Assistant Professor

Political Science

University College, Moonak

 Sangrur, Punjab, India 

Abstract

The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) is a system of local self-government in rural India. Panchayati Raj is a system of governance in which gram panchayats are the basic administrative units. It is divided into three levels: village, block and district. "Panchayat" literally means an assembly (yat) of five (panch), while "Raj" literally means rule or government. The Panchayati Raj institution in India is not new, the system existed in Vedic times and was based on the principles of decentralization and popular participation in decision-making.

The term Panchayati Raj was coined by our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who promoted the idea of ​​a rural republic. The dream  "Gram Swaraj" and the motto "People Power" of  our beloved Father Nation Mahatma Gandhi is the very essence of true democracy. He recognized the importance of village committees as  important tools for rural development and the promotion of grassroots democracy. His title for this vision is "Gram Swaraj" (Village Self-Government). According to him, “if the village perishes India will perish too. It will no more be India. Her own mission in the world gets lost.” This chapter aims to understand the PRI from a historical perspective and the changes following the implementation of the 73rd  Amendment to the Indian Constitution. 

Keywords: Panchayati Raj Institutions in India, Historical Background of Panchayati Raj Institutions, 73rd Constitutional Amendment and Amendments.  

Introduction

The existence of village communities characterized by an agricultural economy has long been known in India. Russian mirs, German markets and medieval English mansions can be seen as counterparts to  village councils (meetings of five) in rural India. Debates about  the nature of government institutions and political participation have been around for a long time. An important feature of institutions is the problem of understanding man, society and the state, which has puzzled philosophers  at least since the time of Cordelias in India around 300 BC and  Plato in Greece around 427-347 BC and the attention of political decision-makers. .

The Panchayati Raj institution has been nationalistic and ostentatious since its inception with an indigenous model of development; it has developed over the centuries and has a clear program of action. Panchayati Raj's story  is synonymous with that of independent India's 'man in the street' who is free from want, hunger and fear. These institutions are meant to mark the beginning of the end of all the trials and tribulations of the masses.   Panchayati Raj Institutions in India: Indians live in villages and various forms of village panchayats have been operating in India for a long time. While institutions of self-government existed in ancient India until modern times, village councils flourished in rural India, as evidenced by  the village councils that came into being during the British conquest. India is a country where about 70% of the total population lives in villages. The founders of the Indian Constitution rightly said in Article 40: “The state shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of local government”. 

Vedic Period

The Panchayat system in India is very old and its origin dates back to the Vedic period. In the words of A.S. Altekar: “From most ancient times, villages in India have been the axle of administration”. Throughout Indian history, villages have been important units of social and economic life.The village is the basic administrative unit. In terms of governance, the village has the central power and the village committee exercises power over the village committee. The term Grama (village) is frequently used in the Vedas. In Vedic times, the chief (Grameya) assumed the management of the village and the women also participated in the meetings of the village council, which clearly shows that women are also representatives of the administrative body. This is clearly conveyed in the tone and spirit of the  passage of the Atharva Veda, which according to Bandyopadhaya should have been spoken by a king. "May the two daughters of Prajapati, sabha and samiti, protect me. May all the people I meet respect me and help me,  my words are right, oh my fathers, in meeting. We know your name, oh, sabha, your name is exchange conversation Let all the companies that join the sabha agree with me The people who sit here, I make the splendor and the tradition my own.Indra made me stand out in the company of all these congregations". The peculiarity of village councils in the ancient history of India is that they were centers of administration,  social life, justice, economic power and  social integration.British Embassy in India Governor Sir Charles Metcalfe called them "small republics". Manusanhita also discusses the relationship between the king and the village and Kautilya’s Arathshashtra proves that the state had minimal interference in rural life. To facilitate governance in the Mauryan period, the provinces were divided in Janapada, Sthanik, Dronmukh, Swarvatik , Sangram and Village .

