essay on local government in india

IDR Explains | Local government in India

In five questions, get an introduction to local government in india—what it is, its structure, functions, sources of funding, and some of the challenges it faces..

What is local government and why is it important?

Since the late 1980s, we have been witnessing a wave of decentralisation globally, which is founded upon the idea of making governance more participatory and inclusive. In 1992, India too embraced this wave and amended its constitution with the intent to strengthen grassroots-level democracy by decentralising governance and empowering local political bodies.The objective was to create local institutions that were democratic, autonomous, financially strong, and capable of formulating and implementing plans for their respective areas and providing decentralised administration to the people. It is based on the notion that people need to have a say in decisions that affect their lives and local problems are best solved by local solutions.Though traditional forms of local governance have existed in India for centuries, the post-Independence period saw a shift towards building a system of local government, in no small part due to the influence of Mahatma Gandhi. The passing of the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments , made it mandatory for each state to constitute rural and urban local governments, to establish mechanisms to fund them, and to carry out local elections every five years. The creation of this new three-tier system of local governance provided constitutional status to rural and urban local bodies, ensuring a degree of uniformity in their structure and functioning across the country. Provisions of these two amendments are similar in many ways, and differ mainly in the fact that the former applies to rural local government (also known as Panchayati Raj Institutions or PRIs), while the latter applies to urban local bodies.Currently, there are more than 250,000 local government bodies across India with nearly 3.1 million elected representatives and 1.3 million women representatives.

How is the system structured?

What are the functions of local government in India?

How are local bodies funded?

What are some of the challenges faced by local government bodies?

In India, though political decentralisation has been successfully achieved through the establishment of local government bodies, the actual transfer of functions, finances, and functionaries to these institutions remains incomplete. This weakens the system and inhibits its proper functioning.A Devolution Report , published by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in 2015-2016 estimates the extent to which states have devolved functions, finances, and functionaries. It concludes that while certain states such as Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra have transferred relatively more power to local bodies, real decentralisation has a long way to go in India. Functional challenges: The power to devolve functions to local governments rests with the state government. For a variety of reasons, states do not devolve adequate functions to local government bodies, severely affecting the system’s efficiency and effectiveness. For instance, state governments have been known to create parallel structures for the implementation of projects around agriculture, health, and education—undermining areas for which local bodies are constitutionally responsible.Additionally, many local bodies lack the support systems necessary to carry out their mandates. The 74th amendment requires a District Planning Committee to be set up in each district, so that the development plans prepared by the panchayats and urban local bodies can be consolidated and integrated. However, it was seen that District Planning Committees are non-functional in nine states, and failed to prepare integrated plans in 15 states. Financial challenges: Devolving functions is meaningless without providing adequate funds to carry out said functions. After nearly 25 years of decentralisation, local government expenditure as a percentage of GDP is only two percent—a number that is extremely low when compared to other major emerging economies such as China (11 percent) and Brazil (seven percent).Most local bodies, both rural and urban are unable to generate adequate funds from their internal sources, and are therefore extremely dependent on external sources for funding. Studies show that around 80 percent  to 95 percent of revenue is obtained from external sources, particularly state and central government loans and grants.There are two main reasons for low internal revenue collection:- Local bodies may lack the capacity to properly impose taxes, due to ambiguous taxation norms, lack of reliable records, and so on.- State governments have not devolved enough taxation powers. Most states only permit local bodies to collect property taxes and water tariffs, but not land tax or tolls, which can provide more substantial revenues. Functionary challenges: The capacity of local bodies to carry out their mandate is often circumscribed by the state government officials. Additionally, the secretariats of local governments are grossly under-staffed and under-skilled, and therefore unable to provide the required support to the elected body. Their capacities need to be further strengthened through training of existing personnel and the recruitment of new staff. Though local bodies are authorised to recruit staff, this is prevented by limited funding.India’s local governance system needs to be empowered in all three areas to ensure that power truly rests with the people, not just on paper, but also in practice.

Tanaya Jagtiani contributed to this article, with inputs and insights from Dr Shankara Prasad , Sonali Srivastava , Jyothsna Devi , Ila Reddy , and Anant Maringanti .

• Explore the government’s India Panchayat Knowledge Portal —a one-stop repository for everything you need to know about rural local governance in India.
• Listen to ‘The Seen and the Unseen’ podcast, which discusses the importance of cities , the state of urban governance in India , and how urban governance can be reformed .
• Learn more about how urban governance , democratic local governance , and the Panchayati Raj Institutions work in practice through PRIA’s Knowledge Resource Centre .
• Dip in to Praja’s research carried out across two years and 21 states, to understand the challenges in the implementation of the 74th amendment.

Tanaya Jagtiani contributed to this article, with inputs and insights from Dr Shankara Prasad, Sonali Srivastava, Jyothsna Devi, Ila Reddy, and Anant Maringanti. — Know more

India Development Review (IDR) is India’s first independent online media platform for leaders in the development community. Our mission is to advance knowledge on social impact in India. We publish ideas, opinion, analysis, and lessons from real-world practice.

• Search Menu
• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Archaeology
• Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
• Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
• Archaeology by Region
• Archaeology of Religion
• Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
• Biblical Archaeology
• Contemporary and Public Archaeology
• Environmental Archaeology
• Historical Archaeology
• History and Theory of Archaeology
• Industrial Archaeology
• Landscape Archaeology
• Mortuary Archaeology
• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Underwater Archaeology
• Urban Archaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Browse content in Architecture
• Architectural Structure and Design
• History of Architecture
• Residential and Domestic Buildings
• Theory of Architecture
• Browse content in Art
• Art Subjects and Themes
• History of Art
• Industrial and Commercial Art
• Theory of Art
• Biographical Studies
• Byzantine Studies
• Browse content in Classical Studies
• Classical Literature
• Classical Reception
• Classical History
• Classical Philosophy
• Classical Mythology
• Classical Art and Architecture
• Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
• Greek and Roman Papyrology
• Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Greek and Roman Epigraphy
• Greek and Roman Law
• Late Antiquity
• Religion in the Ancient World
• Digital Humanities
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Diplomatic History
• Environmental History
• Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
• Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
• Historical Geography
• History by Period
• History of Emotions
• History of Agriculture
• History of Education
• History of Gender and Sexuality
• Industrial History
• Intellectual History
• International History
• Labour History
• Legal and Constitutional History
• Local and Family History
• Maritime History
• Military History
• National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
• Oral History
• Political History
• Public History
• Regional and National History
• Revolutions and Rebellions
• Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
• Social and Cultural History
• Theory, Methods, and Historiography
• Urban History
• World History
• Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
• Language Learning (Specific Skills)
• Language Teaching Theory and Methods
• Browse content in Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics
• Cognitive Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Forensic Linguistics
• Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
• Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
• History of English
• Language Evolution
• Language Reference
• Language Variation
• Language Families
• Language Acquisition
• Lexicography
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Linguistic Theories
• Linguistic Typology
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Translation and Interpretation
• Writing Systems
• Browse content in Literature
• Bibliography
• Children's Literature Studies
• Literary Studies (Romanticism)
• Literary Studies (American)
• Literary Studies (Modernism)
• Literary Studies (Asian)
• Literary Studies (European)
• Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
• Literary Studies - World
• Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
• Literary Studies (19th Century)
• Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
• Literary Studies (African American Literature)
• Literary Studies (British and Irish)
• Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
• Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
• Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
• Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
• Literary Studies (History of the Book)
• Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
• Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
• Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
• Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
• Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
• Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
• Literary Studies (War Literature)
• Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Mythology and Folklore
• Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
• Browse content in Media Studies
• Browse content in Music
• Applied Music
• Dance and Music
• Ethics in Music
• Ethnomusicology
• Gender and Sexuality in Music
• Medicine and Music
• Music Cultures
• Music and Media
• Music and Culture
• Music and Religion
• Music Education and Pedagogy
• Music Theory and Analysis
• Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
• Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
• Musicology and Music History
• Performance Practice and Studies
• Race and Ethnicity in Music
• Sound Studies
• Browse content in Performing Arts
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
• Epistemology
• Feminist Philosophy
• History of Western Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Moral Philosophy
• Non-Western Philosophy
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Perception
• Philosophy of Action
• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
• Practical Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Browse content in Religion
• Biblical Studies
• Christianity
• East Asian Religions
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Qumran Studies
• Religion and Education
• Religion and Health
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Science
• Religion and Law
• Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cookery, Food, and Drink
• Cultural Studies
• Customs and Traditions
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
• Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
• Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
• Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
• Sports and Outdoor Recreation
• Technology and Society
• Travel and Holiday
• Visual Culture
• Browse content in Law
• Arbitration
• Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
• Commercial Law
• Company Law
• Browse content in Comparative Law
• Systems of Law
• Competition Law
• Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Government Powers
• Judicial Review
• Local Government Law
• Military and Defence Law
• Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
• Construction Law
• Contract Law
• Browse content in Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Criminal Evidence Law
• Sentencing and Punishment
• Employment and Labour Law
• Environment and Energy Law
• Browse content in Financial Law
• Banking Law
• Insolvency Law
• History of Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Intellectual Property Law
• Browse content in International Law
• Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
• Public International Law
• IT and Communications Law
• Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
• Law and Society
• Law and Politics
• Browse content in Legal System and Practice
• Courts and Procedure
• Legal Skills and Practice
• Primary Sources of Law
• Regulation of Legal Profession
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Policing
• Criminal Investigation and Detection
• Police and Security Services
• Police Procedure and Law
• Police Regional Planning
• Browse content in Property Law
• Personal Property Law
• Study and Revision
• Terrorism and National Security Law
• Browse content in Trusts Law
• Wills and Probate or Succession
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Allied Health Professions
• Arts Therapies
• Clinical Science
• Dietetics and Nutrition
• Occupational Therapy
• Operating Department Practice
• Physiotherapy
• Radiography
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Browse content in Anaesthetics
• General Anaesthesia
• Neuroanaesthesia
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Browse content in Clinical Medicine
• Acute Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Clinical Genetics
• Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology and Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Genito-urinary Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Toxicology
• Medical Oncology
• Pain Medicine
• Palliative Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports and Exercise Medicine
• Community Medical Services
• Critical Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Forensic Medicine
• Haematology
• History of Medicine
• Browse content in Medical Skills
• Clinical Skills
• Communication Skills
• Nursing Skills
• Surgical Skills
• Medical Ethics
• Browse content in Medical Dentistry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
• Surgical Dentistry
• Medical Statistics and Methodology
• Browse content in Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Neuropathology
• Nursing Studies
• Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Gynaecology
• Occupational Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology (ENT)
• Browse content in Paediatrics
• Neonatology
• Browse content in Pathology
• Chemical Pathology
• Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
• Histopathology
• Medical Microbiology and Virology
• Patient Education and Information
• Browse content in Pharmacology
• Psychopharmacology
• Browse content in Popular Health
• Caring for Others
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Self-help and Personal Development
• Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Reproduction, Growth and Development
• Primary Care
• Professional Development in Medicine
• Browse content in Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Learning Disabilities
• Old Age Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Radiology
• Clinical Radiology
• Interventional Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiation Oncology
• Reproductive Medicine
• Browse content in Surgery
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
• General Surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Paediatric Surgery
• Peri-operative Care
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Transplant Surgery
• Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Browse content in Biological Sciences
• Aquatic Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology and Conservation
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Molecular and Cell Biology
• Natural History
• Plant Sciences and Forestry
• Research Methods in Life Sciences
• Structural Biology
• Systems Biology
• Zoology and Animal Sciences
• Browse content in Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Environmental Chemistry
• Industrial Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Materials Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Mineralogy and Gems
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry
• Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Browse content in Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Architecture and Logic Design
• Game Studies
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mathematical Theory of Computation
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Virtual Reality
• Browse content in Computing
• Business Applications
• Computer Games
• Computer Security
• Computer Networking and Communications
• Digital Lifestyle
• Graphical and Digital Media Applications
• Operating Systems
• Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Environmental Geography
• Geology and the Lithosphere
• Maps and Map-making
• Meteorology and Climatology
• Oceanography and Hydrology
• Palaeontology
• Physical Geography and Topography
• Regional Geography
• Soil Science
• Urban Geography
• Browse content in Engineering and Technology
• Agriculture and Farming
• Biological Engineering
• Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
• Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Energy Technology
• Engineering (General)
• Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
• History of Engineering and Technology
• Mechanical Engineering and Materials
• Technology of Industrial Chemistry
• Transport Technology and Trades
• Browse content in Environmental Science
• Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
• Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Environmental Sustainability
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
• Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
• Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
• Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Materials Science
• Ceramics and Glasses
• Composite Materials
• Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
• Nanotechnology
• Browse content in Mathematics
• Applied Mathematics
• Biomathematics and Statistics
• History of Mathematics
• Mathematical Education
• Mathematical Finance
• Mathematical Analysis
• Numerical and Computational Mathematics
• Probability and Statistics
• Pure Mathematics
• Browse content in Neuroscience
• Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
• Development of the Nervous System
• Disorders of the Nervous System
• History of Neuroscience
• Invertebrate Neurobiology
• Molecular and Cellular Systems
• Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
• Neuroscientific Techniques
• Sensory and Motor Systems
• Browse content in Physics
• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Biological and Medical Physics
• Classical Mechanics
• Computational Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
• History of Physics
• Mathematical and Statistical Physics
• Measurement Science
• Nuclear Physics
• Particles and Fields
• Plasma Physics
• Quantum Physics
• Relativity and Gravitation
• Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
• Browse content in Psychology
• Affective Sciences
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Criminal and Forensic Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Health Psychology
• History and Systems in Psychology
• Music Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Organizational Psychology
• Psychological Assessment and Testing
• Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
• Psychology Professional Development and Training
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Human Evolution
• Medical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Theory and Practice of Anthropology
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Business Ethics
• Business History
• Business Strategy
• Business and Technology
• Business and Government
• Business and the Environment
• Comparative Management
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Health Management
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial and Employment Relations
• Industry Studies
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business
• Knowledge Management
• Management and Management Techniques
• Operations Management
• Organizational Theory and Behaviour
• Pensions and Pension Management
• Public and Nonprofit Management
• Strategic Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Forms of Crime
• International and Comparative Criminology
• Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
• Development Studies
• Browse content in Economics
• Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
• Asian Economics
• Behavioural Finance
• Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
• Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
• Economic History
• Economic Methodology
• Economic Systems
• Economic Development and Growth
• Financial Markets
• Financial Institutions and Services
• General Economics and Teaching
• Health, Education, and Welfare
• History of Economic Thought
• International Economics
• Labour and Demographic Economics
• Law and Economics
• Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
• Microeconomics
• Public Economics
• Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
• Welfare Economics
• Browse content in Education
• Adult Education and Continuous Learning
• Care and Counselling of Students
• Early Childhood and Elementary Education
• Educational Equipment and Technology
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Higher and Further Education
• Organization and Management of Education
• Philosophy and Theory of Education
• Schools Studies
• Secondary Education
• Teaching of a Specific Subject
• Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
• Teaching Skills and Techniques
• Browse content in Environment
• Applied Ecology (Social Science)
• Climate Change
• Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environment)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
• Browse content in Human Geography
• Cultural Geography
• Economic Geography
• Political Geography
• Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
• Communication Studies
• Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
• Browse content in Politics
• African Politics
• Asian Politics
• Chinese Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Elections and Electoral Studies
• Environmental Politics
• European Union
• Foreign Policy
• Gender and Politics
• Human Rights and Politics
• Indian Politics
• International Relations
• International Organization (Politics)
• International Political Economy
• Irish Politics
• Latin American Politics
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Behaviour
• Political Economy
• Political Institutions
• Political Theory
• Political Methodology
• Political Communication
• Political Philosophy
• Political Sociology
• Politics and Law
• Public Policy
• Public Administration
• Quantitative Political Methodology
• Regional Political Studies
• Russian Politics
• Security Studies
• State and Local Government
• UK Politics
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• East Asian Studies
• Japanese Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Native American Studies
• Scottish Studies
• Browse content in Research and Information
• Research Methods
• Browse content in Social Work
• Addictions and Substance Misuse
• Adoption and Fostering
• Care of the Elderly
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
• Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
• Emergency Services
• Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
• International and Global Issues in Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Justice and Human Rights
• Social Policy and Advocacy
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Social Work Macro Practice
• Social Work Practice Settings
• Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
• Welfare and Benefit Systems
• Browse content in Sociology
• Childhood Studies
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Organizations
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Sport and Leisure
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Browse content in Warfare and Defence
• Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
• Land Forces and Warfare
• Military Administration
• Military Life and Institutions
• Naval Forces and Warfare
• Other Warfare and Defence Issues
• Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
• Weapons and Equipment

• < Previous chapter
• Next chapter >

31 Local Government

KC Sivaramakrishnan was the Chairman of the Governing Board, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi.

