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DR. RAM MAHOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
PROJECT ON: (FINAL DRAFT)
PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM
“
”
SUBMITTED BY:
SUBMITTED TO:
SHOBHIT SAINESH AWASTHI
Mr MANWENDRA KUMAR TIWARI
ROLL NO: 130
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (LAW)
SECTION-B
Dr.R.M.L.N.L.U. LUCKNOW
SEMESTER-1st
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Acknowledgement I express my gratitude and deep regards to my teacher for the subject Mr Manwendra Kumar Tiwari Sir for giving me such a challenging topic and also for her exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this Project. I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to my seniors in the college for their cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in completing this task through various stages. I am obliged to the staff members of the Madhu Limaye Library, for the timely and valuable information provided by them in their respective fields. I am grateful for their cooperation during the period of my assignment. Lastly, I thank almighty, my family and friends for their constant encouragement without which this assignment would not have been possible
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INDEX
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………….
ROLE OF CUSTOM IN ESTABLISHMENT OF PANCHAYATI RAJ
o
Panchayati Raj in Pre-British period
o
Panchayati Raj in British period
HOW THE SYSTEM GROWS INTO CONSTITUTIONAL SCHEME . o
Panchayati Raj in Independent India
o
Balwant Rai Mehta Committee.
o
Ashok Mehta Committee
RECENT TRENDS IN PANCHAYATI RAJ…………………………… o
73rd constitutional amendment
STRUCTURE AND FEATURES OF THE PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTION.
PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM AS A FUNCTION OF LAW……………
EVALUATION OF PANCHAYATI RAJ………………………………...
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………...
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INTRODUCTION Democratic Decentralisation
The word 'democracy' is derived from the Greek word 'demos' means 'the people'; and 'cracy' means 'rule of'. It is the 'rule of the people'. It is governance of the people, by the people, and for the people. The rule by majority is an important part of this programme. Decentralisation means devolution of central power among local units close to the areas served. Where authority devolves by this process on people's institution, it is 'democratic decentralisation'.
Meaning - Panchayati Raj Panchayati Raj Institutions, the grass root units of local self government have been considered as devices of legal socio and economic transformation in rural India. Involvement of people at the grass root level is the most essential means of bringing about socio-economic development. Panchayati Raj is identified as institutional expression of democratic devolution in India. Devolution of power to the panchayats is seen as a means of authorising people and involving them in decision making process. Local governments being closer to the people can be more open to local needs and can make better use of resources. The self-governing system in a country can be ensured only if there is bulk participation in the governance. Therefore, the system of democratic decentralization popularly known as Panchayati Raj System is measured as an instrument to confirm democracy and socioeconomic transformation. Gandhi encouraged that India lives in her villages. Indian independence must begin at the bottom, thus making every village a republic or panchayat, enjoying full powers. He said that true democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting at the centre. It has to be worked from below by the people of every village. These dreams lead to the inclusion of Article 40 in the Directive Principles of the State Policy of Constitution of India. Almost after five decades of independence, in the year 1993, the Government of India took a innovative step by making Panchayati
Raj
Institutions
a
part
of
the
Constitution. 4
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The system of Panchayati raj has acquired greater significance with the 73 rd and 74 th
Amendments to the constitution of India. The Amendments have become a reality after a long drawn battle, debates, opposition and suspicion that engulfed the people and polity for quite a long time. In spite of all those initial setbacks, the 73 rd and 74th amendments had given the local government a legitimacy and an authority in the Indian political system. After the 73 rd and 74th amendments, much attention has been drawn towards the state-local bodies relationship. The basic spirit behind the 73rd and 74th constitutional was to strengthen the local bodies through
decentralization
measures. For successful functioning of local bodies at the
grassroots level, it is imperative that the local government should have sufficient power, autonomy and the power of decision making. The story of Panchayati Raj has been a story of ups and downs. This project provides a historical account of the village panchayati system in ancient India .And it traces the role of the custom in establishment of Panchayati Raj system in India. After that , it briefly evaluates how the system of Panchayati raj grows into constitutional scheme. This project also gives an overview of the Panchayat raj Institutions. And presents balanced complete picture of the philosophy, objective, evolution, success, and failures of these institution in last decades and shows recent trends of the Panchayati raj system.