Medieval Period

Under  Muslim rulers there were three important officials - Mukadan in charge of administration, Patwari in  of taxes and Chaudhry who settled the dispute with the help of Panch  the village is in charge of Lambardar, Patwari and Chowkidar.The original village community system played a very important role in the actual functioning of village administration during Mughal times. During the Middle Ages, Muslim rulers did not attempt to drastically interfere with or change the village government of the village communes. The Mughals seldom interfered with the ancient custom of village government, and they brought the village into administration as a unit, responsible only for revenue and police proceedings.

British Period

In the British era, each village council has its own image, because  some areas are weak, some areas are strong, and the situation of some village councils is the same. The following passage (1954) from the report of the Congressional Village Council makes this point clearer. The excessive greed of the East India Company led to the slow but steady disintegration of these village councils. The deliberate introduction of land titles as opposed to the Mahalwari system or village land tenure and the Ryotwari system  dealt a fatal blow to the corporate life of the  British rulers doing the most harm to this country, they have destroyed the old tradition of village councils and tried to replace them with their officials whose sole interest is to please foreign rulers by maximizing exploitation of the Indian people.

The British extended their dominance through local self-government and people lost faith in the old local self-government system, thus changing their  attitude  towards local self-government. As Matthew rightly pointed out, village councils were not a priority for British rulers. As they were mainly concentrated around commercial centers, their interest  was initially limited to establishing local groups of designated members in  major cities. "The resolution of Lord Ripon (Governor General of India) of May 18, 1882 was a historic milestone for local government, following which local institutions were properly formed. The resolution has been touted as the "Magna Carta" of democracy. The purpose of local self-government is not only to achieve administrative efficiency, but also to cultivate a system of popular participation in politics and education.

Mahatma Gandhiji had categorically defined his vision of village panchayats in the following words: “My Idea of village Swaraj is that it is a complete republic independent of its neighbours for its own vital wants and yet independent for many others in which dependence is a necessity….The Government of the village will be conducted by the Panchayat of five persons annually elected by the adult villagers, males and females, possessing minimum prescribed qualifications. These will have all the authority and jurisdiction required. Since there will be no system of punishment in the accepted sense, the Panchayat will be the legislature, judiciary and executive combined to operate for its year of office. Any village can become such a republic today without much interference even from the present government whose sole effective connection with the villages is the execution of the village revenue….Here there is perfect democracy based upon individual freedom. The individual is the architect of his own Government.”

Post – Independence Period

Throughout the fight for freedom. The Indian National Congress recognized the panchayats as institutions of the people. Local self–government was seen as the true voice of democracy. The panchayats of villages were central to the ideological structure of the Indian National Movement. Most of our leaders, mainly Mahatma Gandhi, favoured the concept of Gram Swaraj.

Community Development Programme (CDP)

As part of the strategy for socio-economic and cultural transformation in rural areas, a massive CDP was launched across the country in 1952, which was inspired by Albert Mayer’s Etawah Project experiments in Uttar Pradesh in 1948 and S. Dev.’s Nilokheri Project in Punjab (now in Haryana) in 1950. The CDP was launched nationwide in 1952.

1.     The objectives of this CDP were to increase employment and production through the application of scientific methods in agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry, fishing etc.

2.     The establishment of subsidiary and artisan industries.

3.     Self–help and self–sufficiency and the greatest possible extension of the principle of cooperation.

Various Committees: Various committees have been appointed to oversee the work and development of the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI).

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee

A committee called Balwant Rai Mehta was appointed at the end of the first five-year plan to evaluate the projects planned under the community development plan. The report was finally signed on November 24, 1957. The committee recommended the establishment of a three-level system of local government (village, block and district levels), namely the direct election of village committees at the village level and the direct election of  village committees at the village level. block level. Zila Parishad at district level.

Rajasthan was the first state to establish the Panchayati Raj System in 1959, followed by Andhra Pradesh and from then on practically the whole country followed the same. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru described panchayats as the ‘foundation of democracy in India’. He believed that the progress of our country was linked to the progress in our villages. From 1950 – 1964, the government led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was keen to decentralize state authority and establish panchayats in villages.

