Panchayats have been a vibrant and dynamic identity of the
Indian villages since the beginning of recorded history.
Gandhiji, the Father of the Nation, in 1946 had aptly
remarked that the Indian Independence must begin at the
bottom and every village ought to be a Republic with
Panchayat, having powers. Gandhiji's dream has been
translated into reality with the introduction of the
three-tier Panchayati Raj System to ensure people’s
participation in rural reconstruction.
73rd Amendment Act, 1992
The passage of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992
marks a new era in the federal democratic set up of the
country and provides constitutional status to the Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRIs). Consequent upon the enactment of
the Act, almost all the States/UTs, except J&K, National
Capital Territory (NCT)
Delhi and Arunachal Pradesh have enacted their legislation.
Except Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, NCT Delhi and
Pondicherry, all other States/UTs have held elections. As a
result, 2,27,698 Panchayats at village level; 5,906
Panchayats at intermediate level and 474 Panchayats at
district level have been constituted in the country. These
Panchayats are being manned by about 34lakh elected
representatives of Panchayats at all levels.
This is the broadest representative base that exists in any
country of the world - developed or underdeveloped.
The main features of the Act are –
(i) A 3-tier System of Panchayati Raj for all States having
population of over 20lakhs;
(ii) Panchayat elections to be held regularly every 5 years;
(iii) Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes and women (not less than one-third of seats);
(iv) Constitution of State Finance Commission to make
recommendations as regards the financial powers of the
Panchayats and
(v) constitution of District Planning
Committees to prepare development plans for the district as
a whole.
As per the 73rd Amendment Act, the Panchayati Raj
Institutions have been endowed with such powers and
authority as may be necessary to function as institutions of
self-government and contains provisions of devolution of
powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats at the
appropriate level with reference to
(a) the preparation of plans for economic development and
social justice; and
(b) the implementation of such schemes for economic
development and social justice as may be entrusted to them.
Financial Powers of Panchayati Raj Institutions
Article 243-G of the Constitution of India provides that the
States/UTs 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 to prepare
plans for economic development and social justice, and their
implementation including those in relation to the matters
listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
As per Article 243-H of the Constitution, State Legislatures
have been empowered to enact laws:
to authorise a Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate
some taxes, duties, tolls and fees;
to assign the Panchayat, some taxes, duties and tolls
levied, and collected by the State Government;
to provide for making grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from
the Consolidated Fund of the State; and
to provide for constitution of such funds for Panchayats
for crediting all money received by or on behalf of
Panchayats and also the withdrawal of such money there from.
Article 243-I of the Constitution provides for constitution
of a State Finance Commission (SFC) to review the financial
position of Panchayats and to make recommendations to the
Governor regarding the principles governing the major issues
mentioned in Article 243-H. All the States/UTs barring
Arunachal Pradesh, constituted State Finance Commissions and
all the SFCs except Bihar have submitted their Reports to
the respective State Governments. The States of Assam,
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil
Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal have accepted most of the
recommendations of the SFCs. Andaman & Nicobar Islands,
Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep Islands
have received reports of the Finance Commission which are
under consideration of the nodal Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Tenth Finance Commission (TFC), for want of SFC reports,
made an adhoc provision of Rs.4381 crores to the PRIs for
the period 1996-2000. All the States were released Grants
amounting to Rs.1095.23crores during 1996-97 to be given to
the three tiers of Panchayats. However, releases during
1997-98 and subsequent years require the State Governments
to furnish utilisation reports. Besides, holding of
Panchayat elections regularly is mandatory for the release
of TFC Grants. The eligible States released Grants amounting
to Rs.581.11crores during 1997-98, Rs.573.31crores
during 1998-99 and Rs.1326.71 crores during 1999-2000. Thus,
out of total recommended Grants, an amount of Rs.3576.36crores was released by the end of 31st March, 2000. The
Tenth Finance Commission Grants lapsed on expiry of its
period, 1996-2000.
