THE STATE OF PANCHAYATS

1
THE STATE OF PANCHAYATS

• Prof. R.Suryanarayana Reddy,
• Centre Head, CDPA
• AMR-APARD

2
Panchayats

• Panchayats have been an intimate part of the
  Indian culture. During the time of the Ring-Veda
  (1200 BC), evidences suggest that self-governing
  village bodies called Sabhas existed. With
  the passage of time, these bodies became
  panchayats (council of five persons). Panchayats
  were functional institutions of grassroots
  governance in almot every village. The Village
  Panchayat or elected council had large powers,
  both executive and judicial.

3
Panchayats

• Panchayats or council of five members (Pancha)
  were closely equated with parameshwara (meaning
  God), and that God himself spoke through the
  pancha a belief which has sustained the
  institution through the ages and to an extent
  continued despite all the politicking, deceit and
  chicanery of life in India today.

4
Panchayats

• Land was distributed by this panchayat which also
  collected taxes out of the produce and paid the
  governments share on behalf of the village.
  Above a number of these village councils there
  was a larger pachayat or council to supervise and
  interfere in necessary.

5
Panchayats

• Casteism and feudalistic system of governance
  under Mughal rule in the medieval period slowly
  eroded the self government in villages. A new
  class of feudal chiefs and revenue collectors
  (Zamindars) emerged between the rule and the
  people. And, so began the stagnation and decline
  of self-government in villages.

6
Panchayats

• During the British rule, the autonomy of
  panchayats gradually disappeared with the
  establishment of local civil and criminal courts,
  revenue and police organizations, the increase in
  communications, the growth of individualism and
  the operation of the individual Ryotwari
  (landholder-wise) system as against the Mahalwari
  or village tenure system.

7
Panchayats

• Panchayat was never the priority of the British
  rules. The rulers were interested in the
  creation of controlled local bodies, which
  could help them in their trading interests by
  collecting taxes for them. When the colonial
  administration came under severe financial
  pressure after the 1857 uprising, the remedy
  sought was decentralization in terms of
  transferring responsibility for road and public
  works to local bodies.

8
Panchayats

• 1870 that Viceroy Lord Mayos Resolution (for
  decentralisation of power to bring about
  administrative efficiency in meeting peoples
  demand and to add to the finances of colonial
  regime) gave the needed impetus to the
  development of local institutions.

9
Panchayats

• The government policy on decentralisation can,
  however, be attributed to Lord Ripon who, in his
  famous resolution on local self-government on May
  18, 1882, recognised the twin considerations of
  local government (i) administrative efficiency
  and (ii) political education.

10
Panchayats

• The Ripon Resolution, which focused on towns,
  provided for local bodies consisting of a large
  majority of elected non-official members and
  presided over by a non-official chairperson.
  Rural decentralisation remained a neglected area
  of administrative reform.

11
Panchayats

• Royal Commission on Decentralisation (1907) under
  the chairmanship of C.E.H. Hob house recognized
  the importance of panchayats at the village
  level. The commission recommended that it is
  most desirable, alike in the interests of
  decentralisation and in order to associate the
  people with the local tasks of administration,
  that an attempt should be made to constitute and
  develop village panchayats for the administration
  of local village affairs.

12
Panchayats

• Montague-Chemsford reforms (1919) brought local
  self-government as a provincial transferred
  subject, under the domain of Indian ministers in
  the provinces. Due to organisational and fiscal
  constraints, the reform was unable to make
  panchayat institutions truly democratic and
  vibrant. However, the most significant
  development of this period was the establishment
  of village panchayats in a number of provinces,
  that were no longer mere ad hoc judicial
  tribunal, but representative institutions
  symbolizing the corporate character of the
  village and having a wide jurisdiction in respect
  of civic matters. By 1925 eight provinces had
  passed panchayat acts and by 1926, six native
  states had also passed panchayat laws.

13
Panchayats

• Inauguration of provincial autonomy under the
  Government of India Act, 1935, marked the
  evolution of panchayats in India. Popularly
  elected governments in provinces enacted
  legislations to further democratise institutions
  of local self-government.

14
Panchayats

• In spite of various committees such as the Royal
  Commission on Decentralisation (1907), the report
  of Montague and Chemsford on constitutional
  reform (1919), the Government of India Resolution
  (1918), etc., a hierarchical administrative
  structure based on supervision and control was
  evolved. The administrator bacame the focal
  point of rural governance.

