16 Local Self Government

Dr. Reetika Syal

Local Self Government

Introduction

The system of local self government, more commonly know as ‘panchayats’, had been established to provide empowerment to the lowest rungs of democracy in India. Panchayats or local-self rule is a three-tier system in each state which has elected bodies at the village, taluk and district level. The concept panchayats has been present in the Indian society since ancient times. Over the centuries the concept has undergone various changes and modifications and in the recent past has taken the form of panchayati raj institutions after decentralization reforms in early 1990s. These institutions for grassroots level democracy were formally included in the Constitution through the 73rd and 74th Amendment Act in 1993. The main idea of setting up local-self government institutions was to enable and empower the local people to manage their affairs by being a part of the decision-making process and to participate in implementation of policies in a more effective manner.

Tracing Panchayati Raj Institutions in Pre-Independence India

Historically, self-rule in villages had been present since many centuries in India. However, Panchayati Raj as we know it today has evolved or shaped over the last one and a half centuries. Over this period, decentralisation movement in India has shown that the initial experiments were of ad hoc nature and were not very well planned. Hence they failed to bring out a comprehensive decentralisation process. During the early British rule, it was a necessity to establish some system of local administration for maintenance of law and order, communication and transportation activities, collection of revenues, carry out other administrative works etc. Lord Ripon’s reforms are considered a landmark in local self-government in India. The situation at the district level at that point of time was that the committee meetings were not attended by people who did not live in the vicinity. Their demands were never brought up and hence never fulfilled. This resulted in undue development of the areas in and around the district headquarters while the rest was left unattended.

In 1882, Lord Ripon proposed a resolution of decentralisation through a large network of local self governing bodies. The resolution recommended that the smallest administrative unit – the sub-division, taluk or tehsil- should be placed under a local board. Above these local boards, the district boards could be created with powers of co- ordination and control. Regarding financial decentralisation, Ripon proposed that budgetary freedom should be given to the local bodies and incase of abuse of power, the central government would have power to supersede the local boards. However, Ripon’s schemes could not be carried out and they were followed by a series of committees and commissions by the British government.

In 1909, the Royal Commission on Decentralisation reviewed the work of local and district boards and came to the conclusion that due to the unrepresentative character, and  inadequate  powers,  these  bodies  had  not  been  able  to  work  successfully.  To overcome these defects, the commission recommended creation of an electorate consisting of members of the village panchayat, so that due representation could be provided to the people along with nomination of members from minority communities. They also recommended formation of village panchayats and constitution of the local boards so that local self-government could be built from the bottom. These proposals finally became a part of Government of India’s Resolution 1918. It accepted the principle of elective majorities on all boards, even at the lowest level. The recommendation of nomination for minority community members was also accepted. Therefore we find that systematic effort was made during the British rule to build and strengthen the local self- government institutions. But despite various recommendations and improvisations over the years, these institutions did not emerge as centres of power and suffered from a number of weaknesses.

Panchayati Raj Institutions in India after Independence

After independence, the government focused a great deal on rural development since a majority of our population was living in the villages. Decentralised planning assumed greater importance and the panchayat raj system evolved through various stages. To begin with, the idea of decentralisation was included in the Constitution, which gave guidelines in the Directive Principles of State Policy section for setting up the panchayat system in the villages.

“Organization of village panchayats — 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 function as units of self-government.”

– Part IV, Article 40 of the Constitution of India

The idea was furthered in the First five-year plan (1951-55) which launched community development projects in select localities of some states. These plans were to be implemented by trained personnel with the help of the locally nominated bodies. However, the plan failed to bring about active participation and involvement of the people in the planned processes which included plan formulation, implementation and monitoring.  The  Second  five-year  plan  (1956-60)  attempted  to  cover  the  entire countryside with National Extensive Service Blocks through the institutions of Block Development Committees, lead by block development officers, 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 societies. But this plan also failed to satisfactorily accomplish the proposed decentralisation. Hence, the centre constituted various committees chaired by eminent authorities to advise the government on different aspects of decentralisation.

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee

In 1956, the government of India appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Balwantrai Mehta to study the existing problems and recommend certain guidelines and methods through which the panchayati raj system could be implemented uniformly across the whole country. On 12th January 1958, the National Development Council accepted the recommendations of the Mehta Committee and subsequently gave instructions to the states to implement these recommendations. The Central Council of the Local Self- Government met in 1959 to take stock of the states’ implementation of this decision of the NDC. Acknowledging the vastness of the country, the council recommended that though the broad pattern and the fundamental features have to be the same throughout the country, the pattern of implementation could differ from state to state; As far as the states maintained the spirit of genuine transfer of power to the people, they could experiment with different implementation patterns depending upon the conditions prevailing in the states. The fundamental principles of panchayati raj to be necessarily followed by every state were:

1. A three-tier structure of local self government from the village to the district level has to be established, with the village at the bottom level and the district at the top. The intermediary institution will provide the link between the three tiers.
2. There should be genuine transfer of power and responsibility to the local self- government institutions.
3. Adequate resources should be transferred to these bodies so as to enable them to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
4. All programmes of social and economic development formulated through the network of planning should be channeled through these institutions.
5. The new established system should be tried and encouraged to facilitate the work of further devolution and dispersal of power and responsibility in future.

