ISSN: 2456–4397 RNI No.  UPBIL/2016/68067 VOL.- VII , ISSUE- VII October  - 2022
Anthology The Research
Grama Panchayat- An Administrative and Political Innovation in India
Paper Id :  16903   Submission Date :  2022-10-15   Acceptance Date :  2022-10-22   Publication Date :  2022-10-25
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Lokesh Naik B
Assistant Professor
Department Of Sociology
Government First Grade College For Women
Chikkamagaluru,Karnatak, India
Abstract
Good governance controls development. Structured governance allows the government to provide services and raise funds for social development. It requires the involvement of development stakeholders. India is a good example of how decentralization can improve local government performance and accountability due to its size and ambitious decentralization efforts. There is much to be done to improve village infrastructure, and it should be done in a collaborative manner to accommodate people’s needs. This study examined grassroots Panchayat structure and operation. To improve Panchayat governance and functioning, the Gram Sabha’s legislative and procedural issues must be addressed, funding, functions, and officials must be devolved, audit and accountability must be established, and women's participation must be increased. PRIs, local informal groups, and people's movements must improve poor participation.
Keywords Grama Panchayat, Political Innovation, Independence.
Introduction
Democratic decentralisation advocates argue that democratising and empowering local political authorities will generate more accountable and responsive institutions to local needs and preferences. However, decentralisation has failed to address regional and local poverty and inequality. Local development initiatives frequently depend on a state machinery that respects local political structures. After independence, Article 40 of the Indian Constitution stipulates, “The states shall take steps to create village Panchayat and provide them with such power and authority as may be necessary to allow them to function as units of self government”. Balvant Ray Mehta’s 1957 committee, Ashoka Mehta’s 1978 committee, G V K Rao’s1986 committee, and L M Singhvi’s 1986 committee all noted the necessity for local self-governance. Thus, in 1992, the 73rd amendment of the Indian Constitution revived the Panchayati Raj Institution, which subsequent governments adopted. Since the early 1990s, policy successes have included economic reforms and Panchayati Raj Institutions. Both are important for development since they are reforming and making services accessible to the public. Our planning has historically been done in headquarters and office rooms removed from grassroots conditions. Thus, local self-governance is essential today. The 73rd and 74th Amendments established this framework. Due to bureaucracy and politics, panchayats struggle to promote development without local public system strengthening. Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are significant because they allow villages to participate in their own development and coordinate welfare and poverty alleviation programmes at the grassroots level for the benefit of the poor. Local democracy relies on removing obstacles. Local self-governance depends on political, financial, and economic decentralisation. A secondary data analysis examined PRIs and their many aspects.
Objective of study
1. To know about relevance of grama panchayat in rural development. 2. To examine grama panchayat as administrative and innovative political institution.
Main Text

Grama Panchayat-Administrative & Political Innovation in India

Indian democratic decentralisation institutions, or Panchayat Raj, are self-governing rural local bodies. In 1959, was a political and administrative innovation. It promoted public participation. Panchayat Raj bodies awoke and inspired rural Indian democracy. Gandhi noted that India lives in villages and must restore village life to revive the nation. He championed Panchayat Raj as India's political foundation. One third of Indian communities had traditional Panchayats after independence. After independence, the government has actively promoted Panchayats as efficient local administrations. Article 40 of the constitution promotes democratic participation to engage villagers in development and reduce governmental administrative burdens.

Ancient India had Provisional, Divisional, District, Town, and Village administration (territorial divisions and their administration.) The village headman has led India's local government since the beginning. Gramani in Vedic literature, he appears often in Jatakas (State and Government in Ancient India, Altekar.A.S.Page No 208,209,225,226-Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi2005). Headmen are usually Kshatriya or Vaisya. The state shall form Village Panchayats and invest them with such rights and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government, according to Article 40 of the constitution. The groundbreaking constitution 73rd amendment act, 1992, took effect on April 24, 1993. This amendment creates a complex Panchayat structure for self-government. This amendment gave India its first constitutional foundation. The constitution's Eleventh schedule added 29 Panchayat-handled subjects. According to Article 243 A, 243B, 243C, 243D, 243E, 243G, and 243H of the constitution, the GramaSabha is the cornerstone of the Panchayat Raj system ( Article 243-A to 243O).

