indian polity book series 32

12. Local Self Governments (Panchayati Raj)

Local Self Governments are institutions created for people to govern themselves.

• To further decentralize democracy, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments distributed powers to local governments constitutionally.
• To realize Mahatma Gandhi's dream of "Gram Swarajya is Ram Rajya," Article 40 of the Constitution states that Panchayati Raj institutions should be established.
• Local governments have significant historical importance in ancient times. The Rigveda mentions two local self-governing bodies, "Sabha" and "Samiti."
• Kautilya, in his Arthashastra, mentioned village officials called 'Gramika' and 'Gramakuta.' The village head was called Gramani, and the head of 10 villages was called Dashagramani. Megasthenes also described the city government of Pataliputra in his book Indica.
• The Cholas in medieval South India were famous for local self-government. The Uttiramerur inscription of Parantaka I details the Chola's local self-government.
• In rural areas, a council called Panchas, consisting of five members, existed to resolve issues. The term Panchas later evolved into 'Panchayat.'
• With the establishment of the Madras Municipal Corporation during British rule, the history of modern local government in India began.
• The Madras Municipal Corporation was established in 1687.
• The British made the district an administrative unit and introduced the post of Collector in 1772.
• Metcalfe, who served as Governor-General of India between 1835-36, described Indian rural communities as 'Little Republics.'
• Lord Mayo introduced local governments in India for the first time through a resolution (1870) known as the Financial Decentralization Resolution.
• Viceroy Lord Ripon proposed a resolution in 1882, granting financial and administrative powers to local governments.

• Lord Ripon's resolution is called the Magna Carta of local governments.
• Lord Ripon is known as the Father of Local Self Government.
• The Royal Commission, under the chairmanship of Sir Charles Hobhouse, was appointed in 1907 to study the functioning of local governments in India.
• Local self-governing bodies were included in the Transferred List by the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms (1919).
• With the autonomy granted to the states under the Government of India Act 1935, local self-government became stronger.
• Article 40 of the Constitution describes local bodies.
• The Government of India Act of 1935 included local bodies in the state list.

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Experiments in Villages for Community Development:

Experiment	Location	Proponent
Shantiniketan Experiment	Kolkata	Rabindranath Tagore
Etawah Experiment	Etawah, Uttar Pradesh	Albert Mayer
Nilokheri Experiment	Nilokheri, Near Karnal, Haryana	S.K. Dey
Baroda Experiment	Baroda	V.T. Krishnamachari
Sevagram Experiment	Wardha, Maharashtra	Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Jayaprakash Narayan
Firka Experiment	Madras State	Tanguturi Prakasam
Community Development Program (1952)	All over country	Central government with the help of the Ford Foundation, following T. Krishnamachari's advice.

Community Development Program:

• The Community Development Program (CDP) was launched on October 2, 1952.
• The Ford Foundation (America) provided assistance to the Community Development Program.
• Under the CDP, the country was divided into blocks. Each block comprised approximately 100 villages.
• The program was initially launched on a pilot basis in 55 blocks and later extended to 5011 blocks.
• One block was created for every 70,000 people.
• A Block Development Officer (BDO) was appointed for each block.
• The Block Development Officer is the chief executive officer at the block level.
• The primary objective of this program was to consider the block as a unit and provide essential infrastructure there with the participation of the people.

National Extension Service Program

• This program was launched on October 2, 1953.
• Jawaharlal Nehru described the "National Extension Service Scheme as a Silent Revolution."

• S.K. Dey stated that this scheme is "a beautiful garden maintained by a trained gardener."

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee:

• The Planning Commission appointed the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee on January 16, 1957, to suggest some changes in rural self-government because the expected results were not achieved through the Community Development Program and the National Extension Service Scheme.
• The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee submitted its report in November 1957.
• The National Development Council approved the recommendations of this committee in January 1958.

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee Recommendations:

• A three-tier Panchayati Raj system should be established in the country.

