SCHOOL OF LAW

RESEARCH WORK ON:

CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS OF PANCHAYAT BY THE AMENDMENT 73rd

Submitted to: Submitted by :-

Saiby khan ,tarun walia,Ravisha
Shalini saxena Tripti ,aman , manjeet (LLM)
Faculty of law

IMS Unison Universit

TABLE OF CONTENT :-

1
  Introduction :-
 Background :-
 Objectives-panchayat raj institutions-gram sabha:-
 Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs):-
 Gram Sabha :-
 1993-The 73rd constitutional amendment: It takes a village :-
 Panchayati raj in india -73rd constitutional amendment:-
 73rd Amendment Act Came Into Effect - [April 24, 1993] This Day in
History :-
 What was the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act?
 Result of the 73rd Amendment:-

 The Constitutional (73rd) Amendment Act, 1993: Key Provisions :-

 PR system and its vulnerable actors :-
 Women and Surrogate representation:-
 Dalits and Adivasis:-

 Design, Extent and Scope of Devolution :-

 Conclusion and Suggestions :-
 List of references :-

2
Introduction :-
The purpose for widening the scope and fairness of a democracy is to promote twin objectives of
accountability and responsiveness of policy concerning delivery of local public goods and
services to citizens, and decentralization is one way of such widening. For this phenomenon to see
the light of the day, steps were taken in the form of a provision in the Constitution of India,
constitution of multiple committees in a non-periodical manner to look out for its reforms and
finally granting constitutional status via an Amendment Act to the panchayati raj (hereinafter
PR) functionaries. The reason behind these efforts was that the PR system was seen as a means of
promoting greater community participation & involvement in developmental efforts and also local
government officials are thought of being more equipped with the choices of local citizens

Two decades have elapsed and even after these many efforts, the functioning of the PR system
has either remained dormant or has remained thwarted or dominated social exclusion and
domination by the upper castes and other such dominating groups at the village and state levels in
most of the states except very few such as the states of Karnataka, Kerala and West Bengal where
the PR system has been relatively successful, but that too in the pre-Amendment period. So, an
obvious question then arises that what could be the reason behind such failure and dull
performances by the rural local governments, i.e. Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla
Parishad which constituted the three-tier PR system in India.

This essay, starting with a background to give a beforehand knowledge of the PR system’s
functioning in the past, briefly states the essential changes brought in by the Amendment and then
moves ahead with the answers to the pertinent questions incidental to the one raised in the
previous paragraph. The limitation of the essay is that it has not dealt with any state-wise analysis
of devolution of power to the rural local bodies. It delves into the questions such as ‘Does the
Amendment encourage the decentralization of decision-making at various local levels in the
country?’, ‘Has the Amendment been successful in abolishing the loopholes of the earlier PR
system, specially talking with reference to the participation of SCs, STs and Women?’, ‘whether
the constitutional backing will make any difference to the status of the PR system in the long
run?’ ‘Has it been able to revitalize the rural local government in India and has been a boon in
true sense?’.

3
Thereafter, to reach out to the answers, the essay will be looking into the constitutional setting
behind the Amendment, assessment of design and scope of different kinds of devolutions at the
state level with the help of certain data and will also mention the case-study of few states of India
with respect to status of PR system. The essay will then conclude by observing and analysing all
these aforementioned questions and their answers along with the present status of rural local
governance in India after two decades of the birth of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act,
1993.

Background :-
In India, though the seeds of rural local governance were sown as early as during the drafting of
the Constitution, its functionaries were given constitutional status only after ‘46 years’ of our
independence and that too within one day without any debate over it. Although, the rhetorical
steps like formation of committees10 were there on the part of the central governments at
different times prior to the conferment of the constitutional status and a three-tier PR was
introduced in India for the first time in 1957, nothing much could have been done to give firm
shape to Gandhi’s dream of gram swaraj (Village self-sufficiency).1

Further, the PR system met its slow death as people’s participation was severely going down
because regular elections to the various panchayats were not being held. There was plethora of
other reasons for this, such as electoral competition between state and PR representatives, power
politics and distribution of patronage, lack of money and cooperation from government
departments. For the first time, the constitutional safeguard to PR system was recommended by
the Ashok Mehta Committee in its 1978’s report itself to extend the decentralization of power, but
the PR system always remained subordinate units of the government and could never become
agencies of self-government2.
Finally, in the year 1992, the PR system was given constitutional status which they were lacking
in, by passage of the Constitutional (73rd) Amendment Act, 1993. The consensus behind this
emerged gradually because of the failures of the Indian state with respect to human development
and poverty alleviation in rural areas.