15
Panchayats

• The British were not concerned with decentralised
  democracy but only with fashioning an
  administration that met their colonial
  objectives.
• 1920s to 1947 emphasising the issue of all-India
  Swaraj, was busy in campaigning and organising
  movements for Independence under the leadership
  of Mahatma Gandhi. The task of preparing any
  sort of blueprint for the local level was
  neglected as a result.

16
Panchayats

• Regarding the status and role to be assigned to
  the institution of rural local self-government
  rather there were divergent views on the subject.
  On the one end Gandhi was in favour of Village
  Swaraj and strengthening the village panchayat to
  the fullest extent and on the other end,
  Dr.B.R.Ambedkar was opposed to this idea. He
  believed that the village represented regressive
  India, a source of oppression. The model state
  hence had to build safeguards against such social
  oppression and the only way it could be done was
  through the adoption of the parliamentary model
  of politics.

17
Panchayats

• One the serious drawbacks of the national leaders
  who drafted the Constitution, in which Panchayati
  Raj Institutions were placed in the
  non-justiciable part of the Constitution, the
  Directive Principles of State Policy, as Article
  40.
• The Article read the State shall take steps to
  organise village panchayats and endow them with
  such powers and authority as may be necessary to
  enable them to funtion as units of
  self-government. However, no worthwhile
  legislation was immediately enacted either at the
  national or state level to implement it.
• Four decades since the adoption of the
  Constitution, PRIs have traveled from the
  non-justiciable part of the Constitution to one
  where, through a separate amendment, a whole new
  status has been added to their history.

18
Panchayats

• Before PRIs could enjoy the consensual support
  they enjoy today from different political groups,
  they had to go through various stages.
• The First Five Year Plan failed to bring about
  active participation and involvement of the
  people in the Plan processes, which included Plan
  formulation implementation and monitoring.
• The Second Five year Plan attempted to cover the
  entire countryside with National Expensive
  Service Blocks Assistant Development Officers,
  Village Level Workers, in addition to nominated
  representatives of village panchayats of that
  area and some other popular organisations like
  co-operative secieties. But the plan failed to
  satisfactorily accomplish decentralisation.

19
THE BALWANTRAI MEHTA COMMITTEE (1957)

• The Committee held that community development
  would only be deep and enduring when the
  community was involved in the planning,
  decision-making and implementation process. It
  suggested the following.
• An early establishment of elected local bodies
  and evolution to them of necessary resources,
  power and authority,
• That the basic unit of democratic
  decentralisation was at the block samiti level
  since the area of jurisdiction of the local body
  should neither be too large nor too small. The
  block was large enough for efficiency and economy
  of administration, and small enough for
  sustaining a sense of involvement in the citizens,

20

• Such body must not be constrained by too much
  control by the government or government agencies,
• The body must be constituted for five years by
  indirect elections from the village panchayats,
• Its functions should cover the development of
  agriculture in all its aspects, the promotion of
  local industries and other
• Services such as drinking water, road building,
  etc., and
• The higher level body, Zilla Parishad, would play
  an advisory role.

21

• The PRI structure did not develop the requisite
  democratic momentum and failed to the needs of
  rural development.
• Various reasons for such an outcome which include
  political and bureaucratic resistance at the
  state level to share power and resources with
  local level institutions, domination of local
  elites over the major share of the benefits of
  welfare schemes, lack of capability at the local
  level and lack of political will.

22
K.SANTHANAM COMMITTEE (1963)

• The K.Santhanan Committee was appointed to look
  solely at the issue of PRI finance, in 1963. The
  fiscal capacity of PRIs tends to be limited, as
  rich resources of revenue are pre-empted by
  higher levels of government, and issue is still
  debated today. The Committee was asked to
  determine issues related to sanctioning of grants
  to PRIs by the state government, evolving mutual
  financial relations between the three tires of
  PRIs, gifts and donation, handing over revenue in
  full or part to PRIs.
• The Committee recommended the following

23

• Panchayats should have special powers to levy
  special tax on land revenues and home taxes,
  etc.,
• People should not be burdened with too many
  demands (taxes)
• All grants and subventions at the state level
  should be mobilised and sent in a consolidated
  form to various PRIs,
• A Panchayat Raj Finance Corpration should be set
  up to look into the financial resource of PRIs at
  all levels, provide loans and financial asistance
  to these grasroots level governments and also
  provide non-financial requirements of villages.