ROLE OF CUSTOM IN ESTABLISHMENT OF PANCHAYATI RAJ Custom occupies an important place in regulation of human conduct in almost all the societies. In fact, it is one of the oldest sources of law-making. It has been generally said that custom is to society what law is to the state. Each one of them is the expression and realisation, to the measure of men‟s insight and ability, of the principles of rights and justice. The influence of custom on society is similar to that of law on the state. 2
Role of custom in establishment of Panchayati raj are as follows in a chronological order. 3
1 Panchayati
3 Dr
raj by Kuldeep Mathur
N.V Paranjape ,Studies in Jurisprudence and Legal Theory
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a) Panchayati Raj in Pre British Period
The word panchayat is derived from the word pancha panchasvanusthitah, has references in to the existence of Grama Sanghas or rural communities. The institution of Panchayati Raj is as old as Indian civilization itself. It was in existence since ancient periods, having an effective control over civil and judicial matters in the village community. The Rigveda, Manusamhita, Dharmashastras, Upanishads, Jatakas and others, refer extensively to local administration, i.e. the panchayat system of administration. It is mentioned in Rigveda that dates from approximatel y 200 B.C. The village was the basic unit of administration in the Vedic period. The most remarkable feat ure of the early Vedic polity consisted in the institution of popular assemblies of which two namely „Sabha‟, and the „Samiti‟ deserve special mention. A Samiti was the Vedic Folk Assembly that in some cases enjoyed the right of electing a king while the Sabha exercised some judicial functions. Both the Samiti and Sabha enjoyed the rights to debate, a privilege unknown to the popular
assemblies of other ancient people.The office of the village head man (Gramani) indicates the emergence of the village as a unit of administration. In the later Vedic period, the Samiti disappeared as a popular assembly while the Sabha sank into a narrow body corresponding to the kings Privy Council. In the Mouryan period, the village was the basic unit of administration. Villagers used to organize works of public utility and recreation, settle disputes, and act as trustees for the property of minors. But, they had not yet evolved regular councils. The village council appeared to have evolved into regular bodies in the Gupta period. They were known as Panchamandalas in central India and Gramajanapadas in Bihar. These bodies negotiated with the government for concessions and settlement of disputes. The inscription of Chola dynasty shows the construction and functions of the village assembly and their executive commit tees. The village administrations were performed by the elected representatives forming village council. During the medieval and Moghal periods, village bodies were the pivot of administration. In the Moghal period, particularly in the regime of Sher Shah, the villages were governed by their own panchyats. Each panchayat comprised of village elders who looked after the interest of the people and administered justice and imposed punishment on defaulters. The head man of the village, a semi government official, acted as a coordinator between the 6
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village panchayat and the higher administrative hierarchy. Akbar accepted this system and made it an indispensable part of civil administration. In this period, each village had its own panchayat of elders. It was autonomous in its own sphere and exercise d powers of local taxation, administrative control, justice and punishment.The Moghals introduced elaborate administrative machinery with a hierarchy of officials, particularly in the field of revenue. The Moghal local administrative system lasted over centuries. It was with the collapse of the Moghal strong hold, the British established their hegemony in India. b) Panchayati Raj in British Period
It was Lord Mayo, the then viceroy of India (1869 to 1872), who felt the need to decentralize powers in order to bring about administrative efficiency and in the year 1870 introduced the concept of elected representatives in the urban municipalities. The revolt of 1857 that had put the imperial finances under considerable strain and it was found necessary to finance local ser vice out of local taxation. Therefore it was out of fiscal compulsion that Lord Mayo‟s resolution on decentralization came to be adopted. Ripon Resolution (1882)
In 1882, Ripon abandoned the existing system of local government by the officially nominated people. According to his local self government plan, the local boards were split into smaller units to achieve greater efficiency. In order to ensure popular participation, he introduced an election system for the local boards. The government resolution of 18th, May, 1882, stands as a landmark in the structural evolution of local governments. It provided for local boards consisting of a large majority of elected non-official members and presided over by a non-official chairperson.This is considered to be the Magna Carta of local democracy in India. This resolution proposed the establishment of rural local boards where 2/3rd of whose membership was composed of elected representatives.He brought in the concept of selfgovernment in urban municipalities. He is treated as the founding father of urban local government. The Royal Commission on Decentralization in 1909 elaborated further the principles of Ripon resolution. But this remained merely on paper. Ripon‟s scheme did not make much progress in the development of local self government institutions.