The Eleventh Finance Commission has recommended Rs.1600
crores per annum for rural local bodies and out of total
Grants, an amount of Rs.197.06crores has been earmarked for
development of data base on the finance of the Panchayats
and an amount of Rs.98.61crores for maintenance of
accounts of Panchayats as the first charge on these Grants.
The Commission has also recommended that in cases where
elected local bodies are not in place, the Central
Government shall hold the Grants for local bodies in trust
on a non-lapsable basis during 2000-05 and that the Central
Government may also withhold a part of the recommended
Grants in case of such bodies whose functions and
responsibilities have not been devolved. Besides, the
Commission has recommended that audit of accounts of the
local bodies be entrusted to the
Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) who may get it done
through his own staff or by engaging outside agencies on
payment basis and an amount of half-a-percent of the total
expenditure incurred by the local bodies should be placed
with the C&AG for this purpose. The report of the C&AG
relating to audit of accounts of the Panchayats should be
placed before a Committee of the State Legislature
constituted on the same lines as the Public Accounts
Committee.
Initiatives taken by the Ministry
A Conference of the Chief Ministers on Panchayati Raj was
held on 2nd August, 1997, at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, under
the chairmanship of the Hon'ble Prime Minister to review the
functioning of the Panchayati Raj Institutions where the
outstanding issues like devolution of powers/ functions and
responsibilities upon PRIs, setting up District Planning
Committees; implementation of the reports of the State
Finance Commissions, linkage of DRDAs with Zilla Parishads,
training to Panchayati Raj elected
representatives/functionaries were discussed in great
detail. The Conference also called upon the concerned 8
States to enact the required State Legislation on the
Provisions of the Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled
Areas) Act, 1996 before 23rd December, 1997. Based on the
detailed discussions, the Conference recommended setting up
of two
Committees - (a) the Committee of the Panchayat and the
Tribal Development Ministers of the 8
States covered under Schedule V of the Constitution under
the then Chairmanship of
Minister (RA&E) to examine and to give their recommendations
to enact the State legislation in consonance with the
Central Act, 1996, before the cut off date i.e. 23rd
December, 1997, and (b) the Committee of the Chief Ministers
under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister to examine the
issues regarding the devolution of powers, functions and
responsibilities upon PRIs and to recommend measures to
streamline the Panchayati Raj System.
The reports of the Committee of Panchayat and Tribal
Development Ministers of the Schedule V States and the
Committee of Chief Ministers under the Chairmanship of the
Prime Minister have been circulated to the States for
appropriate action. The important recommendations of the
Committee of Chief Ministers were:
Leave selection of beneficiaries to Gram Sabha.
Waive requirement of Technical sanction for works upto Rs.
10,000.
Innovate to provide adequate manpower support to the Gram
Panchayats.
Delegate total control over such manpower to Gram
Panchayats.
Zilla Parishad Chairpersons be made the Chairpersons of
DRDAs.
Provide reasonable opportunity of hearing to the PRIs
before suspension/dismissal.
Gram Panchayat President to be accountable solely to Gram
Sabha.
Expeditious constitution of District Planning Committees.
In order to ensure that Panchayati Raj Institutions function
as instruments of local self-government, it is important
that their functional and financial autonomy is guaranteed
and transparency in their functioning is ensured. This has
to be accomplished in most of the States. The role of the
Gram Sabha is, perhaps, the most important in ensuring the
success of Panchayati Raj Institutions at the village level.
The role of local people in conducting social audit and
fixing responsibility on Panchayat functionaries will be
effectively ensured with the Gram Sabha becoming active. It
is essential that the village community perceives meetings
of the Gram Sabha as useful. The most important factor for
that is the empowerment of the Gram Sabha.
Another important factor for the success of the Panchayati
Raj System is the need for transparency in the functioning
of these bodies. Panchayats being closer to the people,
their right to information and accessibility to the
Panchayats must be ensured. This issue was discussed in the
Chief Ministers Conference held on 2nd August, 1997, and the
Committee of Chief Ministers as well. The Ministry had
written to the States. The Hon'ble Prime Minister too, in
his letter to the Chief Ministers, had urged that all
relevant information on Development Schemes taken up by the
Panchayat along with the budget for them should be displayed
prominently in the Panchayat Office. Relevant records should
be made available for inspection by members of the public.