24
ASHOK MEHTA COMMITTEE (1978)

• Janata Party into power at the Centre in 1977, a
  serious view was taken of the weaknesses in the
  functioning of Panchayati Raj. It was decided to
  appoint a high level committee under the
  chairmanship of Ashok Mehta to examine and
  suggest measures to strengthen PRIs. The
  Committee had to evolve an effective
  decentralised system of development for PRIs.
  They made the following recommendations.

25
ASHOK MEHTA COMMITTEE (1978)

• The district is a viable administrative unit for
  which planning, co-ordination and resource
  allocation are feasible and technical expertise
  available,
• PRIs as a two-tier system, with mandal Panchayat
  at the base and Zilla Parishad at the top,
• The PRIs are capable of planning for themselves
  with the resources available to them,
• District planning should take care of the
  urban-rural continuum,

26
ASHOK MEHTA COMMITTEE (1978)

• Representation of SCs and STs, in the election to
  PRIs on the basis of their population,
• Four-year term of PRIs,
• Participation of political parties in elections,
• Any financial devolution should be committed to
  accepting that much of the developmental
  functions at the district level would be played
  by the panchayts.

27

• The states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West
  Bengal passed new legislation based on this
  report. However, the flux in politics at the
  state level did not allow these institutions to
  develop their own political dynamics.

28
G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985)

• The G.V.K.Rao Committee was appointed to once
  again look at various aspects of PRIs. The
  Committee was of the opinion that a total view of
  rural development must be taken in which PRIs
  must play a central role in handling peoples
  problems. It recommended the following

29

• PRIs have to be activated and provided with all
  the required support to become effective
  organisations,
• PRIs at the district level and below should be
  assigned the work of planning, implementation and
  monitoring of rural development programmes, and
• The block development office should be the spinal
  cord of the rural development process.

30
L.M.Singhvi Committee (1986)

• More thinking on PRIs was initiated by the
  L.M.Singhvi Committee. The Gram Sabha was
  considered as the base of a decentralised
  democracy, and PRIs viewed as institutions of
  self-governance which would actually facilitate
  the participation of the people in the process of
  planning and development. It recommended
• Local self-government should be constitutionally
  recognised, protected and preserved by the
  inclusion of new chapter in the Constitution
• Non-involvement of political parties in Panchayat
  elections.

31

• The suggestion of giving PRIs constitutional
  status was opposed by the Sarkaria Commission but
  the idea, however, gained momentum in the late
  1980s especially because of the endorsement by
  the late Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who
  introduced the 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill
  in 1989. The 64th Amendment Bill was prepared
  and introduced in the lower house of Parliament.
  But it got defeated in the Rajya Sabha as
  non-convincing. He lost the general elections
  too. In 1989, the National Front introduced the
  74th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which could
  not become an Act because of the dissolution of
  the Ninth Lok Sabha.

32

• These various suggestions and recommendations and
  means of strengthening PRIs were considered while
  formulating the new Contitutional Amendment Act.

33
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act

• The idea that produced the 73rd Amendment was not
  a response to pressure from the grassroots, but
  to an increasing recognition that the
  institutional initiatives of the preceding decade
  had not delivered, that the extent of rural
  poverty was still much too large and thus the
  existing structure of government needed to be
  reformed. It is interesting to note that this
  idea evolved from the Centre and the state
  governments.

34

• The Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, passed
  in 1992 by the Narasimha Rao government, came
  into force on April 24, 1993. It was meant to
  provie constitutional sanction to establish
  democracy at the grassroots level as it is at
  the state level or national level.

35

• Its main features are as follows
• The Gram Sabha or village assembly as a
  deliberative body to decentralised governance has
  been envisaged as the foundation of the
  Panchayati Raj System.
• A uniform three-tire structure of panchayats at
  village (Gram Panchayat-GP), intermediate
  (Panchayat Samiti-PS) and district (Zilla
  Parishad-ZP) levels.
• All the seats in a panchayat at every level are
  to be filled by elections from respective
  territorial constituencies.
• Not less than one-third of the total seats for
  membership as well as office of chairpersons of
  each tier have to be reserved for women.

