Decentralisation in India

Perhaps the most enduring image of decentralisation in India is

Gandhi’s vision of village Swaraj, in which universal education,
economic self-sufficiency and village democracy would take the
place of caste, untouchability and other forms of rural exploitation.
“Decentralisation refers to tire systematic effort to delegate to
the lowest levels all authority except that which can only be
exercised at central points.” —Louis A. Allen
Democratic decentralisation can be defined as meaningful
authority devolved to local units of governance that are
accessible and accountable to the local citizenry, who enjoy
full political rights and liberty. It thus differs from the vast
majority of earlier efforts at decentralization in developing
areas, which go back to the 1950s, and which were largely
initiatives in public administration without any serious
democratic component-Blair
Decentralization: a Global Evidence & Irreversible
Orientation
 Since the end of the 1980s, Decentralization has been popularized as a
process of governance around the World, including in Africa, at the
request of peoples and International Organizations.
 It covers multiple and diverse historical, political, institutional,
administrative and legal realities that shape and impact democratic
configurations, policy instruments, public policies, governance systems
and territorial systems.
 Decentralization is based on the following main considerations:
 It is part of the State's modernization project, particularly in a context
of crises (Structural Adjustment Programs) and Globalization;
 It corresponds to a very strong demand for democracy of proximity,
legitimacy and participation;
 It contributes to the reorganization of Public action to be at the service
of territorial and local development.
Decentralization….
 In an era of globalization, decentralization is the principal
countervailing trend which can ensure that the growth
process is pro-poor, pro-women, pro-nature and pro-jobs.
 The principle of ‘Cooperative Federalism’ (decentralized
implementation based upon harmonious understanding
between the three tiers of governance – Centre, State and
local - is the basic premise of India’s Ninth Five Year Plan.
 However, the actual progress of decentralization has
been uneven across States. In the absence of adequate
financial clout, functioning of the Panchayati Raj
Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have
been severely constrained.
Decentralization : The National and Global Context
 International experience bears out the close link between
reform and Decentralisation. Apart from the theoretical
logic of a reduced role of government creating opportunities
both for private enterprise and for community action, in
many countries actual reform programme has been built
upon increasing institutional space for Decentralisation.

 Reform programmes in developing countries/ transition

economies as diverse in range as Poland, Chile, Argentina
and South Africa and China, the autonomy to local units in
decisions on incentives for investment and capital market
access, has given a strong foundation to reforms.
 Decentralization : The National and Global Context

 In China, the reforms were not related to political freedom.

Indeed, that is proving to be a hindrance as China integrates
more into the global economy through institutions such as
the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

 Political Decentralisation provides a more durable ‘rational-

legal’ framework that makes Decentralisation an integral
part of the political and civic discourse.

 India is the world leader in creating space for political

decentralisation. Now the concomitant arenas of fiscal
devolution and economic decentralisation require greater
attention by policy researchers.
 Forms of Decentralization

 Deconcentration
 Transfer of functions, powers and resources
 The center executes normative functions,
supervision and control
 States are responsible for operational activities
& service programs
 It is mostly and administrative action and does
not alter the flow of command in the system
 Forms of Decentralization…
 Delegation
 Transfer of responsibilities for decision making &
administration to semi-autonomous organizations
not controlled by but accountable to the central
government (Central Banking, Ombudsman)
 Semi-autonomous public enterprises to provide
services more effectively and efficiently than a
central bureaucracy
Forms of Decentralization:
 Devolution (political decentralization of powers
from national government to local government
units [LGUs], including the power to tax)
 Devolution of national government powers includes
public works, health, agriculture, social welfare,
certain tourism functions, and construction of
school buildings and facilities
 Expansion of revenue generation powers of LGUs
 Local governments acquire the necessary functions
to govern and not only to administer
 Democratic Decentralisation and Poverty Reduction
 Issues of democratic decentralisation and rural development raise
a number of questions about the ways in which states intervene in
rural society, and how this affects economic opportunity.
 A number of roles that governments typically play in poor and
predominantly rural areas:
 1. One is the provision of public goods, such as universal
education and healthcare.
 2. A second is the provision of divisible goods, such as irrigation,
agricultural extension and credit.
 3. A third is the determination and enforcement of laws
regulating key economic inputs, such as land, labour and capital.
 4. A fourth and critical element is the recognition and protection
of rights allowing for organisation, association and entitlement in
the eyes of the state.
 Studies of decentralisation have shown that devolution can
enhance rural livelihoods in a number of ways.
 First, the establishment and empowerment of local resource
user groups can improve the ways in which local people
manage and use natural resources, thereby improving the
resource base on which poor people are often
disproportionately dependent.
 Second, and related to this, collaboration between public
agencies and local resource users can produce “synergistic”
outcomes, in which citizens and civil servants cooperate to
provide goods that would be unobtainable were they acting
alone.
 Third, and most central to this article, the democratisation
and empowerment of local administrative bodies can enhance
participation in decision-making fora, particularly among
groups that have been traditionally marginalised by local
political processes.
 As Blair (2000) points out, “increased representation offers
significant benefits in itself.” For one, he argues,
participation in local, democratically elected bodies can
lead to improvements in self-identity and worth, which can
help to break down customs of inequality and
discrimination.
 Second, membership on local administrative bodies can
provide important skills (e.g. bookkeeping, leadership, etc.)
that can be transferred to other walks of life.
 Among the most successful cases (e.g. West Bengal,
Colombia, the Philippines), systems of local democratic
governance have also been shown to improve the efficiency
and responsiveness of public officials.
Manor (1999), for instance, has shown that decentralisation
can improve government effectiveness and accountability
when:
 Elected bodies at local levels have adequate funds;
 They enjoy substantive autonomy; and
 Lines of accountability exist between elected
representatives and citizens, and between non-elected
bureaucrats and elected representatives.
 Despite great strides at devolving power to local,
democratically elected bodies, decentralisation in Colombia,
Brazil and West Bengal appears to have achieved little in the
way of reducing poverty or improving regional disparities
(Crook and Sverrisson, 2001: 37-39).
 Federalism: Examples:

USA
Canada
Germany
Nigeria
India
Russian Federation
Austria
Switzerland
Malaysia
Indian Inter-Governmental Relations
 Decentralization and Governance
 Decentralization is about governance.
 The word governance has two meanings. One refers to ‘the
complex of institutions and organizations which regulate
the life of society’. It encompasses rules (formal and
customary law, regulations internal to organizations, moral
imperatives, contractual obligations, etc.) and social
aggregations (the family, church, municipality, professional
associations, political parties, banks, commercial
enterprises, cooperatives, courts of law, government,
parliament).
 The other meaning refers to ‘the act of governing’, that is
to the way institutions are established (for example how
laws are proposed and enacted) and to the way
organizations behave, manage their affairs and govern
people. 
The Paradigm of Decentralization
 Fiscal Federalism in India…
Dr. Y. Venugopal Reddy, Chairman 14th Finance Commission says:
“The practice of fiscal federalism in India has been
commendable over a long-term perspective in view of the severe
challenges posed since independence. Greater role of states in
the pursuit of decentralized development should not undermine
the role the Union government has to play in macroeconomic
stability.”
 In the constitutional context, fiscal federalism mandated that the
borrowing program of State Governments had to be approved by
the Union, there was a prohibition on external borrowings by a
State.
 Subsequent to the 73rd and 74th amendment of the Constitution
and insertion of clause (3) to Article 280, the Commissions started
giving additional grants for local bodies as a measure to augment
the consolidated funds of the States to supplement the resources
of local bodies.
2015 – a watershed year for India's fiscal federalism