This new system of decentralization as a three-tier structure started in 1959 in many parts of the country. At the lowest level, the village panchayats composed of all the adults residing in the village within their jurisdiction. The panchayat was an executive body consisting of members directly elected by the people of that rural area. Thus the general body of all the adult members in that area was known as the gram-sabha or the gaon-sabha, the executive body was known as the Panchayat. The gram-sabha had certain administrative duties such as reviewing accounts of previous years, auditing the panchayat report, examining the working of the panchayat and taking decisions regarding development and welfare programs for the subsequent year. The functions of the panchayats included public health and sanitation, maintenance of village roads and street lighting, maintenance of schools, drinking water, keeping records of births and deaths, establishing social and child welfare centres, propagation of family planning, promotion of agriculture and animal husbandry, construction of public buildings and tanks, promotion of cottage industries, establishment of cooperative societies, hearing and settling minor disputes etc. The panchayat was also empowered to collect revenues from taxation on property, cess on land revenue, rent, taxing vehicles and professional tax. They could also levy taxes such as octroi, drainage and water fare, charges on lighting, taxes on shops and usage of rest houses etc.

At the taluk level, the institutions were known as Panchayat Samitis. These samitis consisted of the heads of all villages under its jurisdiction, few co-opted members of the disadvantaged classes and women, representatives of co-operative societies and members of the state and union legislatures representing the area. The members of the samiti could elect their chairman from among themselves. The main function of the Panchayat Samiti was to look after the general development work in that area. For this work, it prepared plans and after its approval by the state government, worked towards their implementation. The samiti was also responsible for the execution of community development program and took steps for the advancement of health, primary education, sanitation and communication within that area. It also had to power to supervise the panchayats working under its jurisdiction, scrutinize their budgets and provide suggestions for better working.

At the highest level, the bodies were called Zilla Parishads. A zilla parishad constituted of the representatives of the Panchayat Samitis, representatives from the disadvantaged sections including women, and elected representatives of the state and union legislatures representing the area. The presidents of the panchayat samitis were ex- officio members of the zilla parishads. The zilla parishad was a coordinating body that supervised the working of the panchayat samitis and gave recommendations to/ advised the state government with regard to development schemes. In some states the zilla parishad sanctioned the budgets of the panchayat samitis and distributed funds among them as well. The functions of the zilla parishad were establishment, maintenance and inspection of primary and secondary schools, hospitals, dispensaries, primary health centres, maternity and child welfare centres, construction and maintenance of roads, parks, lights, water-supply and drainage, minor irrigation work, promotion of local arts and industries, execution of cooperatives, rural broadcasting and communication centres etc. The financial resources of the zila panchayat consisted of the grants received from the state government and share in land cess and other local taxes. In certain cases, the zilla parishad was granted permission by the state to levy taxes or enhance certain taxes already levied by the panchayat samitis, to a certain limit.

However, the system of panchayati raj as recommended by the Balwantrai Mehta committee failed to realize the goals of decentralization. The institutions could not function as envisioned by its architects and did not improve even after a decade of implementation. A need was felt to relook at the recommendations for which the Janata Party government, in 1977 set up a committee under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta.

Ashok Mehta Committee

The Ashok Mehta committee came out with its recommendations in a report in 1978. It articulated a new approach by replacing the three-tier system by a two-tier system which had mandal panchayats are the base and the zila parishads at the top. The mandal panchayats were to consist of 15 members elected by the village population along with farmer representatives and two women members. It recommended reserving seats for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe members on the basis of their population. The president of the mandal panchayat was to be elected by the members from amongst themselves. One mandal panchayat would be constituted from a group of villages with a population of about 15,000 to 20,000. This would be the point of decentralization below the zilla parishad.

The zilla parishad would be constituted of six types of members elected from the suitably demarcated electoral wards, presidents of panchayat samitis, nominee of bigger municipalities and cooperative federations, two women (having secured the highest number of votes in election) and two co-opted members (one having special interest in rural development and one from the local teaching profession). Seats were to be reserved for the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe members on the basis of their population. The state and union legislature representatives from that region would be the ex-officio members. The president of the zilla parishad also had to be elected from among its members and the term of both mandal and zilla panchayats had to be fixed at four years.

