POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

PAPER

Panchayati raj and India

Project Submitted To:

Mr. KAMAL NARAYAN

(FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE)

Submitted By:
NIVEDITA MANDAVI

BA. LLB (HONOURS)

Semester І, Section – A
Roll No:

HIDAYTULLAH NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY
Upwara Post, Abhanpur, New Raipur – 493661 (C.G.)

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 DECLARATION
I, Nivedita Mandavi hereby declare that, this project entitled, ‘Panchayati Raj and India’
Submitted to Hidaytullah National Law University (Raipur), is record of an original work
done by me under the guidance of Mr. Kamal Narayan, Faculty Member, H.N.L.U., Raipur
and that no part of this work has been plagiarized.

Nivedita Mandavi
Date: 23rd October, 2017

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I, Nivedita Mandavi, would like to humbly present this project to Mr. Kamal Narayan. I would
first of all like to express my most sincere gratitude to Mr. Kamal Narayan for his
encouragement and guidance regarding several aspects of this project. I am thankful for being
given the opportunity of doing a project on ‘Panchayati Raj and India’.

I am thankful to the IT lab assistants and the library staffs for facilitating my research by
helping me obtain the required material that was so integral to my completing this project.

I am thankful to my parents for their constant support and loving and encouragement.

Last but definitely not the least; I am thankful to my seniors for all their support, tips and
valuable advice whenever needed. I hereby present this project with the humble heart.

NIVEDITA MANDAVI
SEMESTER І, SECTION A, ROLL NUMBER:
BA LLB (HONS.)

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 DECLARATION
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 OBJECTIVES
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 ORGANISATION OF STUDY
 HISTORY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
 FATHER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
 ZILA PARISHAD
 PANCHAYAT SAMITI
 GRAM PANCHAYAT
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

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 INTRODUCTION

Every village and town have their own peculiar problems. It is difficult to find solution for

them unless they meet and discuss them and bring their decision into force. This work is called
“Gram Rajya” or “Panchayat Raj”.

In order to make the life of a village happy, people belonging to that place should take part in

its activities. For this local participation, devolution or decentralization of power is necessary.

Action can be taken only when power is given to local people. It is for the progress and

development of the villages that both the central and state government have implemented the
“Panchayat Raj System”.

It was seen as a means to deepen democracy, make governance accountable and responsive.

Not only would it enhance the effectiveness of public policies and service delivery, but also
give greater voice to citizens.

The Panchayati Raj system fulfils the long felt need of making the village administration

truly independent and genuinely representative of the popular will, and putting village people
in direct charge of their affairs.

It mainly aimed to foster democratic participation, involve villagers in the development

efforts and ease the administrative burden on the states. This system was also considered
necessary for the growth of a sturdy democracy in India.

This is democracy at the grassroots. It will ‘decentralize’ democracy. This system has got a

very important role to play in the social, economic and cultural life of the village community
of India.

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 OBJECTIVES
І. Assistance to the economically weaker sections of the community.
1. Cohesion and cooperative self-help in the community.
1.1. Development of cooperative institution.
1.1.1. Development of local resources including the utilisation of man power.

ІІ. Production in agriculture as the highest priority in planning.

2. Progressive disposal of authority and insensitive both vertically and
horizontally with special emphasis on the role of voluntary organizations
(NGOs.)
2.1. Promotion of rural industries.
2.1.1. develop understanding and harmony among social structure.

ІІІ. To give more power to people in administration.

3. introduce decentralization of power in administration.
3.1. work for the comprehensive progress of a village.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is basically descriptive and empirical in nature. Therefore, the data for the study
were collected both from the primary and secondary sources.
The secondary data has been gathered from the published books, journals, newspapers,
official websites, government publications and official records. The material collected has
been duly processed analysed and used purposefully.