 2015 represented a new era in India’s Fiscal Federalism. The

Finance Commission had recommended higher devolutions to
the States and the Planning Commission was replaced by the
NITI Aayog.
 Fiscal Federalism was taken to the next level with the
constitution of the Goods and Services Tax Council.
 Decentralization means to hand over political, financial and
administrative authority from central to local (district/city)
governments, so that the government can facilitate and
guarantee better public services for the people.
 Decentralization of the forestry sector should, however, be
viewed as a positive development to bring public services
closer to the people through managing forest resources in a
sustainable manner for the community’s welfare.
Community development programme, started in 1952, aimed at developing
to fullest extent the material and human resources of an area through the
cooperative efforts of the people and the active help of the state.
The main objectives of the programme were identified as:
(a) the proper utilization of the vast unexploited resources, lying dormant in the
countryside and for harnessing the unutilized energy in the village;
(b) (b) to encourage village people to become self-reliant, responsible citizens,
capable and willing to participate effectively and with knowledge and
understanding in the nation;
(c) (c) to inculcate the spirit of self-help amongst the rural population by organising
the developmental work through representative institutions like the Panchayat
and Cooperative Societies;
(d) (d) to focus continued and heavy emphasis on improving and modernizing
agricultural practices and methods essential for increased agricultural production;
(e) (e) to utilise the free time of the villagers for the benefit of the community as a
whole;
(f) (f) the largest possible extension of the principles of cooperation by making rural
families credit-worthy;
(g) (g) to upgrade the social status of the village teacher and to enable him to
participate in the programme.
 CDP…..
 The term Community Development (CD) was first officially
used in 1948 at British Colonial Office Cambridge
Conference on Development of African Initiative (Hold craft,
1984).
 The then CD programme aimed at helping British colonies in
Africa prepare for independence by improving local
government and developing their economies.
 The community development programme was also as a
result of the conclusions drawn from the ‘Grow more food’
enquiry report. A successful post independence project,
Etawah Pilot project formed the basis of launching
Community Development programme.
 The Etawah Pilot project was launched in Etawah district of
Uttar Pradesh in 1948 and this also served as a prototype for
Indian national community development programme.
 Grow More Food Campaign (1943)
This was started in 1942 after the crisis of food grains in
Bengal. This campaign was done in an organised way to
increase agricultural production.
More emphasis was given on use of improved agricultural
techniques in farming. Trained field men were employed.
Fertilizers and improved seeds were distributed to raise food
production.
The Grow More Food Campaign Enquiry Committee under the
chairmanship of V.T. Krishnamachari observed that the
campaign failed to achieve the expected results due to various
shortcomings in the basic strategy like, very narrow and
restricted scope of operation, lack of integrated approach and
the short-term objectives of increasing productivity, etc.
The Enquiry Committee Report (1952)
recommendations were:
1. Reorganisation of administrative machinery of the
Government to respond to the new concept of India as a
welfare state.
2. 2. Mobilisation of the best non-official leadership available
in the country to guide the 60 million farm families in the
villages in their effort to improve their own condition.
3. 3. Establishment of an Extension organization for rural
work, which would reach every farmer and assist in the
coordinated development of all aspects of rural life
4. 4. Staffing pattern should consist of a B.D.O., four technical
officers and twelve VLWs for a Tahsil or Taluk, with an
average of 120 villages.
The Enquiry Committee Report (1952)….
5. The development activities at the District level will be
under the Collector assisted by Specialists. The non-official
side will consist of a District Board to which MPs and MLAs
should be added as members.
6. At the State level there should be a cabinet and a non-
official board for facilitating joint action. The Development
Commissioner should be in-charge of the entire rural
development programme, and
7. The economic aspect of village life cannot be detached
from broader social aspect. Agricultural development is, in
every respect linked up with a whole set of social problems.
All aspects of life are inter-related and no lasting results can
be achieved if individual aspects of it are dealt with in
isolation.
 CDP…
 According to Carl Tylor, "community development is a
method by which people in villages are involved in helping to
improve their own economic and social conditions and
thereby they became effective working groups in the
programme of their national development".
 Initially, the CDP was launched in 55 project areas located in
different parts of the country. Each project of Community
Development Programme consisted of about, 300 villages
covering over 400-500 square miles and having a population
of around 2 lakhs.
 The project area was divided into three development blocks,
each comprising 100 villages and population around 60 to 70
thousands.
 National Extension Service (NES)
 The programme was launched on 2nd October, 1953. The
CDP and NES had the same idea and two were integrated
under one agency at the Centre as well as in the states.
 Both the programmes were complementary and interwoven
and ran concurrently. The idea behind the National
Extension Service Programme was to cover the entire
country within a period of about 08 years.
 It represented on an average 100 villages, with a population
of 60,000 to 70,000 persons spread over an area of 150
to170 square miles. But the N.E.S. blocks were not
developed with the same intensity as areas under the
community development blocks.
 Weaknesses in the Community Development
Programme:
1. People did not participate in the programme and perceived it
as a government programme.
2. 2. There has been too much emphasis on end result and less
emphasis in following the correct methods and process to bring
about change in the attitudes of the people.
3. 3. Due to lack of understanding of the objectives of the CD
programme there has often been lack of adherence to the real
objectives of the C.D Programme there has not been much
concentration on essential items.
4. Lack of proper and adequate supervision and guidance both
administrative and technical at various levels.
5. Establishment of superiority by providing democratic leadership
is very much lacking to replace autocratic authority.
Panchayati raj aimed at, first, providing a broad base to democracy by
striving to achieve the cherished ideal of village self government;
second, affording the much needed training ground for future leadership,
third, creating an awareness and initiative in the rural people about the
community development programme;
fourth, proper utilization of the available manpower and other rural
resources which have mostly remained underexploited and unutilized;
fifth, developing a sense of community feeling and self-reliance in the
villages;
Sixth, helping the weaker sections of the community to participate in the
management of rural affairs;
seventh, bringing rural consciousness among the officials and impressing
upon them the utility of a coordinated and interrelated approach to
various development programmes;
eighth, ensuring quicker acceptance of the new ideas in the countryside;
ninth, planning an overall balanced development of the rural areas and
thereby raising the standards of living of the rural people.
 Extracts from the Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on
20 December 2017
A/RES/72/235
Human Resources Development (HRD) lies at the heart of economic, social
and environmental development
 Health and education are at the core of HRD
 HRD is vital to the efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development
goals, including the SDGs, and to expand opportunities for people, in particular
for the most vulnerable groups of the population
 Many countries continue to face formidable challenges in developing a sufficient
pool of human resources capable of meeting national economic and social needs
and that the formulation and implementation of effective HR Strategies often
require resources and capacities not always available in developing countries,
and recognizing also the need for new ways to address HRD
Improving educational and institutional capacities to tackle climate change is
closely linked to HRD efforts to ensure that populations can lead healthy and
prosperous lives
 Benefits of HRD are best realized in national and international environments
that support equality of opportunity and treatment, access to education and
non-discrimination and maintain an enabling environment for job creation
The concept of local self government is not new to our country
and there is mention of community assemblies in the Vedic texts.
Around 600 B.C., the territory north of the river Ganga comprising
modern day north Bihar and eastern U.P. was under the
suzerainty
of small republics called Janapadas among which Lichhavis were
the most powerful.
In these Janapadas, the affairs of the State were conducted
by an assembly consisting of local chieftains.