1
Aureliano Fernandes. 2003. ‘Aggrandiser Government and Local Governance’. Economic and Political Weekly, July
5, p. 2873.
2
Chaudhuri, 2006, supra note 3, p. 174.

4
Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs):-

Panchayat Institutions are the vehicles of political empowerment of people at the grass root level
for shaping their own destiny. A vast majority of people are living at the grassroot level in the
rural and remote areas without any touch of modern day. A large section of such deprived people
belong to Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and other Backward casts as also women in general
at the grass root level. In Bihar, election of PRIs could not be held after the Constitution (Seventy
third) Amendment Act, 1992 which became effective from 24th April 1993. The state of Bihar had
well organised and efficiently functional Panchayat Raj Institutions 3. The Mukhiya (Chairman) of
the Gram Panchayat, which is the lowest unit of the PRI at the village level, is the kingpin at the
grassroot level. The District Magistrates, Sub Divisional Officers and Block Development
Officers had often noted with surprise and at times with embarrassment that before any
government machinery could move to provide relief to the people in the rural areas affected by
natural calamities like flood, fire etc, the Mukhiya of the local gram panchayat was already there
by the side of the affected people4. Though most of the Mukhiyas generally represented the feudal
elements in the villages, nevertheless, their apparent benevolent gesture and prompt response to
the need of the affected people had made the institution of Mukhiya very popular among the rural
people. The previous election to the PRIs in Bihar was held during Mayjune 1978 and thereafter
the PRIs did not have any popular mandate. The three tier Panchayat Institutions in Bihar consist
of a Gram Panchayat at the lowest level, Panchayat samiti at the Block level and Zila Parishad of
the District level. The chairman of the Gram Panchayat is called Mukhiya, the chairperson of the
Panchayat Samiti is called Pramukh and the Chairperson of the Zila Parishad is called Adhyaksha.
Bihar after 73rd amendment of the constitution encated Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 making
provisions regarding reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Women, and
Backward class of citizens. These reservation provisions invited writ petitions before Hon'’le
High Court Patna (CWGC No. 3351 of 1994- Krishan Kumar Mishra andothers). The Hon’ble

3
Reddy, Nandana and Damodar Acharya. 2007. ‘Striking at the Roots of Democracy’. Economic and Political Weekly,
May 5, p. 1601.
4
Ibid, p. 174.

5
High Court vide its order dated 19th March 1996 in CWJC no. 3351 of 1994 with eleven other
CWJCs quashed certain provisions of the Bihar Panchayat Raj, 1993 regarding reservation. The
net results of the above judgement was that seats can be reserved for the Scheduled Casts, the
Scheduled Tribes and Women and the offices of Chairpersons cannot be reserved as these posts
are to be treated as single post. As regards reservation for Backward class of citizens, the Hon’ble
High Court quashed Schedule of the Act with a direction to revise the list of Backward class of
citizens. In other words, until a new Schedule containing the list of Backward class of citizens is
in position no reservation can be given to such class of citizens. The state Government filed on
SLP vide Special Leave Petition (Civil) no. 9724-9728 and 9819-25 of 1996. The Hon’ble
Supreme Court passed an interim order on 22.7.97 with the observation that the matter should be
placed before the Hon’ble Chief Justic of India for constitution of the appropriate Bench for the
disposal of these matters. The State Government came to the conclusion that elections to
Panchayats has been stayed by the Appex Court and accordingly the proposal to hold the election
was shelved. There was another public interest litigation in the Patna High Court bearing CWJC
no. 8765/1998 (Nand Kishore Singh versus Union of India and others). It was heard by the Chief
Justice Ravi S.Dhawan and Justice Aftab Alam5. When the Court asked the Advocate General
why the election was not held, the Court was told that there was a stay order as an injunction from
the Supreme Court. The Court sought the order from the State Counsel, butthe order as was
claimed could not be produced. The High Court in its order of 13.4.2000 stated that the order of
Supreme Court order “was being interpreted by tearing a phrase out of its context virtually by
misinterpreting the Supreme Court order.” The High Court further observed “the mystery of a
non-existent injunction which was declared to exist, but is conspicuous by its absence. This is
chicanery of legal engineering.” The court also observed that “….. not to hold election (of Gram
panchayats) would be a clear abnormality and against the mandate of the Constitution.” Hon’ble
High while concluding its order observed: “The court hopes that this furtherance of running a
government not in keeping with the Constitution of India will cease. Local government without
elected representatives is an insult to the Constitution of India”. Again the State Government went
before Hon’ble Supreme Court for clarification of the its order dated 22.7.1997. Apex court in its
judgement on 29.8.2000 held that “there is no bar for holding electionsto different Panchayats in

