Perfectioning of Federal Democracy through Panchayati Raj Institution
BHARGAV KUMAR
The federal structure of the Indian Constitution adopted in the year 1950 was a remarkable achievement to commence the running of such a vast nation. A nation with diverse culture, languages, its people, geographical aspect rural and urban distinctions could have been tough to administer without a federal structure. Though the successful power transmission was adherent to the centre and the Indian provinces helped intensely in execution of developmental programs of the government for the social welfare. But in a nutshell, it did not prove to be much effective to the very grassroot level. A country with 6,62,766 villages and just 734 districts and about more than 70% population living in the villages could have merely functioned so smoothly at rudiment lines.
Though on Panchayati Raj Dr. Ambedkar, in the Constituent Assembly opined, "I am glad that the draft constitution has discarded the village and adopted the individual as the unit." The constitution adopted in 1950 emerged a federal one but excluding a finished grass rooted form.
Thus, after independence the task of the new states were particularly very heavy and complex. This was because on one hand, the states had to make up for the lost time during the Colonial rule at promoting more dynamic form of agriculture and to work on urban poverty on the other hand they had to develop and promote Industries (small and large scale) for rapid economic growth.
The functional cooperation and coordination continued between the only federal relation and the peoples' representation at the centre and the state level until the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by the parliament in April 1993. Before this many socialist leaders like Ram Manohar Lohiya, Jayaprakash Narayan emphasized on Gandhian method of decentralization of economic and political power to give more strength and potential to the self governance and representation at the grass root level in India. While the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act was the breakthrough for constitutional remodelling.
But for the establishment of Panchayati Raj institution the efforts became at primeval level when L.M. Singhvi committee 1986 was constituted to study the problems faced by panchayati raj Institute by Rajiv Gandhi government.
It recommended :
• Local self government should be constitutionally recognised, protected and preserved by the inclusion of new chapter in Constitution.
•Non involvement of political parties in Panchayat elections.
The suggestions of giving Panchayat constitutional status was opposed by the Sarkaria Commission but the idea however gained momentum in the late 1980 specially because of the endorsement by the Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who initiated the 64th Amendment Bill in the lower house of the Parliament. But it got defeated in the Rajya Sabha as non convincing. Apart from the bill defeat, he lost the general elections. In 1989 latter, National Front introduced the 74th Constitutional Amendment Bill which could not become an act because of dissolution of IXth Lok Sabha.
The DPSP says, 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 Balwant Rai Mehta Committee recommended towards the union government to realise this statement in the DPSP into actions. And thus paved the path for the Panchayati Raj system in India. The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 of the Constitution that came into force from April 24 1993 and institutionalized the Panchayati Raj through the village level intermediate and district level Panchayat. To symbolise this step towards the rural development every year India celebrates National Panchayati Raj day on 23rd day of April on the Prime Minister's call in the year 2010. While the Panchayati Raj system prevailed through three tier system of the local self government. India aims towards effective implementation and coordination of various rural activities to benefit lakhs of its rural population. The three tier of the panchayat system in India is., Village Panchayat, Block Panchayat or Mandal Samiti and Zilla Parishad of the District Panchayat.
Consequences and Challenges faced by Panchayati Raj System
It has been twenty seven years that India passed the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment regarding the decentralized governance. And its been twenty five years since all the Indian states have passed the conformity legislations ushering in the third tier of government in Indian Federal polity. Looking back, this was a momentous event, a novel paradigm shift in democratic governance and fiscal federalism.
Revolution as provided for in parts IX and IXA of the Constitution is a process towards ensuring in participatory democracy. After a quarter century of decentralization upto the local level, local expenditure as a percentage of GDP is only 2% compared with 11% of China 7% of Brazil. To be while, constitutional amendment provided all the necessary conditions, the other conditions were left to be designed by the state legislature and governments. The much-needed social demand for deepening democracy was then and there chucked off.
As Constitutional Amendment do not provide for separate list for local governments the XIth schedule that lists 29 subjects for Panchayati Raj Institutions and XIIth Schedule with 18 subjects for urban local government carry no operational meaning because almost all the local functions are state concurrent. The need for clear functional assignments broke up into activities to ensure clarity in roles and responsibilities was loud and clear which even prevails at present.
Journey of Development
In the light of giving representative identity and powers to the grassrooted localised level, there had been numerous developments craved out so far. Activity mapping of the states like Kerala and amendments of Panchayat and Municipality Act as early as 1998 is one such milestone. The ministry of Panchayati Raj since its Inception in 2004 made a drive to encourage Activity Mapping in States.
