• Minor irrigation, water management and watersheddevelopment.• Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry.• Fisheries.• Social forestry and farm forestry.• Minor forest produce.• Small scale industries, including food processing industries• Khadi, village and cottage industries.• Rural housing.• Drinking water.• Fuel and fodder.• Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other meansof communication.• Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.• Non-conventional energy sources.• Poverty alleviation programme.• Education, including primary and secondary schools.• Technical training and vocational education.• Adult and non-formal education.• Libraries.• Cultural activities.• Markets and fairs.• Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary healthcentres and dispensaries.167INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS• Family welfare.• Women and child development.• Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and

mentally retarded.• Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of theScheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.• Public distribution system.• Maintenance of community assets.The philosophy of Panchayat Raj is deeply steeped in traditionand culture of rural India and is by no means a new concept.Panchayati Raj Provided a system of self-governance at thevillage level, however, it did not have a constitutional status.The Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992provides a framework on which to build the third level ofgovernance panchayats.Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation once stated,“ Independence must being at the bottom ... it follows,therefore, that every village has to be self-sustained and capableof managing its affairs...”April 23, 1993 is a landmark day in the history of Panchayati Rajin India as on this day, the institution of Panchyayati Raj wasaccorded constitutional status through the Constitution(Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, thereby seeking totransform Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Gram Swaraj intoreality.The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 mandatesprovisions for :• Establishment of a three-tier structure (Village Panchayat,Panchayat Samiti or intermediate level Panchayat and ZillaParishad or district level Panchayat).• Establishment of Gram Sabhas at the village level.• Regular elections to Panchayats every five years.• Proportionate seat reservation for SCs/ STs.• Reservation of not less than 1/ 3 seats for women.• Constitution of State Finance Commissions torecommended measures to improve the finances ofPanchayats.• __________Constitution of State Election Commission.• The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 vests powerin the State Government to endow Panchayats with suchpowers and authority as may be necessary to enable them tofunction as institutions of self-government such as :• Preparation of plants and their execution for economicdevelopment and social justice in relation to 29 subjectslisted in the XI schedule of the Constitution.• Authority to Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate taxes,duties, tolls and fees.• Transfer of taxes, duties, tolls and fees collected by the Statesto Panchayats.THE PANCHAYATI RAJRemember that the Panchayati Raj is also an important form ofthe local government in the rural areas.The Three-tier Panchayati RajThe Panchayati Raj is a three-tier system. It has Panchayats at the

root or village level, Block Samitis at the Block or Tehsil leveland the Zilla Parishads at the district level. In the previouschapter, you have read about the Village Panchayats, which arethe basic units of Panchayati Raj. The Block Samiti or the KhandSamiti is the second layer of the three-tier system of PanchayatiRaj. The Zilla Parishad or the District Council is the top layer inthe three-tier system of Panchayati Raj.All the three institutions together look after the needsand problems of the rural areas and they are togethercalled the Panchayati Raj.THE BLOCK SAM ITISThe Block Samitis in some areas are also called the KhandSamitis, while in others they are also called the Prakhand Samitis.The Block Samiti is an important link between the villagePanchayat on the one side and the Zilla Parishad on the other.Composition:The members of the Block Samitis are not elected directly. ThePradhans and the Panchas of the Village Panchayats within theBlock choose their representatives to the Block Samitis. Besidesthese elected representatives, there are other members of theBlock Samitis as well. They are:(i) Chairmen of the Town Area Committees and the NotifiedArea Committees within the Block.(ii) All the- members of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, theLegislative Assembly and the Legislative Council elected fromthe Block concerned.(iii) If there are no representatives of women and’ ScheduledCastes in the Block Samiti then these members are appointedby the District Officer concerned. There must be two womenmembers and four members as representatives of theScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in a Block Samiti.The members of the Block Samiti elect a Block Chairman or theBlock Pramukh and a Vice-Chairman. The Chairman or the BlockPramukh looks after the work of the Block Samiti and if themembers are not satisfied with his work they have the right toremove him by passing a vote of No-Confidence against him.In his absence, the Vice-Chairman looks after the work of theBlock Samiti.The term of a Block Samiti is five years.FunctionsOne of the main functions of the Block Samiti is to obtainmoney from the Government for various programmes todevelop the Block.The Block Samitis also provide services of experts to villagePanchayats of their area who give advice to the PanchayatCommittees for their development. For this purpose, the BlockSamitis have various experts such as agricultural experts, anengineer, an educational expert, a veterinary doctor and manyother experts to give advice on various works of rural development.These experts frequently visit the villages and tell thepeople how to get more production by using improved seeds