36

• Reservation for weaker castes and tribes (SCs and
  STs) have to be provided at all levels in
  proportion to their population in the panchayats.
• To supervise, direct and control the regular and
  smooth elections to panchayats, a State Election
  Commission has to be constituted in every State
  and UT.
• The Act has ensured constitution of a State
  Finance Commission in every State/UT, for every
  five years to suggest measures to strengthen
  finances of PRIs.
• To promote bottom-up-planning, the District
  Planning Committee (DPC) in every district has
  been accorded constitutional status.

37

• An indicative list of 29 items has been given in
  in Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
  Panchayats are expected to play an effective role
  in planning and implementation of works related
  to these 29 items

38

• Today, there are about 3 million elected
  representatives at all levels of the pancyat.
  These members represent more than 2.4 lakh Gram
  Panchayats, about 6,000 intermediate level tiers
  and more than 500 district panchayats (see Table
  1.1). Spread over the length and breadth of the
  country, the new panchayats cover about 96 per
  cent of Indias more than 5.8 lakh villages and
  nearly 99.6 per cent of rural population

39

• This is the largest experiment in
  decentralization of governance in the history of
  humanity.

40

• The Constitution visualizes panchayats as
  institution of self-governance. However, giving
  due consideration to the federal structure of our
  polity, most of the financial powers and
  authorities to be endowed on panchayats have been
  left at the discretion of concerned state
  legislatures.

41

• Consequently, the powers and functions vested in
  PRIs vary from state to state. These provisions
  combine representative and direct democracy into
  a synergy and are expected to result in an
  extension and deepening of democracy in India.
  Hence, panchayats have journeyed from an
  institution within the culture of India to attain
  constitutional status.

42

• Initially, a two-tier planning was initiated at
  the National and State levels. The planners and
  policy-makers did, however, realise the
  limitations of this system for a country as big
  in size and diversity as India. They felt that
  multi-level planning was meeded if the fruits of
  development were to reach the grass-root level,
  otherwise there was always a possibility of
  losing sight of problems, requirements and
  potentials of the local areas while planning form
  the State headquarter.

43

• Under the Constitutional arrangements, various
  subjects were divided into three
  categories-Central, State and Concurrent.

44

• Rural Development is a concurrent subject,
  wherein the national policies are framed with the
  consensus of all the States.

45

• The idea of decentralised planning below the
  State level has featured consistently in all the
  Five-Year Plans. The First Five-Year Plan talked
  about breaking the National and State plans into
  local units based on district, town and villages.
  It did not, however, elaborate the way
  decentralisation would be put into operation.

46

• First experiment in this regard, the Community
  Development Blocks were established so that
  infrastructure was created at the block level for
  integration of the administrative and development
  functions. The block level staff was entrusted
  with the responsibility of initiating all round
  development of the villages. However, it
  certainly lacked the popular involvement, as its
  scope was limited. The programme was empowered
  only with economic and administrative
  decentralisation and not with political
  decentralisation, which was vital for its success.

47

• Second Five Year Plan, It was clearly stated
  that district would be the pivot of the structure
  of democratic planning. In emphasising planning
  at the district level and below, the objective
  was to carry the district and State plans as
  close to the people as possible through local
  community participation and co-operative
  self-help.

48

• Balwantrai Mehata Committee constituted by
  Government in 1958 on community development and
  plan projects, recommended decentralisation of
  administration and democratization of power.
  Under the scheme of democratic
  decentralisation, a democratic body in each
  development block for all the development
  activities at that level was suggested, i.e. A
  three-tier integrated organic structure with Gram
  Panchayats at the base, Zilla Panchayat (ZP) at
  the apex and Panchayat Samities or Kshetra
  Samities in-between.

49

• Acceptance of these recommendations by the
  National Development Council (NDC)?

50

• The State legislatures passed legislations to
  create these bodies in their states.
• These legislations provided for development of
  districts as their main unit. Simultaneously,
  these bodies were given enough powers not only to
  raise resources but also to requisition the
  machinery at the district and lower levels to
  implement development plans to Panchayat Raj
  Institutions (PRIs)?

