winners Local Bodies - History (British Period and Independence Movement)

Local Bodies (స్థానిక సంస్థలు)

British Period (continued)

3. British Period (బ్రిటిష్ వాళ్ళ కాలం)

   • 1687: Madras Municipal Corporation Established.
   • 1772: Collector system introduced by Warren Hastings (for tax collection).
   • 1813: Charter Act - Local bodies given power to levy taxes.
   • 1870: Lord Mayo - Resolution for financial decentralization (not implemented).
   • 1882: Lord Ripon - Established the three-tier Panchayati Raj system.

     • Village level: Gram Panchayathi
     • Mandal level: Mandal Parishad
     • District level: Zilla Parishad

     Lord Ripon is considered the "Father of Local Self-Government in India."

   • 1907: Royal Commission (రాయల్ కమిషన్): The British government appointed the Royal Commission, chaired by Charles Hobhouse (చార్లెస్ హబ్ హౌస్), to study and recommend improvements to the Panchayati Raj system.

     The key recommendations were:

     • Direct election of representatives (ప్రతినిధులు) of Panchayati Raj institutions by the people.
     • Transfer of primary education (ప్రాథమిక విద్య) management to local bodies.
   • Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919 (మాంటేగ్ చెమ్స్‌ఫార్డ్ సంస్కరణలు) also known as Council Act 1909.

     • Local bodies were placed in the transferred list (ట్రాన్స్ఫర్డ్ లిస్ట్) of the state list (రాష్ట్ర జాబితా). This meant that the responsibility for local bodies was given to ministers in the provinces who were accountable to the legislative councils.
   • Government of India Act, 1935 (భారత ప్రభుత్వ చట్టం): This act placed local bodies entirely within the state list (రాష్ట్ర జాబితా). This further strengthened the provincial autonomy over local governance.

4. During the Independence Movement (స్వతంత్ర ఉద్యమం కాలం)

   • Experiments in Social Development (సమాజ వికాస ప్రయోగాలు): Several individuals conducted experiments to promote local development and awareness.

     • Gurgaon Experiment (గుర్గావ్ ప్రయోగం) - 1920: Conducted by F.L. Brayne (ఎఫ్.ఐ.బ్రెయిన్) in Gurgaon district, Punjab.
     • Marthandam Experiment (మార్తాండం ప్రయోగం): Conducted by Spencer Hatch (స్పెన్సర్ హార్చ్) in Marthandam, Kerala (originally mentioned as Tamil Nadu in the source - this has been corrected). This involved working with the YMCA to educate local youth.
     • Sriniketan Experiment (శ్రీనికేతన్ ప్రయోగం): Conducted by Rabindranath Tagore (రవీంద్రనాథ్ ఠాగూర్) in Bengal at Shantiniketan University (శాంతినికేతన్ విశ్వవిద్యాలయం), focusing on self-reliance and self-respect.
     • Baroda Experiment (బరోడా ప్రయోగం): Conducted by V.T. Krishnamachari (వి.టి.కృష్ణమాచారి), the Diwan (Prime Minister) of the princely state of Baroda.
     • Sevagram Experiment (సేవాగ్రామ్ ప్రయోగం) - 1933: Conducted by Mahatma Gandhi (మహాత్మా గాంధీ) in Wardha district, Maharashtra, focusing on basic education and community development.
     • Firka Experiment (ఫిర్కా ప్రయోగం) - 1946: Conducted by Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu (టంగుటూరి ప్రకాశం పంతులు) in the Madras Presidency. "Firka" refers to a group of villages.
     • Etawah Experiment (ఇటావ ప్రయోగం) - 1948: Conducted by Albert Mayer (ఆల్బర్ట్ మేయర్) in Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh.
     • Nilokheri Experiment (నీలోకరి ప్రయోగం) - 1948: Conducted by S.K. Dey (ఎస్.కె.డే) in Nilokheri, Haryana, focused on rehabilitating refugees after the partition and providing them with engineering skills.
   • Community Development Programme (CDP) - 1952: Introduced on October 2, 1952, with financial assistance from the Ford Foundation (USA). It aimed at holistic development of all aspects of society. It was initially implemented in 55 blocks, later expanded. Each block contained about 100 villages and 70,000 people. A Block Development Officer (BDO) oversaw each block, supported by Extension Services Officers.
   • National Extension Service Scheme (NESS) 1953: Introduced on October 2, 1953. It was a continuation of the CDP to further cover more areas that were not covered by CDP.

Review of CDP and NESS

• Both schemes were considered failures in implementation, although they did create awareness about development among the people.
• The main reason for failure was a lack of funds.
• Bureaucratic overreach and lack of focus on any single area also contributed.
• Illiteracy and lack of political awareness were also factors.

Committees on Panchayati Raj Institutions

• Balwant Rai Mehta Committee-1957 was formed by the National Development Council(NDC) in January 1957, Balwant Rai Mehta committee reported to NDC in November 1957. NDC accepted the report in January 1958. The recommendations made by Balwant Rai Mehta Committee are

  • Establish a three-tier Panchayati Raj system.
  • Panchayati Raj institutions should have a five-year term.
  • Political parties should not participate in Panchayati Raj elections.
  • Gram Panchayat elections should be direct, while Mandal Parishad and Zilla Parishad elections should be indirect.
  • The Zilla Parishad chairman should be the District Collector.
  • Financial resources should be provided to Panchayati Raj institutions.

  Following these recommendations, Rajasthan became the first state in India to implement the three-tier Panchayati Raj system. The second state was Undivided Andhra Pradesh.

• Ashok Mehta Committee - This will be discussed later.