Photocopies of documents such as muster rolls, vouchers,
estimates, etc. can be made available to the public on
payment of a nominal fee.
Technical manuals may be prepared for execution of various
works at the Panchayat Level so that transparency can be
ensured.
The Ministry convened a Conference of State Ministers of
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj on May 13, 1998. This
meeting was inaugurated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister. The
resolutions adopted in the Conference held on 13th May,
98 are - (i) a Task Force for studying the structure and
functioning of the Panchayats should be set up; (ii)
provisions of 73rd Amendment Act and Central Act 40 will be
complied with; (iii) Gram Sabhas should be convened on a
single pre-determined day every quarter and (iv) care should
be taken to respect the autonomy and independence of each
tier of PRIs and to build up capability of the village level
Panchayats. In pursuance of the resolution, a Task Force was
constituted under the Chairmanship of the then Minister of
State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Rural Areas &
Employment to study the structure and functioning of PRIs.
The State Governments have been requested to ensure that the
Gram Sabha Meetings are convened once in each quarter,
preferably on - 26th January -Republic Day; Ist May - Labour
Day; 15th August- Independence Day and 2nd October – Gandhi
Jayanti.
The Government of India decided to observe the year
1999-2000 as the "Year of Gram Sabha". This is in
recognition that the Gram Sabha is potentially the most
significant institution for participatory and decentralised
democracy. On 17th March, 1999, all Chief Ministers/
Administrators have been requested to initiate measures to
energise Gram Sabha in tune with the following Seven Point
minimal package during the 'Year of Gram Sabha':
The relationship between the Gram Sabha and the Gram
Panchayat may be the same as between the Legislature and the
Government. The Panchayat should be accountable to the Gram
Sabha in unequivocal terms. The members of the Panchayats
should hold office only so long as they enjoy the confidence
of Gram Sabha.
The Gram Sabha should have full powers for determining the
priorities for various programmes in the village and
approval of budget. Prior approval of Gram Sabha should be
made mandatory for taking up any programme in the village.
Certification of expenditure and also about proprietary in
financial dealings should be made mandatory and Gram Sabha
is responsible for that.
The management of natural resources including land, water
and forest by any authority whatsoever should be made
subject to the concurrence of the Gram Sabha. Consultation
with the Gram Sabha should be made mandatory before
acquisition of land for public purpose and other forms of
land transfer.
The Gram Sabha should be vested with full authority to
manage all affairs concerning intoxicants including their
manufacture, sale, transport and consumption and also
enforcement of total prohibition, if the
Gram Sabha so desires.
Participation of women, SC and ST members in the Gram
Sabha should be made mandatory with suitable provision for
their presence in the quorum of Gram Sabha meetings.
The Gram Sabha should have the power to evolve its own
procedure for conducting its business including
decision-making following the principles of natural justice.
The rules and regulations which may be issued by the
Government in this regard from time to time should be deemed
to be as guidelines.
The Ministry had introduced Constitution (Eighty-sixth
Amendment) Bill, 1999, in the Parliament for amending
Article 243-M of the Constitution to exempt Arunachal
Pradesh from the requirement of providing for Scheduled
Castes reservation. This Bill was enacted as the
Constitution (83rd Amendment) Act, 2000, which came into
force on 8th September, 2000. The Government also introduced
the Constitution (Eighty-seventh Amendment) Bill, 1999, in
the Parliament on 17.12.1999 to amend Article 243-C (2) and
(5) of the Constitution to enable the
State Legislatures to decide the methodology for election of
members and Chairpersons of Panchayats at the intermediate
level and the district level. All the State Chief
Ministers/Administrators have been addressed to send their
views on the proposed Bill, which are still awaited from a
few States.
Issues Arising out of Implementation of Act 40 of 1996
The provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled
Areas) Act, 1996, came into force on 24th December, 1996.
This Act extends Panchayats to the tribal areas of States
such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa
and Rajasthan, which intends to enable tribal society to
assume control over their own destiny to preserve and
conserve their traditional rights over natural resources.