This chapter remained unfinished at the time of the author’s death. A substantial draft had been written, and the final version was edited and completed by Raeesa Vakil. The author was formerly the Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, and wanted it to be noted that as one among others involved in the drafting of the Seventy-fourth Amendment, he shares in the responsibility for the deficiencies in the drafting of the Amendment.

• Published: 06 February 2017
• Cite Icon Cite
• Permissions Icon Permissions

This chapter examines the constitutional framework for the structure of local government in India, particularly the background, scope, and content of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments, 1992 to the Indian Constitution. The Seventy-third Amendment required States to create self-governing, elected village councils, or panchayats , while the Seventy-fourth Amendment required the creation of elected municipalities in urban areas. The history of local self-government in India is discussed, before turning to a discussion of the constitutional position of local government in the country after Independence. The constitutional and statutory provisions on local government are considered, along with the motivations and the context behind the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments. The chapter explores issues of structure and implementation in local government, the functions and powers of local governments, and the case of industrial townships. Finally, it evaluates the functions and powers of local bodies and their place in the federal framework.

I. Introduction

The structure of local government in India has been the subject of a series of legal and political contestations, beginning from colonial rule and continuing to the independent modern State. The colonial Indian State embraced franchise in local governments while simultaneously withholding financial autonomy, reinforcing Lord Ripon’s claim that they were administratively irrelevant, and ‘designed as … instrument[s] of political and popular education’. 1 In framing the modern Indian republic’s Constitution, the Constituent Assembly was split between Gandhi’s vision of Panchayati Raj —a State constituted of and governed by idealised, democratic self-governing village councils ( panchayats ) and Ambedkar’s equally compelling understanding of the Indian village as a ‘a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism’. 2 The current constitutional framework is an elaborate exercise in creating, constituting, and electing local governments, without directly devolving powers to them. Such powers are left, constitutionally, to States to devolve by legislation; as a consequence, although local representation has been achieved, we are still struggling to attain local self-government.

This chapter examines the background, scope, and content of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments 1992 to the Indian Constitution. The Seventy-third Amendment compelled States to create self-governing, elected panchayats (village councils) across the nation, while the Seventy-fourth Amendment implemented similar requirements for urban areas, by requiring the creation of elected municipalities.

In the twenty-three years since the introduction of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Amendments, Indian States have made slow and varying progress towards establishing local self-governing bodies, and devolving powers to them for local government. The process of devolution, both politically and financially, has been the subject of a number of analyses; however, the legal effects of these amendments remain largely unexamined. This chapter provides a brief introduction to the legal questions and issues that arise from the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments, their framing, and implementation.

Section II of this chapter lays out the motivations and the context behind the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments, which formalised local government in rural and urban India, respectively. Section III focuses on issues of structure and implementation in local government. Section IV discusses the functions and powers of local governments, and finally, Section V contains a conclusion and examines the effectiveness of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments.

II. Establishing Representative Local Self-Government in India: A Brief History

1. indigenous and colonial local government.

Local government in India has had a long indigenous and colonial history. 3 The traditional system of local self-government in villages, by unelected councils, continued through the Mughal Empire, 4 and urban government operated through delegated representatives of sovereign authorities. Early attempts to establish a formal structure for local government under colonial rule were seen as a project to inculcate democracy. Lord Ripon, as stated above, when passing a resolution for the creation of urban local bodies in 1882, viewed them primarily as ‘an instrument of political and popular education’. 5

Although local councils had been established by charter prior to this, Lord Ripon’s resolution saw the introduction of limited franchise and representation for Indians on governing bodies in colonial cities. 6 Steps for financial decentralisation were also implemented by the former Viceroy of India, Lord Mayo (1870); 7 the local bodies were constituted by the former Viceroy of India, Lord Ripon (1882), 8 as well as the Recommendations of the Royal Commission on Decentralisation (1909), 9 making local self-government fully representative and responsible. However, these were not pursued aggressively until 1919, when reforms implemented by the British Secretary of State, Edwin Montagu, along with the then Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, resulted in local self-government becoming a subject under the control of provincial governments.

The 1919 model was replicated to an extent in the Government of India Act 1935, which permitted provinces to control local government without creating a common legal structure or status for them. Essentially, colonial local self-governments were, as Sunil Khilnani describes them, ‘theatres of Independence’, 10 allowing Indian politicians to gain representation and experience in the processes of parliamentary democracy; however, their powers, finances, and functions were limited and controlled by provincial and State legislatures and Central authorities.

When debating local government while framing the Constitution, several members of the Indian Constituent Assembly such as Arun Chandra Guha, KT Shah, RK Sidhwa, and others urged that the village panchayats (governing councils in villages) should be formally recognised as units of government, should be financially empowered, and should be the basic units of provincial governments. 11 A wide spectrum of members supported this position 12 and invoked the views of Gandhi, who had famously advocated a State constituted of independent and self-sufficient ‘village republics’ 13 (commonly described as Panchayati Raj or rule by the village councils).

There was, however, equal opposition to the notion, led primarily by Dr BR Ambedkar, who chaired the Drafting Committee for the Indian Constitution. Dr Ambedkar insisted that panchayats or local self-government bodies did not merit separate mention as entities of the State, famously describing the typical Indian village as ‘a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism’. 14 A proposed amendment to implement Panchayati Raj in a staggered fashion, moved by Dr KT Shah, did not succeed. 15

Eventually, to break the impasse, a compromise formula was worked out by K Santhanam, and supported by Ananthasayanam Ayyangar. 16 They proposed that a provision should be made in the Directive Principles of State Policy 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 Directive Principles of State Policy, constituting Chapter IV of the Indian Constitution, are unenforceable recommendations for the governance of India. The draft Article 31A proposed by them became what is currently Article 40 in the Constitution:

Organisation of village panchayats.—The State shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government. 17 17 Constitution of India 1950, art 40.

As an unenforceable provision, this had limited value, and moreover, wholly ignored urban local governments. To allow States to legislate on these issues, List II of Schedule VII of the Constitution, which allocates legislative powers to the States, was provided with Entry 5, which gives States the power to legislate on:

Local government, that is to say, the constitution and powers of municipal corporations, improvement trusts, district boards, mining settlement authorities and other local authorities for the purpose of local self-government or village administration. 18 18 Constitution of India 1950, Entry 5, List 2, Schedule 7.

The power to control local governments, therefore, was vested almost entirely with States; a position that is purported to have been altered by the grant of constitutional status to panchayats and municipalities, but remains, effectively, the same, despite the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments.

2. Local Government in Independent India

The constitutional position of this subordinate status of local government remained the same for many years. Local bodies remained under the control of State Governments and lacked independent constitutional footing. They were, consequently, subject to repeated supersession and interference in their functioning by States, and were also financially dependent on the States. 19

By the mid-1960s about 60,000 village panchayats , 7,500 panchayat samitis , and 330 Zilla Parishads had been set up across the country. In some States, local acts such as the Madras Panchayats Act 1958 and Madras District Development Council Act 1958 for Tamil Nadu, resulted in the creation of panchayat unions, coterminus with development blocks, entrusting to them developmental and social welfare functions. The District Boards were replaced by District Development Councils, which acted as advisory bodies. In Maharashtra, the Bombay Panchayats Act 1958 and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act 1961 created a three-tier system. Though these Acts envisaged an impressive list of duties and functions to be allocated to local governments, various problems in actual implementation were encountered partly because of frequent political changes. 20

In regard to urban local bodies, again, the position was worse. Most municipalities across the country were vulnerable to supersession by State Governments, irrespective of the political party, which was in power in the States. Indeed, the phenomenon of supersession began soon after Independence, when the Calcutta Corporation was superseded in 1948. The Madras Corporation was superseded in 1973, which lasted for twenty-four years. Another notorious example is the municipality of Gaya, which was set up in 1985 but was placed immediately under suspension and run by an administrator. Sixteen years later, in 2001, judicial intervention finally compelled the State Government to hold elections for the Municipal Corporation of Gaya. 21

In 1986, the government appointed a committee chaired by eminent jurist LM Singhvi to assess the gaps and anomalies brought out by experience in regard to the rural and urban local bodies. 22 The Singhvi Committee recommended that local self-government should be constitutionally recognised, protected, and preserved by the inclusion of a new chapter in the Constitution. The Committee further recommended that Panchayati Raj institutions should be constitutionally proclaimed as the third tier of the government.

3. Constitutional Amendments for Local Government

In 1988, the Government of India, then headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, amplified the Singhvi Committee’s recommendations and used them to advance some important objectives. This approach was evident in various speeches made by the Prime Minister, in different public functions. For example, in the inaugural function of the Golden Jubilee of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly held in Bombay on 3 September 1988, Rajiv Gandhi observed that ‘the transmission of democracy and development to the levels where the bulk of the people lived required a national debate and if necessary an amendment to the Constitution’. 23

Another important objective, as mentioned before, was to increase the number of persons holding elected office in the country. Introducing the Constitution (Sixty-fourth) Amendment Bill 24 on Panchayati Raj in the House of the People on 15 May 1989, Rajiv Gandhi observed that putting together both Houses of Parliament and all the State legislatures, the State had only between 5,000 and 6,000 persons representing a population of nearly 800 million. He envisaged that democracy in the panchayats on the same basis of sanctity as enjoyed by Parliament and the State legislature would bring in about seven lakh elected representatives. This would ensure the holding of regular and periodic elections and also provide for the reservation of Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes on par with Parliament and the State legislatures.

Though Rajiv Gandhi obtained a resolution of different State legislatures as envisaged in Article 252, requesting Parliament to enact a law on the subject, some States, such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, strongly objected to Parliament embarking on this enactment. 25 The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, for instance, stated in his letter:

This State Government is not agreeable to the suggestion to transfer the subject entrusted to the State Governments under Entry 5 in the State List in the Constitution of India, to the Central List. The suggestion to entrust the conducting of Municipal Elections to the Election Commission is also not acceptable to us . . . I would like to observe on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, our government will not agree to the amendment of the Constitution which amounts to taking away the rights of State Governments. 26

The Sixty-fourth Constitution Amendment Bill for panchayats was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 15 May 1989 and the Sixty-fifth Constitution Amendment Bill for nagarpalikas (municipalities) was introduced on 8 August 1989. On 10 August, the Lok Sabha passed the Bills. However, on 13 October 1989 both the Bills were defeated in the Rajya Sabha. Late in 1989 the National Front government was formed, with VP Singh as Prime Minister. On 4 September 1990, the government introduced in the Lok Sabha a composite Bill of Constitution Amendment (No 156 of 1990). On 7 November, the government itself fell. On 21 May 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. On 21 June, the Narasimha Rao government was sworn in. That government declared that it would revive the Panchayati Raj initiative, and on 16 September two separate Bills were introduced as the Seventy-second and Seventy-third Constitution Amendment Bills. Both were referred to two Joint Parliamentary Committees. While there were some important differences between the Seventy-second and the Seventy-third Bills introduced as compared to the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Bills, the two Joint Parliamentary Committees significantly amplified the provisions and finalised the recommendations in July 1992.

On 22 December and 23 December 1992, the Amendment Bills with the recommendations of the JPC were considered and passed in the Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha, respectively. In April 1993 both the Amendment Acts, renumbered as the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments, received the assent of the President and became law.

III. Local Government in the Constitution and in Statutes

1. overview of constitutional and statutory provisions on local government.

In this part, an outline of constitutional and statutory provisions for local government in India is provided. It also covers the structure and composition of local governments, provisions for elections, representations, and electoral reservations, their duration and suspension, and the conduct of elections to local bodies.

The Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments introduced Part IX (entitled ‘The Panchayats’) and Part IXA (entitled ‘The Municipalities’) into the Constitution. The most significant aspect of these amendments is that they do not, in fact, mandate the implementation of self-government. Rather, they mandate the creation of local self-governing bodies, but leave the question of delegating powers and functions to these bodies to State legislatures. Articles 243G and 243W both provide that ‘the Legislature of a State, may, by law, endow … ’ the panchayats and municipalities with powers and functions. Similarly, the financing of local bodies is provided for by the Constitution of State Finance Commissions in Articles 243I and 243Y, which recommend distribution of funds to the State. The State, in turn, determines allocation to local bodies.

The remaining provisions of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments contain detailed structural requirements on the structure, elections to, and representation in local self-government bodies. The product of this rather dichotomous drafting has led to a large body of litigation that focuses on local representation , and comparatively little that focuses on local government . It must be noted, in addition, that certain parts of India, in keeping with the Constitution, are not governed by Parts IX and IXA. Three exceptions operate: Union Territories, which are directly administered by the Centre, are subject to these provisions but can be exempted in part or whole by the President; 27 certain areas listed in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution are exempted, 28 although Parliament and State legislatures can resolve to extend the constitutional provisions of local government to these areas. 29 Finally, cantonment areas fall under the control of defence forces and the Ministry of Defence. 30

Even as Parts IX and IXA of the Constitution provide for the constitution of local government bodies, States retain the power to frame laws that implement these parts, and govern how these bodies function, and what powers they assume. This power is drawn from Entry 5 of Schedule VII of the Constitution, which makes local government a subject for exclusive legislation by the States. State legislatures have therefore accumulated a plethora of laws on local government, both rural and urban, that pre-dated the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments.

It is common for States to have specific statutes for urban and rural local government bodies (eg, the Tripura Panchayats Act 1993 and the Tripura Municipalities Act 1994). State Governments may, in addition, have specific acts for different types of local governments in rural or urban areas; for instance, the Karnataka Municipalities Act 1964 provides for smaller municipalities, while the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act 1976 provides for larger municipal areas. In the case of larger cities, States may frame a specific statute for that city to enable it to address specific governance issues: for instance, the city of Mumbai’s corporation is governed by the much-amended Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888, while the City of Panaji Corporation Act 2002 makes specific provisions for the capital city of the State of Goa.

With the passing of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Amendments, a minimal level of uniformity was brought into varying patterns of local governments across States. Consequently, Articles 243N and 243ZF allowed these existing State laws to continue after Parts IX and IXA were inserted in the Constitution, for a period of only one year, unless they were repealed or amended to be brought into conformity with the new constitutional provisions.

Inevitably, the compliance—or lack thereof—of State laws with the constitutional provisions has formed a rich source of litigation at the High Courts and at the Supreme Court. 31 The Supreme Court has tended to endorse the powers of the State legislatures to legislate beyond the provisions of Parts IX and IXA of the Constitution—in Bhanumathi v State of Uttar Pradesh , Ganguly J held that the State could legislate to allow for no-confidence motions against the heads of panchayats even though the Seventy-third Amendment is silent on whether this is allowed. The power of States to legislate on local government, he pointed out, drew from Entry 5 of List II of Schedule VII, which remained in the Constitution despite the passing of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments. Consequently, the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments do not prevent State legislatures from legislating on local government; rather, they allow States to legislate on all issues pertaining to them so long as the minimum requirements of these amendments are met.