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919
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In this backdrop, Montagu Chelmsford reforms were passed in the year 1919. This reform transferred the subject of local government to the domain of provinces. The reform also recommended that as far as possible there should be a complete popular control in local bodies and the largest possible independence for them, of outside control. By 1925, eight provinces had passed village panchayat acts. However, these panchayats covered only a limited number of villages with limited functions. But this reform could not get much result as far as democratization of panchayats was concerned and lead to a lot of organizational and fiscal constraints. The Government of India Act 1935
This is considered as another important stage in the evolution of panchayats in British India. With popularly elected government in the provinces, almost all provincial administrations felt duty bound to enact legislations for further democratization of local self government institutions, including village panchayats. Although the popular government in the provinces governed by the Congress vacated office following the declaration of Second World War in 1939, the position as regards local government institutions remained unchanged till August 1947, when the country attained independence. Even though the British government did not have interest in the village autonomy, they were forced to do so, in order to continue their rule in India and moreover to meet financial necessities. The Indian rural republic had flourished till the advent of British. It received a set back during the British rule. Self contained village communities and their panchayats ceased to get substance. They were replaced by formally constituted institutions of village administration. In the highly centralized system of British rule, village autonomy seems to have lost.
How the system grows into constitutional scheme a).Panchayati Raj in Independent India .
The task of strengthening panchayati raj system fell on the Indian government formed after independence. It was clear that India a country of villages had to strengthen village panchayats to strengthen democracy. Mahatma Gandhi who strongly believed in Ggrama Swaraj pleaded for the transfer of power to the rural masses. According to him the villages should govern themselves through elected panchayats to become self sufficient. But surprisingly, the draft Constitution prepared in 1948 had no place for Panchayati Raj Institutions. Gandhi severely criticized this and called for immediate attention. It is thus, that panchayat finds a place in the Directive Principles of the State Policy. Article 40 of the 8
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Directive Principles of the State Policy states that „the states shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable
them
function
as
units
of
self
governments.
The most important aspect to strengthen grass root democracy was neglected by the Constitution makers as Directive Principle of State Policy is not legally binding on the governments. The first organized effort to tackle the problem of rural India was made through Community Development Programme in 1952 and National Extension Service in 1953. The programme was based on an integrated approach to the various aspects of rural development. The objectives were to promote self help and self reliance among the rural people, to generate a process of integrated social, economic and cultural change with the aim of transforming social and political life of the villagers. The programme was based on an integrated approach to the various aspects of rural development. The programme made provisions for appointing Block Development Officers [BDO] and Village Level Workers [V.L.W]. This programme was intended to bring socio economic development of the rural masses on democratic lines, but failed to take off along the expected lines due to the absence of an effective instrument for people‟s participation. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee(1957)
Balwantrai Mehta Committee was the first Committee set up in 1957 to look into the problems of democratic decentralization in independent India. The Committee was asked to report on community development projects. The Committee made far reaching recommendations in the direction of democratic decentraliz ation and rural reconstruction. It pointed out that the community development programme was not successful because it failed to evoke local initiative and that in the absence of local initiative and local interest, development would not be possible. The committee laid down five fundamental principles. 1). There should be three tier structures of local self government bodies from village to the district level and these bodies should be linked together. 2). There should be genuine transfer of power and responsibility to these bodies to enable them to discharge their responsibility. 3). Adequate resources should be transferred to these bodies to enable them to discharge their responsibilities. 4). All welfare and developmental schemes and programmes at all three levels should be