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 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY
This study has been organised into five chapters as follows:
The first chapter deals with the concept of Panchayati Raj in India, specific aims and
objective of the study and the methodology adopted are discussed.
The second chapter deals with the historical background of local self-government in India
and presents the origin and growth of Panchayati Raj Administration as a whole.
The third chapter describes

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 HISTORY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
The Panchayat raj is a South Asian political system found mainly in the nations of
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in
the Indian subcontinent. The word raj means "rule" and panchayat means "assembly" (ayat)
of five (panch). Traditionally panchayats consisted of wise and respected elders chosen and
accepted by the local community. However, there were varying forms of such assemblies.
Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and between villages.
The leader of the panchayat was often called the mukhiya or sarpanch, an elected or generally
acknowledged position. The modern Panchayati raj of India and its gram panchayats are not
to be confused with either the traditional system nor with the extra-
constitutional khap panchayats (or caste panchayats) found in northern India.
Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayati Raj as the foundation of India's political system, as
a decentralized form of government in which each village would be responsible for its own
affairs. Instead, India developed a highly centralized form of government. However, this has
been moderated by the delegation of several administrative functions to the local level,
empowering elected gram panchayats. There are significant differences between the
traditional Panchayati Raj system, that was envisioned by Gandhi, and the system formalized
in India in 1992.
The Panchayat Raj system was first adopted by the state of Rajasthan in Nagaur district on 2
Oct 1959. During the 1950s and 60s, other state governments adopted this system as laws
were passed to establish panchayats in various states. The second state was Andhra Pradesh,
while Maharashtra was the ninth state. It also founded backing in the Indian Constitution,
with the 73rd amendment in 1992 to accommodate the idea.
In the history of Panchayati Raj, in India, on 24 April 1993, the Constitutional (73rd
amendment) Act 1992 came into force to provide constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj
institutions. This amendment was extended to Panchayats in the tribal areas of eight states,
namely: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan beginning on 24 December 1996.
This amendment contains provision for devolution of powers and responsibilities to the
panchayats, both for the preparation of economic development plans and social justice, as
well as for implementation in relation to 29 subjects listed in the eleventh schedule of the
constitution, and the ability to levy and collect appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
The Act aims to provide a three-tier systems of Panchayati Raj for all states having a
population of over 2 million, to hold Panchayat elections regularly every five years, to
provide seats reserved for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women; to appoint a State
Finance Commission to make recommendations regarding the financial powers of the
Panchayats and to constitute a District Planning Committee. Local Governments in
Independent India, since 1992, has been formalized under the panchayat raj system (rule by
village committee), a three-tier system with elected bodies at the village, taluk and district
levels.

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The modern system is based in part on tradition panchayat, in part on the vision of Mahatma
Gandhi and in part by the work of various committees to harmonize the highly centralized
Indian governmental administration with a degree of local autonomy. Although, as of 2015,
implementation in all of India is not complete the intention is for there to be a gram
panchayat for each village or group of villages, a tahsil level council, and a Zila panchayat at
the district level.
The philosophy of Panchayati Raj is deeply rooted into tradition and culture of rural India
and is not a new concept. Panchayati Raj provided a system of self-governance at the village
level; however, it did not have a constitutional status. The prime objectives of the three tier
Panchayati Raj System are to curb poverty, uplift standard of living of people in the moral
areas, and enhance a healthy and wealthy society by creating awareness among them about
hygiene, sanitation and eradication of illiteracy.

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 FATHER OF PANCHAYATI RAJ IN INDIA
Balwant Rai Mehta was one of the legendry freedom fighters of the country who participated
in the Bardoli Satyagraha. He is best known as second Chief Minister of Gujarat. Balwant
Rai Mehta was a parliamentarian when the committee was established. He is credited for
pioneering the concept the Panchayati Raj in India and also known as Father of Panchayati
Raj in India. Following were the landmark recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta
Committee: Panchayati Raj Institutions should be composed of elected representatives and
should enjoy enough autonomy and freedom. The Balwant Rai Mehta committee
recommended a 3-tier Panchayati Raj System which includes:
 Zila Panchayat at the District Level
 Panchayat Samiti at the Block/ Tehsil/ Taluka Level
 Gram Panchayat at the Village Level
But the committee did not insist on a rigid pattern. It recommended that the states should be
given freedom to choose and develop their own patterns as per the local conditions. The
committee recommended that the above 3 tiers should be organically linked together through
an instrument of indirect election.
The committee recommended that the Gram Panchayats should be constituted with directly
elected representatives, whereas the Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad should be the
constituted with indirectly elected members.
 The status of the Panchayat samiti should be of that of an executive body, while the
status of the Zila Parishad should be that of an advisory body.
 The Zila Parishad should be chaired by the District Collector.
 These democratic bodies must be given genuine powers.
 These bodies should be given adequate resources to carry out the functions and fulfil
the responsibilities.
Thus, we see, that most of the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta committee
reflect in the Panchayati Raj institutions, as we see them today.