51

• Third Five-Year Plan and it was proposed that the
  States should formulate their annual plans, at
  least in the following activities on the basis of
  district and block level plans.
• 1. Agriculture, including minor irrigation,
  soil conservation, village forests, animal
  husbandry, dairying, etc.,
• 2. Development of co-operatives
• 3. Village industries

52

• 4. Elementary education, especially provision of
  school buildings for local communities
• 5. Rural water supply, programme of minimum
  rural amenities, including construction of
  approach roads linking each village to the
  nearest road or rail head and.
• 6. Works/programmes for fuller utilisation of
  manpower resources in rural areas

53

• The Administrative Reform Commission in 1967
  examined the question of planning at the district
  level. Thereafter the Planning Commission issued
  a set of detailed guidelines for preparation of
  district plans. These guidelines also visualised
  preparation of a perspective plan along with
  medium-term and annual plans. On the basis of
  Planning Commissions guidelines, the State of
  Maharashtra started preparation of district plans
  in 1972. It not only identified the schemes for
  district planning boards known as District
  Development and Planning Councils at the district
  level. Gujarat initiated district planning in
  1979. Karnataka was the third state to start
  district level planning around this time. All
  these States evolved their own procedures of
  devolution of plan funds to the districts as well
  as formulation of plans.

54

• The new Government at the Union Level in 1977
  set-up a Working Group under the Chairmanship of
  M.L.Dantwala to draw up guidelines for the
  block-level planning. The Working Group noted
  that the remoteness of the planning agencies from
  the areas of implementation and vastness of
  geographical coverage hamper matching of sectoral
  financial allocations with location-specific
  needs as well as potential for regulating the
  distribution of the developmental gains.

55

• Another committee, headed by Ashok Mehta, was
  appointed to inquire into the working of the
  panchayat Raj Institutions and to suggest
  measures to strenghten them so as to enable the
  decentralised system of planning and development
  to be effective. Ashok Mehta Committee felt that
  development work in future needs intricate
  designing and greater co-ordination, which would
  be unwise to attempt at the State level. It also
  suggested that district planning unit consisting
  of a professionally qualified team should be
  placed with the ZP.

56

• The Planning Commission again set-up a Working
  Group on district planning under the chairmanship
  of C.H.1984, recommending the stage approach
  to district planning.

57

• The Seventh Plan document (1985-90) re-affirmed
  its faith in the process of decentralisation and
  resolved to follow the process on the lines
  suggested by the Rao Committee.

58

• In 1985, the Planning Commission appointed a
  committee under the chairmanship of G.V.K. Rao to
  review existing administrative arrangements for
  rural development and to suggest appropriate
  structural mechanism to activate PRIs.

59

• The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-97) was launched
  from 1st April 1992 against the background of two
  years of poor economic performance. It offered a
  package of structural adjustments in the form of
  economic liberalisation, privatisation and fiscal
  disciplinary reforms. The Government recognised
  that under the evolved system, people have become
  mere passive observers and receivers of doles.
  Hence, the emphasis Institutions (PRIs) as the
  focal point for organising and implementing rural
  development programmes. Tjis approach was
  consistent with the views of Mahatma Gandhi and
  the Recommendations of Ashok Mehta Committee on
  PRIs. The socio-economic activities like
  education and literacy, health and family
  planning, land improvement, minor irrigation,
  recovery and development of waste-land and
  afforestation were treated as core activities
  in which peoples participation could be maximum
  and more fruitful. It would also result in
  lowering financial outlays on these activities.
  Government envisaged a happy marriage between
  integrated area development approach and
  democratic decentralisation of rural development.

60

• The Ninth Plan (1997-2002) provides that the PRIs
  should prepare plans for economic development and
  social justice for an integrated development of
  the district.

61

• Certain broad principles are laid down for
  assigning a role to each of the three-tiers the
  actual devolution could be based on the rule that
  what can be done at a lower level should be done
  at that level, and not at a higher level.
  Initially, the Gram Sabha would list out
  developmental priorities and assist in the fair
  selection of beneficiaries under various
  programmes and schemes. Thereafter, the planning
  process would begin from below with the
  preparation of village plans, which would be
  incorporated into the intermediate level Block
  plans and finally merged into a District Plan.

62

• Union Government has set apart 41 per cent of
  plan resources for decentralised planning,
  including un-tied funds andincentive grants
  to match the contributions raised by PRIs.
  Thereafter sectoral allocations at the State
  level should be on the basis of demands made from
  below by the districts and in keeping with the
  national priorities. In this way, it would be
  possible to bring about both a vertical and a
  horizontal integration of resources and services.

63

• The Ninth Plan aslo lays emphasis on a
  comprehensive time bound training policy for the
  functionaries, in order to equip them with
  updated information and modern technologies,
  which in turn have to be disseminated amongst the
  rural people.

