National Panchayati Raj Day: 30 Years Of Self-Governance Later, Pushing 'India At 2047' Dream
It has been three decades since India formally adopted a third tier at the very foundation of its federal structure. 30 years down the line, here is where we stand.
Three decades ago, on April 24, 1993, when India adopted a crucial change into its federal structure, it may not have known that 30 years down the line, this will be a reason to celebrate the country’s constitutional strength at the very foundation level. The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 introduced another level in India’s federal power structure – Panchayati Raj – focused on local governance. The Act came into effect on April 24, 1993. However, it was only in 2010 that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated the day as National Panchayati Raj Day, commemorating India’s villages and self-governing bodies.
Here is a look at the importance of the day and how it pushes the ‘India at 2047’ dream.
What Is Panchayati Raj?
The 73rd Amendment in the Constitution of India introduced another level of governance in India’s then-existing two-tier (national, state) system. The amendment further divided the powers and functions down to local self-governments, which are panchayats at village levels and municipalities and municipal corporations in towns and large cities. With this, India now has a government set-up of a three-tier federal form.
Rural development is one of the main objectives of Panchayati Raj and this has been established in all states of India except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, in all union territories except Delhi, and certain other areas. These areas include:
1. The scheduled areas and the tribal areas in the states
2. The hill area of Manipur for which a district council exists and
3. Darjeeling district of West Bengal for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists
However, Parliament can extend this part to these areas subject to the exception
Foundation Of Panchayati Raj
The Panchayati system is not purely an idea of post-Independence India. The dominance of political institution in rural India has been there for centuries.
However, the concrete work in the field was done during the drafting of the Constitution. The Constitution of India in Article 40 enjoined: “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 Government of India had, through various committees, analysed the implementation of self-government at the rural level and also recommend steps in achieving this goal.
The committees were Balwant Rai Mehta Committee; Ashok Mehta Committee; GVK Rao Committee; LM Singhvi Committee.
Features Of 73rd Amendment Act
Gram Sabha: Gram Sabha is the primary body of the Panchayati Raj system. It is a village assembly that consists of all the registered voters within the area of the panchayat. It exercises powers and performs such functions as determined by the state legislature.
Three-Tier System: At the root of the Panchayati Raj system, the Act provides for the establishment of the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj in the states - village, intermediate and district level. It is mentioned that states with a population of less than 20 lakhs may not constitute the intermediate level.
Election Of Members And Chairperson: Like any other body in India, the members to all the levels of the Panchayati Raj are elected directly. The chairpersons to the intermediate and the district level are elected indirectly from the elected members while the state government elects and determines the Chairperson at the village level.
Reservation Of Seats: The adequate quota for different sections of people in the Panchayati Raj system establishes the vision of the Constitution makers that was way ahead of its time.
- SC And ST: Reservation is to be provided at all three tiers in accordance with their population percentage.
- Women: Not less than one-third of the total number of seats to be reserved for women. Furthermore, not less than one-third of the total number of offices for chairperson at all levels of the panchayat to be reserved for women.
Duration Of Panchayat: The Act provides for a five-year term of office to all the levels of the panchayat. However, the panchayat can be dissolved, like in the case of assemblies and Parliament, before the completion of its term. But fresh elections to constitute the new panchayat shall be completed –
- Before the expiry of its five-year duration.
- In the case of dissolution, before the expiry of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution.
State Election Commission: The Constitution provides for a commission that is responsible for superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and conducting elections for the panchayat.
Restriction On Interference By Courts: The 73rd Amendment Act bars the courts from interfering in the electoral matters of panchayats. It states that the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies cannot be questioned in any court. It goes on to lay down that no election to any panchayat is to be questioned except by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as provided by the state legislature.
National Panchayati Raj Day Celebration
The Central government has been taking many initiatives to strengthen and empower Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). These include increasing the capacity of representatives of PRIs to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. The focus is to improve the efficiency, transparency of functioning and accountability of PRIs to contribute towards inclusive development, economic growth and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in nine themes i.e.
(1) Poverty-Free and Enhanced Livelihoods Village
(2) Healthy Village
(3) Child-Friendly Village
(4) Water Sufficient Village
(5) Clean and Green Village
(6) Village with Self-sufficient Infrastructure
(7) Socially Just & Socially Secured Village
(8) Village with Good Governance
(9) Women-Friendly Village
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been at the forefront in the Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) through PRIs in rural areas. The ministry plays an important role in bringing together multiple stakeholders, setting clear strategic targets and in catalyzing the technical assistance of United Nations organisations to localise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in rural areas.
The aim of the government is to accomplish the ambitious development dream in the country by 2047, when India will celebrate its 100 years of independence, to the village level too.
This year, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj celebrated National Panchayat Awards Week during April 17-21 as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) 2.0 in the run-up to the National Panchayati Raj Day (24th April, 2023).
As per an official release from the government, “To celebrate this monumental occasion in the right spirit and in line with the AKAM 2.0 directives of adopting “whole-of-society” and “whole-of-government” approach as well as enhancing the outreach of AKAM 2.0 to touch the lives of every Indian, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has conceptualized a series of Thematic Conferences for the National Panchayat Awards Week on the theme “Panchayaton ke Sankalpon ki Siddhi ka Utsav” where the representatives of high performing Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) will not only receive their coveted Awards but will also deliberate and discuss their achievements in the presence of other stakeholders that can set examples for others to follow.”
The Centre also organised a conference on the theme National Conference on Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Efforts – Way Forward for 2047 to establish the India at 2047 dream.
National Panchayat Awards
The government has also rolled out the incentivisation of the panchayats scheme as one of the central components of centrally sponsored scheme of the revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA). Under this scheme, ‘National Panchayat Awards’ are given to the best-performing panchayats, including financial incentives for award-winning Panchayats, in recognition of their performances under various priority sectors/themes.
In 2022, the format, procedures and categories of the National Panchayat Awards were revised comprehensively to establish a multi-level competition aligning with the nine themes of LSDGs.
The National Panchayat Awards–2023 are:
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP) for the performance under individual LSDG themes.
- Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (NDSPSVP) for the aggregate performance under all 9 LSDG themes.
- Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar And Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar are the green initiative-related Special Categories.
This year, the release stated, to further strengthen Gram Sabha for ensuring participatory democracy and making empowered people and accountable Panchayats, a new mobile application GS NIRNAY, National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve PanchaYat decisions has been developed. It will record and upload Gram Sabha proceedings open for public view.
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