Principles and Concept of Panchayati Raj

What is Panchayati Raj?

• Panchayati Raj is a system of rural self-government whose main purpose is to develop rural self-governments in various districts and villages. 
• It is a three-tier structure laid down by the Indian administration for rural development in India. 
• The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution helped Panchayati Raj System to build democracy and promote rural development in the country. 
• This system is being followed in many states except a few of them such as Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Delhi.

Evolution of Panchayati Raj

The Panchayati Raj system evolved in several different stages in India. These are the Vedic era, Epic era, Ancient Period, Medieval Period, British Period, and Post- Independence Period. Let us have a quick look into the evolution of the Panchayati Raj beginning from the Vedic culture

• The Rigveda mentions the three local self-units as Sabha, Samiti, and Vidhata. The epic era was divided into two parts- The Ramayana and Mahabharat. 
• The Caste Panchayat state elected one person as a member of the King’s Council of Ministers. Gramik was known to be the chief official of the village whose duty was to collect taxes and protect their villages. 
• The ancient Period also mentions the concept of the village panchayat in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. 
• In the medieval period, Sultans of Delhi divided the kingdom into provinces and various officials such as Choudhry for settling disputes, and Patwari for collecting revenues were appointed with the help of the Sarpanch. unfortunately, during the British period, village panchayats became weak.

The Royal Commission in 1907 highlighted the significance of panchayats at the village level. During the post-independence period, Article 40 made the inclusion of panchayats. various committees such as Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, Ashok Mehta Committee, G V K Rao Committee were appointed to study the implementation of self-government. Let us look into these committees in brief:

• Balwant Rai Mehta Committee: Setup in 1957, the establishment of a local self government was a major suggestion of this committee. This local self government was known as Panchayati Raj. The other recommendations of the Balwant Rai committee were as follows:
  • Establishment of Panchayati raj in 3 tiers which will include: Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad.
  • Gram Panchayat should comprise of the members who are directly elected while the members who are indirectly elected should form the Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad.
  • Executive work shall be carried out by panchayat samiti whereas the advisory and supervisory tasks should be handled by Zila Parishad.
  • The chairman of the Zila Parishad should be the Deputy Collector of that particular district.
  • Appropriate resources should be provided to the Panchayati Raj system so that they can perform their duties properly and ensure the welfare of the people.
• Ashok Mehta Committee: Set up in 1977, the committee aimed to uplift the declining Panchayati Raj system. This committee gave the following suggestions:
  • A 2 tier system should be setup instead of the 3 tier system as proposed by Balwant Rai committee and this 2 tier system would consist of Zila Parishad and the Mandal Panchayat.
  • Planning at the district level should be the responsibility of the Zila Parishad.
  • Taxation powers should be given to both the tiers i.e. Zila Parishad and mandal Panchayat.
• G V K Rao Committee: Appointed in 1985, this committee made the following recommendations:
  • All the development programmes at the district level should be managed by the Zila Parishad which should also be democratically decentralised.
  • The task of implementation, planning and monitoring the rural development projects should be handled by the lower levels of Panchayat.
  • There should be a provision for the District Development Commissioner who would act as the CEO of Zila Parishad.
  • It must be ensured that the Panchayati Raj elections should be regularly held. 
• L M Singhvi Committee: Appointed in 1986, this committee made the following recommendations:
  • Constitutional recognition should be provided to the Panchayati raj system in India and a mechanism to conduct elections for the Panchayati Raj be provided in the constitution.
  • Village panchayats should be provided with more resources to ensure their smooth functioning.
  • All the matters and disputes related to the Panchayati raj and their elections should be handled by Judicial Tribunals in each state.

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992

Importance of the 73rd Amendment

• Under this amendment, a new schedule i.e. the eleventh schedule and ninth part was added to the Indian Constitution.
• The part 9 of the constitution extends from article 243 to 243(O).
• It also provides powers to the State government to provide powers to the panchayat raj by shaping the DPSP in Part 4 of the constitution.
• This act consists of two parts: compulsory and voluntary. Mandatory provisions should be added to state law, including the creation of a new Panchayati Raj system. Voluntary provisions, on the other hand, are at the discretion of state governments.
• This law is a very important step towards establishing democratic institutions at the grassroots level in the country. This law transformed representative democracy into participatory democracy.