It was also recommended that the panchayati raj institutions were to have compulsory powers of taxation so as to not depend on the state government for funds. The committee desired certain changes in the provision of the constitution so that the panchayats could levy taxes and be self-sufficient in generating financial resources for their work. Another recommendation by the committee was that the state government should not have absolute powers to supersede the panchayati raj institutions on political grounds. One highlight of the report was that it recommended political party participation in panchayati raj affairs. Moreover, the report recommended the creation of certain monitoring forums to safeguard the interests of the socio-economically vulnerable groups. It proposed a social justice committee in each zilla parishad to ensure that the panchayati raj bodies function for the welfare of these communities.

With these recommendations, the Ashok Mehta Committee made an attempt to rejuvenate the panchayati raj bodies after two decades after the Balwantrai Mehta Committee. Though it was clear that this committee based its recommendations on the previous report, it did give a series of new suggestions and guidelines. However, there were certain reasons which could not lead to the proper implementation of all the recommendations. First was the problem of uniformity. India being a vast country with different socio-economic sections of population within each state, found it almost impossible to maintain uniformity in implementing the recommendations. Only two recommendations were of the Balwantrai Mehta committee could be somewhat established all through the country; establishing a three-tier system of local government and devolution of powers to these institutions. The second problem faced by these institutions across states was the dearth of funds. The panchayats were given very little power in terms of levying taxes and generating their own funds, and they did not get proper financial support from the state governments as well.

Both these committees provided an important framework for the panchayati raj institutions to function and also provided space for the people to interact with the government officials. The panchayats in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have been set up and function on these recommendations. However, all recommendations of this report could not be accepted or implemented because the Janata Party government fell and the report was not acceptable to the Congress party which came to power in 1980.

Constitutional Status for Panchayati Raj Institutions

All past attempts to strengthen the local self-government institutions had failed in their attempts and required constant rethinking and reimplementation of different plans of experiment. Three bills were introduced in the Parliament in 1989, 1990 and 1991 respectively which attempted to provide constitutional status to the panchayati raj institutions. The Sixty-Fourth Amendment Bill introduced in the Parliament in 1989, suffered from a lot of drawbacks and came in for sever criticisms and was defeated in the Rajya Sabha. The Seventy-Fourth Amendment Bill was introduced in 1990 but could not be taken up for consideration since the Lok Sabha was dissolved and the bill lapsed. The Seventy-Second Amendment Bill introduced in 1991 was passed by near unanimity in December 1992 by both houses of Parliament and after having being ratified by 17 state assemblies became the 73rd Amendment Act to the Indian Constitution. This was a result of all the recommendations and proposals made for the panchayati raj institutions earlier. The main features of this Act were:

• There would be a gram sabha in each village which would exercise such powers and functions as provided by the state law.
• The elections to all members of the panchayats at all levels will be direct and the election of the chairman at intermediate and district level will be indirect. The mode of election of the latter was left to the state governments to decide.
• Reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes will be made according to their population at each level. Atleast one-third of the seats shall be reserved for women in all panchayats.
• A fixed term of five years for all panchayats was provided. In case of supersession, the re-election was to take place in the next six months from the date of dissolution.
• State legislatures were given the power to authorize panchayats to levy and collect local taxes and also give grants-in-aid from the consolidated fund of the state.
• Panchayats were to be constituted in every village of every state, at the village, intermediate (taluk) and district levels. However, states having a population of less than 20 lakh were given the option of not constituting panchayats at the intermediate level.
• A finance commission was to be constituted every five years to review the financial position of the panchayats and make suitable recommendations for distribution of funds between the panchayats and the state.
• All panchayats existing before the commencement of this Act were to continue till the expiration of their term or unless dissolved by a resolution passed by the state government.
• The state legislatures were expected to bring about the necessary amendments in their respective states within one year of the commencement of this Act so as to conform to uniformity.
• Schedule XI was included in the Constitution for the devolution of powers to the Panchayats. 29 functions were devolved by the state governments to the panchayats in their respective states so that the panchayats could function as institutions of self government and implement plans of social and economic development.

The 73rd Amendment instructed the state governments to devolve such functions and powers to the Panchayats as would enable them to function as institutions of self- governance. All state governments formulated their own guidelines for implementation of the 73rd Amendment Act and devolved planning and implementation of 29 functions to the local panchayati raj institutions through respective state acts and notifications. In some states such as Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh the Act was implemented almost immediately (1993 – 1994). As mentioned above, the state governments devolved 29 functions to the panchayats under this Act which were mentioned in Schedule XI, Article 243 G of the Indian Constitution. The local self-government institutions were now responsible for the planning and implementation of the following:

1. Agriculture including agriculture extension

2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land consolidation and soil conservation