5
Hazarika, Sujata D. 2006. ‘Political Participation of Women and the Dilectics of 73rd Amendment’. The Indian
Journal of Political Science, Vol. 67, No. 2 (April- June), pp. 245-260 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/41856212> (Last
Access: 15th November, 2014)

6
accordance with law, as it stands today, which will be subject to the final decision in pending
appeals.” Accordingly process of election to PRIs started in October 2000 and actual election was
held in April 2001. That elections to PRI would be held in Bihar was a surprise to even to District
Magistrates. The State Election Commission has observed in his report that it was shocked to find
that “district administration (meeting of District Magistrates and Divisional Commissioners on
16th January 2001) was still doubtful about the intention of the Government and the Commission
to conduct the election6.”
The 2001 election to PRIs has for the first time elected 44815 female representations in the PRI of
which 9266 are SC females. Altogether 29962 S.C citizens have been elected in various units of
PRIs. This has exhibited the establishment of grassroot democracy in Bihar. However, full powers
as assigned to the Panchayat Raj Institutions under the 73rd Amendment of Constitution or even
under Bihar Panchayat Raj Act 1993 notified vide L.G.-1.020/93-274 Leg dated 28th October
1994, have not been delegated. Rules are yet to be notified empowering functioning of the PRIs.
Hon’ble High Court Patna in various writ applications have been observing against the state
government on this abnormal delay in transferring actual power to PRIs. This has affected the
moral of the elected representatives. Absence of any training facilities to these representatives
have made them ignorant about their role as agents for ensuring economic development of their
constituents and for establishing participative and accountable grass root administration.

Gram Sabha :-
Chapter II of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act 1993 (Bihar Act 19 of 1993) enunciates powers and
functions of the Gram Sabha. Section 9 of Chapter II lays down following functions of the Gram
Sabha.7
(a) Rendering assistance in the implementation of developmental scheme pertaining to villages;
(b) Identification of beneficiaries for the implementation of development schemes pertaining to
the village;
Provided that in case the Gram Sabha fails to identify the beneficiaries within a reasonable time
the Gram Panchayat shall identify the beneficiaries

6
See, Chaudhuri, 2006, supra note 3, p. 171. The table formulated by the author has shown that except Punjab and
Uttar Pradesh, all other states have followed the 33% reservation mandate.
7
Hazarika, 2006, supra note 28, pp. 245-260.

7
(c) Procuring voluntary labour and contributions in kind or in cash or both, for community
welfare programmes;
(d) Programmes of adult education and family welfare within the village;
(e) Promotion of unity and harmony among all sections of society in the village;
(f) Seeking clarifications from the Mukhiya and members of the Gram Panchayat about any
particular activity, scheme, income and expenditure; and
(g) Reports of the vigilance committee.
(h) Such other matter as may be prescribed. Section 7 of Chapter II of Bihar Act 19, 1993 also
provides that the Gram.8

Sabha shall consider following:-

(a) The annual statement of accounts of the Gram Panchayat, the report of the administration of
the preceding financial year and the last audit note and replies, if any, made thereto;
(b) The budget of the Gram Panchayat for the next financial year;9
(c) The report in respect of development programmes of the Gram Panchayat relating to the
preceding year and development programmes proposed to be undertaken during the current year;
(d) Reports of the vigilance committee. The above functions can be effective and meaningful only
after a model plan of development of the village is before the Gram Sabha. Such development
plan should be based upon economic requirements of the village for the villagers, through use of
locally available resources, necessity of augmenting such resources (physical and financial) and
methods through which the end result of task of socio-economic development can be achieved.
Preparation of model development plan for villages is basically to help the villages/Gram Sabha
in accomplishing the target of development of the socio-economic conditions of the village. It is
the most necessary vital tool in empowering Gram Sabhas to discharge their functions effectively
and efficiently. 10
1993-The 73rd constitutional amendment: It takes a village :-

8
Article 243K, the Constitution of India, 1950.
9
Banerjee, Rahul. 2013. ‘What Ails Panchayati Raj?’. Economic and Political Weekly, Volume XLVIII, No. 30 (Jul. 27),
p. 173.
10
Article 243I, the Constitution of India, 1950.

8
Mahatma Gandhi had first championed the idea of little village republics but it was under P.V.
Narasimha Rao that the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, better known as the Panchayati Raj
Act, became effective. As with all things Congress, the kudos for pushing this act goes to a
member of the dynasty, Rajiv Gandhi. As former Panchayati Raj minister Mani Shankar Aiyar
points out, there are three people who get credit for this. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and
Rajiv.11

In October 1989, Rajiv tried to pass the act in Parliament but the motion was defeated. For the
general elections that followed, he had even toyed with the idea of kicking off his campaign from
Nagaur in Rajasthan, where Nehru had set up India's first panchayat in 1959. And it was the Rajiv
legacy rather than Rao's initiative that Aiyar marketed when he embarked on his famous four-day
padyatra in 1993. Recalling it today, he says, "I remained faithful and was on foot for all four
days."