2. The Structure and Composition of Local Government Bodies

The Constitution, in Parts IX and IXA, lays down a broad outline for the structure of local bodies. In doing so, these two parts create a baseline on which States may legislate to provide for variations to account for their individual populations, social structures, economies, and political frameworks. It is accurate to say that while the legal structure of local government bodies across India is not uniform, there are some uniform characteristics laid out by the Constitution.

The creation of rural and urban local bodies is mandatory. Article 243B says, ‘There shall be constituted in every State, Panchayats at the village, intermediate, and district levels … ’ 32 and similar language in Article 243Q provides for the constitution of municipalities in urban areas. Like panchayats at the village, intermediate, and district levels, municipalities are of three kinds: nagar panchayats (city panchayats ) for areas that are transitioning from rural to urban; municipal councils for smaller urban areas; and municipal corporations for larger urban areas. State legislatures ultimately determine how these categories are defined, although in Article 243Q the Constitution does provide some guidelines for this. 33

3. The Case of Industrial Townships: Subverting Representative Local Government

Although Article 243Q compels the constitution of municipalities in urban areas, a most obnoxious provision was introduced by a proviso to Article 243Q, allowing that a municipality may not be constituted in an urban area if the municipal services are proposed to be provided by an industrial establishment, in which case the area may be specified as an industrial township. This proviso was not a part of the draft introduced in Parliament, neither did it come up for consideration at all in the Joint Parliamentary Committee.

In 2009, a request for information was filed under the Right to Information Act 2005, to the Ministry of Urban Development. 34 This request sought information on the inclusion of this proviso to Article 243Q and sought to know, inter alia, whether this proviso was originally contained in the Bill, whether it was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee that reviewed the Bill, and whether any corporation had requested its inclusion. The response from the Ministry of Urban Development, received through letters dated 6 March 2009 (initial response) and 16 April 2009 (response on first appeal) has revealed that the then Chief Minister of Orissa, Biju Patnaik, and another Union Minister requested Prime Minister Narasimha Rao by a letter dated 20 November 1992 to consider excluding industrial townships from the purview of the amendment. Responding to this suggestion, a so-called political consensus was arrived at in haste and the proviso was introduced as a government motion at the stage of consideration of the Bill. 35

Given the fact that a Joint Parliamentary Committee had given its recommendations on the Bill already, this single clause ‘introduced by the Government’ did not attract any attention and the Bill was passed. Though the Joint Parliamentary Committee on local government as well as the government-appointed Commission on Administrative Reforms has decried this arrangement of exclusion, the Government of India itself (Ministry of Commerce) advised various States to actively take advantage of the proviso and exempt industrial townships and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) from municipal purview. The Tata Nagar Steel Township in the Jamshedpur area has been the longest-standing effort to resist municipalisation.

The ‘industrial township’ proviso has been used to great effect by the Indian government to exclude what are known as SEZs from the purview of local government. The Special Economic Zones Act 2005 provides no role for local bodies, and only allocates functions between the State and Centre. Instead, these areas are to be governed by a ‘Board of Approval’ 36 and Development Commissioners for various sub-zones inside the SEZ. 37 Local bodies are not represented the management of SEZs. The loophole that the proviso to Article 243Q provides is therefore used to appoint real estate bodies, industrial councils, and industrial corporations as the heads of local government. 38 This has the effect of not only disenfranchising the residents of these zones, but also preventing them from participating in decisions that affect their daily lives.

The key example of this industrial township exception is the town of Jamshedpur, which has been run in this manner since 1922 by various entities that ultimately became Tata Steel. 39 When the Seventy-fourth Amendment came into force, a number of persons filed petitions seeking the constitution of a municipality and the conduct of elections. The issue here was that the Bihar and Orissa Municipal Act 1922, which originally governed this area, allowed for the creation of a ‘notified area committee’ composed of an industrial company, to govern an area in which an industrial establishment was located. Subsequent to the Seventy-fourth Amendment, this was deleted, to bring the Act in conformity with the amendment. The State could now declare an area to be an industrial township and exempt it from elected local government under Article 243Q, or create a municipality. In the High Court of Jharkhand, SJ Mukhopadhyay J had held that a valid notification of an industrial township had not been issued, and consequently, the State was directed to constitute a municipality or an industrial township in the manner provided by law. 40 The case was appealed and is still pending before the Supreme Court, and has not been concluded. 41 Key questions concerning the validity of laws permitting the exemption of local government from industrial areas continue to remain unresolved. Very recently, in response to a Supreme Court direction, a meeting of public representatives in Tata Nagar preferred to remain under the Tata Company’s private management rather than come under a municipality requiring payment of taxes. 42

Similar facts arose when the Seventy-fourth Amendment was implemented in the State of Gujarat. Like Jamshedpur, the capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, was a notified area under the Gujarat Municipalities Act 1963. When the Act was amended to remove notified area committees and required the constitution of an industrial township, the State Government failed to respond, and no municipality or industrial township was constituted. Accordingly, a suit was filed in the Gujarat High Court seeking a writ directing the State to constitute a municipality. 43 KS Radhakrishnan CJ held that ‘by non-formation of the Municipal Corporation at Gandhinagar, the constitutional requirement … has been given a complete go-bye’. 44

The inclusion of the proviso to Article 243Q also leaves open a number of constitutional issues that are yet to be decided. Can the corporate entities running an industrial township exercise sovereign functions that a municipality can—the levy of fees and taxes, etc? Can the term ‘industrial establishment’ be extended to any non-State body that acts as a promoter of an industrial area? Would it extend to real estate development agencies, which are geared towards disposing of the land and not supplying essential services? These questions remain open and unanswered.

The Supreme Court has only briefly touched upon these issues. In Saij Gram Panchayat v State of Gujarat , 45 the Supreme Court considered the question of whether the creation of an industrial township out of rural areas was contrary to the Constitution. Sujata Manohar J held that although industrial areas would be generally constituted in urban areas, this would include areas that were transitioning from rural areas to urban areas. The key issues that arise from the proviso to Article 243Q, accordingly, remain unanswered.

Today there are more than 500 entities in the country that are presently beyond municipal purview, including private development companies exercising sovereign powers as an industrial township. It is likely that this trend will continue. 46 As a result, the proviso to Article 243Q brought by the government itself has rendered a mortal blow to the very essence of setting up municipalities in urban areas as institutions of self-government.

4. The Composition of Local Bodies: Franchise and Representation

The most significant changes that Parts IX and IXA introduced to local bodies were the constitutional recognition of elected local representatives and adult franchise for the same. 47 The scale of representation is extraordinary; more than three million persons are elected to panchayats and municipalities across the country. 48

Articles 243C and 243R provide for the composition of municipalities and panchayats whose members are to be chosen by direct elections from territorial constituencies. The principle that guides these elections is that the ratio of the territorial area of the local body to the number of seats it elects should be, as far as possible, the same throughout a State. Beyond this, State legislatures are empowered to make specific provisions for the election of chairpersons, for inclusion of other elected representatives such as Members of Parliament or State Legislative Assemblies.

An important major constitutional issue, which has so far not been agitated specifically, is the provision allowing members of the Union and State legislatures to be members of local bodies as well. Dual membership in Union and State legislatures is prohibited in Article 101 of the Constitution. 49 In the case of local bodies, however, this prohibition does not exist, and States are explicitly given powers to legislate for the representation of members of Union and State legislatures in local bodies, provided they are from the territorial constituency of those local bodies. 50 The prohibition on dual membership of State and Union legislatures is because both these bodies are considered on a par in constitutional status and are expected to operate exclusively in the domain as provided in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. If the basic intention of setting up Panchayati Raj and nagarpalika bodies as institutions of self-government on a par with Parliament and the State legislature was that they should exercise their functional domain in keeping with the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules of the Constitution, there is no reason why these bodies alone should be subjected to the double membership of the Members of Parliament and members of the State legislature. 51

Though the validity of persons holding such dual membership has not been specifically challenged, in a number of cases in the State High Courts, the nature and extent of powers under this membership have been questioned. In some cases it has been held that MPs and State legislators are invitees to the local bodies and do not have the right to vote as elected members. 52 In some others it has been held they do have voting rights. 53 In the celebrated case relating to the MP’s Local Area Development scheme, which was heard over several years by the Supreme Court, a kind of non-judgment eventually became available, stating that the division of executive power as between the government and the legislature was not clear in the Indian Constitution and as such there seemed to be no bar on legislators entering upon the executive domain or being substantially involved in the implementation of local schemes, 54 though most of these schemes fall under the purview of local bodies.

In addition to the above constitutional provisions, local bodies were given fixed tenures; 55 and State Election Commissions were created to conduct elections for them. 56 State Finance Commissions were constituted to advise on their finances 57 and rules for reservations of seats for backward classes, castes, and women were introduced. 58 As with the structure and composition, these aspects of local government are left partly to the discretion of States, to be implemented through State legislation. For instance, disqualifications for membership of local bodies through elections are to be specified by State law. 59

States have made significant modifications to laws governing representation, particularly when it comes to reserving seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes. Articles 243D and 243T require that no less than one-third of the total seats in local bodies, including one-third of the reserved seats, are to be further reserved for women. Some States, such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa, and Chhattisgarh, have increased this to 50 per cent of seats for women, in urban local bodies. Moreover, reservations for Other Backward Castes are left to the States to determine, and consequently, conflicts over the amount of reservation and how it is calculated have frequently resulted in legal disputes.

A second, significant source of conflict has been over the interpretation of fixed tenure for local bodies. As local bodies operate almost entirely under State control, a common problem has been the suspension of elected local bodies in the course of political maneouvring, and their replacement by an unelected ‘administrator’ by State Governments. In the Statement of Objects and Reasons that introduced the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments, specific reference was made to this problem, noting that ‘In many States local bodies have become weak and ineffective on account of a variety of reasons, including the failure to hold regular elections, prolonged supersessions and inadequate devolution of powers and functions.’ 60

Articles 243E and 243U attempt to remedy this by providing that local bodies have fixed tenures of five years. Elections must be held before the end of or within six months of the end of this period. States often claim delays in the conduct of elections for local bodies on the grounds of incomplete delimitation of constituencies after increases in population. 61 Early in 2015, the Karnataka State Government claimed that it was unable to hold elections for the capital city of Bengaluru, since it proposed to trifurcate Bengaluru’s municipal corporation. This, the State argued, would require fresh delimitation, and until such delimitation took place, elections had to be postponed, and the municipality administered by a State official. The State Government was eventually compelled by the High Court of Karnataka to proceed with elections regardless of future proposals for municipal restructuring. 62 Courts have generally disallowed delays such as this, usually holding that in such instances, elections should be held on the basis of the previous, existing delimitation. This is an uneasy compromise, as it often results in insufficient representation to burgeoning populations of reserved categories. 63

5. The Conduct of Elections to Local Bodies

In all the three draft amendment Bills that preceded the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments, it was proposed that an autonomous election commission be constituted. This body was to deal with the entire range of electoral functions for local bodies, such as delimitation, reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, conduct and superintendence of elections, and other connected matters. 64

Provisions for the State Election Commissions were based almost entirely on the provision of the Central Election Commission. 65 The Election Commission in India, as a fiercely independent body, has resisted attempts on the part of the government to interfere with its ability to regulate and conduct elections. 66 Given the fact that the State Election Commissions are very much a clone of the Central Election Commission, it was expected that the same level of independence would apply.

Nevertheless, in several of the States, governments have encroached upon the jurisdiction of the State Election Commission and taken over some of the powers. For instance, in Chanigappa v State of Karnataka , 67 the Karnataka High Court held that the State Government could take over some functions of the State Election Commission, such as delimitation of constituencies, since these functions preceded the electoral process and were not a part of it. This in turn has invariably delayed the timely holding of elections and resulted in extensive litigation. The composition, inclusion, and exclusion of members from electoral rolls are frequently challenged, as are the delimitation of constituencies, and the powers exercised by the State Election Commissions. 68

It must be noted, however, that the Constitution, in an attempt to control the vast amount of litigation generated by electoral processes in local bodies, had barred the jurisdiction of courts in any disputes concerning the validity of laws relating to delimitation, allotment of seats to constituencies, or that call into question the elections to any local bodies by allowing States to legislate and create alternative appellate bodies. 69 Courts do, however, interfere when State electoral appeals processes do not allow remedies in specific circumstances, or when there have been instances of violations of fundamental rights. 70 While a systematically applied test has not yet evolved, the formulation of the Delhi High Court in Chand Kumar v Union of India 71 demonstrates how courts apply their powers in writ jurisdiction to overcome the prohibition on jurisdiction. In this case, R Lahoti J held that:

This Court has not been called upon to examine the validity of any law relating to delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies made or purporting to be made under Article 243ZG. Any delimitation if it falls foul of the statutory power under which it purports to have been made and smacks of arbitrariness, whim or fancy, offensive of Article 14 of the Constitution then it is open to judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution on the well established parameters. 72 72 Chand Kumar (n 71 ) [20].

The irregularly applied test in Article 243ZG, coupled with a lack of clarity on the powers of the State Election Commissions, continues to lead to litigation in courts. While the conduct of local elections on a massive scale in India is laudable, there are still some issues, such as these, which require clarity, either by judicial or legislative intervention.

IV. The Functions and Powers of Local Bodies and their Place in the Federal Framework

1. failures in devolution and the rise of parallel bodies.

The most significant lacuna in the constitutional framework on local government is that the transfer of various State functions, such as the management of health, local education, sanitation, and housing, has been not directly implemented in Parts IX and IXA of the Constitution. Subjects that could be transferred to local bodies were listed in two Schedules to the Constitution, with the provision that States could, through State law, transfer these functions from the State Government to local bodies. 73 Neither Article 243G (dealing with panchayats ) or Article 243W (dealing with municipalities) makes the transfer of functions mandatory.

I have argued before that the language of Articles 243G and 243W creates an obligation on States to devolve powers and responsibilities listed in Schedules XI and XII by framing laws. The only leeway granted to States is the manner in which the statutes for devolvement are framed. 74 This view is not taken by the courts, which have held, by and large, that State legislatures have leeway not just on how and when power devolves to local bodies, but on whether to devolve such power at all. 75 The Allahabad High Court, for instance, has clearly held that Article 243G is ‘only an enabling provision. It enables the State Legislature endow panchayats with certain powers … the legislature of a State is not bound to endow the panchayats with the powers referred to in Article 243G and it is in its discretion to do so or not.’ 76 In Andhra Pradesh, a challenge raised to State laws that provided for incomplete devolution was rejected by the majority in Ranga Reddy District Sarpanches Association v Andhra Pradesh . 77 The petitioners, an association of panchayat chairpersons, argued that Article 243G was mandatory, compelling States to devolve powers. PS Narayana J, for the majority held:

A careful analysis of the Article makes it clear that the directives envisaged by Article 243G are discretionary in nature. Hence the contention that Article 243G and Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution had conditioned the Legislative power of the State in Article 246 and Seventh Schedule, cannot be accepted … The power of the State Legislature to legislate on a subject relating to an entry in State List or Concurrent List is well governed by specific provisions and hence it cannot be said that by introduction of Article 243G by 73rd Constitutional Amendment, the power to legislate relating to those entries is in any way curtailed … 78 78 Ranga Reddy District Sarpanches Association (n 77 ) [21]–[22].