64

• Hitherto, the question of decentralised planning
  has been restricted to one of planning techniques
  but it needs to be extended to the whole process
  of socio-political changes.

65

• The electorate, elected representatives and the
  bureaucracy, has to jointly create an environment
  conducive for these institutions to take roots.

66

• There are at least six areas where local
  government empowerment is sought to be achieved
  through constitutional means. These are
• (i) typology and size,
• (ii) electoral representation,
• (iii) institutional existence and autonomy,
• (iv) local functions,
• (v) local finance, and
• (vi) external accountability.

67

• While social audit and transparency in the
  functioning of PRIs is crucial for evoking
  peoples participation, the institutional
  structure should support financial and
  administrative devolution of power. While rural
  development necessitates decentralisation,
  political compulsions, many a times, pull towards
  centralisation.

68

• Political parties in power are always uncertain
  of their position. So they tend to resist and
  resent any attempt at setting up of local
  organisations outside their control. The Central
  and Stae leaderships look with suspicion at the
  emergence of any strong decentralised
  institutional political leadership and hence
  evolve ways and means of controlling the power
  and authority of the lower tiers.

69

• Despite the obvious struggle for power and
  control. The Central Government has shown the
  political will to constitutionalise the status of
  PRIs in larger public interest, the
  Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 has therefore
  been cherished as a watershed event for achieving
  rural development through democratic
  decentralisation. It has laid down certain
  mandatory provisions in terms of structural
  organisation of PRIs while the functional aspects
  are left to the option of respective states.

70

• The catch lies in the areas where each state has
  to frame its own laws to operationalise the
  mandate given in favour of strengthening the PRIs.

71

• Rural development so far has been characterised
  by centralised planning withemphasis on
  macro-level targets than on ground level
  realities and felt needs of the people. The
  bureaucratic system sought little involvement of
  the community for whom these programmes were not
  evaluated against the end objectives viz.,
  removal of poverty or improvement of standards of
  living in the rural areas.

72

• Based on the Directive Principles enshrined in
  the Constitution, various Governments made
  attempts towards setting-up of multi-structured
  Panchayat Raj system, but did not endow it with
  requisite powers and resources.

73

• It is only now, after more than 45 years of
  independence, that 73rd Amendment of the
  Constitution enables Panchayats to play a
  substantial role in the local self-government.

74

• The emergence of PRIs is leading to changes in
  rural poor structure as well as the equation
  between the officials and non-officials. Within
  the Panchayat Raj set-up there is a grim fight,
  directly or indirectly, among the political
  parties, to capture power, as it facilitates
  their political power struggle, at higher levels,
  as well as among different tiers of PRIs for
  appropriating maximum resources. PR system has to
  surmount many challenges by evolving consensus in
  the long-run, if it has to survive and play an
  important role in ensuring growth and equity in
  rural areas.

75

• With the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution
  envisaging the establishment of Panchayats as
  units of local government, it is mandatory for
  the States to devolve adequate powers and
  responsibilities upon the PIRs. The success of
  this system essentially depends upon the external
  as well as the internal politico-administrative
  set-up. Although political will is said to have
  been demonstrated by away of constitutional
  amendment at the Centre and through the State
  legislation, yet it needs to be further
  reiterated in terms of devolution of funds,
  functions and functionaries to the PRIs.

76

• An overview of the mandatory and discretionary
  provisions of the Constitution (73rd Amendment)
  Act. It outlines the basic structure of PRI
  bodies at various levels.