Apart from Aiyar, the other two leaders who nurtured the act through the joint committee stage
were two MPs in the then Lok Sabha, Nitish Kumar and Digvijay Singh. Soon after it was
notified in 1993, Singh won the Madhya Pradesh elections on this plank. Today there are 2.5 lakh
panchayats in India. At Aiyar's initiative, the panchayats can now instruct the Planning
Commission on what they need for their development, instead of the other way round.12

The system is also a great tool for social empowerment. With 33 per cent reservation, out of the
3.2 million elected representatives, 1.2 million are women. Of these, 80,000 are sarpanches. This
year, the Union Cabinet has okayed 50 per cent reservation for women. But complaints of neglect
by the Centre still persist. Mourns Aiyar, "After Rajiv, the political will has been lacking. Merely
providing funds will not solve the problem of inclusive growth." Even 16 years after its
notification, Panchayati Raj still remains an arena for argument.

11
The Constitution of India, 1950.
12
Article 243E, the Constitution of India, 1950.

9
 PANCHAYATI RAJ IN INDIA - 73RD CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT:

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by the Parliament in April 1993. The
Amendment provided a Constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in India and left
no discretion with the State governments in several important matters pertaining to these
Institutions. Before the 73rd Amendment was made effective, Article 40 of the original
Constitution provided for a Directive to the government to take steps to organise village
Panchayats and endow them with the powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to
function as the units of self-government. But, by mid-eighties it was realised that the said
Directive was not sufficient to institutionalise Panchayati Raj in India.13
The practice of Panchayati Raj as per the Directive Principles of the State Policy was not to the
satisfaction of the policy makers. There were several reasons for this. One of the reasons was that
no uniform pattern of Panchayati Raj was being followed by the State governments. While few
States followed a two-tier system, the others followed a system of three tiers. Further, many
States were not holding regular elections to the PRIs. Since the elections to the PRIs were being
held by the State governments themselves, their fairness and independence was seriously
doubtful. Moreover, there were no standard guidelines with regard to delegation of powers to
such institutions. More important was the need to empower the people in the rural areas as well as
the empowerment of women. It was observed that political power had remained in the hands of
socially and economically influential people, with the poor man having little participation in
political decision-making. The same was true in case of women also, whose percentage in the
Parliament has remained between 4 to 7 per cent after independence. 14The political policy makers
then began to think in terms of Amendment to the Constitution to empower the people in the rural
areas, more particularly the women, and give a Constitutional status to the PRI, so as to bring
uniformity in this regard in the entire country. The Constitutional Amendment Act was passed in

13
Ibid, p. 820.
14
The Constitution of India, 1950.

10
the year 1993 and the State governments were then required to enact revised Panchayati Raj Acts
as per the provisions of the amended Constitution.

Before the impact of 73rd Amendment is assessed, it would be better to consider the provisions of
this Amendment. Articles 243, 243A to 243-O were added as parts of newly inserted Part IX of
the Constitution. The Amendment introduced across the board three-tier system of the PRIs at
village Panchayat, Block and District levels. The electorates at Gram Panchayat level have been
named as the Gram Sabha which elects the representatives to Gram Panchayat by way of direct
election. Further, Article 243D provides for reservation of seats at all levels for Scheduled Castes
(SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and women. While the reservation for the SCs/STs is as per their
actual proportion in population of the concerned area, it is provided that not less than one-third of
the total seats in all the tiers will be reserved for women. The States are empowered to reserve the
offices of the Chairpersons at all the three tiers. 15 There is a move now to increase the reservation
for women to 50 per cent. The Constitution now provides that every PRI shall continue for a
period of five years. The States have also been empowered to allow the PRIs in their respective
legislative Acts to levy, collect and appropriate several tolls and taxes. With this the PRIs at all
the tiers will be able to generate financial resources at local-level and make expenditure in the
desired field as per locally-felt needs. The State laws may lay down the procedure to be followed,
as well as the limits of such taxes/levies. The State governments may also assign to the
Panchayats various taxes and duties collected by it. The State governments are required to
appoint a State Finance Commission to review the financial position of the PRIs and make
recommendations with regard to the distribution of net proceeds of taxes between the States and
the PRIs, assignment of certain taxes exclusively to the PRIs and the grants-in-aid.