The failure to devolve functions to local bodies has led to States replacing them with parallel executive bodies that carry out the same functions. For instance, although the management of water supply can be transferred to municipalities under Item 5, Schedule XI, it has become increasingly common for States to constitute executive-controlled Water Boards to manage these. 79 This is most common in questions of planning—although Part IXA provides for the constitution of district and metropolitan planning committees, 80 and for the delegation of planning powers to municipalities, 81 it is almost ubiquitous for States to have ‘Development Agencies’ that take on this function.

A challenge to the diversion of planning functions from representative local bodies to executive ones was raised in Bondu Ramaswamy v Bangalore Development Authority (2010) 7 SCC 129. In a much criticised judgment, 82 the Supreme Court endorsed an act of the Karnataka State legislature that effectively removed town planning powers from the elected municipality for the city of Bengaluru and vested them in an executive-controlled ‘Development Authority’. 83 The challenge related to Article 243ZF, which allows laws predating the constitutional amendments on local government to continue only if they comply with the amendments.

The Court held, somewhat confusingly, that:

The benefit of Article 243ZF is available only in regard to laws relating to ‘municipalities’ … neither any city improvement trust nor any development authority is a municipality, referred to in Article 243ZF. Thus Article 243ZF has no relevance to test the validity of the BDA Act or any provision thereof. 84 84 Bondu Ramaswamy (n 83 ) [42] (RV Raveendran J).

Bondu Ramaswamy ’s case effectively implies that the State can legitimately restrict the powers of elected local self-government bodies by simply constituting another body and vesting powers in it. Such alternative bodies do not fall afoul of the Constitution, because they are not local self-government bodies.

Subsequent challenges to the diversion of local functions have failed, as the Supreme Court and High Courts, bound by Bondu Ramaswamy ’s precedent and the wording of Parts IX and IXA, can neither authorise nor compel devolution. Thus, although Articles 243G and 243W envisage that the State will enable local bodies to ‘function as institutions of self-government’ the Supreme Court has found this an insufficient mandate to interfere with the State’s legislative powers to devolve functions at its own pace.

2. Financing Local Bodies: Powers of Taxation

Part of the incapacity of local bodies to function effectively stems from their inability to raise finances of their own. Articles 243H and 2343X, formulated in similar language, make it amply clear that any powers of taxation that local bodies have must be devolved upon them by State legislatures. The State Finance Commissions, constituted under Articles 243I and 243Y, are then authorised to recommend to State Governments the principles on which the revenue so collected is distributed between the State and local governments. The starvation of finances in local bodies has led to at least one instance of a court ordering the State to release funds that will enable a municipality to pay its dues to its employees. 85 Attempts by municipalities to levy taxes on areas where powers have been devolved have also been successfully challenged, on the ground that the power to tax on subjects even within their control has to be specifically authorised by statutes. 86 The Bombay High Court, in a case where a challenge was raised to the constitutionality of municipal taxation laws in Maharashtra, held that a State could levy taxes on municipal subjects without transferring powers to municipalities. SC Dharmadhikari J held, ‘Eventually, the Municipality derives its power and authority to impose the tax from the law made by the Legislature.’ 87

Consequently, with neither powers nor finances, municipalities and panchayats are almost wholly at the mercy of State Governments. While their elections, constitution, and composition are couched in imperative terms, their functional and financial powers remain limited and optional.

3. India’s Federal Framework and Local Bodies

The changes brought about by the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments were not purely administrative. An important impact of these amendments was on the federal structure of the nation. Historically envisaged as a careful balancing of powers and functions between States and a strong Centre, the addition of a third—constitutionally recognised—level was bound to lead to some confusion about the place of local bodies in the federal identity.

While strengthening of rural and urban local bodies could not be questioned as an objective, conferring on these bodies a status on a par with Parliament and the State legislatures or making them a third tier of the government was fraught with significant constitutional issues. As stated before, the Constitution clearly recognised that all matters connected with rural and urban local bodies were entirely within the legislative and executive jurisdiction of the States as per Entry 5 of the State List in Schedule VII to the Constitution. In order to pass these amendments to the Constitution, the government was obliged to obtain the consent of at least half the States, and it is true that the government did so. 88 It was then left open to the best judgment of the Rajiv Gandhi government to decide to what extent the authorisation by the State legislatures could be stretched.

While the Singhvi Committee had recommended a constitutional amendment to strengthen Panchayati Raj bodies, a subsequent government body, the Sarkaria Commission, was not in favour of this approach. 89 The Sarkaria Commission preferred a model legislation to be prepared by the Government of India or alternatively, that specific support be provided to the various proposals through resolutions of the State Government. It recommended that the Inter-State Council, a constitutional body aimed at facilitating dialogue between the States, should be the forum in which a draft model law could be negotiated, and left to each State to individually adopt. 90 In a major constitutional decision that established the doctrine that parts of the Constitution constitute an unamendable ‘basic structure’, the Supreme Court noted that the Seventh Schedule, allocating power between the Centre and the States, could be ‘rightly said to involve the federal structure and rights of the states’. 91 The implications of this constitutional amendment, therefore—that it would constitute an invasion into the legislative power of the States—is something that the government was doubtless aware of before the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Constitutional Amendments were introduced.

This uneasy position was sought to be resolved by Rajiv Gandhi when in the conference of Chief Ministers on Panchayati Raj held on 5 May 1989 he observed that ‘the Centre and the States share the responsibility for bringing Panchayati Raj to fruition. The constitutional framework for Panchayati Raj is primarily the responsibility of the Centre. The legislative details fall in the province of the States.’ 92 The result was an amendment that provided strictly for certain aspects: such as the regularity of elections, elected representatives, adult franchise—but simultaneously left certain other things to the discretion of the States—the type of management in local bodies, the implementation through legislation, and so on. The consequence of this is that local bodies have the constitutional status of being a third tier of the government, but are simultaneously subordinate to the State Government in several key functions and aspects.

V. Conclusion

In establishing local governments through constitutional amendment, the Indian State has created a constitutional status and broadened local government immensely. However, representation is meaningless without the power to execute decisions taken by a self-governing body. Until devolution of powers to local bodies is complete, the objectives of the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Amendments remain incomplete. This, furthermore, is not a constitutional gap that the courts can fill: as we have seen, States cannot be judicially compelled to devolve powers. The onus therefore is on State Governments to undertake devolution, so that local bodies can operate effectively as governments.

Overall, an assessment of the Seventy-fourth Amendment indicates that notwithstanding the initial objectives of enlarging the funnel of participation and providing for a wider system of directly elected representative bodies, in actual effect the amendment has failed to fulfil this objective. While elaborate provisions operate, nevertheless, in regard to the composition of the municipal bodies including reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, women and bodies like the State Election Commission and State Finance Commission, the total effect is that these bodies have been set up as mere shells without substance. Municipalities continue to be political and financial dependencies of the State with very few powers and responsibilities even in the provision of basic services. Thus, it must be conceded that the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Amendments have been failed attempts to widen and deepen federalism.

Pardeep Sachdeva , Local Government in India (Pearson Education India 2011) 9 .

Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 7 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 39, 4 November 1948 .

See generally, M Venkatarangaiya and M Pattabhiram (eds), Local Government in India (Allied Publishers 1969) ; KC Sivaramakrishnan , Courts, Panchayats and Nagarpalikas (Academic Foundation 2009) .

SN Mallik , ‘Local Self-Government in India’ (1929) 145(2) Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 36–44, 37 .

Mallik (n 4 ) .

‘Lord Mayo’s Resolution on Provincial Finance, 1870, Resolution No 3334, dated 14 December 1870’ in Venkatarangaiya and Pattabhiram (n 3 ) 96–103 .

‘Lord Ripon’s Resolution on Local Government, 1882, dated 20 May 1882’ in Venkatarangaiya and Pattabhiram (n 3 ) 104–18 .

‘Recommendations of the Royal Commission on Decentralisation, 1909’ in Venkatarangaiya and Pattabhiram (n 3 ) 158–66 .

Sunil Khilnani , ‘India’s Theatres of Independence’ (1997) 21(4) The Wilson Quarterly 16–45 .

See the Speech by RK Sidhwa , Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 5 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 335, 30 August 1947 .

See eg, Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 7 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 256–84, 6 November 1948 (K Santhanam, Shibban Lal Saksena, and Arun Chandra Guha) .

These views are primarily contained in a collection of essays entitled ‘Village Swaraj’ (Village Self-Rule). MK Gandhi , Village Swaraj ed HM Vyas (Navjivan Publishing House 1963) .

Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 7 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 39, 4 November 1948 . He was supported by Hussain Imam, Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 7 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 302, 8 November 1948 , and Begum Aizaz Rasul, Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 7 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 305, 8 November 1948 .

Amendment No 129, moved by KT Shah, Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 7 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 426–28, 17 November 1948 .

Amendment No 927, moved by Ananthasayanam Ayyangar and K Santhanam, Constituent Assembly Debates , vol 7 (Lok Sabha Secretariat 1986) 520–27, 22 November 1948 .

See generally, Dr Marina R Pinto , Metropolitan City Governance in India (Sage Publications 2000) .

This has been reported in Nandkishore Singh v State of Bihar (2001) 2 PJLR 672.

Rajiv Gandhi , ‘Three Pillars of Our Nation’ (inaugural function of the Golden Jubilee of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly at Vidhan Bhavan, Bombay, 3 September 1988) in Rajiv Gandhi, Selected Speeches and Writings , vol 4 (Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India 1989) 68–73 .

The Constitution (Sixty-fourth Amendment) Bill (Bill No 50 of 1989, as introduced in the Lok Sabha).

Letters from the Chief Ministers of these States are on file with the author.

On file with the author.

Constitution of India 1950, arts 243L and 243ZB.

Certain Scheduled Areas, listed in the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution, are governed by Autonomous District Councils, created through State legislation. The Sixth Schedule provides for the creation of Autonomous District Councils, which have administrative, legislative, and judicial powers and administer traditional laws to tribal populations.

Constitution of India 1950, arts 243M and 243ZC.

Cantonments Act 1932.

See eg, Bhanumati v State of Uttar Pradesh (2010) 12 SCC 1; Sharanjit Kaur v State of Punjab (2013) 8 SCC 726.

Constitution of India 1950, art 243B (emphasis added).

The Governor of a State, under art 243Q, is advised to take into account the following aspects when determining whether an area is in transition, a smaller urban area, or a larger urban area: the population of the area, the density of population, the revenue generated for local administration, the percentage of population engaged in non-agricultural activities, and the economic importance of the areas.

All documents pertaining to this request, and all responses received are on file with the author.

Copies of the Right to Information request and the documents received in response are on file with the author.

These boards are constituted under the Special Economic Zones Act 2005, s 8(1).

Development Commissioners are appointed under the Special Economic Zones Act 2005, ch 4.

See generally, KC Sivaramakrishnan , Re-Visioning India’s Cities (Sage Publications 2011) 171–74 .

Sivaramakrishnan (n 38 ) 57–58 .

Jawaharlal Sharma v State of Jharkhand AIR 2006 Jhar 135.

Jawaharlal Sharma v State of Jharkhand , Writ Petition No 4388/2003, Supreme Court of India.

Gandhinagar Saher Jagrut Nagrik Parishard v State of Gujarat (2010) 51(1) GLR 1 (Gujarat High Court).

Gandhinagar Saher Jagrut Nagrik Parishard (n 43 ) [9].

(1999) 2 SCC 366.

Art 243C provides this for panchayats , and art 243R for nagarpalikas .

Sivaramakrishnan (n 38 ) 33 .

Constitution of India 1950, art 101. In pursuance of this provision and art 190, the President of India has framed the Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership Rules 1950, which provide for vacation of one post if an elected member holds both.

Arts 243C(3)(c) ( panchayats ) and 243R(2)(iii) (municipalities).

See generally, AK Avasthi , ‘Discouraging Multiple Memberships’ (2002) 37(36) Economic and Political Weekly 3704 .

See eg, the judgment of the Rajasthan High Court in Babu Lal v State of Rajasthan (2006) RLW 4 3121, in which it was held that a no-confidence motion was not invalidated simply because notice had not been supplied to a Member of Parliament, who was on the local body.

In Lakshmappa Kallappa v State of Karnataka AIR 2000 Kar 61 (Karnataka High Court), the Court held that representatives of State and federal legislatures in panchayats had the right to vote for the removal of the head of the panchayat . The Gauhati High Court had a similar holding in Batou v State of Nagaland (2006) 1 GLR 382.

Bhim Singh v Union of India (2010) 5 SCC 538.

Art 243E provides this for panchayats and art 243U for nagarpalikas .

Art 243K provides for the constitution of State Election Commission to conduct panchayat elections, and art 243ZA provides that it will conduct nagarpalika elections as well.

Art 243I provides for the constitution of a State Finance Commissions to make recommendations regarding panchayats and art 243Y provides for similar powers regarding nagarpalikas .

Art 243D provides for reservations in panchayats and art 243T for reservations in nagarpalikas .

Art 243F provides this for panchayats and art 243V for nagarpalikas .

Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act 1992, Statement of Objects and Reasons.

Kishansingh Tomar v Municipal Corporation of the City of Ahmedabad (2006) 8 SCC 352; RM Bagai v Union of India AIR 1994 Del 173 (Delhi High Court); Nandkishore Singh (n 21 ). But see State of Maharashtra v Jalgaon Municipal Council (2003) 9 SCC 731; Kamal Jora v State of Uttarakhand (2013) 9 SCC 396.

CK Ramamurthy v State of Karnataka , Writ Petition No 7939/2015, Order dated 22 June 2015 (Karnataka High Court) (Justice BV Nagarathna).

See eg, Naresh Krishna Gaunekar v State of Goa (2008) 3 Mah LJ 667 (Bombay High Court). For further discussion, see Sivaramakrishnan (n 38 ) ch 4 .

Copies of the drafts bills are on file with the author.

The Central Election Commission is a body with constitutional status, conducting elections to the two houses of the Central Legislature. See Constitution of India 1950, Part XV.

See eg, People’s Union for Civil Liberties v Union of India (2003) 4 SCC 399. See also Chanigappa v State of Karnataka (2000) 6 KLJ 163, in which the Karnataka High Court held that the State Government could take over some functions of the State Election Commission such as delimitation of constituencies, since these functions preceded the electoral process and were not a part of it.

Chanigappa (n 66 ).

I have previously analysed key cases on these several issues relating to local elections in Sivaramakrishnan (n 38 ) 38–42 .

Constitution of India 1950, arts 243ZG and 243O.

Anugrah Narain Singh v State of Uttar Pradesh (1996) 6 SCC 303; Jaspal Singh Arora v State of Madhya Pradesh (1998) 9 SCC 594; Gurdeep Singh Dhillon v Satpal (2006) 10 SCC 616; Kurapati Maria Das v Dr Ambedkar Seva Samajan (2009) 7 SCC 387.

(1997) 40 DRJ 695 (DB) (Delhi High Court).

Art 243G read with Schedule 11 provides this for panchayats , and art 243W read with Schedule 12 provides this for nagarpalikas .

Sivaramakrishnan (n 38 ) 253–54 .

See eg, Satbir Singh v Lt Governor of Delhi (2003) 66 DRJ 775 (DB) (Delhi High Court).

Zila Panchayat, Ghaziabad v State of Uttar Pradesh (2003) 5 AWC 3978 (Allahabad High Court); Raja Ram Mohan Roy Children’s Academy v State of West Bengal (2001) 2 Cal LT 119 (Calcutta High Court); Rama Aggarwal v Union of India (2004) 78 DRJ 579 (DB) (Delhi High Court). See also Shraddha V Chigateri and Ashish A Ahuja, ‘State Inaction Through Law—A Critique of the Constitution (Seventy-third) Amendment Act, 1992’ (1995) 7 Student Advocate 73.

(2004) 1 ALT 659 (Andhra Pradesh High Court).

