What is Panchayati Raj? History, Three-Tier System, and More

Ever wondered how villages in India decide on things like schools and roads? It’s often through Panchayati Raj, a way for villagers to have their own local teams to make these decisions. Across India, in over 2.5 lakh villages, people have this power. This three-tier system of local governments, you must have seen in most places. However, some places also exist that do not follow Panchayati Raj, such as Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and even Delhi. In this blog, we will get to learn a lot about Panchayati Raj, which is good for everyone to know, especially if you’re studying the Indian government. Let’s see how villages get their own say.

What is Panchayati Raj?

Panchayati Raj is basically like having small local governments in Indian villages. It’s a way for the people who live there to have their own team to make decisions and handle things that matter in their village. It’s set up in three layers so that the power to decide things is closer to the people who will be affected by those decisions.

In simpler terms, it’s like each village has its own small team (Gram Panchayat) to make decisions. Then, groups of villages have a bigger team (Panchayat Samiti), and the whole rural area has the biggest team (Zila Parishad). This helps people in villages decide what they need and take care of things themselves.

History of Panchayati Raj 

Long ago in India, villages used to have their own groups to make decisions – they were called Panchayats. These groups had real power to make rules and solve problems. But when big rulers and the British came, these village groups became less important. Sometimes, before India’s independence, these panchayats were even used by the wealthier or higher-caste people to control others in the village.

But after India became independent, our leaders wanted to bring back the power to the villages. Our Constitution, in a special section called Article 40, said that the government should set up these village panchayats and give them the authority to act like their own small governments.

To figure out the best way to do this, the government created several important committees:

• Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957): This group suggested a three-level system for Panchayati Raj.
• Ashok Mehta Committee (1977): They proposed a simpler, two-level system.
• G V K Rao Committee (1985): This committee pointed out that Panchayats weren’t really strong enough at the local level.
• L M Singhvi Committee (1986): They recommended giving Panchayats more official recognition and support.

Three-tier  System of Panchayati Raj

1. Gram Panchayat (Village Level): Your village council. Directly elected by villagers to handle local needs and development.
   
2. Panchayat Samiti (Block Level): A group council for several villages. It coordinates work and plans development at a larger (block) level.
   
3. Zila Parishad (District Level): The top council for the whole rural district. It oversees the work of the block councils and plans development for the entire district.

What the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee Said (1957)

The Balwant Rai Mehra committee is considered an important one because it came up with the three-type system that most of the villages follow today.

They believed that the main job of these Panchayats should be planning and helping the villages develop. The Panchayat Samiti would be the main group doing the work, and the Zila Parishad would guide and check on them. They even suggested that the top government official in the district should also head the Zila Parishad. Importantly, they said these Panchayats needed their own money to do their jobs properly. This committee’s ideas really pushed the development of Panchayats across the country, with the goal of letting local people have a real say in how their communities grew. Even our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, supported this, saying we need to give power to the people in the villages.

What the Ashok Mehta Committee Suggested (1977)

This committee thought the three-level system was too complicated and suggested a two-level system:

• Zila Parishad: The council at the district level.
• Mandal Panchayat: A council for a group of villages.

They felt the district level should be the main point for planning, and that these local councils should have the power to collect their own taxes to fund their work.

The G V K Rao Committee’s View (1985)

This committee felt that development wasn’t really reaching the village level because of too much government control. They said the Zila Parishad should be the most important body for local development and that the different levels of panchayats should have clear roles in planning and carrying out projects. They also suggested creating a special government officer at the district level to help with this.

What the L M Singhvi Committee Recommended (1986)

This committee wanted to make Panchayati Raj stronger by giving it official recognition in the Constitution. They also suggested making villages better organized and giving Panchayats more money. They even thought there should be special courts to deal with any problems related to Panchayat elections or how they work.

All these ideas helped build the argument that Panchayats are a good way to understand and solve local problems, get villagers involved in making their communities better, improve communication with higher levels of government, develop local leaders, and help the states grow from the ground up without big changes. Back in 1959, the states of Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were the first to try out this village government idea. After that, other states in India also started doing it.

Even though each state does things slightly differently, most of them use the three-level system. Because many people and groups worked hard for it, the national government made two important changes to the country’s rules in 1992. One change, called the 73rd Amendment, was for villages (Panchayats), and another, the 74th Amendment, was for cities and towns (Municipalities). These changes made them official “institutions of local self-government“. Within a year, all states passed their own laws to match these new rules.