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• Institutional Overview

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Mandatory Provisions
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Constitution of Panchayats The Central act has
prescribed a three-tier system of panchyaths and
in each state, there shall be panchayats at the
village, intermediate and district levels.
However, panchayats at the intermediate level may
not be constituted in a state having a population
not exceeding 20 lakh.
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Constitution of Panchayats All the seats in a
panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by
direct election from territorial constituencies
in the panchayat area. For this purpose, this
panchayat area shall be divided into territorial
constituencies in such a manner that the ratio
between the population of each constituency and
the number of seats allotted to it shall, so far
as it is practical, be the same. A person who
has attained the age of 21 years can contest the
election from being elected as a member of a
panchayat. The validity of any law relating to
the delimitation shall not be called in question
in any court.
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Similarly, no election to any panchayat shall be
called in question, except by an election
petition presented to such authority and in such
manner as is provided by the legislature of that
state. The superintendence, direction and
control of the preparation of electoral rolls and
the conduct of all elections to the panchayats
shall be vested in the State Election Commission,
comprising the State Election Commissioner,
comprising the State Election Commissioner
appointed by the state government. The
chairperson of a panchyat at the intermediate and
district levels shall be elected by and from
amongst the elected members thereof. Also, the
chairperson and other members of a panchayat,
whether or not chosen by direct election from
territorial constituencies in the pancyat area
shall have the right to vote in the meetings of
the panchayats.
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Reservation of the Seats Seats shall be
reserved for both scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes in every panchayat and the number of such
seats shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same
proportion to the total number of seats filled by
direct election in that panchayat area as the
population of scheduled castes and schedules
tribes in that area bears to the total population
of that area. Also, such seats may be allotted
by rotation to different constituencies in a
panchayat.
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Not less than one-third of the total number of
seats reserved for scheduled castes or scheduled
tribes shall be reserved for women from these
castes or tribes. Similarly, in case of general
seats also, one-third of them shall be reserved
for women belonging to any class or category and
such seats may be allotted by rotation to
different constituencies in a panchayat.
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Such numbers of offices of chairpersons at each
level shall be reserved for scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes so that their proportion to the
total number of such offices in the panchayat at
each level is the same as the population of
scheduled castes or tribes in the state bears to
the states total population. Also, not less
than one-third of the offices so reserved will be
for women belonging to the concerned category.
Similarly, one-third of the number of offices
left for the general category at each level shall
be reserved for women belonging to any class or
category and all reservations shall be done on a
rotation basis.
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Duration of Panchayats A panchayat shall have a
term of five years and if it is dissolved for any
reason, fresh elections shall be held within six
months from the date of such dissolution. In
case the remainder of the period is less than six
months, it shall not be necessary to hold any
election for constituting the panchayat for such
period. A panchayat constituted following the
dissolution of its predecessor before the
latters normal duration expires shall continue
only for the remainder of the period for which
the dissolved panchayat would have continued.
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• Constitution of the State Finance Commission
• The Governor of a state shall constitute a
  Finance Commission within one year and thereafter
  every fifth year to review the financial position
  of the panchayats and to make recommendations to
  the governor as to
• The principles which should govern
• (i)The distribution between the state and the
  panchayats of the net proceeds of the taxes,
  duties, tools and fees leviable by the state,
  which may be divided between the under this part
  and the allocation between the panchayats at all
  levels of their respective shares of such
  proceeds

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• ii) The determination of the taxes, duties,
  tolls and fees, which may be assigned to or
  appropriated by the panchayats
• iii) The grants-in-aid to the panchayats from
  the Consolidated Fund to the states
• b) The Measures needed to improve the financial
  position of the panchayats and
• c) Any other matter referred to the Finance
  Commission by the Governor in the interest of
  sound finance of the panchayats.

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• Through the Constitution (73rd) Amendment Act,
  1992, a sub-clause (bb) has been inserted in
  Article 280 of the Constitution. According to
  this sub-clause, the Central Finance Commission,
  in addition to other recommendations, shall make
  recommendations to the President as to the
  measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund
  of a state to supplement the resources of the
  panchayats in the state on the basis of the
  recommendations made by the State Finance
  Commission.

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• District Planning Committee
• The provision for constituting a District
  Planning Committee was made under the
  Constitution(74th) Amendment Act, 1992.
  According to this Act, there shall be a District
  Planning Committee at the district level to
  consolidate the plans prepared by the panchayats
  and municipalities and to prepare a draft
  development plan for the district as a whole

90
Discretionary provision

• The subject of Panchayat Raj Institutions comes
  under the State List in the Indian federal
  system. Hence, any interference by the Centre
  relating to these institutions may be construed
  as an intrusion in the working of the states.
  The Central Act has, therefore, given adequate
  discretionary powers on subjects like composition
  of the panchayats, devolution of powers to them,
  their financial matters, etc.,

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• Under the Central Act, the following areas have
  been left to the state legislatures to make
  suitable provisions in their Acts on the subject,
  keeping in view the over-all objectives as laid
  down in the Constitutional Amendment Act.