The story of Panchayat Raj has been a story of ups and downs. It seems to have passed through several phases in its short span of life.
1. The phase of ascendency(1959-1964)
2. The phase of stagnation(1965-1969)
3. The phase of decline (1969-1983)
4. The phase of revival (1983 onwards)

Governments formed committees to improve Panchayat Raj institutions and bring them to the grassroots. The BalawantRai Mehta Committee (January 16 1957–November 24 1957) and Ashok Mehta Committee (December 1977–August 1978) issued 132 proposals to revitalise and strengthen the country's Panchayat Raj system. Karnataka, Andra Pradesh, and West Bengal passed new laws after this report.

Panchayat Raj requires villager self-governance. Villagers should actively participate in development efforts governing agriculture, public health, education, irrigation, animal husbandry, etc. People should implement programmes and decide their needs. Panchayat Raj gives rural people development decision-making power. Representatives set local policy and implement their own programmes. The Ward and GramaSabhas also allow rural residents to debate local issues. Democracy at the grassroots is beautiful. The leaders following independence focused on local self-institutions to implement these programmes in rural areas. Inclusive governance.

Community Development was launched in rural India under the First Five Year Plan in 1952. National economic and social reconstruction plans were created. Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated Panchayat Raj in Nagaur on October 2, 1959. Karnataka had a unique paradigm under the 1985 Panchayat Raj Reforms Act. BalavanthRai Mehta Committee and Ashok Mehta Committee models differ. The Act established a three-tier Panchayat Raj system: Zilla Panchayat at the district level, Taluk Panchayat Samiti at the taluk/block level, and Mandal Panchayat at the Mandal level. This system was altered afterwards. We now have Zilla Panchayats at district, taluk, and village levels.

India has 2,50,000Grama Panchayats. Grama Panchayats have six to twenty-four elected members. State-by-state, though. Scheduled castes, tribes, and women are reserved. Karnataka will have 6,068 Grama Panchayats. Karnataka created 439 Grama Panchayats in 2014.

Panchayat Raj has been falsely criticised. Panchayat Raj has several accomplishments. Politically, it sowed democratic seeds in Indian soil, making citizens more aware of their rights. It connected bureaucrats and citizens administratively. It created a modern, pro-social, and young leadership. It helped rural people establish a developmental mindset.

Panchayat Raj makes decision-making more accessible. It also facilitated local leadership change. Panchayat Raj has eliminated villager fear of authorities, a major benefit. Rural folks now confide in the PDO about their issues. In India, where people mistrust authority, this is good.

Rajni Kothari states, “Operating through these institutions, a new form of political functioning has arisen at the local level who may, in the course of time, become more powerful than the elected representatives at the State and National levels.” Thus, Panchayat Raj has promoted local-level and trans-local politics in several states. However, it was believed that the community development programme would fail unless the people actively participated in its creation and implementation.
Conclusion
This is consistent with the prior conclusion that the Block and District level GPDP committee should mobilise and direct the grammepanchayat level. In the grammepanchayat, the GPDP programme would adhere to correct guidelines. State institutes of rural development should routinely provide capacity training for elected representatives in accordance with the GPDP in order to improve participatory planning skills. By utilising frequent visits by the district officer and block level to the grammepanchayat, the monitoring committee and standing committee would be activated and comply with the GPDP process preparation. Incorporating the subject specialist, planning expert, and line department members into the planning committee of the grammepanchayat can bring subjective changes to the GPDP's value. The state government should provide incentives to all elected representatives in order to encourage participation in the GPDP process. Given that a number of difficulties remain unanswered, it is recommended that the GPDP research be expanded in the future to investigate the remaining challenges.
References
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