Eg, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewarage Act 1964; the Kerala Water Supply and Sewerage Act 1986, and the Delhi Water Board Act 1998.

Constitution of India 1950, arts 243ZD and 243ZE.

Constitution of India 1950, Items 1 and 3, Schedule 12.

See eg, KC Sivaramakrishnan , ‘Judicial Setback for Panchayats and Local Bodies’ (2010) 45(32) Economic and Political Weekly 43 .

Bondu Ramaswamy v Bangalore Development Authority (2010) 7 SCC 129.

Bageshwari Kumar v The Chief Executive Officer (Administrator) Municipal Corporation, Gaya (2007) 55(3) BLJR 2755 (Patna High Court).

Bimal Chandra Banerjee v State of Madhya Pradesh (1970) 2 SCC 467; Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority v Sharad Kumar Jayanti Kumar Pasawalla (1992) 3 SCC 285.

Municipal Labour Union v The State of Maharashtra AIR 2015 (NOC 162) 65.

This is required under the constitutional procedure for amendment, specified in art 368 of the Constitution.

Sarkaria Commission Report (n 89 ) para 9.6.06 < http://interstatecouncil.nic.in/Sarkaria/CHAPTERIX.pdf >, accessed November 2015.

Kesavananda Bharati v Union of India (1973) 4 SCC 225 [54] (SM Sikri CJ).

Rajiv Gandhi , ‘Democracy and Development’ (Conference of Chief Ministers on Panchayati Raj, New Delhi, 5 May 1989) in Rajiv Gandhi, Selected Speeches and Writings 1989 , vol 5 (Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India 1991) 155–66 .

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Institutional account management
• Rights and permissions
• Get help with access
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

The Structure of Local Government in India: An Introduction

This entry has been realised in the framework of the H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018 project &quot;LoGov - Local Government and the Changing Urban-Rural Interplay&quot;. LoGov aims to provide solutions for local governments that address the fundamental challenges resulting from urbanisation. To address this complex issue, 18 partners from 17 countries and six continents share their expertise and knowledge in the realms of public law, political science, and public administration. LoGov identifies, evaluates, compares, and shares innovative practices that cope with the impact of changing urban-rural relations in five major local government areas: (1) local responsibilities and public services, (2) local financial arrangements, (3) structure of local government, (4) intergovernmental relations of local governments, and (5) people&#39;s participation in local decision-making. The present entry addresses the structure of local government in India. The entry forms part of the LoGov Report on India. ...

Related Papers

sujitkumar kshirsagar

Prof. Neelima Deshmukh

Journal ijmr.net.in(UGC Approved)

The rhetoric and theory of decentralisation promise better governance and deeper democracy as public officials are held more directly accountable for their actions and as citizens become more engaged in local affairs. Practice over more than twenty one year’s of panchayati raj institutions or local governments in India, however, suggests that new challenges and issues for panchayati raj institutions and democratic decentralisation process. Government of India and Indian States Government are taking actions against these new challenges and issues of local governance but these initiatives and examples are very few. Globalization and the information revolution are motivating a large and growing number of countries around the globe to re-examine the roles of various levels of government and their partnership with the private sector and civil society. These reforms typically involve shifting responsibilities to local governments and beyond government providers, with the objective of strengthening local governance. And majority of states are taking actions again this revolution but local governance we can see as a decentralisation of political power and what questions about fiscal decentralisation, because specially in third world countries are not taking actions for fiscal decentralisation, just because of their own interest and hegemony.Local Governances are trying to involve more and more people at grassroots level for efficient management of economic resources and social upliftment. It is strategy to make government responsive, accountable and democratic.

Rajamanickam Srinivasan

India introduced a constitutionally ‘encouraged’ local governance system at grassroots level in 1950 called Panchayati Raj (PRI). PRIs are now over two decades old forming the third tier of government and carrying huge responsibility as the bridge connecting citizens to governance and delivery mechanisms. With over 65% of India living in its villages, the performance of PRIs is crucial for poverty alleviation, enhancing livelihoods and more importantly attaining distributive justice. This chapter examines local governance in India primarily from three platforms – history, representation and delivery, to see whether its performance matches its promise. Obstacles to the development of PRIs and role of political will to sustain it are deliberated and some suggestions made. In essence, it suggests that democratic decentralization in the model of PRIs can only succeed when institutions function unaffected by party considerations and political citizenship is facilitated through voice and ...

Urban Governance and Local Democracy in South India

Anil Kumar Vaddiraju

Vinod Vyasulu

This paper reflects on some critical issues in the functioning of local self-governments (LSGs), based on India’s experience after the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments of 1992, ratified in 1993 and implemented soon afterward. The first section sets forth some issues about local government that have come to the fore in recent years. The second section discusses 12 conundrums regarding LSGs in India. These puzzles refer to reasons for amending the Constitution to establish LSGs, the artificial division between urban and rural LSGs, the meaning of local self-government in contrast to local government, use of the caste-bound term “panchayat”. the rigid structure of multiple levels of LSGs, whether LSGs are legislative or executive in nature, why reserved elected LSG positions for women are capped at 33 per cent rather than 50 per cent, the deleterious effects of state-government control of the devolution of powers to LSGs, the reluctance of LSG officials to use local tax powers t...

Comparative Studies and Regionally-Focused Cases Examining Local Governments

India introduced a constitutionally ‘encouraged&#39; local governance system at grassroots level in 1950 called Panchayati Raj (PRI). PRIs are now over two decades old forming the third tier of government and carrying huge responsibility as the bridge connecting citizens to governance and delivery mechanisms. With over 65% of India living in its villages, the performance of PRIs is crucial for poverty alleviation, enhancing livelihoods and more importantly attaining distributive justice. This chapter examines local governance in India primarily from three platforms – history, representation and delivery, to see whether its performance matches its promise. Obstacles to the development of PRIs and role of political will to sustain it are deliberated and some suggestions made. In essence, it suggests that democratic decentralization in the model of PRIs can only succeed when institutions function unaffected by party considerations and political citizenship is facilitated through voice ...

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

Asha Sarangi

Professor Anil Kumar Vaddiraju

TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2019.

DR. SAM KURUVILLA

RELATED PAPERS

Didactica Mathematicae

Why Food Matters

Anne Meneley

James Jacobs

Tirtayasa Ekonomika

Rina Purnama

Drustvena Istraživanja

Josip Obradovic

Journal of Museum Education

Lucy Larson

Organic magnetic resonance

Jukka Jokisaari

Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan

Hanna Borodianska

Rasoul Zare

ELECTROPHORESIS

Philip Britz-mckibbin

Cuadernos Latinoamericanos de Administración

Sara Monzón Peña

Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

Tanya Lyons

tânia Borges Ferreira

Australasian Parliamentary Review

Jean-Paul Gagnon

El mundo digital, nuevas oportunidades y desafíos para la marca personal

Andrea Victoria Velasquez Benavides

Journal of Virology

Susan Compton

Journal of Applied &amp; Computational Mathematics

Arif B Prayitno

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Issues with Local Governance in India – Explained, pointwise

ForumIAS announcing GS Foundation Program for UPSC CSE 2025-26 from 27th May. Click Here for more information.

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Evolution of Local Governance in India
• 3 What is the structure of Local Governance in India?
• 4 What are the roles of Panchayati Raj Institution (PRIs)/Local Governance Bodies?
• 5 What are the challenges in working of Local Government Bodies?
• 6 What steps can be taken going ahead?
• 7 Conclusion

Introduction

It is almost 30 years since the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, creating the new Local Governance Framework in India, were made operational in April 1993. The Acts, focused on enabling democratic decentralization, have provisions that devolved a range of powers and responsibilities to local elected bodies and made them accountable to the people for their implementation. The new system of local governance has proved to be remarkably beneficial in some aspects. Yet, there are some lacunae, especially in the implementation of several provisions, which has limited the effectiveness of these reforms.

Evolution of Local Governance in India

There is long evolutionary history of local governance in India. Evidence from the Rig-Veda (1700 BC) shows self-governing village organisations called Sabhas . In time, these bodies became panchayats (council of five). The decentralization of authority was present in the Mauryan to Gupta dynasties. The British also tried to establish decentralized systems, albeit with very little powers. The Ro yal Commission on Decentralization (1907) under the chairmanship of Sir H. W. Primrose recognized the importance of panchayats at the village level. Under the Government of India Act, 1935 Provincial Governments were responsible for local governance. They enacted legislations but little powers were provided to Panchayats 

The framers of the Constitution of India included Article 40 among the Directive Principles : “The state shall 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”. Four committees (between 1957 to 1986) conceptualised local self-government in India; Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957), the Ashok Mehta Committee (1977–1984), GVK Rao Committee (1985), and the LM Singhvi Committee (1986).

Eventually, the local Governance was given Constitutional Status with the 73rd/74th Constitutional Amendment Acts in 1992. The Amendment Acts of 1992 added two new parts IX and IX-A to the Constitution. Two new Schedules 11 and 12 were also added which contain the lists of functional items of Panchayats and Municipalities.

What is the structure of Local Governance in India?

The 73rd/74th Amendment Acts established a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj in every state – at the village, intermediate and district levels.

For rural areas, there are three nested bodies. At the top is the District Council or Zilla Parishad , which is made up of a cluster of Block Councils or Panchayat Samitis , which in turn, are made up of village councils or Gram Panchayats . Each village has a village assembly or gram sabha comprising all adults in the village. Gram Sabha has the power to directly elect members of the panchayat. States with a population of less than two million may choose to have a two-tiered structure, without the intermediate block-level institution.

In urban areas, there are three types of local bodies: Municipal Corporations (Mahanagar Palikas for areas with a population of more than one million), Municipal Councils/Municipalities (Nagar Palikas for areas with less than a million people), and Town Councils (Nagar Panchayats for areas transitioning from rural to urban).

Scheduled and Tribal areas are legally exempt from implementing the Panchayati Raj system. The Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996 provides for the extension of the 73rd Amendment (with certain modifications and exceptions) to tribal and forested areas across 10 states of India, (excluding tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, which are governed by District or Regional Councils). These provisions have been put in place to protect customary law, social and religious practices, and traditional management practices of community resources.

A minimum of one-third of the seats in all local bodies are reserved for women. Seats are also reserved for people belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes in proportion to their population.

What are the roles of Panchayati Raj Institution (PRIs)/Local Governance Bodies?

PRIs play a crucial role in rural development and perform the following roles: (a) Administrative activities such as the maintenance of village records, the construction, maintenance, and repair of roads, tanks, wells, and so on; (b) Improving socio-economic welfare through the promotion of rural industries, health, education, women and child welfare, among others; (c)   Judicial functions such as trying petty civil and criminal cases such as minor thefts and money disputes are also performed either by separate adalati or nyaya panchayats, or by gram panchayats.

What are the challenges in working of Local Government Bodies?

Functional Challenges : The power to devolve functions to local governments rests with the State Government. Most States have not devolved adequate functions to local government bodies . This has severely affected the system’s efficiency and effectiveness. State Governments have created parallel structures for the implementation of projects around agriculture, health, and education, which undermines the status of local bodies. Local bodies lack the support systems necessary to carry out their mandates. The 74th amendment requires a District Planning Committee to be set up in each district, so that the development plans prepared by the panchayats and urban local bodies can be consolidated and integrated. According to a study by the India Development Review (IDR, a think tank), District Planning Committees are non-functional in 9 states , and failed to prepare integrated plans in 15 states.

Financial Challenges : (a) Local government expenditure as a percentage of GDP is only 2%. This is extremely low compared to other major economies like China (11%) and Brazil (7%); (b) Most local bodies, both rural and urban are unable to generate adequate funds from their internal sources , and are therefore extremely dependent on external sources for funding. Studies show that around 80-95% of revenue is obtained from external sources, particularly State and Union Government loans and grants; (c)  The volume of money set apart for them is inadequate to meet their basic requirements . Local Governments are starved of resources. The Union Finance Commissions have made desirable recommendations, but the actual devolution of funds has been very poor. Not more than 5% of the divisible pool of Union taxes is given to local governments; (d) The devolution of funds is associated with conditionalities that bind them to specific uses . (i.e., top driven schemes of Union/State Governments, rather than based on local needs). The Government-appointed officers have complete control over spending of funds instead of the elected representatives of local governments; (e) State Finance Commissions are not established as per Constitutional requirements (constitute every 5 years). By 2014-15, States should have created 5th State Finance Commission (SFC) in their respective States, but only 13 had created them. By 2019, when 6th State Finance Commission should have been constituted, some States were yet to create 3rd or 4th Commissions. J&K had created only 1 SFC by April 2019; (f) Some experts argue that Local governments are reluctant to collect property taxes and user charges because of fear of backlash from public. They are happy to implement top-down programmes because they know that if they collect taxes, their electoral prospects will be hampered.

Source: NIPFP. Status of Constitution of State Finance Commissions as of April 2019.

Functionary Challenges : (a) Every local government needs to have organisational capacity, by way of staff such as office and clerical staff and social mobilisers. Staffing of local governments is scanty. Many panchayats share a single secretary, who is often overburdened; (b) Technology has been used to centralize the delivery of local services which has been detrimental to local decision-making.

Other Challenges : (a) Criminal elements and contractors are attracted to local government elections especially in urban areas. They are able to win elections through corrupt means, as local elections do not get same scrutiny as State Assembly or General Elections; (b)  Elections to  the local  bodies are often delayed. For long period of times there are no functional local governments; (c)  Despite a relatively higher level of literacy and educational standard, city-dwellers do not take adequate interest in the  functioning of the urban government bodies e.g., the turnout in Municipal Elections in Delhi and Mumbai in 2017 was only 53% and 55% respectively; (d) While women have been empowered with representation through reservation of seats, the ‘ Sarpanch Pati ‘ syndrome limits the effectiveness. (‘Sarpanch Pati’ syndrome: Women Sarpanch is only nominal head, the male relative (generally husband) wield actual power).

What steps can be taken going ahead?

First , the provisions of 73rd/74th Constitutional Amendments should be implemented in true spirit. State Finance Commissions should be regularly constituted with clearly defined Terms of Reference (ToR). ToR should include recommendation to devolve more funds and make the functioning of local bodies more effective. Adequate powers to raise own revenues should be devolved to local governments.

Second , the elections should be held at regular intervals without any delay. State Governments and State Election Commissions must be held accountable for delays.

Third , Gram Sabhas and wards committees (in urban areas) have to be revitalized . Consultations with the grama sabha could be organised through smaller discussions where everybody can participate to make them inclusive . New media of communication like social media groups could be used for facilitating discussions between members of a grama sabha/ward committees.

Fourth , local government organisational structures have to be strengthened . Panchayats are burdened with a huge amount of work that other departments thrust on them, without being compensated for the extra administrative costs. Local governments must be enabled to hold State departments accountable and to provide quality, corruption free service to them.

Fifth , there is a need to improve capabilities of human resources through training, process consultation, action research methods and workshops.

Sixth , citizen participation and engagement in local governance can be enhanced with the help of NGOs and civil society organizations . Citizens also need to be informed about the functioning and consequences of decisions taken by the local government bodies. The general public also need to be informed about the role of the service providers, the cost of services, the sources of their financing etc.

Empowering the local bodies for Local Governance has been one of the most progressive reform since Independence. It has envisioned to place the governing power in the hands of the general populace. Just like every other reform, this one has a few loopholes in it. Nevertheless, if these gaps are removed, the present local governance system can truly empower the citizens and support the inclusive growth.

Syllabus : GS II, Devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Source : The Hindu , The Hindu , The Hindu BusinessLine , Economic Times , NIPFP

Type your email…

Search Articles

Latest articles.