In 2015, in Lok Sabha the Union Minister of state for Panchayati Raj Nihal Chand shared the information regarding Panchayati Raj Institutions answering to a question tabled and informed that out of total 29,17,336 elected representatives in the country the number of elected women representatives in Panchayat Raj Institution across 28 states and union territories is 13,41,773 i.e., 46% out of the total states UT 16 including Assam Andhra Pradesh Bihar Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Rajasthan and West Bengal have reserved the half of the seeds according to the details tabled by Minister Chand the states UT with higher number of elected women representatives are Jharkhand (59.18%), Rajasthan (58.29%), Uttarakhand (57.83%), Chattisgarh (55.14%), Karnataka (53.40%). On the other hand, Daman and Diu Jammu and Kashmir Gujarat Goa with lower numbers of elected women representatives.
Major Needed Reforms
The rudiment lines of reforms in respect to the making of a much reliable Panchayati Raj Institution comes from Union and State budgets which are vital instrument of financial control and management. In terms of women empowerment and inclusion with dignity of marginalised community seems to be a distant dream even today. Women adivasiis and Dalits remain largely excluded. Their representation has to be reviewed and taken action. Over the core functions like water supply, sanitation, linking roads, street lighting, maintenance of community assets etc continue to be in the hands of state government. The mission based scheme of Administration also distracts and lashes action of the smooth functioning of democratic decentralisation.State Finance Comission like the Union finance commission are not independent bodies in most of the states in respect to be ushering its role towards local Institution of Panchayati Raj.
Conclusive aspect
Democracy and federalism in governance is the rule of the people, by the people and for the people. And it must ultimately work for this more than the value of intrinsic, mostly to be instrumental for answering of an inclusive and just society. This cannot happen without developing the system of democratic local governance which as established Panchayati Raj is functioning effectively. Its reformation towards execution of powers and functions is intrensically essential. The decentralised system has to be more centralised in terms of coordination and cooperation on the lines of socio-political and economic terms. This ultimate procure for making up of a Panchayati Raj Institute will be worth representative, deliberative and productive in nature.
Sources:- Indian Polity (M. Lakshmikant), Introduction to the Constitution of India (D.D. BASU) , The Hindu, Business Times, Indian Express
Editor's Note: If you also have something to write about or speak about, do it now. We encourage our audience to be the ‘voice of change’.
The federal structure of the Indian Constitution adopted in the year 1950 was a remarkable achievement to commence the running of such a vast nation. A nation with diverse culture, languages, its people, geographical aspect rural and urban distinctions could have been tough to administer without a federal structure. Though the successful power transmission was adherent to the centre and the Indian provinces helped intensely in execution of developmental programs of the government for the social welfare. But in a nutshell, it did not prove to be much effective to the very grassroot level. A country with 6,62,766 villages and just 734 districts and about more than 70% population living in the villages could have merely functioned so smoothly at rudiment lines.
Though on Panchayati Raj Dr. Ambedkar, in the Constituent Assembly opined, "I am glad that the draft constitution has discarded the village and adopted the individual as the unit." The constitution adopted in 1950 emerged a federal one but excluding a finished grass rooted form.
Thus, after independence the task of the new states were particularly very heavy and complex. This was because on one hand, the states had to make up for the lost time during the Colonial rule at promoting more dynamic form of agriculture and to work on urban poverty on the other hand they had to develop and promote Industries (small and large scale) for rapid economic growth.
The functional cooperation and coordination continued between the only federal relation and the peoples' representation at the centre and the state level until the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by the parliament in April 1993. Before this many socialist leaders like Ram Manohar Lohiya, Jayaprakash Narayan emphasized on Gandhian method of decentralization of economic and political power to give more strength and potential to the self governance and representation at the grass root level in India. While the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act was the breakthrough for constitutional remodelling.
But for the establishment of Panchayati Raj institution the efforts became at primeval level when L.M. Singhvi committee 1986 was constituted to study the problems faced by panchayati raj Institute by Rajiv Gandhi government.
It recommended :
• Local self government should be constitutionally recognised, protected and preserved by the inclusion of new chapter in Constitution.
•Non involvement of political parties in Panchayat elections.
The suggestions of giving Panchayat constitutional status was opposed by the Sarkaria Commission but the idea however gained momentum in the late 1980 specially because of the endorsement by the Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who initiated the 64th Amendment Bill in the lower house of the Parliament. But it got defeated in the Rajya Sabha as non convincing. Apart from the bill defeat, he lost the general elections. In 1989 latter, National Front introduced the 74th Constitutional Amendment Bill which could not become an act because of dissolution of IXth Lok Sabha.