Although the committee had recommended that the main decision–making body should be Panchayat Samiti (PS), the PRIs that emerged had variations from state to state, Maharashtra and Gujarat (which already had a development process administration that was already underway and was based on district and a tradition of active district development) used the PS at the level of the block (or intermediate) as an institution designed to create new modes of development effort. However, the district body (apex) in Rajasthan, although mainly advisory, was still stronger than, in say, Madras. Several states adopted one-two, or three-tier models of PR according to their convenience.

The ARC in its report 1967, inquired into the question of planning at the district level. Subsequently the Planning Commission provided a set of comprehensive guidelines for preparation of district plans. These guidelines also envisaged preparation of a perspective plan accompanied with medium-term and annual plans

Ashok Mehta Committee

The Janata Party came to power in 1977 after 30 years in the ruling Central Congress. A committee was formed under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta to review the existing PRI to identify their shortcomings and  propose ways and means to remedy, and the committee submitted its report in August 1978.

The main recommendation of the committee was the two-tier system of Panchayati Raj. According to this recommendation, the ZP should be established at the district level. As the first point of decentralization. The formation of Mandal Panchayats was designed and connections were also expected between rural and urban areas. A major weakness of the Ashok Mehta Committee is that it ignored the value of Gram Sabha. The weaker sections of the society could get the maximum benefit from the various plans. The committee suggested that there should be an independent agency to run the funds and programs earmarked for the envisaged castes and envisaged tribes and to ensure that the projects designed for them are implemented in some way that the desired influence is not diluted.

Although the committee’s recommendations were not accepted by the Union Government due to the change back of the ruling party within it, some of them exerted varying influence over the Panchayati Raj in some states, for example, some years later, (1983 – 1985) Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh remodeled their respective Panchayati Raj system under this influence. In West Bengal also after, their view on the participation of pol. parties in the PR was followed by the state governments.

One of the committees established under the chairmanship of a senior administrator (G.V.R. Rao) reported in 1985. It recommended an appropriate improvement of the representative character and the ability of people representatives in the PRIs to equip them to play a more active, fair and effective role in promoting and managing village development and local affairs. ZP had to be given considerable skills to serve as the main institution for planning and managing village development. The committee formed under the chairmanship of the distinguished lawyer (L.M. Singhvi) recommended that the PR be first considered the local self–government institution. It should be reinforced to better serve as one of the cornerstones of the democratic political system in the country.

73rd Amendment Act (Pre-Amendment Scenario)

Prior to the 73rd Amendment, the situation of the Panchayati Raj was not so effective as they had limited powers  and did not hold regular elections. These committees and commissions formulated various proposals and raised awareness of the need for a strong government with constitutional recognition of local self-government. The late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi strongly supported the strengthening of  local institutions by giving village councils constitutional status. Between December 1987 and June 1988, the Prime Minister undertook efforts to strengthen the rural administration. As a result, a series of workshops were held with district revenue officers and "responsive management" to understand rural development issues in the country. Workshops were held in Bhopal, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur and Coimbatore. These workshops aimed at understanding  rural population issues and government funding for rural development were unsuccessful, and eventually the 64th Constitutional Amendment  became so important that it was adopted in the future.

In 1989, the union government introduced the Panchayati Raj System, structure and functionally, into the Parliament 64^th constitutional amendment bill for the reorganization of PRIs. The bill also provided for a very substantial reserve of seats for SC and ST in proportion to their population and thirteen per cent for women. It envisaged free and fair local elections under the direction of the Election Commissioner of India.

Enactment of 73^rd Constitution Amendment

Rajiv Gandhi presented the 64^th amendment bill in Parliament for this purpose. It was approved by Lok Sabha but could not achieve the required two-thirds majority in Rajya Sabha on account of mistrust in the mind of the opposition parties' officials regarding the reasons behind this exercise. Shri P. Narasimha Rao, who became prime minister after 1991, however, managed to obtain the 73^rd constitutional amendment enacted in 1992 for constitutionalizing PRIs by building a consensus in its mandate.