• [Download] Factly Weekly Compilation – May 2024 – 2nd week
• 10 PM UPSC Current Affairs Quiz 18 May, 2024
• 9 PM UPSC Current Affairs Articles 18 May, 2024
• Carrington Event
• India addressing carbon emissions
• Politicisation of Indian higher education
• Importance of Chabahar port for India
• Importance of Civility in Indian Elections
• Use of State-funded Media During Polls
• Collapse in Ghatkopar – A moment to reflect on ailing municipal governance

Prelims 2024 Current Affairs

• Art and Culture
• Indian Economy
• Science and Technology
• Environment  & Ecology
• International Relations
• Polity &  Nation
• Important Bills and Acts
• International Organizations
• Index, Reports and Summits
• Government Schemes and Programs
• Miscellaneous
• Species in news

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

UPSC Coaching, Study Materials, and Mock Exams

Enroll in ClearIAS UPSC Coaching Join Now Log In

Call us: +91-9605741000

Panchayati Raj (73rd Constitutional Amendment Act)

Last updated on April 2, 2024 by ClearIAS Team

What was 73rd Amendment Act? What are the o bjectives and Constitutional Provisions of the Panchayati Raj?   What are the salient features of Panchayati Raj? Read here to know more about Panchayati Raj.

Panchayati Raj is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent. Panchayati Raj Institutions as local government units have existed in India for a long time.

However, it was only in 1992 officially established by the Indian Constitution as the third level of India’s federal democracy through the 73rd Amendment Act.

Although the Rajiv Gandhi and VP Singh governments attempted to grant the PRI constitutional status, Narasimha Rao’s administration was the only one to succeed thanks to the adoption of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act.

Table of Contents

What is the 73rd amendment act? (Panchayati Raj)?

The 73rd Amendment Act was enacted by the Indian national government in 1992 to address these issues and improve local self-governance. Both houses agreed on the legislation, and it became law on April 24th, 1993.

The 73rd Amendment envisages the Gram Sabha as the foundation  of the Panchayat Raj System to perform functions and powers entrusted to it by the State Legislatures.

A three-tier Panchayat Raj System at the village, intermediate, and district levels is provided by the amendment. With the help of this clause, India’s Panchayati Raj system became uniform. At every level of the Panchayat, there is a provision for the reservation of seats for SCs and STs.

Objectives of the 73rd Amendment Act

• The 73rd Amendment Act’s primary goal was to democratically decentralise authority and resources from the centre to locally elected officials in order to increase citizen participation in governance.
• Its goal relates to Article 40 of the constitution, which calls for the state to set up village panchayats and give them the requisite authority and powers to function as self-governing entities.

Constitutional Provisions of Panchayati Raj

• Through this amendment, the constitution gained the 11th schedule, which listed 29 Panchayat-related topics.
• Additionally, Part IX, which included provisions from Articles 243 to 243 O, was introduced to the Constitution by this measure.
• The state governments were now required by this modification to implement the new Panchayati Raj system in conformity with the act’s stipulations.

Salient features Panchayati Raj

1. gram sabha:.

• It is a village assembly consisting of all the registered voters in the area of a panchayat.
• It can perform such functions as the state legislature entrusts it with

2. Three-tier system:

• It suggests PRI at the village, intermediate and district levels. Thus, bringing uniformity to the PRI.
• However, states having a population of less than 20 lakh may not setup PRI

3. Election:

• All the members at the village, intermediate and district levels shall be elected directly by the people.
• The chairperson of the intermediate and district level shall be indirectly elected chairman of the panchayat shall be elected in such a manner as the state legislature provides for

4. Reservation of seats:

• In every Gram Panchayat, seats must be set aside for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The percentage of these seats to the total number of seats in the Panchayat that will be filled through direct election must be as close to equal as possible.
• Women from Scheduled Castes or, where applicable, Scheduled Tribes must have access to at least one-third of the seats that are set aside for them.
• Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Gram Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Gram Panchayat in such manner as may be prescribed.
• The above reservation is provided for the position of chairperson too The act also authorizes the legislature of the state to make any reservations for backward classes

5. Duration of Panchayats:

• Every level of panchayat is given a five-year term of office under the statute. PRI, however, may be dissolved prior to the end of the natural term.
• Before the PRI’s natural term expires or, in the event of its dissolution, before a period of six months has passed since that date, new elections must be held.

6. Qualification & Disqualification:

• Under any law for the time being in force for the purpose of elections to the legislature of the state concerned.
• No person can be disqualified on the ground that he is less than 25 years of age if he has attained the age of 21 years.
• All questions related to disqualification shall be referred to such authority as the state legislature determines.

7. State election commission:

• The state election commission shall be in charge of overseeing, directing, and controlling the creation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all panchayat elections.
• The governor will name a state election commissioner. He cannot be dismissed from his position other than in the way and for the reasons specified for dismissing a judge.
• The state legislature has the authority to establish rules on all aspects of panchayat elections.

8. Powers and functions:

• The state legislature may endow the panchayats with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government.

9. Finances:

• The state legislature may authorize a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, provide for making grants-in-aid to the panchayats, provide for the constitution of funds for crediting all money of the panchayats.

Read: Finances of Panchayati Raj institutions

10. Finance Commission:

• The governor has the authority to establish an annual finance commission to review the panchayats’ financial standing, recommend improvements, and make recommendations on any other issues the governor refers to the commission.
• The distribution between the state and the panchayats from the net proceeds of taxes
• Determination of taxes, duties, tolls and fees that may be assigned to the panchayats
• Grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state
• The state legislature will establish the FC’s composition and qualifications.
• Based on the state’s finance commission’s findings, the central finance commission will also provide recommendations on how to consolidate the panchayat’s financial situation.

11. Audit :

• The state legislature may provide the manner for auditing PRI.

12. Application to UT:

• The president of India may direct that provisions of this act shall apply to any union territory subject to such modification as he may specify.

13. Exempted areas:

• It does not apply to Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, scheduled areas and the tribal areas, hill area of Manipur, and Darjeeling district of WB.
• However, parliament may extend the provisions of this part to even these exempted areas with modifications as it may specify.
• In this regard, parliament has enacted, ‘The provisions of the Panchayat (Extension to the scheduled areas) Act, 1996.

14. Bar to interference of court:

• The act bars the interference by courts in the electoral matters of panchayats. It also mentions the delimitation related to PRI cannot be questioned by the court.
• Even election petitions shall be entertained based on such mechanism as specified by the state legislature.

15. 11th schedule:

• The Act inserted a new schedule which contained areas that come under the purview of the PRI.

Result of the 73rd Amendment (Panchayati Raj)

Local self-government in the nation has significantly improved as a result of the 73rd Amendment’s passage. The central government chose to recognise April 24 as National Panchayati Raj Day every year in 2010 to commemorate this and further bolster the institutions.

The Gram Panchayat (at the village level), the Mandal Parishad/Panchayat Samiti/Block Samiti (at the block level), and the Zila Parishad are the three levels at which the formalised Panchayati raj operates today (at the district level).

This amendment is based on the Gandhian Principle of the DPSP, which advocated for decentralised democracy, or the idea that individuals should make their own decisions. Gandhiji advocated the third level of government that can understand the problems of the people of the village at the grassroots level.

If we would see our dream of Panchayat Raj, i.e., true democracy realized, we would regard the humblest and lowest Indian as being equally the ruler of India with the tallest in the land.— Mahatma Gandhi

Article written by: Aseem Muhammed

Aim IAS, IPS, or IFS?

About ClearIAS Team

ClearIAS is one of the most trusted learning platforms in India for UPSC preparation. Around 1 million aspirants learn from the ClearIAS every month.

Our courses and training methods are different from traditional coaching. We give special emphasis on smart work and personal mentorship. Many UPSC toppers thank ClearIAS for our role in their success.

Download the ClearIAS mobile apps now to supplement your self-study efforts with ClearIAS smart-study training.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Don’t lose out without playing the right game!

Follow the ClearIAS Prelims cum Mains (PCM) Integrated Approach.

Join ClearIAS PCM Course Now

UPSC Online Preparation

• Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
• Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
• Indian Police Service (IPS)
• IAS Exam Eligibility
• UPSC Free Study Materials
• UPSC Exam Guidance
• UPSC Prelims Test Series
• UPSC Syllabus
• UPSC Online
• UPSC Prelims
• UPSC Interview
• UPSC Toppers
• UPSC Previous Year Qns
• UPSC Age Calculator
• UPSC Calendar 2024
• About ClearIAS
• ClearIAS Programs
• ClearIAS Fee Structure
• IAS Coaching
• UPSC Coaching
• UPSC Online Coaching
• ClearIAS Blog
• Important Updates
• Announcements
• Book Review
• ClearIAS App
• Work with us
• Advertise with us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions
• Talk to Your Mentor

Featured on

and many more...

Take ClearIAS Mock Exams: Analyse Your Progress

Analyse Your Performance and Track Your All-India Ranking

Ias/ips/ifs online coaching: target cse 2025.

Are you struggling to finish the UPSC CSE syllabus without proper guidance?

• IAS Preparation
• UPSC Preparation Strategy
• Panchayati Raj

Panchayati Raj - 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act

A three-tier structure of the Indian administration for rural development is called Panchayati Raj. The aim of the Panchayati Raj is to develop local self-governments in districts, zones and villages.

Panchayati Raj UPSC Notes Download PDF Here

Panchayati Raj is an important topic and questions are often asked from this section for the IAS exam . This article will provide you with evolution, various committees set-up for Panchayati Raj, salient features of the 73 rd Constitutional Amendment Act, functions of Gram Panchayat, and other details regarding this topic for the polity and governance segment of the UPSC syllabus .

CSE exam aspirants must refer to the details discussed further below in this article, important from the examination perspective.

Introduction to Panchayati Raj

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:

• The scheduled areas and the tribal areas in the states
• The hill area of Manipur for which a district council exists and
• Darjeeling district of West Bengal for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists

Evolution of Panchayati Raj

The Panchayati system in India is not purely a post-independence phenomenon. In fact, the dominant political institution in rural India has been the village panchayat for centuries. In ancient India, panchayats were usually elected councils with executive and judicial powers. Foreign domination, especially Mughal and British, and the natural and forced socio-economic changes had undermined the importance of the village panchayats. In the pre-independence period, however, the panchayats were instruments for the dominance of the upper castes over the rest of the village, which furthered the divide based on either the socio-economic status or the caste hierarchy.

The evolution of the Panchayati Raj System, however, got a fillip after the attainment of independence after 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”.

There were a number of committees appointed by the Government of India to study the implementation of self-government at the rural level and also recommend steps in achieving this goal.

The committees appointed are as follows:

• Balwant Rai Mehta Committee
• Ashok Mehta Committee
• G V K Rao Committee
• L M Singhvi Committee

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee & Panchayati Raj

The committee was appointed in 1957, to examine and suggest measures for better working of the Community Development Programme and the National Extension Service. The committee suggested the establishment of a democratic decentralised local government which came to be known as the Panchayati Raj.

Recommendations by the Committee:

• Three-tier Panchayati Raj system: Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad.
• Directly elected representatives to constitute the gram panchayat and indirectly elected representatives to constitute the Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad.
• Planning and development are the primary objectives of the Panchayati Raj system.
• Panchayat Samiti should be the executive body and Zila Parishad will act as the advisory and supervisory body.
• District Collector to be made the chairman of the Zila Parishad.
• It also requested for provisioning resources so as to help them discharge their duties and responsibilities.

The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee further revitalised the development of panchayats in the country, the report recommended that the Panchayati Raj institutions can play a substantial role in community development programmes throughout the country. The objective of the Panchayats thus was the democratic decentralisation through the effective participation of locals with the help of well-planned programmes. Even the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, defended the panchayat system by saying, “. . . authority and power must be given to the people in the villages …. Let us give power to the panchayats.”

Ashok Mehta Committee & Panchayati Raj

The committee was appointed in 1977 to suggest measures to revive and strengthen the declining Panchayati Raj system in India.

The key recommendations are:

• The three-tier system should be replaced with a two-tier system: Zila Parishad (district level) and the Mandal Panchayat (a group of villages).
• District level as the first level of supervision after the state level.
• Zila Parishad should be the executive body and responsible for planning at the district level.
• The institutions (Zila Parishad and the Mandal Panchayat) to have compulsory taxation powers to mobilise their own financial resources.

G V K Rao Committee & Panchayati Raj

The committee was appointed by the planning commission in 1985. It recognised that development was not seen at the grassroot level due to bureaucratisation resulting in Panchayat Raj institutions being addressed as ‘grass without roots’. Hence, it made some key recommendations which are as follows:

• Zila Parishad to be the most important body in the scheme of democratic decentralisation. Zila Parishad to be the principal body to manage the developmental programmes at the district level.
• The district and the lower levels of the Panchayati Raj system to be assigned with specific planning, implementation and monitoring of the rural developmental programmes.
• Post of District Development Commissioner to be created. He will be the chief executive officer of the Zila Parishad.
• Elections to the levels of Panchayati Raj systems should be held regularly.

L M Singhvi Committee & Panchayati Raj

The committee was appointed by the Government of India in 1986 with the main objective to recommend steps to revitalise the Panchayati Raj systems for democracy and development. The following recommendations were made by the committee:

• The committee recommended that the Panchayati Raj systems should be constitutionally recognised. It also recommended constitutional provisions to recognise free and fair elections for the Panchayati Raj systems.
• The committee recommended reorganisation of villages to make the gram panchayat more viable.
• It recommended that village panchayats should have more finances for their activities.
• Judicial tribunals to be set up in each state to adjudicate matters relating to the elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions and other matters relating to their functioning.

All these things further the argument that panchayats can be very effective in identifying and solving local problems, involve the people in the villages in the developmental activities, improve the communication between different levels at which politics operates, develop leadership skills and in short help the basic development in the states without making too many structural changes. Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were the first to adopt Panchayati raj in 1959, other states followed them later.

Though there are variations among states, there are some features that are common. In most of the states, for example, a three-tier structure including panchayats at the village level, panchayat samitis at the block level and the zila parishads at the district level-has been institutionalized. Due to the sustained effort of the civil society organisations, intellectuals and progressive political leaders, the Parliament passed two amendments to the Constitution – the 73 rd Constitution Amendment for rural local bodies (panchayats) and the 74 th Constitution Amendment for urban local bodies (municipalities) making them ‘institutions of self-government’. Within a year all the states passed their own acts in conformity to the amended constitutional provisions.

Also read: Caste system and Panchayati Raj

73 rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992

Significance of the Act

• The Act added Part IX to the Constitution, “The Panchayats” and also added the Eleventh Schedule which consists of the 29 functional items of the panchayats.
• Part IX of the Constitution contains Article 243 to Article 243 O.
• The Amendment Act provides shape to Article 40 of the Constitution, ( directive principles of state policy ), which directs the state to organise the village panchayats and provide them powers and authority so that they can function as self-government.
• With the Act, Panchayati Raj systems come under the purview of the justiciable part of the Constitution and mandates states to adopt the system. Further, the election process in the Panchayati Raj institutions will be held independent of the state government’s will.
• The Act has two parts: compulsory and voluntary. Compulsory provisions must be added to state laws, which includes the creation of the new Panchayati Raj systems. Voluntary provisions, on the other hand, is the discretion of the state government.
• The Act is a very significant step in creating democratic institutions at the grassroots level in the country. The Act has transformed the representative democracy into participatory democracy.