and manures, how to improve the breed of their cattle, how to168INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSlearn scientific methods of cultivation and how to make use ofthe different family welfare programmes.Sources of I ncome - Broadly, the income of the Block Samitiscomes from two sources(i) Taxes, (ij) Government assistance.The Block Samitis levy taxes on lands and houses, cattle andfairs and raise funds from the village for providing them expertservices. The government assistance comes in the form of grantsin-aid from the State Governments.THE ZILLA PARISHADThe Zilla Parishad or the District Council is the highestinstitution of the Panchayati Raj in India. Just as the BlockSamitis coordinate the development activities of all thePanchayats in their areas, similarly the Zilla Parishads coordinatethe activities of the Block Samitis in the whole district.Composition: The composition of the Zilla Parishad issomewhat similar to the composition of a Block Samiti,though on a bigger scale. It is composed of the followingmembers:(i) The Chairmen of the Block Samitis in the district.(ii)Members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha representthe district.(iii)Members of the Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishkd fromthe district.(iv)Representatives of the Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes.(v)Representatives of women.The Zilla Parishad elects its Chairman and a Vice-Chairman. TheChairman presides over the meetings.The Zilla Parishad and the Block Samitis appoint differentcommittees for efficient and smooth functioning of various‘programmes. These sub-committees are composed fromamong the members themselves to look after such developmentalworks as education, sanitation, public health, agriculturalproduction, finance, social welfare and family planning.The Government appoints a Secretary of the Zilla Parishad whois a permanent employee of the Parishad. He maintains recordsand accounts.Functions of the Zilla Parishad: The Zilla Parishad is theapex organisation of the three tier system of Panchayati Raj. Itsmain function is to help the village panchayats and the BlockSamitis and to coordinate their work. It also gives advice to thegovernment on the work of the Panchayats and the BlockSamitis.It prepares plans for the comprehensive development of thewhole district.It takes steps to increase agricultural production and to improvesanitation in the rural areas.It constructs good roads in villages.

Implementation of five-year Plans and other plans for ruraldevelopment are the responsibility of the Zilla Parishad.Sources of I ncome: Its main sources of income are thefollowing:1. Financial grants from the Government.2. Rent from the property owned by the Zilla Parishad.3. Taxes levied on properties and fairs, etc.Significance of Panchayati RajThe Panchayati Raj has many achievements to its credit:(1)The Panchayati Raj system has brought about politicalawakening in rural India.(2) The Panchayati Raj has brought the government close to thepeople.(3) The Panchayats have succeeded in improving the conditionof their respective villages by taking up welfare activities.(4) Primary and adult schools run by the Panchayats have spreadliteracy and education among the rural people.(5) The Panchayats have succeeded in drawing the attention ofthe government officials to their problems.Gram SabhaGram Sabha is a body consisting of persons registered in theelectoral rolls of a village or a group of villages which elect aPanchayat.A vibrant and enlightened Gram Sabha is central to the successof the Panchayati Raj system. The year 1999-2000 has thus beendeclared as the “ Year of the Gram Sabha” . State Governmentshave been urged :• To vest in the Gram Sabha, powers on the lines envisaged inthe Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to theScheduled Areas) Act, 1996.• To make a mandatory provision in the Panchayati Raj Act forholding Gram Sabha meetings throughout the country onthe occasion of the Republic Day, Labour Day, IndependenceDay and Gandhi Jayanti.• To make a mandatory provision in the Panchayati Raj Actspecifying separately, the quorum for Gram Sabha meetings,for ordinary meetings, meetings convened for specialpurposes and re-convened meetings due to cancellation ofand earlier meeting for want of quorum.• To make members of the Gram Sabhas aware of theirpowers and responsibilities with a view to ensuring massparticipation, particularly of the hitherto marginalised,groups, such as women and SCs/ STs.• To lay down procedures for the Gram Sabha to effectivelycarry out social audit of beneficiary oriented developmentprogrammes of the Ministry or Rural Development,particularly the legal powers of the Gram Sabha to orderrecovery or punishment for financial mismanagement.• To evolve a plan of action for generating wide publicity forGram Sabha meetings.• To evolve guidelines/ procedures for holding Gram Sabha