In the post Mauryan times as well, there existed republics of

Malavas and the Kshudrakas where decisions were taken by
“sabhas”. The Greek Ambassador, Megasthenes, who visited
the court of Chandragupta Maurya in 303 B.C. described the
City Council which governed Pataliputra – comprising six
committees with 30 members.
In the Chola Kingdoms, the village council, together with its
sub-committees and wards, played an important part in
administration, arbitrated disputes and managed social
affairs. They were also responsible for revenue collection,
assessing individual contribution and negotiating the
collective assessment with the King’s representative.
The present structure of Local Self Government institutions took
shape in 1688 when the British established a Municipal Corporation
at Madras which was followed by creation of similar bodies at
Bombay and Calcutta (1726). Comprising a Mayor and a majority of
British-born Councillors, these Corporations were basically units of
administration enjoying considerable judicial powers.
During the next 150 years, municipal bodies were created in several
mufasil towns although their functions remained confined to
conservancy, road repairs, lighting and a few other sundry items.
It was thus that as early as 1687 Municipal Corporation came
to be formed in Madras, setup on the British model of a Town
Council this body was empowered to levy taxes for building a
guilds hall and schools.
The report of the Congress Village Panchayat Committee
states "the inordinate greed of the East India Company caused
slow but steady disintegration of these village Panchayats.
The deliberate introduction of landlordism and the Ryatwari
system as against the Mauzwari of village tenure system dealt
almost a death blow to the corporate life of the village
communities. The excessive centralization of the executive
and judicial powers in the hand of the government officials
deprived the village of their power and influence.
The British administration did not implement the local
Panchayat Court decisions. Thus, the old traditions were
replaced by the statue laws.
Municipal administrations were first introduced in the towns of
Madras, Bombay and Calcutta on a statutory basis by the
Charter Act of 1793. This Act empowered the Governor General
to appoint justice of the peace for these three towns who were
authorized to levy taxes on houses and lands to meet the cost
of scavenging, police and maintenance of roads.
The first Municipal Act X of 1842 was passed for Bengal. The
taxation enforceable under it was of a direct nature which met
with great opposition from the inhabitations. So this Act was
repealed and another Municipal Act was passed in 1850 with a
provision that it might be applied to any town only on the
voluntary request of the inhabitants.
In the Provinces of Bombay, Bengal and Madras and also in U.P.
this Act was applied to a number of towns. Under this Act a Town
Committee was to be appointed for managing the local functions
which included conservancy, road repairs, lighting and the
collection of octroi and house-tax which it was authorized to levy
The real development of villages, in the modem sense,
started after the report of the Royal Army Sanitary
Commission, 1863. The report pointed out the filthy
conditions of the villages and the importance of increased
attention to sanitation. Accordingly the Village Sanitation
Acts were passed in many provinces.
The year 1870 marks a further stage in the evolution of local
government. In that year Lord Mayo's Resolution which
advocated a measure of decentralization from the centre to
the provisions emphasized the desirability of associating
Indians in administration.
In 1871 Acts were passed in respect of local self-government,
for rural areas in the Provinces of Bombay, Bengal, Punjab
and the North Western Province (UP) as a result of Mayo's
Resolution. A similar legislation (Act of 1869), was already in
operation in the Province of Bombay.
In 1872, Lord Mayo introduced elected representatives for these
municipalities and this was further developed by his successor,
Lord Ripon, in 1882. By the 1880s, these urban municipal bodies
had a pre-dominance of elected representatives in a number of
cities and
towns, including Calcutta and Bombay.

Corresponding effective structure for rural areas came up with

the enactment of the Bengal Local Self Government Act, 1885
which led to the establishment of district local boards across
the entire territory of the then Bengal province.

These boards comprised nominated as well as elected members

with the District Magistrate as Chairman who was responsible
for maintenance of rural roads, rest houses, roadside lands and
properties, maintenance and superintendence of public
schools, charitable dispensaries and veterinary hospitals.
 The Minto-Morley Reforms, 1909 and the Montague Chelmsford
Reforms, 1919, when Local Self Government became a
transferred subject, widened the participation of people in the
governing process and, by 1924-25, district boards had a
preponderance of elected representatives and a non-official
Chairman. This arrangement continued till the country’s
Independence in 1947 and thereafter till the late 1950s.
The debates in the Constituent Assembly indicate that the
leaders at that time were hesitant to introduce a wholesale
change in the then prevailing administrative system and as a
compromise, it was agreed that Panchayati Raj Institutions
would find place in the Directive Principles of State Policy
(Part IV, Article 40) which, inter alia, provides that 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.
 The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act
1921-26. Panchayat Acts were passed in eight provinces in
British India for the establishment of village Panchayats.

Thus the Acts were passed in Assam, Bengal, Bihar,

Bombay, Madras, the Central Province, Punjab and United
Provinces. These Acts aimed at lowering the franchise, at
increasing the elected elements in local bodies and at
passing executive direction into non-official hands.
The Government of India Act, 1935 had provision for provincial
autonomy and this in turn created another opportunity to
strengthen Panchayats in the country. Most of the popular
provincial governments felt duty bound to enact legislation for
further decentralization giving more power to local
governments including village Panchayat.
The Community Development Programme, was launched in 1952. Its
main thrust was on securing socio-economic transformation of village
life through people’s own democratic and cooperative organisations
with the government providing technical services, supply and credit.
Under this programme 100 to 150 villages formed a Community
Development Block and participation of the whole community was the
key element of this experiment which strengthened the foundation of
grassroots democracy.