Salient Features of the Act

• Gram Sabha: Gram Sabha is the primary body of the Panchayati Raj system. It is a village assembly consisting of all the registered voters within the area of the panchayat. It will exercise powers and perform such functions as determined by the state legislature. Candidates can refer to the functions of gram panchayat and gram panchayat work, on the government official website – https://grammanchitra.gov.in/.
• Three-tier system: The Act provides for the establishment of the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj in the states (village, intermediate and district level). States with a population of less than 20 lakhs may not constitute the intermediate level.
• Election of members and chairperson: The members to all the levels of the Panchayati Raj are elected directly and the chairpersons to the intermediate and the district level are elected indirectly from the elected members and at the village level the Chairperson is elected as determined by the state government.
• The Chairperson of a Panchayat and other members of a Panchayat, whether or not elected directly from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area, have the right to vote in Panchayat meetings.
• For SC and ST: Reservation to be provided at all the three tiers in accordance with their population percentage.
• For women: Not less than one-third of the total number of seats to be reserved for women, further not less than one-third of the total number of offices for chairperson at all levels of the panchayat to be reserved for women.
• The state legislatures are also given the provision to decide on the reservation of seats in any level of panchayat or office of chairperson in favour of backward classes.
• before the expiry of its five-year duration.
• in case of dissolution, before the expiry of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution.
• Under any law for the time being in force for the purpose of elections to the legislature of the state concerned.
• Under any law made by the state legislature. However, no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than 25 years of age if he has attained the age of 21 years.
• Further, all questions relating to disqualification shall be referred to an authority determined by the state legislatures.
• The commission is responsible for superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and conducting elections for the panchayat.
• The state legislature may make provisions with respect to all matters relating to elections to the panchayats.
• the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice.
• the implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them, including those in relation to the 29 matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
• Authorize a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
• Assign to a panchayat taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the state government.
• Provide for making grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state.
• Provide for the constitution of funds for crediting all money of the panchayats.
• Finance Commission: The state finance commission reviews the financial position of the panchayats and provides recommendations for the necessary steps to be taken to supplement resources to the panchayat.
• Audit of Accounts: State legislature may make provisions for the maintenance and audit of panchayat accounts.
• Application to Union Territories: The President may direct the provisions of the Act to be applied on any union territory subject to exceptions and modifications he specifies.
• The hill area of Manipur for which a district council exists
• 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 and modification it specifies. Thus, the PESA Act was enacted.
• Continuance of existing law: All the state laws relating to panchayats shall continue to be in force until the expiry of one year from the commencement of this Act. In other words, the states have to adopt the new Panchayati raj system based on this Act within the maximum period of one year from 24 April 1993, which was the date of the commencement of this Act. However, all the Panchayats existing immediately before the commencement of the Act shall continue till the expiry of their term, unless dissolved by the state legislature sooner.
• Bar to interference by courts: The Act bars the courts from interfering in the electoral matters of panchayats. It declares 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 further lays 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.

PESA Act of 1996

The provisions of Part IX are not applicable to the Fifth Schedule areas. The Parliament can extend this Part to such areas with modifications and exceptions as it may specify. Under these provisions, Parliament enacted Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, popularly known as PESA Act or the extension act.

Objectives of the PESA Act:

• To extend the provisions of Part IX to the scheduled areas.
• To provide self-rule for the tribal population.
• To have village governance with participatory democracy.
• To evolve participatory governance consistent with the traditional practices.
• To preserve and safeguard traditions and customs of tribal population.
• To empower panchayats with powers conducive to tribal requirements.
• To prevent panchayats at a higher level from assuming powers and authority of panchayats at a lower level.

As a result of these constitutional steps taken by the union and state governments, India has moved towards what has been described as ‘multi-level federalism’, and more significantly, it has widened the democratic base of the Indian polity. Before the amendments, the Indian democratic structure through elected representatives was restricted to the two houses of Parliament, state assemblies and certain union territories. The system has brought governance and issue redressal to the grassroot levels in the country but there are other issues too. These issues, if addressed, will go a long way in creating an environment where some of the basic human rights are respected.

After the new generation of panchayats had started functioning, several issues have come to the fore, which have a bearing on human rights. The important factor which has contributed to the human rights situation vis-a-vis the panchayat system is the nature of Indian society, which of course determines the nature of the state. Indian society is known for its inequality, social hierarchy and the rich and poor divide. The social hierarchy is the result of the caste system, which is unique to India. Therefore, caste and class are the two factors, which deserve attention in this context.

Thus, the local governance system has challenged the age old practices of hierarchy in the rural areas of the country particularly those related to caste, religion and discrimination against women.

The Panchayati Raj system constitutes an integral part of the IAS prelims and UPSC mains syllabus . Aspirants preparing for the upcoming CSE must be aware of the administrative set in the country.

UPSC Questions related to Panchayati Raj

What is the importance of panchayati raj.

Panchayati Raj institutes village local government that plays a significant role in the development of villages especially in areas like primary education, health, agricultural developments, women and child development and women participation in local government, etc.

Which state in India has no Panchayati Raj institution?

All states of India have Panchayati Raj systems except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, in all Union Territories except Delhi; and certain other areas.

What are the features of Panchayati Raj?

• Gram Sabha: Gram Sabha is the primary body of the Panchayati Raj system. It is a village assembly consisting of all the registered voters within the area of the panchayat.
• Three Tier System: village, intermediate and district levels.
• Election of members and chairperson: The members to all the levels of the Panchayati Raj are elected directly and the chairpersons to the intermediate and the district levels are elected indirectly.

What are the 3 stages of Panchayati Raj?

The 3 stages or levels of the Panchayati Raj system in India are -Village Panchayat, Block Panchayat and District Panchayat.

Furthermore, candidates can also acquaint themselves with the information and preparation strategy of previous year UPSC toppers and accordingly chalk out a preparation plan to excel in the examination.

Kickstart your UPSC exam preparation now and learn from the best at BYJU’S.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

IAS 2024 - Your dream can come true!

Download the ultimate guide to upsc cse preparation.

• Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

Essay On Improving Local Governance Ideas For Transforming India

Table of Contents

Self-government implies ‘ rule unto themselves by people themselves or through their own representatives. ’ Local governments or local bodies are institutions of self-government that administer an area or small community, such as villages, towns, or cities. Local government can also be defined as “ an institution that represents the microscopic interests of a locality, leading to the broader concept of welfare and happiness of its people ” (Sikander, 2016).

Local government bodies in India can be broadly categorised into two types. Local entities established for local planning, development, and administration in rural regions are referred to as Panchayats, while those established for local planning, development, and administration in urban areas are referred to as Municipalities. Mahatma Gandhi promoted Panchayati Raj as the cornerstone of India’s political system; he coined the phrase “Gram Swaraj” or “Village Self-governance” to refer to a decentralised type of government in which each village is responsible for its own affairs. India, on the other hand, established a highly centralised system of government. This has been mitigated, however, by delegating several administrative tasks to the local level, thereby strengthening elected gramme panchayats. There are substantial discrepancies between Gandhi’s envisioned Panchayati Raj system and the structure that was codified in India in 1992.

Please enable JavaScript

Significance of Local Governance

In today’s world, it is important for people to get involved in their local communities because it allows for a more direct form of democracy where the opinions of everyday people may be heard. It is therefore impossible to fight the forces of change that are supporting local democracy at this point, as they have grown so strong in recent years. For all indigenous peoples, the demand for democracy has become an important one. There are already over seventy countries implementing political and administrative changes to decentralise and enhance local government. Young and fledgling democracies that have recently made the switch to popular control are commonly affected by this.

Deliberation

Democracy entails more than just elections. It entails serious dialogue, debate, and discussion to solve community concerns. Deliberation entails more than simply hearing citizen grievances. Truly deliberative democracy is characterised by a give-and-take discourse among all interest groups in a community concerning major decisions and actions that they must face collectively.

Political Education

“Political education” is facilitated by local democracy. In other words, citizen participation enables individuals to learn knowledge about local political matters that would otherwise be held by elected public officials and professional city managers. Citizens who are more informed and educated make democracy – decision-making by the people – possible and more successful. The goal of participation is to bridge the gap between the political “elite” and the people of the community.

Local policymakers can employ a variety of strategies and tools to ensure that all citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in and be represented in the policymaking process:

Public participation legislation should be revised. Local governments can amend their public participation statutes to enable and promote more meaningful forms of civic involvement, ranging from thoughtful face-to-face discussions between officials and communities to local online forums. Additionally, local governments can establish programmes in which public workers collaborate directly with communities to co-design policies and services.

Use Public Deliberation to shape policy decision

Public Deliberation is a style of public debate that aims to find common answers to difficult social challenges. The term “public” refers to everyday people, highlighting the participation of groups whose voices are frequently silenced in political and social processes. The term “deliberation” refers to an informed, values-based, and transformative dialogue. Internationally, deliberative methods have been utilised to strengthen local government practises, and the United States has lately adopted them.

Propel  human-centred design principles:

In California, the Civic Design Lab, located within Oakland City Hall, developed a new Healthy Housing Inspection programme employing human-centred design concepts and systems thinking. The lab gathered information regarding residents’ experiences through surveys, interviews, and workshops in areas of Oakland with the highest concentration of housing habitability issues. Additionally, the lab collaborated with city Code Enforcement Services staff to conduct a process mapping exercise to gain an understanding of current processes. Based on their findings, the lab built two prototypes of a proactive rental inspection policy and a separate prototype illustrating the services that could be added based on the community’s willingness to pay for the programme. The lab then hosted a session for community design review, during which residents provided feedback on the prototypes.

Engage in Participatory  action research :

Local government organisations — such as health departments and planning departments — can collect and evaluate data through participatory action research methods such as Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). CBPR is a process in which institutions engage individuals most impacted by a community issue in research and analysis, followed by the identification of initiatives to address those concerns.

Another important job of local governments is to assist in the planning of a community’s future growth. State laws typically specify how frequently municipalities must update their comprehensive plans or master plans, and the rules frequently demand some kind of public input in the planning process. Plans comprise policies, strategies, and actions to accomplish a community’s future goals, which may include housing, transportation, land use, economic and community development, parks and open space, environmental quality, and public safety. Community involvement programmes give critical information that can be used to better understand community needs and concerns and, ultimately, to get support for proposed projects.

Strategic Collaboration

Sometimes governmental officials and administrators are just incapable or unfit to provide certain services in an effective or efficient manner. Local governments throughout the world are forming new strategic alliances with the private sector as well as NGOs, civil society organisations (CSOs), and community-based organisations (CBOs) to offer crucial local services.

There has been a notable tendency toward privatisation, joint public-private partnerships, outsourcing, and corporatization of utilities such as water, power, waste management, housing, health care, and, in certain cases, jail services. The goals of the two types of partnerships are quite different: Working with civil society organisations such as NGOs, CBOs, and CSOs is one type of cooperation. These collaborations are predicated on the assumption that civil society organisations have a comparative advantage in executing policy or managing challenges. They are located closer to the people who will be served. In such collaborations, local politicians frequently serve as a financier, watchdogs, coworkers, or specialists.

Working with the private sector also provides businesses with a competitive advantage in offering local services such as clean water, transportation management, power, or waste collection. However, the economic basis of these alliances is that commercial entities can supply services as efficiently and cheaply as municipal governments.

While cities typically benefit from such agreements in terms of efficiency – things run much more smoothly – this efficiency may come at the expense of openness. That means elected leaders have less control over what happens in a community, but at least the service is given. Municipalities in many southern African regions, for example, rely on a regionally powerful multinational business – Eskom, headquartered in Johannesburg – for power delivery. Local governments and others may feel powerless in talks with such massive corporations. Strategic partnering has risks for private parties as well. When autonomous NGOs or CBOs receive money from the local government, they may lose their independence and flexibility, and they may be less ready to take risks and offer new solutions for local communities if these contradict local government policy.

Local Governments in India: A Brief History

Local self-government entails the delegation of the rule to the lowest level of the political hierarchy. It is a form of democratic decentralisation in which participation at the grassroots level of society is guaranteed in the administration process. The Panchayati Raj System established the groundwork for India’s current system of local self-government (1992). However, Panchayati Raj’s history begins with self-sufficient and self-governing local communities. Evidence reveals that self-governing village bodies called ‘Sabhas’ existed during the historical period of the Rig-Veda (1700 BC). These bodies evolved into panchayats over time. Local entities existed in ancient India, as evidenced by the devolution of authority under the Maurya and Gupta kingdoms. Panchayats were functional grassroots government structures in practically every hamlet. The village panchayat as a system of governance originated during the British era as a means of satisfying local autonomy demands. They devolved governance down to the lowest levels to residents. Additionally, the Government of India Act, 1935 empowers the provisions to enact legislation. Even though such minor forms of local governance existed in India, the constitution’s framers, dissatisfied with the existing provisions, included Article 40 among the “Directive Principles” which states: “The state shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.” Later, from 1957 to 1986, four significant committees conceptualised India’s system of local self-government. Panchayati Raj is listed in the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule as a State. States have been tasked with the job of devolving authority to Panchayats. It will be beneficial for us to take a quick glance at the various committees and the significant suggestions they made.

Discover more from Smart English Notes

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Skip to main content
• Skip to secondary menu
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Study Today

Largest Compilation of Structured Essays and Exams

Local Self Government in India Essay | Meaning & Functions

December 20, 2017 by Study Mentor Leave a Comment

Local self government is who manages the village, district, town and it is managed by peoples themselves and the one who is elected by people. Imperial government is that in which the management of whole nation takes place and it is elected by central government.

In England the parish’s local affairs are managed by the elected council of parish. The different parishes are elected according to need.

When the power of nation will get centralized only then democracy can succeed. People can get their rights by local self-government. When power get decentralized then every individual can get chance to develop their personality and also they can get scope.

There are many schools and colleges those are developed by local self-government and these are the best ones to give proper knowledge to people.

Table of Contents

Importance of local self government

For equality purpose people wants to live in democracy. India is very big and populated country and because of this population the problems of peoples are also very vast.

In India it is very important to have local government because villages are very far apart from cities so people of villages don’t get proper education and resources and also racism and classism can be found in villages so for this purpose it is required to form local government in villages. I villages it is called as Panchayat.

From local self-government the local problems of people can be solved and also it reduces some if the responsibilities from central government.

Local self-government manages local affairs by the representative of locality itself.

Local self-governments are like panchayats, municipalities. They take the matter of people seriously and help them, such as sanitation, water, power supply, construction and management of roads, primary education and colleges.

In India we call local government as panchayati raj.

Panchayati Raj

According to Gandhiji the freedom of nations is not real until the villages become economically and politically strong. It is necessary to make efforts to build economical values and the Panchayati Raj system is built to realize them.

It provides people to empower their local communities and to accomplish major goals. It is very necessary to develop the villages because people suffered a lot after independence. Then after independence community developed some programs for rural development.

Panchayati Raj is connected with programmatic and organizational evolution. In programmatic evolution it takes the responsibility to provide necessary leadership for the implementation development programs.

Benefits of having local self government

Local government and local people can realize and understand the problems of local people more seriously than the central government and state government administrators and also they can take care of their problems and properly solve them.

In local self-government the people have contact with local people so that they can take positive steps towards them and take responsibilities of them. Mostly local self government remains corruption free and they acts with the motive of social welfare.

When people are in trouble it is the task of local self-government to identify the problem and find solutions for them so that they can perform well.

It is impossible for government to find the problem of people of villages and if they do they can get overloaded with the responsibilities of people.

Local self-government has the knowledge of their local people and to solve the problems local self-government gets the co-corporation of people and local people also gets the participation in the local government.

The institutions of local self-government are very helpful as compared to state and central government. It is very necessary to inspire people to take part in activities of government.

Local self-government unites the people with leadership and democracy and supports and encourages them to take part in activities without any bias.

It is necessary to have local government in every village because they can interact with local people better than state and central government. To solve the problem of local people local government is very much required.