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channeled through these bodies, and 5). The three tier system should facilitate further devolution and disposal of power and responsibility in future. The committee envisaged three tire system of panchayats known as Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat and recommended encouragement of peo ples‟ participation in community work, promotion of agriculture and animal husbandry, promoting the welfare of the weaker sections and women through the panchayats. The recommendations of the Balwantrai Mehta Committee came into effect on 1st April 1958. Rajasthan was the first state to implement it on 2nd October 1959. By mid 1960s, panchayat had reached all parts of the country. There was enthusiasm in rural India and people felt that they had a say in the affairs affecting their daily life. These were considered as the promising days of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India. The recommendations of Balwantrai Mehta Committee were implemented by many states in the country. Till the mid sixties, Panchayati Raj s ystem flourished in India. But there was decline in Panchayati Raj Institutions after the mid sixties mainly because of centralized tendencies of functioning all over the country. The elections were not held r egularly and the participation of people weakened in these bodies. Inefficiency, corruption, favoritism, uncertainty and irregularity led to their decline. Most of the development programmes were kept out of their preview. Centrally sponsored schemes were initiated; parallel administrative bodies were created and government reduced funds considerably. During the period of national emergency, bureaucracy got the upper hand and these institutions lost their significance. Ashok Mehta Committee (1977)
In this backdrop in 1977, the Janata government appointed a Committee with Ashok Mehta as chairman and was entrusted with the task of enquiring into the causes responsible for the poor performance of Panchayati Raj Institutions. It was also asked to suggest measures to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions. The committee suggested two tire system of Panchayati Raj consisting of Zilla Parishads at the district level and Mandal Panchayats at the grass root level as against three tier system suggested by the Balwantrai Mehta Committee. The committee recommended constitutional protection to the Panchayati Raj Institutions and further decentralization of power at all levels.
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A noteworthy feature of the report is that it recommended regular elections to these bodies and open participation of political parties. The Ashok Mehta Committee Suggested: Ø Reservation of seats for the weaker sections Ø Two seats for women Ø Adequate financial resources for the panchayats Ø Requirement of Constitutional sanctions Ø To extend people‟s participation in developmental activities. Due to the fall of the Janata government, the Ashok Mehta Committee recommendations were not implemented. Few states formulated new legislation on the basis of the recommendations of this Committee. Both the Committees overlooked the importance of panchayats as units of self government. During 1980‟s, two important Committees were appointed to look into local governments. GVK Rao Committee in 1985 and Dr. L.M. Singhvi Committee in 1986. The GVK Rao committee recommended the revival of Panchayati Raj Institutions such that greater responsibility of planning, implementation, and monitoring of rural development programmes could be assigned to them. L.M. Singhvi Committee recommended that the Panchayati Raj Iinstitutions should be constitutionally recognized and protected. New chapter in the constitution should be provided to define their powers and functions and fr ee and fair election to be conducted through the election commission. Committee recommended for the appointment of finance commission and all the rural development programmes are entrusted to the Panchayati Raj Institutions by amending schedule VII of the constit ution.
Recent Trends in Panchayati Raj a) 73rd Amendment Act, 1992
Following these circumstances, Rajiv Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India, introduced the 64th Amendment bill on local government on the 15th May, 1989 in the Parliament, but it failed to get the required support. A second attempt was made in September 1990 to pass the bill in the Parliament. The bill however was not even taken up for consideration. In September 1991, a fresh bill on Panchayati Raj was introduced by the Congress government
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under P. V Narasimha Rao, the then Prime Minister. It was passed in 1992 as the 73rd Amendment Act 1992 with minor modifications and came into force on 24thApril 1993. 4
The Salient Features of the Act are :
1).The Act provided for the establishment of grama sabha in each village. It will be a body comprising of all the adult members registered as voters in the panchayat area. Three shall be a three-tier system of panchayat at village, intermediate and district levels. 2).Smaller states with population below 20 Lakes will have option not to have intermediate level panchayat.Seats in panchayats at all three level shall be filled by direct election. In addition, the chairperson of the village panchayat can be made member of the panchayat at the intermediate level. MP, MLA, MLC, could also be member of panchayat at the intermediate and the district level. 3).In all the panchayats, seats should be reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population and 1/3 of the total number of seats will be reserved for women. Offices of the chairperson of the panchayat at all levels shall be reserved in favour of SCs and STs in proportion in the state. One-third of the offices of chairpe rson of panchayats at all levels shall also be reserved for women. 4).Legislature of the state shall be at liberty to provide reservation of seats and office of chairperson in panchayat in favour of backward class citizens. 5).Panchayats shall have a uniform five year term and elections to constitute new bodies shall be completed before the expiry of term. 6).In the event of dissolution, election will be compulsorily held within six months. The reconstituted panchayat will serve for remaining period of five year term. It will not be possible to dissolve the existing panchayats by amendment of any Act before the expiry of its duration. 7).A person who is disqualified under any law, election to the legislature of the state or under any of the state will not be entitled to become a member of a panchayat.
