Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI)
Mahatma Gandhi
- Part - IX
- Schedule - 11th (contains 29 subjects)
- Article - 243 to 243 O
- Added by 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992
- Father of Local Self government - Lord Ripon
- Rajasthan - 1st state to introduce local government (on October 02, 1959)
Gandhian School of thought and Ambedkar School of thought with respect to Panchayats
Gandhian School of thought → Giving powers to Local Self Government (i.e., Panchayats) → funds, legislative powers, etc.
Ambedkar School of thought → Panchayats (villages) are not ready for that → rather they started exploiting lower class, women, etc. when they get power.
Therefore, Organisation of Panchayats are added under DPSP in the Constitution (under Article 40), which is not legally binding.
Article 40 - State must organise village panchayats across India.
Jawahar Lal Nehru → "Every community is unique and have unique problems and have unique solutions" → So, in 1953, he launched Community development plan & National extension scheme → but it failed to achieve objectives.
Balwant Rai Mehta committee 1957 → to identify weaknesses of the Community development plan and National extension scheme.
Rural Local Self Government (PRI)
Local Government - Local government is a government at the district level or below. It is a government to the common people and thus local people can very well interact with this local government and raise their concerns and then find the solution to the local problems locally and thus, it becomes a model of self governance.
The term Panchayati Raj signifies the system of rural local self government having the responsibility of rural development.
Local government is a State Subject.
After independence, rural development was a priority and number of committees were formed to suggest for the ways to bring faster and effective rural development.
Balwant Rai Mehta Committee 1957 - Formed in 1957 by the Government of India to examine the functioning of CDP and NES (1953).
Committee gave its report in 1957 and suggested a scheme for democratic decentralisation so that development can reach at the grass root levels in the rural areas. This scheme came to be known as Panchayati Raj Institutions.
The committee recommended a Three-tier Panchayati Raj System in which there is -
- Zila Parishad at the District level
- Panchayat Samiti at the Block level
- Gram Panchayat at the Village level
The government accepted the recommendation of the committee but the government did not insist on a single rigid design of PRI and left it on the state to evolve their own pattern of PRI suitable to the local conditions and thus state like Rajasthan developed 3-tier PRI System, Tamil Nadu developed 2-tier PRI System and Bengal developed 4-tier PRI System.
i.e.,
- At National level → Union Government
- At State level → State Government
- At Local level → Local Self Government
- At District level → Zila Parishad or District Panchayat
- At Block level → Panchayat Samiti or Block Panchayat
- At Village level → Gram Panchayat or Village Panchayat
Development of PRI
- 1959 to 65 → Era of growth of PRI
but due to popularity of village panchayats → MLA fears of their hegemony → So, they start discouraging PRI (by stopping their funds and even at some place PRI was dismissed).
- 1965 to 69 → Era of Stagnation of PRI (due to lack of support and innovation)
Indira Gandhi
- 1969 to 92 → Era of downfall of PRI
1969 to 92 → responsibility of various development programs were given to bureaucrats (DM/DC) like Command area development programs, Desert area development program, Draught area development program, Integrated rural area development program, etc.
i.e., during that period PRI was ignored as well as the dismissal of PRI still continued → era of downfall of PRI.
But the bureaucrats failed in the objective of development because they do not know the local conditions and local resource problems.
- 1992 to till now → Era of Resurgence of PRI
Ashok Mehta Committee 1977 - In 1977, Janta government appointed a committee under Ashok Mehta on PRI to suggest the ways to revive and strengthen the declining PRI.
Ashok Mehta recommended that the 3-tier system must be replaced by a 2-tier system with
- Zila Parishad at District level
- Mandal Panchayat below it consisting of a group of villages with a total population of 15,000 to 20,000.
Committee also recommended Judicial decentralisation by recommending for Nayay Panchayat which must be kept as a separate body from that of development panchayat.
However with the collapse of the Janta government not much action was taken on the recommendation. However, states like Karnataka, West Bengal. Andhra Pradesh apply these recommendations to revitalise the declining PRI.
G.V. Rao Committee 1985 - G.V. Rao Committee on administrative arrangement for rural development and poverty reduction program appointed by Planning Commission in 1985, concluded that the developmental process was gradually getting bureaucratic and divorced from the PRI.
The Committee recommended -
- Reduction of the role of district collector in developmental administration and give this major work to PRI.
- Creation of a post of district development commission who acts as the Chief executive officer of the Zila Parishad and will be incharge of all the developmental department at district level.
L.M. Singhavi Committee 1986 - It was formed to suggest on revitalisation of PRI for democracy and development.
It suggested giving constitutional status to the PRI and providing for constitutional provisions for regular free and fair election to the Panchayati Raj bodies.
Thus, Parliament passed 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act 1992, through which constitutional status was given on rural local self governmetn and urban local self government respectively.
Composition
- District level (Zila Parishad) → Members (directly elected by the people) & Chairman (indirectly elected by the members amongst themselves)
- Block level (Panchayat Samiti) → Members (directly elected) & Chairman (Indirectly elected)
- Village level (Gram Panchayat) → Members (directly elected) & Chairman (indirectly elected/directly elected as specified by the state law)
Note - The chairman of Gram Panchayat is ex-officio member of Panchayat Samiti and the chairman of Panchayat Samiti is the ex-officio member of Zila Parishad. MLA and MP of the concerned territory is also ex-officio member of Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad.