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• A three-tier system should be introduced.
• That is, at the district level Zilla Parishad, at the Mandal level Mandal Parishad should be established.
• Justice Panchayats should be established under the chairmanship of a qualified judge.
• The total number of recommendations made by the Ashok Mehta Committee 132.
• Political parties should directly contest in Panchayat elections.
• Reservations should be provided to Scheduled Castes and Tribes on the basis of their population.
• Elections to local bodies should be held within 6 months of the expiry of their term.
• The tenure of all posts in Panchayati Raj institutions should be fixed at 4 years.
• Karnataka (1985) was the first state to implement the Mandal system based on the recommendations of Ashok Mehta.
• N.T. Rama Rao introduced the Mandal system in Andhra Pradesh in 1986.
• Tamil Nadu is the state where the two-tier Panchayati Raj system is in operation in the country.
• Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana are the states where the three-tier Panchayati Raj system is in operation.

Ashok Mehta Committee:

• The Ashok Mehta Committee was appointed in December 1977 by the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai-led Janata government.
• The committee submitted its report in August 1978 with 132 recommendations.

Recommendations of the Ashok Mehta Committee:

• Instead of a three-tier Panchayat system, a two-tier system should be introduced.
• That is, the Zilla Parishad at the district level and the Mandal Parishad at the Mandal level should be established.
• Justice Panchayats headed by a qualified Justice should be established.
• The total number of recommendations made by the Ashok Mehta Committee is 132.
• Political parties should contest directly in Panchayat elections.
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be provided reservations on the basis of their population.
• Elections should be held within 6 months of the expiry of the term of office of the local bodies.
• The tenure of all posts in Panchayati Raj institutions should be fixed at 4 years.
• Karnataka was the first state to set up a Mandal system (in 1985) based on the recommendations of Ashok Mehta.
• N.T. Rama Rao introduced the Mandal system in Andhra Pradesh in 1986.
• Tamil Nadu is the only state to have a two-tier panchayat system.
• Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka have three-tier panchayat system.

Dantwala Committee (1978):

• Dantwala Committee was set up in 1978 for Block Level Planning.

Recommendations :

• The Collector should be given priority in the formulation of plans at the district level.

Note

• Based on the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, Rajasthan was the first state to introduce the Panchayati Raj system in the country.
• Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Panchayati Raj system in Nagaur district of Rajasthan on October 2, 1959.
• The second state to introduce the Panchayati Raj system in India is the united Andhra Pradesh.
• Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated on 11 October 1959 in Shadnagar of Mahabubnagar district of united Andhra Pradesh and on 1 November 1959 in Shamshabad of Rangareddy district. The then Chief Minister was Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy.

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C.H. Hanumantha Rao Committee (1984):

• The post of Block Development Officer should be abolished.
• District Planning Boards should be set up to function either under the chairmanship of a Minister or under the chairmanship of the Collector.

G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985):

• The Planning Commission appointed this Committee in 1985 to study the issues of Rural Development and Poverty.
• The committee noted that the spirit of governance in the country was gradually weakening and becoming bureaucratic.

Recommendations:

• The Collector should act as the Chairman of the Zilla Parishad.
• The post of District Development Officer should be created and the executive responsibility of the Zilla Parishad should be entrusted to him.
• The block system should be abolished.
• Zilla Parishads should be strengthened.

L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986):

• Rajiv Gandhi, when he was Prime Minister in 1986, appointed the L.M. Singhvi Committee to make necessary suggestions and recommendations to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system.

Recommendations:

• Local bodies should be given constitutional status and protected.
• Financial resources should be provided to Gram Panchayats.
• A special 'Judicial Tribunal' should be set up to resolve disputes related to Panchayat elections.

• The following was made possible by the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Indian Constitution
• (2)
  1. Appointment of women in all high positions
  2. Entry of women in Gram Panchayats, Municipal bodies
  3. Many women start small shops
  4. Increasing the number of women laborers in the agricultural sector

• In which list of the 7th Schedule is the item of Local Governments included?
• (2) (AP Constables Prelims–2016)
  1. Union List
  2. State List
  3. Concurrent List
  4. Residuary Items

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act

• The 73rd Amendment Act provided constitutional status to rural local bodies.
• The Rajiv Gandhi government introduced the 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill on May 15, 1989, but it was defeated in the Rajya Sabha. Later V.P. Singh government tried but was not successful.
• The P.V. Narasimha Rao government passed the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Bill, which provides constitutional status to rural institutions, in the Parliament on December 22, 1992.
• After 17 states ratified it, the President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma, signed the bill on April 20, 1993.
• The Act came into force from April 24, 1993.