4 Panchayati
raj by Kuldeep Mathur
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8).Independent
election
commission
will
be
established
in
the
state
to
superintendence,direction, and control of the electoral process and preparation of electoral rolls. 9).Specific responsibilities will be entrusted to the panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and social justice in respect of matters listed in XI Schedule. For the implementation of development schemes, main responsibility will be entrusted to the panchayats. 10).The panchayats will receive adequate funds for carrying out their plans. Grants from state government will constitute an important source of funding but state government is also expected to assign the revenue of certain taxes to the panchayats. In some cases, panchayat will also be permitted to collect and retain revenue it raises. 11).In each state, finance commission will be established within one year and after every five years to determine principles on the basis of which adequate financial resource would be entrusted for panchayats. 12).Panchayats existing on the 24th April 1993 will be allowed to complete their full term except when they are dissolved by the house by resolution 5. The 73rd Amendment Act is an attempt to restructure the Panchayati Raj to reach the grassroot level. The bill for the first time gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions and it became mandatory on all state governments to implement it. This Amendment brought about uniformity in structure, composition, powers and functions of panchayats. It gave impetus to Panchayati Raj to promote function of law, social and economic
development
and
improvement
in
living
condition
of
rural
India.
The main criticism leveled against the Act is that these institutions are viewed as implementing agencies for developmental activities and that they are not given the status of decentralized political institutions. Criticism apart, the Act fulfilled the dream of constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions and the state governments brought new legislations to implement it. It has been explained as the beginning of silent revolution. This Amendment for the first time in the history of Panchayati Raj Institutions gave opportunities for women in large numbers to enter local administration.
5 The
Constitution (Seventy -Third Amendment) Act, 19 92, Government of India
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Structure And Features of Panchayati Raj Institutions The structure of Panchayati Raj (PR) varies from state to state. Main structure and features of Panchayati raj institutions are as follows. a).The Three-tier System of Panchayat (Articles of 243A, B & C )
The constitution amendment provides for a three-tier system of panchayat at village level, block/ taluk and district levels. Smaller states with population less than twenty lakhs may have their own option whether or not to keep the intermediate level. The panchayats would have the power of self-governance. There will be gram sabha in each villages comprising all the adult members registered as voters in the panchayat area. b).Power, Functions and Responsibilities (Articles 243 G & H)
The legislature of each state, may by law, endow the panchayats with such powers and authority as may be necessary in order to enable them to function as institutes of selfgovernment . They should be entrusted with powers and responsibilities so as to prepare , plan and implement schemes for development and social justice in rural India. Specific responsibilities will be assigned for different tiers regarding the distribution of subjects listed in eleventh schedule. The amendment also calls for creation of a „Fund‟ specifically for panchayats (perhaps on the lines of consolidated fund of the state) so as to manage inflow and out flow of money dealt within that fund. c).State Finance commission (Article 243 I)
Eacn state government should constitute a finance commission for every five years to review the financial position of the panchayats and suggest guidelines to state governments on the basis of which adequate financial resources could be provided to panchayats to carry out the development activities entrusted to them. The commission is also required to suggest measures for the improvement of financial position of the panchayats. d).Election to Panchayats ( Articles 243 E, F & K )
All the three-tiers of the panchayats shall have direct election. Further, chair persons of the village panchayats can become members of intermediate/ block level panchayats and the chairpersons of the intermediate/ block level panchayats can become members of district panchayats. Members of Parliament, legislative assembly and councils could become