meetings and a model list of business for such meetings.• To generate awareness as to the rights of the Gram Sabhawith respect to control over natural resources, land recordsand conflict resolution.• The Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992envisages empowered Panchayats as institutions of selfgovernmentat the village level capable of :169INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS• Planning and executing village level public works and theirmaintenance.• Ensuring welfare of the people at the village level includinghealth, education, communal harmony, social justiceparticularly gender and caste based discrimination, disputeresolution, welfare of children, especially the girl child.• The Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992 alsoenvisages empowered Gram Sabhas as the Parliament of thePeople at the grassroots level to whom the Gram Panchayatsare solely accountable.Office Bearers of the PanchayatsVillage Pradhan or Sarpanch : The members of the VillagePanchayat elect one of their members as Sarpanch or the Pradhanwho is the Head-Panch or the President of the Panchayat. It ishis duty to call the meetings of the Panchayat and to presideover these meetings.The Panchayat Secretary: the District Magistrate or theDeputy Commissioner appoints The Panchayat Secretary. He isa salaried officer who maintains the records and the registers ofthe work done by the Panchayat. He also prepares accounts, etc.He is a permanent employee. Generally, he looks after the workof two or three Panchayats.Functions of the Village PanchayatThe functions of a Village Panchayat can be divided into twocategories:(i) Essential or Compulsory, and(ii)Optional or Voluntary.Essential or Compulsory Functions:The essential or compulsory functions of the Village Panchayatsare as follows :1. Construction and maintenance of village roads andwaterways.2: Construction of culverts and roads.3. Planting of trees.4. Construction and repair of village wells and tanks.5. Provision of clean drinking water.6. Provision of lights on roads and streets.7. Sanitation and public health.8. Supervision over the work of the government servants suchas the Patwari, the Lekhpal, the police constable, thechowkidar, the vaccinator or the peon, and to report anycomplaint against them to the higher authorities.

9. Supervision of the Primary Schools.Optional or Voluntary Functions: The optional or voluntaryfunctions of the Panchayats are as follows:1. Management of hospitals and maternity centers.2. Management of village markets.3. Management of veterinary hospitals for the treatment ofcattle.4. Supply of good seeds and fertilizers.5. Organizing recreation and entertainment programmes, suchas Akharas, or village sports.6. Opening and maintaining libraries.7. Holding of village fairs.Sources of I ncome: For all these functions, the Panchayatneeds money. The various sources of its income are thefollowing:1. Taxes on houses and shops.2. Taxes on fairs and markets.3. Fees realized from registration of sale and purchase of cattle.4. Income from the sale of public property.5. Government grants2.8.7 The Nyaya PanchayatGenerally, there is one Nyaya Panchayat for three or four villages.Each Village Panchayat elects some members to the NyayaPanchayat. No person can be a member of both the PanchayatSamiti and the Nyaya Panchayat at the same time.The Nyaya Panchayats can hear only such petty cases as tresspass, minor thefts and other cases of simple nature, whethercivi I or criminal. They can impose fines up to one hundredrupees. If a party is not satisfied with its judgement, it can go inappeal to the High Court. The \ ~yaya Panchayat cannot send aperson to prison.The establishment of the Nyaya Panchayats has a great significancefor the poor people because they save them from undueexpenditure and litigation on minor disputes. The cases tried bythese Panchayats are decided quickly and there is little chance ofmisleading the panchayat by telling lies.Importance of the Village Panchayats(1)The Village Panchayats help the villagers in solving their ownproblems.(2) They teach them how to elect their representatives whowould serve them better. In this way, the Village Panchayatsgive them the first lesson in democracy.(3) The villagers learn to cooperate with one another whilesolving their own problems.(4) The Panchayats teach the villagers self-help and not to beover-dependent on the government.5) The Panchayats reduce the burden of the government.(6) The Panchayats know the needs of their respective villagesbetter and prepare schemes, which are most beneficial tothem.(7) The Village Panchayats form the basis of Panchayati Raj in

our country.Relations betw een the Village Panchayats and the StateGovernment(1) Each State Government passes a panchayat Act according towhich the Panchayats have to function.(2) The State Governments can frame rules and regulations toregulate the working of the Panchayats, whenever necessary.(3) The State Governments appoint inspectors in each district tohelp and supervise the work of the Panchayats.170INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS(4) The State Governments provide funds to help thePanchayats in carrying out their functions, both essential andoptional.(5) If the State Government feels that a Panchayat is notfunctioning properly and efficiently, the District authoritiescan be asked to supersede it.Function1. Public health. Even costly medicines are given free to the poorpatients. Vaccination and inocculation are carried out againstsuch diseases as Smallpox, Cholera, Tuberculosis and otherepidemics. Steps are also taken for sanitation and cleanliness,which include removal of rubbish and garbage and cleaningof drains. Efforts are also made for the supply of freshdrinking water.2. Public Conveniences: For the convenience of the public, thelocal bodies in urban areas undertake the followingmeasures:(i) Construction and maintenance of good and wide roadsand streets.(ii) Plantation of trees along the roadsides.(iii) Supply of electricity to houses and factories.(iv) Construction of public urinals and latrines at busycentres.3. Public Education: Education prepares an individual to be abetter citizen. An educated person proves more useful bothto himself and to the society.For this purpose, the local bodies open schools for smallchildren. Primary education in our country is free andcompulsory. Therefore, the municipalities open PrimarySchools and organise special drives to see that all childrenbelow 14 years of age go to work schools. The local bodiesalso open reading rooms, public libraries and museums, etc.4. Public Security: Every municipality or a corporation maintainsfire engines for saving the people and their property from thegreat disasters caused by fire. It can also pull down old anddangerous houses, which may cause any mishappening. Ittakes steps for maintaining the quality of goods and checksfood adulteration.Voluntary FunctionsBesides the above compulsory functions, a municipality or a