In 1956, when the Second Five Year Plan was launched, it

recommended that the Village Panchayats should be
organically linked with popular organisations at higher levels
and in stages the democratic body should take over the
entire general administration and development of the district
or the sub division excluding functions such as law and order,
administration of justice and selected functions pertaining to
revenue administration.
Milestones in Indian decentralisation
1882 The Resolution on Local Self-Government.
1907 The Royal Commission on Decentralisation.
1948 Constitutional debates between Gandhi and Ambedkar on
Gram Swaraj , ‘self-rule’.
1957 Balwantrai Mehta Commission – an early attempt to implement
the Panchayat structure at district and block (Samithi) levels.
1963 K. Santhanam Committee – recommended limited revenue
raising powers for Panchayats and the establishment of State
Panchayati Raj Finance Corporations.
1978 Asoka Mehta Committee – appointed to address the weaknesses
of PRIs, concluded that a resistant bureaucracy, lack of political
will, ambiguity about the role of PRIs, and élite capture had
undermined previous attempts at decentralisation, recommending
that the District serve as the administrative unit in the PRI
structure. Based on these recommendations, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and West Bengal passed new legislation to strengthen PRIs.
 Milestones in Indian decentralisation....
1985 G.V.K. Rao Committee – appointed to address weaknesses of
PRIs, recommended that the block development office (BDO)
should assume broad powers for planning, implementing and
monitoring rural development programmes.
1986 L.M. Singvhi Committee – recommended that local self-
government should be constitutionally enshrined, and that the
Gram Sabha (the village assembly) should be the base of
decentralised democracy in India.
1993 The 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution – PRIs at
district, block and village levels are granted Constitutional status.
The Gram Sabha is recognised as a formal democratic body at the
village level. The 74th Amendment, granting Constitutional status
to municipal bodies, is passed soon after.
1996 The Adivasi(PESA) Act – Powers of self-government are
extended to tribal communities living in ‘Fifth Schedule’ areas.
 Jaya Prakash Narayan and Panchayati Raj
He was a critic of emerging centralized, urbanized and
industrialized society. In his opinion in the centralized system
of governance power rests with the elite of the society.

After experiencing the centralized federal system in India

Jayprakash Narayan stated, "Panchayat government in India
would be more democratic than the present federal structure
that we have. The more you take government from Delhi,
down below, as near to the people as possible, the more
democracy you have, because then the more people have a
chance to participate in the management of their affairs, in
the conduct of the affairs.
 Post Independence Developments and Panchayati Raj
In his inaugural speech Nehru said, "local self government is and
must be the basis of any true system of democracy. People have
got into the habit of thinking of democracy at the top and not so
much below. Democracy at the top may not be a success unless
you build its foundation from below.“

After a good deal of thought and discussion, K. Santhanam moved

a resolution for the incorporation of the 'Panchayats' in the
Constitution. The Constituent Assembly which was drafting
Constitution for independent India, accepted the ideals of
Gandhian thought and incorporated provisions relating to
Panchayats in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Article 40)
paving the way for enabling State Governments for creation of
Panchayats and endowing them with such powers, functions and
resources so as to enable them to function as units of self-
government.
 Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957)
Originally appointed by the Government of India to examine the
working of two of its earlier programs (Community Development
Programs and National Extension Services), the committee
submitted its report in November 1957, in which the term
‘democratic decentralization‘ first appears.
The important recommendations are:
Establishment of a three-tier Panchayati Raj system – gram
panchayat at village level (direct election), panchayat Samiti at the
block level and Zila Parishad at the district level (indirect election).
District Collector to be the chairman of Zila Parishad. Transfer of
resources and power to these bodies to be ensured.
In 1969, the first Administrative Reforms Commission in its report
on State Administration recommended that the main executive
organ of the Panchayati Raj system should be located at the district
level in the form of “Zila Parishad” and not at the Block level as
Panchayat Samiti.
The team suggested direct elections at the village level and
indirect elections for Samitis and 119 Zila Parishad. Out of
these three the most effective body was visualized at the
block level.

The village Panchayat was to be constituted by direct

election on the basis of adult franchise with a special
provision to co-opt two women members and one member
each from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

S. K. Dey also observed that "in Panchayati Raj, the people of

India would govern themselves through their representatives
in institutions from the Panchayat to Parliament and thus the
democracy would travel from Lok Sabha to Gram Sabha.”
Reports of various Committees and Development of
Panchayati Raj after Balwant Rai Mehta Team
By the year 1962, study team on Nyaya Panchayats recommended the
setting up of Nyaya Panchayats for a group of villages and for
administration of justice in petty civil and criminal cases. The members
of Nyaya Panchayats were to be elected directly by the people
themselves.
Madhya Pradesh Rural Local Self-government Committee (1959) stood for
a three tier system of Panchayati Raj. The village Panchayat at the
village level, Janapada Panchayat at the block level and the Zila
Panchayat at the district level.