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 ZILA PANCHAYAT
Zila Panchayats are Panchayats at Apex or District Level in Panchayat Raj
Institutions (or PRIs). The 73rd Amendment is about Rural Local Governments (which is also
known as Panchayati Raj Institutions or PRIs)

The Zila Panchayat or District Council or Zilla Parishad or District Panchayat, is the third
tier of the Panchayati Raj system. Zila Parishad is an elected body. Chairpersons or Block
Pramukh of Block Samitis are also represented in Zila Parishad. The members of the State
Legislature and the members of the Parliament of India are members of the Zila Parishad.
The gram panchayat is divided into wards and each ward is represented by a Ward Member
or Commissioner, also referred to as a Panch or Panchayat Member, who is directly elected
by the villagers. The panchayat is chaired by the president of the village, known as
a Sarpanch. The term of the elected representatives is five years. The Secretary of the
panchayat is a non-elected representative, appointed by the state government, to oversee
panchayat activities.
Function

1. Provide essential services and facilities to the rural population and the planning and
execution of the development programmes for the district.
2. Supply improved seeds to farmers. Inform them of new techniques of training. Undertake
construction of small-scale irrigation projects and percolation tanks. Maintain pastures
and grazing lands.
3. Set up and run schools in villages. Execute programmes for adult literacy. Run libraries.
4. Start Primary Health Centres and hospitals in villages. Start vaccination drives against
epidemics and family welfare campaigns.
5. Construct bridges and roads.Execute plans for the development of the scheduled castes
and tribes. Run ashramshalas for Adivasi children. Set up free hostels for scheduled caste
students.
6. Encourage entrepreneurs to start small-scale industries like cottage industries, handicraft,
agriculture produce processing mills, dairy farms, etc. Implement rural employment
schemes.
7. They even supply work for the poor people. (tribes, scheduled caste, lower caste

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Sources of income

Taxes on water, pilgrimage, markets, etc.

1. Fixed grant from the State Government in proportion with the land revenue and money
for works and schemes assigned to the Parishad.
2. The Zila Parishad can collect some money from the panchayats with the approval of the
government.
3. It gets a share from the income from local taxes.

TALUKA PANCHAYAT
Mandal Or Taluka Panchayats are Panchayats at Intermediate Level in Panchayat Raj
Institutions (or PRIs). These Panchayats are also known as Block Panchayats or Panchayat
Samiti. The second or middle tier of the Panchayati Raj is Panchayat Samiti, which provides
a link between Gram Panchayat and a Zila Parishad.

The strength of a Panchayat Samiti also depends on the population in a Samiti area. In
Panchayat Samiti, some members are directly elected. Sarpanchs of Gram Panchayats are ex-
officio members of Panchayat Samitis. However, all the Sarpanchs of Gram Panchayats are
not members of Panchayat Samitis at the same time. The number varies from State to State
and is rotated annually. It means that only chairpersons of some Gram Panchayats in a Samiti
area are members of Panchayat Samiti at a time.

In some panchayats, members of Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils, as well as

members of Parliament who belong to the Samiti area, are co-opted as its
members. Chairpersons of Panchayat Samitis are, elected indirectly- by and from amongst the
elected members thereof.

Departments

The most common departments found in a panchayat samiti are:

 Administration
 Finance
 Public works (especially water and roads)
 Agriculture
 Health
 Education teacher list
 Social welfare
 Information technology
 Women & child development

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 Panchayat raj (Mandal praja parishad)
Each department in a panchayat samiti has its own officer. Most often these are state
government employees acting as extension officers, but occasionally in more revenue-rich
panchayat samiti, they may be local employees.