As per Articles 243G and 243H, the PRIs are entrusted with the responsibility of preparing micro-
plans for economic development, beginning at Panchayat-level. These institutions are also
responsible for implementation of schemes aimed at socio-economic development and exercise
powers delegated in respect of 29 developmental items as prescribed in 11th Schedule of the
Constitution. These items include: land improvement, irrigation, animal husbandry, fisheries,
education, women and child development, etc. Most of the States have delegated these functions

15
The legislative origin of such Amendment dates back to the Constitution (64 th Amendment) Bill introduced by Rajiv
Gandhi in July 1989 which got defeated in Rajya Sabha because of little discretionary power on offer to states in
terms of local government reforms.

11
to the PRIs as per the spirit of 73rd Amendment and the PRIs are now empowered to function in
these fields as per enabling provisions in the concerned Acts of the State governments.

Though reservation of seats for the SCs/STs is based on their actual proportion in the population,
yet some States have also reserved seats for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). But there is no
discretion with the States to reduce the reservation for women, which is prescribed to be not less
than one-third of the total seats. The actual reservation for women in the PRIs ranges from 35 to
42 per cent in various States. As a result, people belonging to the backward and the vulnerable
sections, including the women, have almost 50 per cent seats in the PRIs to themselves, which is
expected to result in their actual empowerment. 16 The PRIs have been made responsible for
preparing District, Block and Panchayat-level plans for ensuring economic development in their
respective areas. The flow of funds for economic development would be based on such plans.
With the power to levy several taxes at Panchayat-level, these provisions would empower the
PRIs financially and make them self-reliant. Most of the States have also taken necessary steps to
enforce most of the provisions provided for in their own Panchayati Raj Acts. But there are
serious problems in actual practice. Though in most of the States the PRIs are functioning as per
the Constitutional provisions, yet it is seriously doubted whether the objective of empowerment of
people at the grass root level has actually been achieved.

Bottlenecks :-

Illiteracy has been one of the most glaring stumbling blocks in achieving the laid down goals of
the new Panchayati Raj system. There is a fair chance that many of the women representatives
elected to all the three tiers of the PRIs may be illiterate. Further, with several social handicaps,
most of the female representatives of these institutions do not feel at ease to visit the government
offices for various works and their authority is exercised by others. Many States have not
delegated the powers and functions to the PRIs in the true spirit of 73rd Constitutional
Amendment. Even if the functions have been delegated, the required powers to execute the said
functions are not with the PRIs. There is a general reluctance on part of the bureaucrats and the
ministers and MLAs to share their existing powers and authority with the newly created PRIs. As
16
The concept of Village Panchayats was inserted in the Constitution in Article 40 under the chapter of Directive
Principles of State Policy.

12
a result, while on paper the delegation has taken place, actually the PRIs are not in a position to
perform the assigned functions. In other words, the objective of empowerment of people and
women at the village-level has not been achieved. There is a general lack of manpower in the
PRIs, particularly at the village level. With a limited number of officials, even after the complete
devolution of powers, it may become difficult for the PRIs to look after all the works assigned to
them by the State government. Unless the PRIs are equipped with adequate staff to discharge their
functions, the objectives set forth under the 73rd Amendment may not be achieved. Approach
Paper to the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07) had dealt with the PRIs at great length. It observed
that the objective of enhancement of participation and empowerment at the village-level was not
achieved. It was also observed that the excessive controls provided at three tiers have not been
able to enhance the efficacy of the PRIs. The excessive controls at the three tiers have rather been
found to be counter-productive. The Approach Paper has also made certain recommendations on
the basis of experience of the previous few years. Some of the important recommendations made
were: (i) Enable the States, by amending the Constitution, to abolish Block-level or the District-
level tier, as the excessive control is proving counter-productive; (ii) Union Finance Commission
funds and other PRI development funds from the Centre may not be released to the States. unless
the required powers were delegated to the PRIs by them; (iii) The PRIs should be empowered and
encouraged to levy and collect taxes at their own level; (iv) It is also recommended to increase
accountability of the PRIs, strengthen their financial management and audit procedures and
provide the required orientation to the elected representatives so that the laid down objectives are
achieved. Even the strategies proposed by the 11th Plan revolve around (i) improving Panchayat
Raj Institutions; (ii) Strengthening the administrative machinery; (iii) Convergence of resources;
(iv) alternative delivery mechanism; and (v) removing bottlenecks in scheme guidelines.
Monitoring indicators for the Eleventh Plan reflect on providing one electrified school building in
each village panchayat, one library with books, one drinking water source in each village
panchayat, linking up SHGs that have obtained revolving fund with credit assistance and
increasing resources to the rural local bodies. The above would reveal that the policy makers at
the highest level are fully aware that the goals of empowerment have not been met fully and a
serious thinking is required to be done by the Union as well as the State governments. But it
would also be wrong to conclude that the situation is hopeless. There are many success stories and
at many places female and SC/ST representatives have done a wonderful job in the PRIs. The

13
objective of empowerment is not far from being achieved. But some procedural and legislative
changes may be necessary. Most necessary are the attitudinal changes.