Features of the 73rd Amendment

• Establishment of Gram Sabha: It works as the primary body for the Panchayati Raj system. All the voters of an area are automatically a part of the Gram Sabha. The functions and powers of the Gram Sabha are decided by the State Legislature.
• 3 Tier system: Under this act, a 3 tier Panchayati Raj system was setup. The intermediate level may not be present at the states with population less than 20 lakhs.
• Functions: The act provides powers on 29 items to the Panchayat as per the Indian Constitution (Schedule 11).
• Elections: All the members of Panchayati raj are directly elected whereas the chairperson are indirectly elected from the elected members at the intermediate and district level. The chairperson at village level is elected as per the directions of the state.
• Seat Reservation: The act also provides for the reservation of seats in Panchayati Raj system as follows:
  • SC/ ST reservation: Seats for SC and ST should be reserved in proportion to their population out of which 1/3rd of the seats are also reserved for SC/ ST women.
  • Women reservation: 1/3rd of the seats will be reserved for women. 1/3rd of seats of the chairpersons at all levels will also be reserved for women.
• Elections: Elections should be conducted every 5 years before the expiry of the tenure of the Panchayat. If the Panchayat is dissolved, then the elections need to be conducted mandatory within 6 months.
• State Election Commission: A state election commission should be set up to look into the conduction of elections for the Panchayat. It should look after all the activities such as superintending, controlling, and directing the elections.
• Finance Commission: A finance commission should also be set up in each state to decide and look after the allocation of resources to the Panchayati raj system for its smooth functioning.
• Exempted areas: This act shall not be applicable to certain areas which include the states of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, tribal areas, Manipur hill area, and Darjeeling district.

Challenges Faced by the Panchayati Raj system

The Panchayati Raj system in India faces the following challenges:

• Providing of Powers to lower levels: The task of providing powers to the Panchayati Raj system is at the sole discretion of the state legislatures according to the Constitution of India.
• Lack of Resources: 
  • The Panchayati Raj system is not provided with adequate resources in order to carry out the activities assigned to it smoothly. The Finance Commissions in many states provide very small amounts of money to these local governments. 
  • Due to these Gram Panchayats need to raise the funds themselves by renting shops, and levying fees on clean water and house tax but this is not possible in most of cases.
• Sarpanch Pati: Sarpanch Pati culture has been abolished in India in 2015 by the PM of India but it can still be found in many areas due to the lack of awareness among people.
• Infrastructure: 
  • Gram Panchayats usually do not have a proper place for their functioning. Some of the Gram Panchayats use the space of schools, Anganwadi or village parks 
  • Those that have a space of their own, do not have proper facilities such as toilets, clean drinking water, sanitation and electricity supply. Also the access to internet is very limited in most of the cases which is essential to do certain tasks.
• Lack of Staff: The Gram Panchayats do not have adequate staff needed for their functioning such as Junior Engineers, DEO, Support people, secretaries, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What do you mean by Panchayati Raj?

Panchayati Raj is a system of rural self government whose main purpose is to develop rural self governments in various districts and villages. It is a three tier structure laid down by the Indian administration for the rural development in India. 

Q2. State the recommendations of the Ashok Mehta Committee.

Ashok Mehta committee gave the following suggestions:

• A 2 tier system should be setup instead of the 3 tier system as proposed by Balwant Rai committee and this 2 tier system would consist of Zila Parishad and the Mandal Panchayat.
• Planning at the district level should be the responsibility of the Zila Parishad.
• Taxation powers should be given to both the tiers i.e. Zila Parishad and mandal Panchayat.

Q3. Which act provided constitutional recognition to the Panchayati Raj system?

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 provided constitutional recognition to Panchayati Raj system.

Q4. Where was Panchayati Raj implemented first and when?

Panchayati Raj system was first implemented in Nagaur district of Rajasthan in 1959.

Q5. State the 3 levels of Panchayati Raj system. Do all the states have a 3 tier system?

The 3 levels of Panchayati Raj system are as follows:

• Gram Panchayat
• Panchayat Samiti
• Zila Parishad

The states with a population of less than 20 lakhs do not have the 3 tier system and do not have the Panchayat Samiti.