The Committee on Panchayati Raj (1963) set up by Karnataka

Government suggested the creation of an executive body at the district
level, observing that the Zila Parishad would implement all schemes and
works of a District Collector to guide and supervise the technical
personnel at the district level to the lower bodies and assume overall
responsibility for planning the development in the district.
 Ashok Mehta Committee (1977-1978)
The Central Government appointed a High Level Committee
on Panchayati Raj Institution in 1977 under the Chairmanship
of Asoka Mehta.
The Resolution reads:
"The government accords the highest priority to rural
development so as to increase agricultural production, create
employment, predicate poverty and bring about all round
improvement in the rural economy. The governments consider
that the maximum degree of decentralization, both in
planning and in implementation is necessary for the
accordingly territories, to set up a Committee to require into
the working of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and to suggest
measures to strengthen them, so as to enable a decentralized
system of planning and development to be effective."
 Ashok Mehta Committee (1977-1978)
The committee was constituted by the Janata government of
the time to study Panchayati Raj institutions. Out of a total of
132 recommendations made by it, the most important ones are:
Three-tier system to be replaced by a two-tier system.
Political parties should participate at all levels in the
elections.
Compulsory powers of taxation to be given to these
institutions.
Zila Parishad to be made responsible for planning at the state
level.
A minister for Panchayati Raj to be appointed by the state
council of ministers.
Constitutional recognition to be given to Panchayati Raj
institutions.
Hanumantha Rao Committee
The Planning Commission appointed a working group in
1983 as the Hanumantha Rao Committee to suggest
measures for making decentralized planning at district
level more effective.
The Committee stressed the need for public participation
at the local level. The people's participation being a
necessary ingredient of the planning especially at the
grassroots level, the PRIs have naturally significant
contribution to make in the formulation, execution and
evolution of the planning at the local level.
But the growth of rural development with social justice
and poverty alleviation continued to be emphasized in
the Seventh Five Year Plan.
G. V. K. Rao Committee
The Government of India, in the Planning Commission,
constituted a Committee on 25th March, 1985 under the
Chairmanship of Prof. G. V. K. Rao, popularly known as G.
V. K. Rao Committee.
This Committee was constituted to review the existing
administrative arrangements for rural development and
poverty alleviation programmes and to recommend
appropriate structural mechanism to ensure that they are
planned in an integrated manner and implemented
effectively.
The Committee recommended strengthening of Zila
Parishads and district level planning as well as better
integration of block and lower level of planning with lower
level PRIs.
 L. M. Singhvi Committee (1986-87)
The Government of India set up another Committee in June,
headed by Dr. L. M. Singhvi to prepare a concept paper on the
revitalization of the PRIs.

The Committee recommended that the PRIs should be

constitutionally recognized, protected and preserved by the
inclusion of a new chapter in the Constitution.

It suggested constitutional provision to ensure regular, free and

fair elections to the PRIs.

The Committee also wanted PRIs to be closely involved in

planning and implementation of rural development programmes at
lower levels.
 Sarkaria Commission
The report of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre State
Relation (1988) also deals with the Panchayati Raj.

The Thungton Committee (1988) (a sub-committee of the

Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Personnel)
also made exhaustive recommendations.

Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi had introduced the Constitution

(64th Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha on 15th May, 1989 for
strengthening and revitalizing PRIs and to enable to function as
effective unit of self government. The Bill was passed by the
Lok Sabha but defeated in the Rajya Sabha.
The next landmark in decentralised governance occurred
with the 64th and 65th Constitutional Amendment Bills introduced
in July 1989 by the Government of Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

The basic provisions of the Bills were:

(a) it should be mandatory for all States to set up PRIs/ULBs,
(b) the elections to be conducted by the Election Commission,
(c) tenure of Panchayats/ULBs to be five years and, if dissolved
before time, fresh elections should be held within six months,
(d) all seats (except those meant for the representatives of other
institutions) to be filled through direct elections,
(e) reservation of seats to be made for SC/ST/Women,
(f ) Local Bodies to be entrusted with more functions e.g. minor
irrigation, soil conservation, bio-gas, health, benefits to SC/ST etc.
(g) planning and budgeting systems be introduced at the panchayat
level,
(h) the State Legislature to authorise Panchayats/ULBs to levy taxes
and fees,
(i) a separate commission to review the Local Body finances, and
(j) PRI/ULB accounts to be audited by the CAG. The Bill could
however not be passed in the Rajya Sabha.
Finally in 1992, after synthesising important features of the earlier
exercises on this subject, Government drafted and introduced the 73rd
and 74th Amendments Bill in Parliament which were passed in 1993.
These introduced new Parts IX and IXA in the Indian Constitution
containing Articles 243 to 243ZG.

The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution constitute a new

chapter in the process of democratic decentralisation in the country. In
terms of these Amendments, the responsibility for taking decisions
regarding activities at the grass roots level which affect people’s lives
directly would rest upon the elected members of the people themselves.
Panchayats became Institutions of Self-Government in Part IX
of the Constitution (Article 243G) on 24 April 1993.
Municipalities became Institutions of Self-Government (Part IX
A Article 243 P(e) & W) of the Constitution on June 1, 1993.
Article 243Q of the Constitution states that:
A Municipal Corporation shall be constituted for a larger urban
area
A Municipal Council for a smaller urban area
A Nagar Panchayat for an area, which is in the process of
transition from rural to urban
74th Amendment provides for a District Planning Committee to
consolidate the plans prepared by panchayats and Municipalities.

Panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and

social justice in respect of 29 subjects listed in 11th Schedule.
The main features of the Act are - (i) a 3-tier system of
Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 20
lakh; (ii) Panchayat elections regularly every 5 years; (iii)
reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
and women (not less than one-third of seats); (iv)
appointment 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.
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:
(i) to authorise a Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate
some taxes, duties, tolls and fees;
(ii) to assign to the Panchayat, some taxes, duties, tolls levied
and collected by the State Government;
(iii) to provide for making grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from
the Consolidated Fund of the State; and
(iv) 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 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.
With a view to provide a focus to the decentralization of powers and
empowerment of the Panchayats as institutions of local self government,
the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) was formed in 4 May, 2004 after
carving out the Panchayati Raj Division from the Ministry of Rural
Development.
There are about :

31 State Panchayat Raj Departments

536 District Panchayats or Zilla Parishads (ZPs)
6096 Block Panchayats/Intermediate Panchayats (BPs/IPs)
2,40,000 Gram panchayats/Village Panchayats (GPs/VPs)
Article 243 B of the Constitution envisages that all the States/UTs, except
those with populations not exceeding 20 lakhs, will have to constitute a three-
tier system of Panchayats i.e. at the village, intermediate and district levels.

A village as per the provisions of the Constitution is to be specified by the

Governor by a public notification for the purpose of this part and includes a
group of villages so specified. That means the territorial area of a Village
Panchayat can be specified by a public notification by the Governor of the
State, and may consist of more than one village.
The provisions of Articles 243 G and 243 W of the Constitution
relating to the powers, authority and responsibilities of local
governments have been interpreted by most States as being merely
advisory in nature. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the
Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992 points out:

Though the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been in

existence for a long time, it has been observed that these
institutions have not been able to acquire the status and
dignity of viable and responsive people’s bodies due to a
number of reasons including absence of regular elections,
prolonged supersessions, insufficient representation of
weaker sections like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
women, inadequate devolution of powers and lack of
financial resources.
Panchayats and Municipalities
Panchayat and Municipality are the generic terms for the governing body
at the local level. Both exist as three tier systems – at the lower,
intermediate and upper levels.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment act provides for a Gram Sabha as the
foundation of the Panchayati Raj system. It is essentially a village
assembly consisting of all the registered voters in the area of the
panchayat.

The state has the power to determine what kind of powers it can
exercise, and what functions it has to perform at the village level.
The 74th Constitutional Amendment act provides for three types of
Municipalities:
Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area between a rural and urban
area.
 Municipal Council for a small urban area.
 Municipal Corporation for a large urban area.
Each Gram sabha is the meeting of a particular constituency
called ward. Each ward has a representative chosen from among
the people themselves by direct election. The chairperson of the
Panchayat or Municipality at the intermediate and district level
are elected from among these representatives at the
immediately lower level by indirect election.
There are eight types of urban local governments currently existing in India:
Municipal Corporations.
Municipality.
Notified area committee.
Town area committee.
Cantonment board.
Township.
Port trust.
Special purpose agency.
29 Subjects Transferred to the Panchayats(11th
Schedule)
1. Agriculture, including agricultural 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
29 Subjects Transferred to the Panchayats…..
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. Market 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 Scheduled Tribes
28. Public distribution system
29. Maintenance of community assets
 Items Listed in the 12th Schedule:
1. Regulation of land use and construction of land buildings.
2. Urban planning including the town planning.
3. Planning for economic and social development
4. Urban poverty alleviation
5. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes
6. Fire services
7. Public health sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management
8. Slum improvement and up-gradation
9. Safeguarding the interests of the weaker sections of society,
including the physically handicapped and mentally unsound
10. Urban forestry, protection of environment and promotion of
ecological aspects
11. Construction of roads and bridges
 Items Listed in the 12th Schedule……
12. Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks,
gardens and playgrounds
13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects
14.  Burials and burials grounds, cremation and cremation
grounds and electric crematoriums
15. Cattle ponds, prevention of cruelty to animals
16. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries
17. Public amenities including street lighting, parking
spaces, bus stops and public conveniences
18. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths
 Multi-Level Federalism and Widening Democratic Base after the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendments

First Stratum Second Stratum

UNION STATES & UNION TERRITORIES
Two Houses of Parliament have 793 Members 28 State Assemblies and Two* Union
(Lok Sabha: 543; Rajya Sabha: 250) Territories have 4508 Members

Total Elected Members at the

Union and State Level
5301
5308
Third Stratum
DISTRICT & BELOW

Rural: 700 Million plus

The Third Stratum Elects Urban: 300 Million plus
There are 607 Districts in India 3,200,000 Members (Approx)
535 District Panchayats elect 15,815 Of this 107 City Corporations**
5912 Block/Tehsil/Mandal Panchayats elect 1443 Town Municipalities
145,412 more than 2091 Nagar Panchayats***
1,000,000 are women
231,630 Village Panchayats elect 2,971,446
800,000 are SCs/STS Total Elected Members : 68,554
Total Elected Members : 3,132,673