Thus, Panchayats at block level and district level (Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad) consist of elected as well as ex-officio members.
Provisions of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992
Part IX of the constitution contains the provisions of the rural local self government.
73rd Constitutional Amendment Act took representative democracy to a next level by bringing the element of participatory democracy along with representative democracy.
73rd Constitutional Amendment Act provides for 3-tier (level) system of panchayats in the state, i.e., Panchayats at village level, intermediate level (block) and at the district level.
However panchayat at the intermediate level is found in the state where population is more than or equal to 20 lakh.
Composition of Panchayats - Members of the panchayats at all the levels are elected through direct election from the territorial constituencies in the panchayat areas.
The electorate (voters) in the gram sabha, i.e., a person registered in the electoral rolls relating to the village within the area of panchayat.
Thus, representative democracy is achieved at the grass root level.
The mode of election of chairperson at the village level has been left on to the state to decide, i.e., it may be directly elected or indirectly.
Elections to the chairperson at the intermediate and district level will always be indirect, i.e., he shall be elected by and amongst the elected members of panchayat samiti and zila parishad respectively.
State law has to provide for representation of the chairperson of village panchayat in intermediate panchayat and the chairperson of intermediate panchayat in the district panchayat.
Also the members of union and state legislature shall be given representation in the panchayats above the village level.
Reservation of Seats
73rd Constitutional Amendment Act provides for the reservation of seats at each level for SCs, STs in proportion to their population and out of these reserved seats one-third of seats shall be reserved for women from the committee.
Also not less than one-third of the total seats in the membership which are to be filled through direct election at all the level shall be reserved for women.
Seats shall also be reserved for the office to the chairman also in the favour of SC, ST and Women.
State may also reserve seats to the office of chairperson and members in the favour of backward classes.
Purpose of PRI
- Primary purpose of the PRI is democratic decentralisation.
- Rural development.
Tenure of the panchayats - 5 years
The terms of the office of panchayats at all the level is 5 years. Though state government can get it dissolved even before 5 years by giving a reason.
However, election for the new panchayats must be held within 6 months from the date of dissolution and the panchayat constituted after the by-election continues only for the remaining period.
However, there would be no fresh election if the remaining term of dissolved panchayat is less than 6 months.
Qualification
Any person who is qualified to become a member of state legislature is also eligible to become member of panchayat. However the minimum age to contest panchayat election is 21 years.
However, state government has put some more conditions to contest panchayat election. For example - Educational qualification, some states have some extra conditions also through law like having a functional toilet, etc.
Note - State Election Commission (under Article 243 K) is responsible for the superintendence, direction and control of elections to the panchayats as well as urban local bodies.
Minimum age to become member of -
- Panchayat - 21 years
- State Legislative Assembly - 25 years
- State Legislative Council - 30 years
- Lok Sabha - 25 years
- Rajya Sabha - 30 years
- President - 35 years
- Governor - 35 years
Note - PRI is an executive though it can also make laws but this law is not an act.
Functions and responsibility of PRI - 11th Schedule of the Constitution contains 29 functions (subjects) of PRI. They are -
- Agriculture
- Land improvement
- Minor irrigation
- Animal husbandry, dairy, poultry
- Fisheries
- Social forestry and farm forestry
- Minor forest produce
- Small scale industry
- Rural housing
- Khadi, Village and Cottage industry
- Drinking water
- Fuel and Fodder
- Roads and other means of communications
- Rural electrifications
- Non-conventional energy sources
- Poverty alleviation programs
- Education (Primary and Secondary)
- Technical training and vocational education
- Adult and non-formal education
- Libraries
- Cultural activities
- Markets and fairs
- Health and Sanitation
- Family welfare
- Women and Child development
- Social welfare
- Welfare of weaker sections
- PDS
- Maintenance of Community assets
Finances of PRI - Governor of the state shall after every 5 years constitute a state finance commission to review the financial position of panchayats and will recommend the governor -
- What taxes, tolls, fees, etc. may be assigned to panchayats.
- The principles which should govern the distribution of net proceeds of taxes, duties levied by the states between states and panchayats.
- The grant in aid which must be given by the state to panchayats.
- State finance commission also recommends the centre to give more money (grant in aid) to states so that state passes it to panchayats to strengthen PRI.
State finance commission -
- Constitutional status under Article 243 I.
- State legislature decides upon the composition of the commission, their qualifications and manner of the selection of the members.
- Finance Commission of India (Article 280) shall also suggest measures to strengthen/augment the consolidated fund of the state, so that the resources of the panchayats in the state can be supplemented (this can be based upon the recommendations made by the state finance commission).
State election commission
- Constitutional status under Article 243 K.
- State election commission is appointed by the governor and can be removed in the same manner as the judge of the High Court by the president.
- Other details regarding the state election commission are brought by the State legislature.
Note -
- PRI 1st introduced in - Rajasthan (October 1959)
- Municipal Corporation 1st introduced in - Madras (1688)
- District planning committee - not under PRI (73rd Constitutional Amendment Act) but under Urban Local Bodies (74th Constitutional Amendment Act).
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