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members of panchayats at the intermediate and district levels. But their functional status in the panchayat proceeding, voting etc. are left t o be decided by the respective legislature of the states. Every state panchayat shall have a uniform tenure of five years and election to constitute a new body has to be completed before the expiry of the existing term. In the event of dissolution of panchayat, election will have to be conducted compulsorily within six months of dissolution. The reconstituted panchayat shall serve for the remaining period of the five years term. The
state
government
shall
appoint
an
independent
Election
Commission
for
superintendence, direction and control of electoral process and preparation of electoral rolls. e). Reservation of Seats in Panchayats (Article 243 D)
In all panchayats , seats would be reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in proportion to their population . In the same way , the offices of the chair persons of the various tiers of panchayats wold also be reserved for them. Not less then one-third of the total number of reserved seats would be provided to women belonging to SCs and STs. Onethird of the total number of seats will be reserved for women and in the same manner onethird of the offices of the chairpersons wold also reserved for women. The amendment
.
The System of Panchayati Raj as a Function of Law The passage of the 73 rd Constitution Amendment Act,1992 is regarded as a milestone in opening up a new era in the federal democratic set up of the country. This act had gained importance due to the fact that it has provided a constitutional status and thus legitimacy for the PRIs. It would be relevant to examine the status of the PRIs after the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, 1992 in order to see as to how best the state governments have implemented the various provisions given in the act. The constitutional amendment has provided for implementation of some obligatory functions such as ; a).Devolution of Powers and Functions to PRIs
According to Article 243(G) of the 73 rd Constitutional Amendment Act, the State government 15
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are required to devolve adequate powers and functions to PRIs in order to make them institutions of self-government. The PRIs have been assigned the responsibility of preparing plans for development and social justice. The Constitution reads, “….the Legislature of the State may by law, endow the panchayats with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon panchayats at the appropriate level, subject to such conditions as may be specified therein.” The above provision has not clearly delineated the function and authority to devolve to PRIs and as such the state governments have enacted le gislations according to their internal convenience. b).Devolution of Financial Resources and Powers
Article 243 (H) and Article (I) of the constitution provide for the financial devolution to the PRIs. Article 243H empowers the State legislature s: (a) to authorize, by law, to levy, collect and appropriate specified taxes, duties, fees and tolls on panchayats; (b) to assign state taxes duties, fees and toll to panchayats for specific purposes; (c) to provide for making grants-inaid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state; and (d) to constitute specified funds for creating all moneys received by or on behalf of the pancha yats and for their withdrawal. The above provisions endows the state governments with the discretionary powers to strengthen the finances of panchayats through aaignment of certain revenues powers to panchayats and sharing of state revenues with panchayats and providing grants-inaid to them. Article 243(I) stipulates that the state governments should constitute a state finance commission within one year from the date of commencement of 73 rd amendment act and at the expiry of every 5th year thereafter to review the financial position of the panchayats and to make appropriate recommendations to improve their finances. c).District Planning Committee
Under Article 243(ZO) of 74 th constitutional amendment act 1992, the state government are required to constitute District Planning Committee in order to facilitate the process of decentralized planning. The DPCs are supposed to prepare composite plans covering both urban and rural areas.