Note

• Hence April 24 is celebrated as National Panchayati Raj Day.
• 20 years have passed since the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act came into force on April 24, 2013.
• Karnataka was the first state to establish a Panchayat system as per this Act after the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1993) came into force.
• By this Act, a new Panchayati Raj Act was incorporated in Part 9 of the Constitution.
• The 11th Schedule added the Panchayati Raj system.
• Articles 243 to 243(O), comprising 16 Articles, describe the Panchayati Raj system.
• 29 powers were given to the Panchayats by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.
• The subject of Panchayati Raj is in the State List of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution.

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• Article 243 : Definitions.
• Article 243 A : Gram Sabha.
• Article 243 B : Establishment of three-tier Panchayati Raj system.
• Article 243 C : Structure of Panchayats.
• Article 243 D : Reservation of seats.
• Article 243 E: Term of office of Panchayats.
• Article 243 F : Describes the disqualifications of Panchayat members.
• Article 243 G : Powers of Panchayats (29 types).
• Article 243 H : Sources of income.
• Article 243 I : State Finance Commission.
• Article 243 J : Audit of Panchayat Accounts.
• Article 243 K : Conduct of Panchayat Elections, Responsibility of State Election Commission.
• Article 243 L : Application of Panchayats to Union Territories.
• Article 243 M : Exemption of certain areas from the establishment of Panchayats.
• Article 243 N : Implementation of previous laws.
• Article 243 O : Courts shall not interfere in matters relating to Panchayat elections.

NOTE:

• These provisions do not apply to the states of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and the hill areas of Manipur, and the hill areas of Darjeeling district in West Bengal.

• Who conducts elections to local self-governing bodies (2)
• (AP Constables Mains-2016)
  1. Election Commission of India
  2. State Election Commission
  3. District Collector
  4. Panchayati Raj Department

• The year in which elections to local bodies were first held in united Andhra Pradesh was 1964.
• The year in which Sarpanch elections were first held directly in united Andhra Pradesh was 1981.

• The year in which legislation was enacted to prevent those having more than two children from contesting in local body elections was 1995, effective from 30th May.
• The Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act (1994), formulated in accordance with the 73rd Constitutional Amendment in united Andhra Pradesh, came into force on May 30, 1994.
• The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments provided reservations for SC, ST, and women in Panchayat institutions and urban governing bodies. 1/3rd of the seats in all institutions are to be reserved for women.
• Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have provided 50% reservation for women. Reservations are also in place for Backward Classes (BCs) in these states.

Structure of the New Panchayati System:

• The (United) Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act (1994), formulated in accordance with the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, came into force on May 30, 1994.
• This Act was formulated based on the recommendations of the B.P.R. Vittal Committee.
• As per the new Panchayati Raj Act, Andhra Pradesh implemented a three-tier system.

Tier	Body	Level
First Tier	Gram Panchayat	Village Level
Second Tier	Mandal Praja Parishad	Mandal Level
Third Tier	Zilla Praja Parishad	District Level

• Generally, a Gram Panchayat is established in villages with a population of not less than 300.
• Every Panchayat will have a Gram Sabha.
• All voters in that village will be members of the Gram Sabha.
• The Gram Sabha must meet at least twice a year.
• The Gram Sabha meeting must be held on April 14th and October 2nd every year. Meetings can also be held on January 1st and July 1st.
• According to the Telangana New Panchayati Raj Act 2018, Gram Sabha must be conducted once every two months.
• Gram Panchayats that are running the Gram Sabha properly in Andhra Pradesh - Jegurupadu (East Godavari), Pandurangapuram (Kurnool), Ravulapalem (East Godavari).

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