Over time, the consensus in favour of the panchayats has increased among all political parties. The government of the national front, which came to power for a short period, introduced a draft related to panchayats on 7 September 1990. Finally, the government of Congress after returning to power introduced a constitutional amendment bill related to panchayats in September 1991. After debate and discussion, it became the constitutional (73^rd amendment) act 1992 on 24^th April 1993.

The 73^rd constitutional amendment is a hallmark concerning PRIs and provided constitutional status to panchayats in India. It (73^rd constitutional amendment) left no circumspection with the state governments. With the passage of the 73^rd constitutional amendment, the beginning of a new era was dawn in the process of democratic decentralization and strengthening of grassroots institutions. The act no provided only the constitutional status to these local bodies but also endowed power and functions to these bodies. So far, marginalized sections of the society namely, the SC, ST and women had the opportunity to enter into the mainstream of the society by contesting elections.

73rd Amendment Act (Post-Amendment Scenario) 1992: The ministry had tabled the constitutional bill ( Eighty – Seventh Amendment) 1999 in Parliament on 17^th  December 1999, to amend sections 243(2) and (5) of the constitution to allow the legislative assemblies of the state to decide on the method for the election of members and chairpersons of panchayats at the intermediate and district level. It was decided to hold wide consultations with all political parties and the government of states on the bill. Therefore, the comments of all chief ministers of the states were requested on behalf of this. A meeting of officials of all pol. parties in Parliament was held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of India on 19 May 2001 to seek the consent of all pol. representatives to the Eighty – Seventh bill in the consultation (Amendment 1999).

Recommendations of Second ARC (2007) Report

Based on a review study of the report of the second ARC, between 21^st of August 2005 to October 2007, the sixth report, which relates to the local governance, the ARC has issued recommendations to improve the organization and functioning of PRIs through certain changes in the organizational structure as well as by facilitating the process of decentralization and devolution of functions, officials and finances rational to the PRIs. It made some recommendations about the PRIs of which one is related to reservation tenure as to overcome the current one-term reservation problem seats should be reserved for a minimum of two years if the single-member constituency system is maintained in practice or the current multi-member constituency system through the multi-member system through the system for members to be replaced.

In Today’s Scenario

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992 was a milestone in the country's democracy as it created the PRI as a lower level of autonomy than the state level in the federal system. It is also an important step in  decentralized development, as it envisions people participating in the  planning, decision-making, implementation, and delivery process. The law is an important step in transforming rural areas, which continue to suffer from caste oppression, an unequal distribution of power, resources and opportunities, and a series of long-standing issues related to poverty. Laws empower the poor and leverage local knowledge, wisdom and opportunities to improve their social status.  We have taken a giant step forward with the  73rd  Amendment to the Constitution.Provisions for regular elections, one-third of the seats reserved for women, reserved for the SC and ST (including the presidency), the constitution of the treasury board, the power to raise resources, are the welcome features of this long-awaited realization of local governance. measure of autonomy.

In January 2009, the Ministry of PR reviewed the memorandum for the expenditure finance committee for the centrally sponsored scheme on e-governance for PRIs emphasized the need for e-governance to enhance the capacity of the PRIs as autonomous institutions. In XI five year plan (2007–2012), special attempts have been made to bring the IT (Information Technology) revolution to the bases of grassroots. The plan emphasized the development of software for Panchayats to develop the capacity of public relations leaders, a community of PR leaders would be organized through the Internet.

Panchayati Raj in Punjab

The state of Punjab, situated in the northwestern part of India, has a population of around 27.7 million according to the census of India. The villages of Punjab are grouped into 147 developmental blocks and comprises 22 districts. Villages, blocks and districts in Punjab vary in area and population. About one–third of Punjab’s population lives in cities and towns.

Conclusion

Local self-government has gone through different stages from the Vedic period to post-independence, many local governments have had ups and downs. Various boards and committees have been appointed to study these issues and come up with ways to implement the PRI scheme in India. But it was only after the 73rd CAA, a historic milestone in the history of local self-government to deliver effective and efficient work at the grassroots level. All states are required to adopt all of the provisions referred to in Section 743 of the  CAA to implement the PRI at the local level. Almost all  states have implemented the 73rd CAA except for a few states such as J&K.

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