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d) Gram Sabha
Gram Sabha is considered as the centre of democratic power in the village. Under Article 243(b) of the constitution, Gram Sabha is defined as a body consisting of all persons registered as voters in the electoral roll relating to the village within the area of the panchayat at the village level. Article 243(A) stipulates that Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the legislature of a state may, by law, provide. The working group on decentralisation and P anchayati raj institutions has stated that “ Gram Sabha is not only an institution articulating the needs and aspirations of the community participation. Truly empowered Gram Sabha can prevent abuse of power by the panchayat. They could also assist the panchayats to implement development programmes. They could act as watchdog to protect community interests and maintain law and order. e).Conduct of Elections
Through the 73 rd amendment act, people were given the power of electing their own representatives in each level of Panchayati raj system. The constitution provides for panchayats at village, block and district level. Under Article 243(1) of the constitution, panchayt elections have to be conducted regularly every five years. Almost all the states to which Part IX of the constitution applies have constituted panchayats according to the new provisions excepting very few states. Part IX of the Constitution pertaining to formation of panchayats is not applicable to the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Hill areas of Manipuri, Meghalaya.
Evaluation of Panchayati Raj The above structure and functions of all the Panchayati Raj bodies have been changing over the years. It has stimulated a spirit of self-help and popular participation to some extent among the rural people. The process of decision-making has come close t o the rural people. It has also helped in development of a new democratic leadership at the local level. But, the competitive elections have politicized the atmosphere of all villages. This essence has even entered into the family circles also. It is alleged that panchayat elections have given birth to caste politics , communal politics and groupism and factionalism in the villages. It is also alleged that due to panchayat elections, a „cold war‟ atmosphere overcomes among various sections of the village people. Some studies made on the Panchayati Raj system revealed that functional tensions are on the increase and this can be seen during elections and 17
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panchayat meetings. The so-called harmonious relations of the villages have almost vanished. People did not extend full cooperation from the core of their heart to the panchayats and as a result developmental activity has slowed down. Theoretically, the decisions had to be taken by the non-officials at all the three-tiers of the Panchayat Raj system, but in practice, it was the government officials who used to take the decisions. The non-officials (Panch or Sarpanch) being illiterate and uneducated could not use their power. Most of the benefits of development programmes started by Panchayati Raj Institutions were cornered by the high castes and big peasants. The poor s ections of society remained neglected as before. There was a great lack of coordination among the three-tiers. Thus, to conclude, it can be stated that the devolution of power to the people without mandatory development of character, training and capacity had been found to be a blas phemy in the functioning of democratic institutions in our country and there were apprehensions that this new step in democratic decentralization, designed to be blessing, would turn out to be a curse to the people in the villages. The success of the step more than anything else depended on the quality of elected representative — Panchas and Sarpanchas — of these institutions. No institutional change can bring about climatic change or strengthen the roots of democracy in this country, if it is divorced of the spirit behind it. In the absence of this basic change, which is a sine qua non to all other changes, we doubt, if institutional changes alone will take the country very far. In the beginning, responsibility for the planned development of the country through Community Development Programs and cooperative institutions was binding on the people who were expected to discharge them in Panchayati Raj Iinstitutions who were mostly uneducated and untrained mass of people. But there is a great change now in this condition. Obviously, such a step, though basic and pregnant with great possibilities to strengthen the roots of democracy, was troubled with grave risks, disappointments and fail ures in its traditional phase. The main objective behind the Panchayati Raj is that the people in the village should undertake the responsibilities of governing themselves and maintain law and order. „Panchayati R aj is a real democratic political gear which would bring the masses into active political control from below, from the vast majority of the weaker, poor sections of rural India.‟ People in the villages should actively participate in the development activities regarding 18
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social justice, agriculture, irrigation, animal husbandry, public health, education, etc. In a nutshell, the whole idea of this scheme is based on the statement that “rural development is for the rural people, of the rural people, and by the rural peoples themselves” . It is based on self-help, as an old saying „God help those who help themselves‟. This scheme of rural development confers on the rural people the power of decision-making regarding developmental activities. This is democracy at the grassroots. It will „decentralize‟ democracy. This system has got a very important role to play in the so cial, economic and cultural life of the village community of India .
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Panchayati Raj by Kuldeep Mathur. 2. Panchayati Raj and Financial Resources by Dr S. Chandra Sekar. 3.Studies In Jurisprudence and Legal Theory by Dr N.V. Paranjape. 4.The Constitution (Seventy -Third Amendment) Act, 19 92, Government of India
5. The Constitution of India by P.M. Bakshi.
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