Functions
The panchayat samiti collects all the prospective plans prepared at Gram Panchayat level and
process them for funding and implementation by evaluating them from the angles of financial
constraints, social welfare, and area development. It also identifies and prioritizes the issues
that should be addressed at the block level.

Sources of income
The income of the panchayat samiti comes from:

 land and water use taxes, professional taxes, liquor taxes and others
 income-generating programmes
 grants-in-aid and loans from the state government and the local Zila parishad
 voluntary contributions
For many panchayat samiti, the main source of income is state aid. For others, the traditional
taxing function provides the bulk of revenues. Tax revenues are often shared between the
gram panchayats and the panchayat samiti.

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 GRAM PANCHAYAT
A gram panchayat (transl. 'village council') or village panchayat is the only grassroots-
level of Panchayati formalised local self-governance system in India at the village or small-
town level, and has a sarpanch as its elected head. The failed attempts to deal with local
matters at the national level caused, in 1992, the reintroduction of panchayats for their
previously used purpose as an organisation for local self-governance. There are about
250,000-gram panchayats in India.
Structure
Gram panchayats are at the lowest level of panchayat raj institutions (PRIs), whose legal
authority is the 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1993, which is concerned with rural local
governments. Panchayat at Base Level. The gram panchayat is divided into wards and each
ward is represented by a Ward Member or Commissioner, also referred to as a Panch or
Panchayat Member, who is directly elected by the villagers. The panchayat is chaired by the
president of the village, known as a Sarpanch. The term of the elected representatives is five
years. The Secretary of the panchayat is a non-elected representative, appointed by the state
government, to oversee panchayat activities.

Functions
1. Taking care of health and sanitations of the village.
2. Providing pure water for drinking.
3. Providing drainage and street light, road construction.
4. Housing
5. Establishing khadi and village industries.
6. Providing elementary education.
7. Maintenance of such records relating to cattle census, population, crop and census of
unemployed person.
8. Welfare development of the village is the responsibility of the Gram Panchayat.

Source of income
1. Taxes on property, land, goods and cattle.
2. Fines of different types.
3. Grants from state and union government.
4. A part of land revenue collected by the state government.
5. Donations from villagers.

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 CONCLUSION
Conclusion in the preceding chapters we have discussed the different issues regarding the
multilevel governance. In all this the major attempt was to go beyond the usual view taken on
rural governance system as separate, isolated entity, wherein Gram Panchayats or even Zilla
Panchayats are viewed as if they are not part of the overall political system. Viewing
Panchayats as part of the multi-level governance means studying them as part of the larger
political system. Federalism is no more a two-tier system in India. It is supposed to be a
three-tier system including the Panchayats and Nagara palinkas. Thus, local government is
not a separate system; it is part of the larger totality. If the word 'governance' means a 'pattern
of rule' then multilevel governance includes all the three steps of the ladder. Today's
panchayats, even village panchayats are much more integrated into the larger political system
and political economy.
Panchayati raj empowered the marginalised people in the remote villages to make planning of
their villages. On 24th April 1993, the constitutional act (73rd amendment) act 1992 came into
force to provide constitutional status to the Panchayati raj institutions. Under this provision
panchayat elections at the local held every five years. India have long tradition of village
level panchayats since ancient times, ancient scriptures have several mention of panchayat
systems. There is now a separate ministry in central and state government.
No developed country functions without active local governments. Local governments are
more than instruments of development and service delivery. They constitute an essential
pre-condition for democratic governance. The innovation has empowered the village
community. Widened the democratic base of rural India resulting in inclusive and
integrated growth. Resulted in amazing development – women empowerment and
emergence of women as leaders. Large numbers of women are shouldering responsibilities
with grace and competence, bringing enormous courage, enthusiasm and creativity.
Panchayati Raj is a backbone of villages for their proper functioning. Instead of problems
ways should be found out to make these better. Local self-government is still dependent on
the patronage of the head of the state of the government. Performance grant has been
assigned based on the previous audited report and utility of the fund by the local bodies.
If the share of the state and local bodies revenue to the central has been sustainably increase
then it will lead to increase in the amount of basic grant sanctioned by the central
government.

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REFERENCE

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PANCHAYAT SAMITI

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ZILA PARISHAD

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CONCLUSION

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REFERENCES

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