* Only two Union Territories (Delhi and Pondicherry) out of seven have elected Assemblies. ** Population above 300,000 *** Areas in transition.
One-third of all the Panchayats and City Corporations/Municipalities/Nagar Panchayats are headed by women as Presidents, Mayors. About one-fourth
are headed by hitherto untouchables (Scheduled Castes) and Scheduled Tribes.
Source: Institute of Social Sciences, Panchayati Raj Research.
Democratic Decentralisation in Tribal and Schedule Areas
Special provisions are made in the constitution through the Fifth and Sixth schedules
to protect the interests of Tribals, their autonomy and rights. The Fifth Schedule
envisages notification of tribal dominated areas as Scheduled areas and the
formation of Tribal Advisory Council at the state level. The Sixth Schedule provides
for establishing autonomous district councils and autonomous regions empowered
with legislative judicial, executive and financial powers.
Gram Sabha
Every habitation community to have a Gram Sabha which will exercise command
over natural regions, resolve disputes and manage institutions under it, like schools
and cooperatives.
• Gram Panchayat
Elected body of representatives of each Gram Saha, also to function as an appellate
authority for unresolved disputes at lower level.
• Block / Taluk Level Body
This is the next higher-level body suggested by the committee. In addition to this
the committee has suggested an elected body of autonomous district council at the
district level with legislative, executive and judicial powers for tribal areas covered
under the Sixth Schedule.
In 1996 therefore the Lok Sabha passed a bill extending the proposed
Panchayat system of the 73rd Amendment into all Scheduled (i.e.
Adivasis) areas. This Act obliges state governments with scheduled
areas in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Orissa to devolve
responsibility in key areas onto elected Panchayats in tribal areas, no
less than half of whose members had to be Scheduled Tribes.
The Act extended the provisions of Panchayats to the tribal
areas of nine states(and now ten states including Telangana)
that have Fifth Schedule Areas.
Most of the North eastern states under Sixth Schedule Areas
(where autonomous councils exist) are not covered by PESA, as
these states have their own Autonomous councils for
governance. The nine states with Fifth Schedule areas are:
Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan.
Article 243(M) of Constitution
Dilip Singh Bhuria Committee
Extended provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to
Panchayats to Scheduled Areas
With certain exceptions and modifications
Onus on states to make PESA compliant laws
Defined villages and Gram Sabhas (4b)
Every habitation shall have a village
Every village shall have a Gram Sabha
In effect, every habitation can have a Gram Sabha
State legislation should be in consonance with
customary law, social/religious practices, and
traditional management practices of community
resources
Reservation of seats in proportion of population
but not less than one half (4g)
Consultation before land acquisition (4i), power
to prevent land alienation ( Samatha judgement
of Supreme Court)
Planning and Management of minor water bodies
(4j)
Mandatory recommendation of Gram Sabha for Minor
minerals (4l)

GS has powers to enforce prohibition (4m(i))

Ownership of minor forest produce (4m(ii))

Power to control over money lending (4m(v))

Control over local plans , resources, tribal sub-plan

(4m(vii))
 PESA Rules

Definition of village and Gram Sabha compliant with small

hamlets (Rule )
Process of village formation (Rule 4 )
Composition of Gram Sabha Kosh (Rule 14 )
Standing committees of Gram Sabhas (Rule 10 )
Rules for access to natural resources and sustenance (Chapter
V)
Rules for prevention of land alienation (Rule 24 )
Rules for restoration of alienated land (Rule 25 )
Consultation before land acquisition (Rule 26 )
Planning and management of water resources (Rule
28 )
Permission of Gram Sabha mandatory for minor
minerals (Rule 32 )
Provisions against exploitation of labour (Rule 35)
Regulation of intoxicants (Rule 36 )
Licence and continuance of liquor shops only through
Gram Sabhas , majority opinion of women to be
considered opinion of Gram sabhas (Rule 36 to 39 )
Management of minor forest produce by committee of Gram
Sabha (Rule 41 )
Control over local markets (Rule 43 )
Control over money lending (Rule 44 )
Gram Sabha to identify beneficiaries (Rule 45 )
Certification of expenses (Rule 48 )
Social audit and monitoring of development activities (Rule
51 )
State law to be in keeping with customs, and traditional
management practices in Scheduled Area (Rule 52 )
 Achievements
•Increased participation of hitherto excluded sections of the
population (tribals, lower castes, etc)
•Women’s involvement in public life through elections, a
brave new world of women
•Developing the thinking that democracy at the grassroots
level is a necessary condition for strengthening democracy at
the State and National Level
•Popularization of concepts of decentralized planning and
people’s participation in development
•Thousands of elected members are getting training in local
governance, democracy and development
•Localbodies are the nursery for future leaders
•Many success stories of women in local government

•Voluntary sector/civil society coming to the fore for

strengthening PRIs, local bodies, local democracy
 • New, innovative ideas for people’s participation,
combating corruption e.g., social audit, peoples plan
campaign, ombudsman, jan sunwai (public hearing) etc.

Strength
Constitutional Status
Constitutional Status for Stability and Continuity
Timely election
Representation for weaker sections
Framework for 4 “Fs”
Functions
Functionaries
Funds
Freedom
 Weaknesses
Lack of Awareness, rules, bye-laws etc., political will
Lack of public awareness and vigilance
Lack of accountability
Decision-making not yet broad-based
Rules & procedures not adequately framed
Influence of elite in the village planning
Lack of orientation of officials for working with LGs
Lack of political will of political parties
 Opportunities
People’s participation providing good governance at grassroots level
Involvement of people in their village development planning
Resources Mobilization, cash, kind or labour for local development
Increasing the sense of responsibility in people for managing their affairs
Administration nearer to people for good governance
4 enemies:
 Politicians
 Officials
 Landlords and Feudal elements
 Contractors