73rd Amendment Act Came Into Effect - [April 24, 1993] This Day in History :-

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act was passed in 1992 and it came into effect on 24 April
1993. The Act empowered state governments to take the necessary steps that would lead to the
formalisation of the gram panchayats and help them operate as units of self-governance. 17

What was the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act?

 Village panchayats existed in India long before the act was passed in 1992, but the system
had inherent weaknesses like the inability to be a people’s government responsive to their
needs. This was due to a variety of factors like a lack of financial resources, no regular
elections and inadequate representation of the weaker sections like scheduled castes/tribes
and women18.

 The Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of India lays down in Article

40 that the government shall facilitate the establishment and smooth functioning of the
gram panchayats.

 In order to address these issues and strengthen the local self-governments in India, the
central government brought about the 73rd Amendment Act in 1992. The act was passed in
both houses and entered into force from 24th April 1993.

 This Act added a new chapter into the Constitution called ‘Part IX: The Panchayats’.

 The chief features of the act are mentioned below:

 This Act made the Panchayati Raj institutions in the country constitutional bodies.

 Under Article 243-B, it has become compulsory for every state to establish
panchayats in their territories.
17
The Constitutional (73rd) Amendment Act, 1993, which was passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on 22 nd
December, 1992 and 23rd December, 1992 respectively with ratification by 17 state assemblies, including West
Bengal and Bihar (both opposition-ruled states). Thereafter, the president signed the bill and it went into effect on
April 24, 1993.
18
Ibid, p. 819.

14
  Article 243-G makes it mandatory for the state governments to devolve powers,
responsibilities and authority to the panchayats.

 The gram panchayats have a fixed tenure of 5 years.

 State election commissions have been provided with the mechanism to conduct
independent elections to the village panchayats.

 Article 243-D gives provisions for the due representation of women and SC/STs.

 The State Finance Commission should also evaluate the financial position of the
panchayats every five years.

Result of the 73rd Amendment:-

 The passing of the 73rd Amendment has improved local self-government in the country
vastly.19

 In order to celebrate this and further give impetus to the institutions, the central
government in 2010 decided to observe 24th April every year as National Panchayati Raj
Day

 Today, the formalised Panchayati raj functions in three levels namely, the Gram
Panchayat (at the village level), the Mandal Parishad/Panchayat Samiti/Block Samiti (at
the Block level), and the Zila Parishad (at the district level).

The Constitutional (73rd) Amendment Act, 1993: Key Provisions :-

Hailed as a watershed in the evolution of local governments in India, this Act contains Part IX of
the Constitution of India and has added 11th Schedule to it.17 Articles 243 to 243 ‘O’ in the

19
The concept of Village Panchayats was inserted in the Constitution in Article 40 under the chapter of Directive
Principles of State Policy.

15
Constitution are related to the PR system and there are 29 functional items of the Panchayats.18
The Act has provided for a three-tier system, same as was introduced in 1957, in the form of the
Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block or intermediate level and Zilla
Parishad at the district level. It provides for a five-year office term to the Panchayat at every
level. It has an inclusive provision of reservation of seats for the SCs and STs in every Panchayat
and at all levels, proportionate to their population in the Panchayat area.Rightfully so,
consideration to women under the Act has resulted into reservation of not less than one-third of
the total number of seats for them. The Act has also mandated the regular elections to locally
elected bodies looked after by the State Election Commission, which is there for direction,
superintendence and control of the. preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections
to the Panchayats. More so, the Governor of the respective state has been empowered to
constitute a State Finance Commission, after every five years, to review the financial position of
the Panchayats. Few noteworthy reasons behind the passage of the Act were that there was
widespread consensus regarding the failures of the bureaucratic and centralized apparatus of the
Indian developmental state which was supplemented with a political agenda of democratic
deepening and there was a remarkable consensus among India’s policy-making and intellectual
elites.20
PR system and its vulnerable actors :-
Before getting into the analysis of different parameters of the design and scope of devolution in
various states, let’s first know the incidental effects and relations of the PR system on and with its
various vulnerable stakeholders.

Bureaucracy and the PR system:21

Bureaucracy comes in as a stakeholder not in the sense that whether it gets benefit out of the
system or not, but because of the vital role it has to play for the success of the PR system.
Bureaucracy has not been sympathetic to the PR system as the bureaucratic gate keeping of
Panchayats has always been there where bureaucrats can throw rules at Panchayats and will
never be accountable to them. Most panchayati raj institutions still operate as poor adjuncts to the
bureaucracy and higher level governments. There has been a big disconnect between the lower

20
Singh, Hoshiar. 1994. ‘Constitutional Base for Panchayati Raj in India: The 73rd Amendment Act’. Asian Survey,
Vol. 34, No. 9, September, p. 818.
21
Ibid, pp. 820-21.