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1. Nomenclature of the panchayats at different
   levels.
2. Nomenclature of the chairpersons of panchayats at
   various levels.
3. Size in terms of population and area for
   determination of panchayats at the village and
   intermediate levels.
4. Powers and functions of the Gram Sabha.
5. Composition of the panchayats at different
   levels Provided that the ratio between the
   popluation of the territorial area of a panchayat
   at any level and the number of seats in such
   panchayat to be filled by election shall, so far
   as practicable, be the same throughout the state.

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• 6. To provide or not for the representation of
• (a) The chairpersons of village panchayats in
  the panchayats at the intermediate level and of
  the chairpersons of the intermediate level
  panchayats at the district level
• (b) The members of the House of People and the
  members of the state legislative assembly
  representing constituencies that comprise wholly
  or partly a panchayat area at levels other than
  the village level
• (c) The members of the Council of States and the
  members of the state legislative council where
  they are registered as electors.
• 7. The mode of election of the chairperson of a
  panchayat at the village level.

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• 8. The manner in which the seats of the members
  of the panchayats at different levels shall be
  reserved forscheduled castes/tribes and women.
  Provided that the number of seats reserved shall
  be allotted by rotation to different territorial
  constituencies at each level.
• 9. The manner in which the offices of the
  chairpersons at different levels shall be
  reserved for scheduled castes/tribes and women.
  Provided that the number of offices reserved
  shall be allotted by rotation to different
  panchayats at each level.

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• 10.To provide or not for reservation of seats in
  favour of backward class in any panchayat or
  offices of chairpersons in the panchayats at any
  level.
• 11.To endow the panchayats at various levels with
  such powers and authority as may be necessary to
  enable them to function as institutions of
  self-government and to make provisions for the
  development of powers and responsibilities upon
  panchayats at the appropriate level with respect
  to

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• The preparation of plans for economic development
  and social justice
• The implementation of schemes for economic
  development and socal justice entrusted to them,
  including those in relation to the matters listed
  in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution (See
  Annexure I).

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• 12. To decide the taxes, duties, tolls and fees
  for which a panchayat is authorised and also lay
  down the procedure and limits for the same.
• 13.To decide the limits and the conditions of the
  taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and
  collected by the state government but assigned to
  the panchayats
• To decide the amount of grants-in-aid provided to
  the panchayats form the Consolidated Fund of the
  state.
• To authorise the panchayats at different levels
  to crate a fund for crediting all money received
  by or on behalf of the panchayats and also for
  the withdrawal of such money.

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• 16. To provide for the composition of the Finance
  Commission, the qualifications which shall be
  requisite for appointment as members thereof and
  the manner in which they shall be selected. The
  Commission shall determine their procedure and
  shall have such powers in the performance of
  their functions as the legislature of the state
  by law confers on them. The Governor shall cause
  every recommendation made by the Commission under
  this article together with an explanatory
  memorandum as to the action taken thereon to be
  laid before the state legislature.
• 17. To make provisions with respect to the
  maintenance of accounts by panchayats and the
  auditing of such accounts.

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• 18. To determine the conditions of service and
  tenure of office of the State Election
  Commissioner and to make provision with respect
  to all matters relating to or in connection with
  election to the panchayats.
• This is provided that the State Election
  Commissioner shall not be removed from his office
  except in like manner and on the like grounds as
  a judge of a High Court. The conditions of
  service of the State Election Commissioner shall
  ot be varied to his disadvantage after his
  appointment. The Governor, when so required by
  the State Election Commission, make available
  such staff as may be necessary for the discharge
  of the functions conferred on it.

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• To make provision with respect to all matters
  relating to, or in connection with, elections to
  the panchayats.
• To make provisions with respect to
• (a) The composition and functions of the
  District Planning Committee
• (b) The manner in which the chairperson of the
  District Planning Committee shall be filled,
  provided that not less than four-fifths of the
  total number of members of the committee shall be
  elected by and form amongst, the elected members
  of the panchayat at the district level and of the
  municipalities in the district in proportion to
  the ratio between the population of rural and
  urban areas.

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• 21. Any provision or any law relating to
  panchayats in force in a state immediately before
  the commencement of the Constitution
  (Seventy-third) Amendment Act, 1992, which is
  consistent with the provisions of this part,
  shall continue to be in force until the
  expiration of one year from such commencement,
  whichever is earlier, provided that all the
  panchayats existing immediately before such
  commencement shall continue till the expiration
  of their, duration, unless dissolved by a
  resolution passed to that effect by the
  legislative assembly of that state, or in the
  case of a state having a legislative council, by
  each House.

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