The State Governments were required to enact their
legislation in accordance with the Provisions of the Act
before the expiry of one year i.e. 23rd December, 1997.
States barring Bihar have enacted State Legislation to give
effect to the provisions contained in Act 40, 1996.
However, there are certain problems, both with certain
Central laws and State legislations as have been passed in
pursuance of Act 40 of 1996. Certain crucial issues arise:
(a) Definition of Minor Forest Produce – the Indian Forest
Act, 1927, defines timber as including within its
definition, bamboo as well as cane. The Ministry of
Environment and Forests define Minor Forest Produce to
exclude bamboo and cane. While doing so, they have decided
to adopt the definition of timber as given in the Indian
Forest Act, 1927. (According to which timber includes not
only trees but also bamboo and cane). In most States, tribal
people have been traditionally depending on bamboo and cane
for their livelihood. However, for the last many years,
Forest Corporations and Forest Departments have prevented
tribal people from having access to bamboo and cane while at
the same time giving these to private industry at highly concessional rates. In many cases, tribal people have been
driven to desperation on account of this policy of State
Forest Departments. It is felt that the definition of timber
in the Central Act, 1927, is neither scientific nor
equitable, and goes against the spirit of the provisions of
Act 40 of 1996.
(b) Ownership of Minor Forest Produce: - There are also
issues arising from the interpretation by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests of the intention of Parliament
regarding vesting of ownership of Minor Forest Produce in
Gram Sabhas. The proposals made by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests interpret the intention of
Parliament as giving not ownership per se, but making
available to the Gram Sabhas, residual profits of State
Forest Corporations/Federations. This necessarily means that
according to the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, State Forest Corporations/Federations will continue
to trade in Minor Forest Produce and if there is any
surplus, that surplus will be given to the Gram Sabhas. This
Ministry has already taken up these issues with the Ministry
of Environment and Forests.
Training of PRI members
As a result of the elections of Panchayats in all the
States, there are about 3.4 million elected representatives
at all levels of Panchayats. Out of this, an overwhelming
majority is new entrants, particularly from the weaker
sections of the society, i.e., Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes and women (33%). The Constitution having placed vast
responsibility on the Gram Panchayats to formulate and
execute various programmes of economic development and
social justice, elected representatives who will have to
acquire the required skill and given appropriate
orientation.
The success of the Panchayati Raj system hinges largely on
the extent to which their capabilities are built to perform
these functions and responsibilities. Thus, a time-bound and
systematic training programme to provide orientation of the
elected representatives on a very large scale is considered
to be the most important pre-requisite for the success of
the PRIs. The States/UT governments are required to work out
systematic and comprehensive training programmes to train
the representatives of PRIs and to generate awareness among
the masses at the grass-roots level and to strengthen the
Gram Sabha.
The Ministry of Rural Development extends limited financial
assistance to the States in their effort to train and create
awareness among the PRI elected members and functionaries.
The development functionaries working under the PRI
framework are required to undergo the certificate course.
The Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU) has been entrusted with the task of
preparation of the syllabus for the certificate course. The
State Governments are being requested to conduct these
courses.
The Ministry of Rural Development has also been providing
financial assistance through the Council for Advancement of
People's Action & Rural Technology (CAPART) to the
Non-Governmental Organisations with proven track record for
conducting training and awareness generation programmes on
Panchayati Raj.
IGNOU is also involved in the Distance Education Proagramme.
For IEC activities, this Ministry mainly provides funds for
publication of "Panchayat Unnati" to the National Institute
of Rural Development (NIRD).
The Research Advisory Committee headed by the Secretary
(Rural Development) approves proposals on Action Research
studies related to Panchayati Raj which are received from
voluntary organisations/institutions. This Ministry has
commissioned several reputed NGOs/ Institutions to conduct a
number of action research studies.
The Central outlay for training during the Eighth Plan was
Rs.8.80crores, during 2000-2001, an amount of Rs.3crores
was allocated. An amount of Rs.3crores has been proposed
for 2001-2002.
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