The DPSP says, 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 Balwant Rai Mehta Committee recommended towards the union government to realise this statement in the DPSP into actions. And thus paved the path for the Panchayati Raj system in India. The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 of the Constitution that came into force from April 24 1993 and institutionalized the Panchayati Raj through the village level intermediate and district level Panchayat. To symbolise this step towards the rural development every year India celebrates National Panchayati Raj day on 23rd day of April on the Prime Minister's call in the year 2010. While the Panchayati Raj system prevailed through three tier system of the local self government. India aims towards effective implementation and coordination of various rural activities to benefit lakhs of its rural population. The three tier of the panchayat system in India is., Village Panchayat, Block Panchayat or Mandal Samiti and Zilla Parishad of the District Panchayat.
Consequences and Challenges faced by Panchayati Raj System
It has been twenty seven years that India passed the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment regarding the decentralized governance. And its been twenty five years since all the Indian states have passed the conformity legislations ushering in the third tier of government in Indian Federal polity. Looking back, this was a momentous event, a novel paradigm shift in democratic governance and fiscal federalism.
Revolution as provided for in parts IX and IXA of the Constitution is a process towards ensuring in participatory democracy. After a quarter century of decentralization upto the local level, local expenditure as a percentage of GDP is only 2% compared with 11% of China 7% of Brazil. To be while, constitutional amendment provided all the necessary conditions, the other conditions were left to be designed by the state legislature and governments. The much-needed social demand for deepening democracy was then and there chucked off.
As Constitutional Amendment do not provide for separate list for local governments the XIth schedule that lists 29 subjects for Panchayati Raj Institutions and XIIth Schedule with 18 subjects for urban local government carry no operational meaning because almost all the local functions are state concurrent. The need for clear functional assignments broke up into activities to ensure clarity in roles and responsibilities was loud and clear which even prevails at present.
Journey of Development
In the light of giving representative identity and powers to the grassrooted localised level, there had been numerous developments craved out so far. Activity mapping of the states like Kerala and amendments of Panchayat and Municipality Act as early as 1998 is one such milestone. The ministry of Panchayati Raj since its Inception in 2004 made a drive to encourage Activity Mapping in States.
In 2015, in Lok Sabha the Union Minister of state for Panchayati Raj Nihal Chand shared the information regarding Panchayati Raj Institutions answering to a question tabled and informed that out of total 29,17,336 elected representatives in the country the number of elected women representatives in Panchayat Raj Institution across 28 states and union territories is 13,41,773 i.e., 46% out of the total states UT 16 including Assam Andhra Pradesh Bihar Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Rajasthan and West Bengal have reserved the half of the seeds according to the details tabled by Minister Chand the states UT with higher number of elected women representatives are Jharkhand (59.18%), Rajasthan (58.29%), Uttarakhand (57.83%), Chattisgarh (55.14%), Karnataka (53.40%). On the other hand, Daman and Diu Jammu and Kashmir Gujarat Goa with lower numbers of elected women representatives.
Major Needed Reforms
The rudiment lines of reforms in respect to the making of a much reliable Panchayati Raj Institution comes from Union and State budgets which are vital instrument of financial control and management. In terms of women empowerment and inclusion with dignity of marginalised community seems to be a distant dream even today. Women adivasiis and Dalits remain largely excluded. Their representation has to be reviewed and taken action. Over the core functions like water supply, sanitation, linking roads, street lighting, maintenance of community assets etc continue to be in the hands of state government. The mission based scheme of Administration also distracts and lashes action of the smooth functioning of democratic decentralisation.State Finance Comission like the Union finance commission are not independent bodies in most of the states in respect to be ushering its role towards local Institution of Panchayati Raj.
Conclusive aspect
Democracy and federalism in governance is the rule of the people, by the people and for the people. And it must ultimately work for this more than the value of intrinsic, mostly to be instrumental for answering of an inclusive and just society. This cannot happen without developing the system of democratic local governance which as established Panchayati Raj is functioning effectively. Its reformation towards execution of powers and functions is intrensically essential. The decentralised system has to be more centralised in terms of coordination and cooperation on the lines of socio-political and economic terms. This ultimate procure for making up of a Panchayati Raj Institute will be worth representative, deliberative and productive in nature.
Editor's Note: If you also have something to write about or speak about, do it now. We encourage our audience to be the ‘voice of change’.
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