corporation can take up several other functions if its financespermit. These functions are called voluntary functions. Thechief among them is as below.1. To develop parks and gardens to keep the citizens healthy andfit.2. To develop a zoo, a museum and some picnic resorts as well.3. Construct and maintain children’s homes, orphanages, nightshelters,rest houses, etc.4. In bigger towns and cities, local bodies can provide their owncheap and efficient transport facilities.5. Construction of toilets and bathrooms also comes under thevoluntary functions of a corporation or a municipality.Sources of IncomeTo discharge all these functions properly, the local bodies needmoney, which they get from the following sources:(i) Octroi duty on goods brought into the city or taken out ofthe city.(ii) Taxes on property, i.e., house shops and lands.(iii) Taxes on vehicles.(iv) Income from water and electricity supplied to houses andfactories.(v) Income from municipal properties.(vi) Financial grants from the State Governments.(vii) Loans from the State Government whenever a municipalityundertakes a special project, which involves big expenditures.NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE LOCALGOVERNMENTA local government is an institution, which is constituted tolook into local problems and to provide bare amenities to thepeople of a village, a town or a city.A local government has a great importance of its own becauseof the following reasons.Firstly, local people know their problems well and hence it isonly they who can solve them better by taking part in the localgovernment.Secondly, the local people can get their work done better, quickerand cheaper at local level.Thirdly, the participation of local people in the local governmentgenerates the spirit of cooperation and hence the people readilypay their taxes.Fourthly, the local government also provides sufficient scope tothe elected representatives of the local people to acquire trainingand experience in administration. It is interesting to note thatJawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister, had worked as aChairman of the Allahabad Municipal Committee during theBritish rule and acquired much experience of administrationfrom there.Lastly, the local government also lightens the burden of theCentral and State Governments.THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND PANCHAYATI RAJThe State Government has been given the power to pass the

law for constituting the different institutions of Panchayati Raj.The State Government helps the Panchayats by giving themfinancial grants to carry out their plans for the village improvement.The State Government keeps a strict watch on the workof Panchayati Raj institutions and appoints a Secretary tomaintain accounts and keep records of the work done by theseinstitutions. At the district level, the Collector or the DeputyCommissioner looks after their work and coordinates the workof Panchayati Raj and the district administration. However, atthe Block level, the Block Development Officer or B.D.O doessame work.RELATIONSHIP OF THE LOCAL BODIES WITH THESTATE/CENTRAL GOVERNMENTThe State or the Central Government keeps some sort ofcontrol over the working of the local bodies, whether in the171INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSurban or the rural areas. In some states, there is also a Ministerfor Local self-government who keeps a control on these localbodies. The State Government keeps a strict watch on thefinances of the local bodies. While the Government gives themgrants, the State officials regularly check their accounts. Thepermission of the State Government is quite essential forlevying any new tax or raising any loan from the public. Aboveall, the very life of a local body depends on the goodwill of theState Government. The State Government can dissolve anymunicipality or a corporation if its working is not foundsatisfactory.But there exist cordial relations between the local bodies and theState Government because both aim at the welfare of thepeople. The State Government intervenes only as a last resortwhen a local body fails to serve the people in a right manner.To sum up, we can say that local bodies are the most importantorganizations in a democracy. They not only promote a sense ofcooperation among the people to solve their own commonproblems but also train them for higher responsibilities in Stateand Central Government.Sum m aryThe constitution of India approved of the panchayats and gavethem the power and authority to be local self-governing bodies.The working of Panchayati Raj Institutions since 1959 has beenargued as successful in a few states and a failure in most of thestates. Although, the concept of Panchayati Raj is a State subjectbut basically each state is free to evolve its own system dependingupon Local needs, circumstances administrativeconveniences and experiences. With the result, we have a varietyof Panchayati Raj institutions with all kinds of combinationsand permutations. Grassroots democracy has been ushered inby an amendment to the Constitution from the “ top” ThePanchayati Raj is a three-tier system. It has Panchayats at theroot or village level, Block Samitis at the Block or Tehsil level

and the Zilla Parishads at the district level. Panchayati Raj ishailed as the most important political invention of independentIndia, because through it, the massess of Indian peopleare beginning, for the first time in their history, to experience therealities of democracy, in however, contradictory of distortedform.Assignm entWhat is the organisational structure of Zilla Parishad. What arethe committees and their functions?

References-

1. Public Policy and politics in India By Kuldeep Mathur

2. Indian Political Trials By A.C. Noorani.

3. Basu, Durga Das. The Laws of the Press in India(1962) Asia Publishing House, Bombay