3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development

4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry

5. Fisheries

6. Social forestry and farm forestry

7. Minor Forest produce

8. Small scale industries, including food processing industries

9. Khadi, village and cottage industries

10. Rural Housing

11. Drinking Water

12. Fuel and Fodder

13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of communication

14. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity

15. Non-conventional energy sources

16. Poverty alleviation programme

17. Education, including primary and secondary schools

18. Technical training and vocational education

19. Adult and non-formal education

20. Libraries

21. Cultural Activities

22. Markets and fairs

23. Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries

24. Family welfare

25. Women and child development

26. Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and mentally retarded

27. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes

28. Public distribution system

29. Maintenance of community assets

Along with the above-mentioned subjects, the panchayat institutions have also been given centre-stage in the implementation of various central and state government sponsored social-sector schemes and programs. For example, the panchayat at all three levels of District, Taluk and Village are the primary bodies to implement the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in rural areas. Under this Act, the gram sabha in all villages can recommend and audit developmental plans and projects, and is also responsible for spending 50% of the total funds for the project.

Innovations and Good Practices

Over the last decade there have been several attempts to improve the working of the local-self government institutions and to bring about innovative practices to empower the village  community  through  these  institutions.  Examples  of  innovations  and  good practices by the panchayats can be observed in many states: Rajasthan- a panchayat in the Thar district converted the area into a tourist destination thereby increasing the income of its inhabitants; Kerala- a panchayat was committed to education and made sure the entire village was literate; Assam- Dibrugarh Zilla Parisha revived a defunct milk supply scheme in 2011 which was defunct since 2003. This opened up livelihood options for the local population and also supplies them milk at lower prices; Uttarakhand- Charba Gram Panchayat in Dehradun district has become total addiction-free in 3 years due to the efforts of the chairperson and ward members. The money spent earlier on alcohol by men is now being spent on education and health of the family members; Maharashtra- Bhiwandi panchayat samiti in Thane district has a long list of good practices. With the help of technology the panchayat samiti has experimented with introducing virtual classrooms for better learning of all students of the district. It has been observed that the exposure to various methods of learning has brought about an improvement in the students’ learning abilities and scientific temperament. Along with this the block panchayat has adopted a biometric system of attendance for ensuring punctuality of staff at schools, health centres and other offices. The panchayat samiti has also made special efforts to promote women and child health by adopting various measures to make the expectant mothers aware about reproductive care. These experiments showcase the will and determination of the panchayat members to bring about a social change in their respective villages.

The other good practice which is officially a part of the panchayat working and institutional organization is the reservation for disadvantaged groups in the panchayat. The Indian government has passed the bill for 33% reservation for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women in the panchayats in order to bring about increased equality at the grassroots level. This increased the representation of the socially disadvantaged groups in the panchayats and attempted to provide them with a platform to voice their opinion. The most recent innovation in this regard has been the Bihar government’s attempt to reserve 50% seats for women in the panchayats in 2009- 2010. Apart from empowering the women office-bearers, this has also made a difference in the general attitude of women in Bihar’s villages. The latter confess that a women panchayat members or sarpanches is much easier to approach and talk to about the issues in the village than their male counterparts. There is a hope that if this law is implemented in all villages in rural India, it will help in substantially increasing the participation among  of women at the grassroots level.

Conclusion

As mentioned earlier, the system of local self-governance has evolved over a long period of time in India. It existed in various structures and forms during the ancient times and was modified during the British rule to suit the latter’s needs. After independence, it was envisioned as an institution for democratic participation at the lowest level in the state and finally received constitutional mandate in 1993. Over the last two decades, the state governments have made a lot of amendments in their respective state acts to improve the working of the panchayats and enhance empowerment of the members and the village community. More than 2.5 lakh panchayats lie at the heart of the local-self-governance system in rural India. Given the total population that these panchayats aim to serve, it is only fair for the system to remain vibrant and open to new suggestions and methods of working. The idea behind the genesis of the panchayat structure was self-rule and empowerment at the lowest level of the governance structure so as to strengthen working of democracy in the country. For this purpose, the state political will and institutions hold a major responsibility in ensuring the empowerment and proper functioning of these self- governance bodies.

References/ Reading

• Arora, Ramesh K, 2011, Recent perspectives in Public Administration, Rawat Publishers.

• Johari, J.C, 2001, Indian Government and Politics-Volume II,Vishal Publications, Jalandhar.

• Maheshwari S, 2000, Indian Administration,Orient BlackswanPublications.

• Mishra, S.N. et al, 1996, New Panchayati Raj in Action,Mittal Publications, New Delhi.

• Singh,  R.  and  Surat  Singh  (eds),  2011, Local  Democracy  and  Good  Governance:  Five Decades of Panchayati Raj,Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi.

• Singh,S.S  and  Suresh  Misra,  1993, Legislative  Framework  of  Panchayati  Raj  in  India,Intellectual Publishing House, New Delh.