The Big Change: The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992

This law was a major turning point. It added a new part to our Constitution, called Part IX “The Panchayats”, and a new list, the Eleventh Schedule, which has 29 things that Panchayats can be responsible for. This new rule, Article 40, said states had to create village governments and give them real power to run things. It also said that elections for these village leaders would be fair and not controlled by the state government.

This law had two sets of rules: some that states had to do (like setting up the Panchayati Raj) and some that states could choose to do if they wanted. It was a huge step towards bringing democracy to the local level and turning India from just having representatives to having people actively involved in their own governance.

Key Features of This Important Law

• Gram Sabha: This is like a village meeting of all the registered voters. It’s the main body in the Panchayati Raj system, and it has the power to do what the state laws say it can.

• Three-tier system: As mentioned, this law made the three-level system (village, block, district) the standard for most states. Smaller states with fewer than 2 million people might not have the middle (block) level.

• Election of leaders: People directly vote for members at all three levels. The heads of the block and district councils are chosen indirectly by the elected members. The head of the village is elected in a way that the state government sets up. And everyone who gets elected to the council, including the leader, gets to vote when the council meets.

• Reserved seats: To make sure everyone is represented, seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) based on their population. Also, at least one-third of all seats and leadership positions at every level are reserved for women. States can also reserve seats for other backward classes.

• Term length: All levels of the Panchayat have a fixed term of five years. However, they can be dissolved earlier. If that happens, new elections must be held within six months.

• Who can be a member: There are rules about who can be elected. Generally, if someone can’t be elected to the state legislature, they can’t be a Panchayat member either. However, someone who is 21 years old can be a Panchayat member even if the age for the state legislature is higher (25). Any questions about whether someone is qualified are decided by an authority set up by the state.

• State Election Commission: This independent body is in charge of preparing voter lists and conducting all Panchayat elections. State governments make laws about all election-related matters.

• Powers and Responsibilities: State governments can give these village councils the power to act like real local governments. This means they can plan how to make things better for the economy and for fairness in society. They can also work on projects about 29 different things, like local roads, water, and schools.

• Money Matters: State governments can let panchayats collect their own money through taxes and fees. They can also give Panchayats some of the money the state government collects. Plus, the state can give them extra money (grants) and help them set up their own savings.

• Finance Commission: Every state has a special group called the Finance Commission. This group checks how the village councils are doing with their money and suggests ways to give them more funds to work with.

• Keeping Accounts: State governments make rules about how Panchayats should keep their financial records and get them audited.

• How it Applies to Union Territories: The president of India can decide to apply these rulers to any Union territory, with some changes if needed.

• Areas Where It Doesn’t Apply Directly: As we have already discussed, some areas do not follow Panchayati Raj, like Delhi, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya and some tribal areas. However, parliament can decide to make these rules apply there too, with some special changes. That’s how the PESA Act came out.

• Continuing Old Laws: Any state laws about Panchayats that existed before this Act came into force continued for one year. This gave states time to create new laws based on the new national rules. However, existing Panchayats continued until their term ended, even if it was longer than a year.

• Courts Can’t Interfere Easily: The Act says that courts can’t usually interfere in how electoral districts are drawn or how seats are allocated for Panchayats. Also, you can only challenge a Panchayat election through a special petition to an authority set up by the state.

The PESA Act of 1996: Special Rules for Tribal Areas

The rules we just talked about didn’t automatically count for areas where a lot of tribal people live (those are called Fifth Schedule areas). So, the main government made a special law called the PESA Act to include those areas.

What the PESA Act Aimed To Do:

• Extend the basic ideas of Panchayati Raj to tribal areas, but in a way that respects their unique traditions.
• Give more self-rule to tribal communities.
• Create village governments where everyone can participate.
• Develop ways of governing that fit with traditional customs.
• Protect the traditions and cultures of tribal people.
• Give Panchayats in these areas the powers that make sense for their needs.
• Stop higher-level Panchayats from taking over the authority of lower-level ones.

Also Read:

• Why 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 
• Panchayati Raj System was First Introduced in which State?

When do we celebrate Panchayati Raj Day?

National Panchayati Raj Day, celebrated every April 24th, remembers when village councils became official in India’s rules in 1993. This day shows how letting villages have power helps them decide things and grow. It’s a day to see how village councils are doing, celebrate their good work, and think about making them even better for villages to develop.

To conclude, India’s government changes have spread power, letting more people join democracy, even in villages, which now govern themselves, unlike before, when only bigger governments had elected leaders. While fairness issues remain, this village system can fight old inequalities in rural India based on birth group, religion, and gender.

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