Local people don’t have knowledge where to take help from or from where they can find the solution of their problems in this context local self government can help them.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top Trending Essays in March 2021

• Essay on Pollution
• Essay on my School
• Summer Season
• My favourite teacher
• World heritage day quotes
• my family speech
• importance of trees essay
• autobiography of a pen
• honesty is the best policy essay
• essay on building a great india
• my favourite book essay
• essay on caa
• my favourite player
• autobiography of a river
• farewell speech for class 10 by class 9
• essay my favourite teacher 200 words
• internet influence on kids essay
• my favourite cartoon character

Brilliantly

Content & links.

Verified by Sur.ly

Essay for Students

• Essay for Class 1 to 5 Students

Scholarships for Students

• Class 1 Students Scholarship
• Class 2 Students Scholarship
• Class 3 Students Scholarship
• Class 4 Students Scholarship
• Class 5 students Scholarship
• Class 6 Students Scholarship
• Class 7 students Scholarship
• Class 8 Students Scholarship
• Class 9 Students Scholarship
• Class 10 Students Scholarship
• Class 11 Students Scholarship
• Class 12 Students Scholarship

STAY CONNECTED

• About Study Today
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions

Scholarships

• Apj Abdul Kalam Scholarship
• Ashirwad Scholarship
• Bihar Scholarship
• Canara Bank Scholarship
• Colgate Scholarship
• Dr Ambedkar Scholarship
• E District Scholarship
• Epass Karnataka Scholarship
• Fair And Lovely Scholarship
• Floridas John Mckay Scholarship
• Inspire Scholarship
• Jio Scholarship
• Karnataka Minority Scholarship
• Lic Scholarship
• Maulana Azad Scholarship
• Medhavi Scholarship
• Minority Scholarship
• Moma Scholarship
• Mp Scholarship
• Muslim Minority Scholarship
• Nsp Scholarship
• Oasis Scholarship
• Obc Scholarship
• Odisha Scholarship
• Pfms Scholarship
• Post Matric Scholarship
• Pre Matric Scholarship
• Prerana Scholarship
• Prime Minister Scholarship
• Rajasthan Scholarship
• Santoor Scholarship
• Sitaram Jindal Scholarship
• Ssp Scholarship
• Swami Vivekananda Scholarship
• Ts Epass Scholarship
• Up Scholarship
• Vidhyasaarathi Scholarship
• Wbmdfc Scholarship
• West Bengal Minority Scholarship
• Click Here Now!!

Mobile Number

Have you Burn Crackers this Diwali ? Yes No

Your Article Library

Essay on government of india: meaning, forms and other information’s.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Essay on Government of India: Meaning, Forms and Other Information’s!

It’s meaning:

Sometimes confusion is made between state and Government and the two words are used interchangeably. Government is an instrument of the state through which it carries out its purposes. A state, as we have seen, is a politically organized and geographically limited body of people that possesses the right to use force. It is an abstract entity and so must have an instrument through which to operate. Government is such an instrument. All the citizens of a state are not part of a government.

A government includes only those officials and persons who are appointed or elected to determine, interpret and carry out the regulations of the state. Thus it has three main organs-the legislative to determine the laws of the state, the executive to carry out these laws and the judiciary to interpret them. The sole purpose of a government is to act as the instrumentality of the state. Its powers and organization are defined by the basic law called ‘constitution’ of the country.

Most states have now written constitutions. The Indian Constitution is the ultimate basis for judging the legality of any law a legislative body enacts or any order an executive body issues. The Supreme Court of India has the final power to determine whether laws or executive orders are made in pursuance of the constitution.

It’s Forms:

Governments may take several forms. In history there have appeared many forms of government. Aristotle had given a six fold classification of governments—three normal and three perverted forms of government. The three normal types of government are monarchy, rule by one person; aristocracy, rule by a few; polity, rule by many. If these normal forms are perverted, monarchy becomes tyranny, aristocracy becomes oligarchy and polity becomes democracy.

Thus Aristotle regarded democracy as the worst form of government, but he felt that the potential capacity of the citizens for sound collective Judgement could assure the success of this form. After Aristotle, numerous classifications of governments have been proposed by political thinkers but as pointed by Garner, “There seems to be no single principle, or criterion, Juridical or otherwise, upon which a satisfactory classification of governments can be made.”

Today, our attention is drawn to two major forms: totalitarianism in which the control is in the hands of one or a few persons; and democracy, in which political power is diffused among the governed by the process of representation. The citizens in many states are in a quandary as to which form they should adopt. Russia and China are the classic instances of totalitarian form of government. Under totalitarianism, there is rigidly patterned social organization.

It does not allow unrestricted or uncontrolled associations. It subjects all social groupings to the designs of the state. Usually, questioning of the ideas and practices of the rules is not tolerated. Freedom of expression by the press or individual is denied. Obedience is the supreme law which is enforced by the use of police powers.

Democracy is founded upon the principle of popular sovereignty, i.e., ultimate power resides in the citizens. An Important principle of democracy is that all citizens have equal political privileges which only they can exercise and which they cannot transfer to any other persons.

Another foundational principle is that rule of the majority shall prevail, this majority to be expressed by the citizens either through direct voting or through their elected representatives. A third principle is that citizens can vote the government out of office if it loses their confidence.

Democracy is based upon two basic cultural values of equality and liberty. It has attained a marked popularity in the world, yet it is often criticized for certain defects. The first of these is that the citizens do not fully exercise their rights nor accept their obligations. Voting is a paramount right of the citizens in a democracy, but the citizens do not fully and honestly discharge their obligation to vote.

The percentage of the Indian citizens who fulfill this obligation ranges between 40 to 45 per cent. Moreover, voting is on the basis of caste and extraneous considerations. Election campaigns instead of educating the voters become exercise in praising one’s own side and condemning the other to the extreme. Voting is so quantitatively and qualitatively poor that the whole process of democratic government becomes jeopardized.

Another defect lies in leadership. Democracy can succeed only under able leaders who are neither class conscious nor interest controlled. The leaders in a democracy indulge in unscrupulous activities in order to come into power and remain in power once they have got it. They are often faulty of unethical practices.

As a consequence, democracy attracts only those people who are unscrupulous or have little knowledge for governmental careers. It is a serious defect of democracy that so much of it is in the hands of poorly qualified persons in the art of government. Political leaders in democracy must be of the people and not of any class, peasantry or industrial, rural or urban. They should not be dominated by special interests.

James Bryce in his exhaustive study of modern democracies has given a succinct summary of the working of democratic government:

(i) It has maintained public order while securing the liberty of the individual citizen:

(ii) It has given civil administration as efficient as other forms of government have provided;

(iii) It has not been ungrateful or inconstant;

(iv) Its legislation has been directed to the welfare of the poorer classes than has been that of other governments;

(v) It has been often wasteful and usually extra arrogant;

(vi) It has not produced general contentment in each nation;

(vii) It has not diminished class selfishness and has done little to improve international relations and ensure peace;

(viii) It has not weakened patriotism or courage;

(ix) It has not extinguished corruption and the influence of wealth;

(x) It has not removed the fear of revolution;

(xi) It has not enlisted the services of the most honest and capable persons;

(xii) Nevertheless, it has, taken all in all, given better practical results than either the Rule of one Man or the Rule of a class.

Political Parties:

Political parties have become necessary adjuncts of government in modern times. They are the instruments whereby candidates are nominated and elected. Though they are not official organisations created by the state, they are nevertheless, quasi-official in the sense that states sanction, regulate and permit them to offer candidates for public office. The ultimate aim of a political party is to capture political power and keep control of the government.

The numbers of political parties in a state vary from one to many. England and the United States have two-party system. The advantage of this system is its capacity to present clearer cut issues and fewer candidates instead of a multiplicity of positions on issues and a wide number of candidates.

The losing party in this system serves as an effective opposition. France is the instance of a state with multiple party systems. Under a multiple party system governments change rapidly. The voters are bewildered by a number of viewpoints presented and the multiplicity of candidates they must assess.

Russia and China are the states with one party system. In Russia however, with the disintegration of U.S.S.R. under the impact of Glasnost and Perestroika, the dictatorship of the communist party has tumbled down and other political parties have made their appearance on the political horizon. Germany and Italy were one party state under Nazism and Fascism.

One party system does not allow any opposition or criticism of state policy. The party leaders enjoy monopoly of power and it is difficult to remove them peaceably. India has a multiple party system. Defections and counter-defections continue.

The political parties in India are ‘personality-centered’ than ‘policy centered’. More than forty parties operate at the national and local levels. There is frequent competition and factional conflict within the parties. Sometimes, inner cliques or “rings” develop. The political party which acts as a link between the people and their government has become the media for a politician to gain an occupation. The politician plays a very important role in our whole system. There is a close nexus between politician, mafia and bureaucrat.

The Election symbols (Reservation and Allotment) order, 1968 provides for recognition of political parties for the purpose of specification, reservation, choice and allotment of symbols for elections in parliamentary and assembly constituencies. Clause 6 of the aforesaid order specifies the following conditions to be fulfilled by a political party before it could be recognized by the election commission.

A political party shall be treated as a recognized political party in a state if, and only if, either the conditions specified in Clause (A) or the conditions specified in Clause (B) are fulfilled by that party and not otherwise, that is to say:

(A) Such party—

(a) Has been engaged in political activity for a continuous period of five years; and

(b) Has at the general elections in that state to the House of People, or as the case may be, to the Legislative Assembly for the time being in existence and functioning, returned either, (i) at least one member to the House of People for every twenty five members of that House or any fraction of that number elected from that state; or (ii) at least one member of the Legislative Assembly of that state for every thirty members of that Assembly or any fraction of that number;

(B) That the total number of valid votes polled by all the contesting candidates set up by such party at the general election in the state to the House of People, or as the case may be, to the Legislative Assembly, for the time being in existence and functioning (excluding the valid votes of each such contesting candidates in a constituency as has not been elected and has not polled at least one-twelfth of the total number of valid votes polled by all the contesting candidates on that constituency), is not less than four percent of the total number of valid votes polled by the’ contesting candidates at such general election in the state (including the valid votes of those candidates who have forfeited their deposits).

A recognized political party has been classified either as a “national party” or a “state party” in paragraph 7 of the order. If a political party is recognized in four or more states, it is deemed to be a “national party” and a political party recognized in less than four states is a “state party” in the state or states in which it is recognized as such. In all eight parties are recognized as “national” and 28 at state level.

Election or voting is a distinctive feature of a modern democratic policy. One of the main functions of political parties is to contest elections. Their first function is to select suitable candidates for party ticket and assist such candidates to win the elections. Voting is the process of electing representatives to a body representing the people.

It is these elected representatives who in a democracy perform decision making functions. For the successful working of any democracy, a healthy system of voting is a sine qua non. The right to vote is a basic right guaranteed by the fundamental law of the country. However, not every national is entitled to vote.

The minors, some categories of criminals and lunatics are usually excluded from the list of voters. In some states, women are not given the right to vote. Some states impose property and educational qualifications to limit franchise. However, universal adult suffrage is recognized to be the most democratic system of franchise. In India every man and woman of 18 years of age is entitled to be enrolled as a voter.

Voting Behaviour:

Voting behaviour depends upon several factors and differs from place to place. Generally speaking, educated and urban population is seen more involved in elections whereas the illiterate and rural population shows its apathy. Some voters are committed to a particular party while some take decision at the time of election.

In India, voting behaviour has undergone tremendous change. Since independence, the level of political awareness is constantly rising among all segments of population. Political mobilisation is taking place at a faster speed in rural areas. There is only minor difference in the turn-out rate between urban and rural areas. The level of identification with political parties or leaders is increasing. The number of floating or uncommitted votes is gradually decreasing.

Voting behaviour is affected by the following factors:

(i) Religion:

India since ancient days has been predominantly a country inhabited by different religions. Despite the fact that the -Constitution declares India to be a secular state, no political party including, the Congress (I) has ever ignored it.

The religious structure of a constituency is kept in mind while selecting the candidates or begging votes. During election campaign the religious sentiments are exploited to the maximum. Voters are attracted to the candidates belonging to their own religion. The Ayodhya issue has been exploited by all the political parties for the politics of votes.

(ii) Caste:

Elections in India are contested very much on the basis of casteism. The voters are asked to vote for their caste candidates and casteism is maintained by the elected leaders after the elections are over, Political parties sponsor only that candidate from a particular constituency whose caste is the most numerous in that area.

Inspite of their professions to the contrary, the Indian politicians including the political tacticians of the Congress and the CPI give a great deal of attention to caste considerations. While caste itself as a social institution is undergoing radical changes on account of the influence of western education and the development of urban life, it nevertheless, continues to play an important role in determining the choice of voters from among the various candidates.

(iii) Community:

Community feeling is another factor influencing the voters. Community feelings had led the Telugu people to demand separate state of Andhra; likewise hilly people in Uttar Pradesh are asking for Uttrakhand state. The voters of a particular community say Punjabi, vote for their community candidate not because he is the best but because he belongs to their own community.

The candidates also make appeals in the name of community pointing out the injustices being suffered by their community and take pledge to ameliorate their condition. All politicians have been exploiting community sentiment since the first general elections in India.

(iv) Class:

It is one of the factors influencing voting behaviour in the regions where the electorate is mostly composed of voters belonging to working class. In big industrial towns like Bombay. Ahmedabad and Kanpur a trade union leader wins election on the basis of class considerations.

The workers aspire that their leader should be elected to fight their cause in the legislature. A number of our legislators are persons who have at one time or other been in the forefront of Trade Union movement.

Money perhaps plays the greatest role during elections Crores of rupees are spent by the political parties in their bid to capture political power. A lot of money is spent in election campaign and helicopters are hired to reach the voters in far flung constituencies.

Big industrialists and business magnates contribute a lot of money for election funds. Votes are purchased through payment in cash or kind. As a majority of voters are poor people consisting of lower castes, they are easily swayed away by money.

(vi) Charisma:

The personality of the party leader also influences the choice of voters. Thus the Congress won several elections in the name of Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi campaigned for the congress during 1998 elections.

(vii) Accidental factors:

Sometimes some accidental factors like excesses during Emergency or the murder of Rajiv Gandhi or a wave also influence the voters.

To conclude, voters in India seldom vote after objective assessment of the comparative merits of various candidates or scientific analysis of the election manifestoes; they are mostly influenced in their choice by non-rational factors like those of religion, caste and community etc.

Pressure Groups:

Pressure groups play a vital role in the process of government. A pressure group is an interest group which seeks to promote the interests of its members through external inducement. It is not a political group seeking to capture political power, though it may possess a political character for the sake of expediency. A pressure group is generally an association of persons with a common economic interest who try to influence governmental action in legislation, administrative procedures or judicial decisions.

The Chamber of Commerce, the Trade Unions, the Scheduled Caste Federation, Kissan Sammelan are instances of pressure groups. They come into being to make the government responsive to the interests of groups of citizens. In the Indian political system, pressure groups play conspicuous part in the political process as a whole. Their role in elections is conspicuous.

At different levels of electoral process in nomination, canvassing and campaigning these groups take cudgels on behalf of their favourites and get them a coveted place in the legislature and later in the cabinet. They have a sizeable block of voters in their pockets and also contribute to the financial sinews of the party concerned. The members elected with the support of a pressure group are compelled to do their biddings with far greater strength than the biddings of their party.

The pressure groups make use of all their resources and persuasive forms to procure political decisions and administrative actions of their choice. They also influence public opinion through mass media at their disposal. In a democracy their role is greater than in a totalitarian government. The party in power in a totalitarian political system does not recognize the existence of such particularistic entities and even regards their emergence as anathema.

Related Articles:

• Political Parties: Paragraphs on Political Parties of India
• Essay on Voting Behaviour in India

No comments yet.

Leave a reply click here to cancel reply..

You must be logged in to post a comment.