16
level bureaucracy and the PR system and ongoing tussle still continues where the PR system has
tried to function well and flourish. Even the transfer of service control of lower bureaucracy to
Panchayats has not been successful as in Madhya Pradesh it has been tried and resulted in a big
failure. It has been seen that the civil . servants at the local level are accountable only to their
seniors in the administrative hierarchy and never want to be accountable to the members of the
local government.22

Women and Surrogate representation:-

Though, the one-third reservation has created a silent revolution in the country, the government
always needed to support this watershed provision with sufficient social, economic and political
conditions to enable women to participate effectively in the local government institutions. But, the
environment remained the same, and even though the data showed that most of the states followed
this constitutional mandate, it has always remained illusionary in nature. It has been analysed that
elected women often act as proxies for men's views at the councils, being advised by their male
relative.The one-third reservation given to women under the Act has not led to anything but to
surrogate representation actually, where any male relative of the women concerned exercises
power on behalf of her, rendering her as mere de jure actor and there are very few women in PR
system those are actually functioning.

Dalits and Adivasis:-

With respect to SCs and STs, the case has been even worse that the case of women representation
in the PR system. At the village level, most of the states have been found not have proportionate
representation instead of it being a constitutional mandate, which points towards the social and
exclusionary dynamics operating in the villages of the states. On the other hand, the observation
of the mandate at the district level is nothing but politically motivated steps by different political
parties for purely electoral reasons. The reservation given to them under the Act too seems futile
as they are just acting as rubber stamps and until and unless the socio-political environment gets

22

B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) [CNLU], LL.M. [NALSAR], 1st Semester, M. Phil., 2014, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

17
non-exclusionary and participatory democratization in terms of participation by SCs and STs
takes place, this constitutional mandate will remain a dead letter23.

MLAs and the PR system:-

The devolution of powers under the 11th Schedule has also led to the power undercutting for
MLAs and thus they see the PR system as a threat to their monopoly over the domain of power
and corruption at the local level. It has been seen that many MLAs and in few states even MPs
held the membership of the local bodies and which has resulted in them enjoying disproportionate
influence.

More so, the 2007 amendment to the Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act which conferred upon the
state legislators, powers over the gram sabhas and panchayats, not only takes away the
panchayats’ right to choose beneficiaries for government-funded programmes but also affects the
right of rural voters to participate in local self-government, and shows that how the spirit of
decentralisation and the Constitution are dismantled.24

Design, Extent and Scope of Devolution :-

Along with mandatory provisions in the 73rd Amendment Act, there were many key discretionary
provisions too, due to which the design and degree of implementation of these provisions were
lying at the behest of the individual states depending upon their whims and fancies. Now, this has
led to a substantial digression in the extent, design and scope of devolution across different states
of India. The devolution of powers, thus, to the rural local bodies, with respect to all three
dimensions i.e. political, functional and financial, has been very poor.25

Reforms with respect to political devolution:

For the first time in India the dramatic broadening of representative democratic base took place
after the passage of the 73rd Amendment Act, as it led to exponential enhancement of
constitutionally recognised representative bodies to more than 2 million. But still, against the
spirit of Amendment, most of the states have retained considerable powers over the rural local
23

From a political point of view, it is an important element of participatory democracy wherein citizens have an
opportunity to easily communicate their choices to elected officials who are accountable to them.
24
The concept of Village Panchayats was inserted in the Constitution in Article 40 under the chapter of Directive
Principles of State Policy.
25
Ibid, pp. 820-21.

18
bodies with them and have acted as an ‘Aggrandiser government’ Though, some of the states
have conducted elections to these PR bodies, it has not been at a regular interval of 5 years.

Many a time, the Supreme Court and the High Courts had to assertively intervene to preserve the
spirit of the Constitution, as in the cases of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The
bureaucracy too was indisposed to have elected PR institutions. In most of the states, the state
government supported by the bureaucracy believes that they are and should be the only karta
dharta of the state. Also, most of the states had direct elections of the panchayat chairperson,
which was perpetuating this position’s status as ‘first among equals’.35 The roles and functions of
gram sabha were left to the discretion, whims and fancies of state legislatures and just remained
developmental organisations and implementing agencies.26

Reforms with respect to functional and financial devolution:

Instead of having an array of functions under the 11th Schedule, which was overlapping to a great
extent with those mentioned under the 7th Schedule, the functioning of local governments has
always remained confined to street lighting, sanitation, water supply and local roads. With respect
to developmental activities, they have acted as implementing agencies in the form of google
search engines for the state governments merely to identify beneficiaries. They could never
oversee management and implementation of plethora of governmental schemes.
Even after the Constitutional Amendment, the legislations enacted or amended by the states to
widen the domain of functioning of panchayats have been in a skeletal form and the ‘flesh and
blood’ of it has been missing for the reason that the administrative rules and procedures have been
controlled largely by the executives. Specific rules and responsibilities of the PR bodies have
been substantially absent from these enactments. Many states have not established the district
planning committee mandated by Article 243ZD, and even where it is in place, they are being
headed by state ministers, which again strikes severely at the decentralization of power. Further,
even in some states, though the functions have been transferred, requisite amount of funds and
personnel, through which these functions can be carried out, has remained under the control of
state government and the state-level bureaucracy except in states of Karnataka, Kerala, West
Bengal and Maharashtra.27
26
Singh, Hoshiar. 1994. ‘Constitutional Base for Panchayati Raj in India: The 73rd Amendment Act’. Asian Survey,
Vol. 34, No. 9, September, p. 818.
27
Reddy, Nandana and Damodar Acharya. 2007. ‘Striking at the Roots of Democracy’. Economic and Political
Weekly, May 5, p. 1601.

19
OBJECTIVES-PANCHAYAT RAJ INSTITUTIONS-GRAM SABHA:-
The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 has added a new part IX consisting of 16 Articles
and the Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution. The 73th 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. The amendment provides for a three tier Panchayat Raj System at the
village, intermediate and district levels. Articles 243A provides that the Gram Sabha may exercise
such power and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a state may be
lawprovide. The 73rd amendment thus envisages the Gram Sabha as the foundation of Panchayat
Raj System. “Gram Sabha” means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls
comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level. In the Panchayat Raj System Gram
Sabha is the only permanent unit. Duration of Panchayat i.e. Mukhiyas and other members of
Panchayat continue for 5 years only from the date appointed for the first meeting, but the villagers
do not change. Empowerment of Gram Sabha means strengthening of the Panchayat Raj
Institution (PRIs). Success or failure of this system depends upon the strength of the Gram Sabha.
The eleventh scheduled of the constitutioncreated by the 73rd Amendment contains 29 subjects
on which the Panchayats shall have administrative Control, Articles 243H empowers
StateLegislature to make by law provision for imposing taxes etc. by the panchayat. Obviously
these panchayats before imposing any levy or tax in the village would be required to get clearance
from the respective Gram Sabha. Drafting and implementation of development plans for the uplift
of the villages would be vetted and monitored by the Gram Sabhas.

Conclusion and Suggestions :-

Though, the Panchayats have been considered as a gift by the sovereign politics to the people of
the villages of India, it is not so, as, they have been thought of as the nursery of future India, and
their success becomes immaterial for the reason that their existence in itself is necessary. More so,
it can be inferred that there have been lesser leakage of resources at the Panchayat level and
under the wider PR system as a whole in comparison to the national or state level. Further, it can

20
be seen from the analysis of the data available that the PR system has great potential and
competence to play a major role in the overall progress of the economy and polity of such a
diverse and big country as India.
It has only been less than two decades and this is too short a time to write a report card of the PR
system. And, to say that they have always been inefficient is actually improper and too early to
make a conclusive comment. They too need much more time, say at least another fifteen to twenty
years, to showcase what they are capable of and then only someone can come up with a
substantial analysis of the functioning of the PR system. Also, by saying this, I never intend to say
that decentralization or the PR system can be panacea for all problems of corruption and
accountability. Further, I would like to suggest that merely placing plethora of functions doesn’t
make sense, as it has been observed that state governments see it as their power undercutting and
treat it as a threat; rather, the legislature should try to implicate the principle of subsidiarity for
drastic reorganisation and redesigning of the political and administrative system at the state level
to accommodate strong district and lower-level PRIs to assign functions to levels where it works
in the best possible manner. Also, the functional efficacy of the PR system along with its
democratization must be kept in mind and should not be overlooked. At the end, I would like to
conclude by saying that it has become very pertinent to ask us and especially to those involved in
PR system’s establishment and functioning, that what do we want from the Panchayats and what
is the democratic rationale of local governments. Only after answering these questions we’ll be
able to fulfil the Bapu’s dream of gram swaraj.

21
LIST OF REFERENCES :-
 Statutes:

 The Constitution of India, 1950

 The Constitutional (73rd) Amendment Act, 1993

 Literature cited (Books and Articles):

 Aureliano Fernandes. 2003. ‘Aggrandiser Government and Local Governance’. Economic

and Political Weekly, July 5, p. 2873.

 Banerjee, Rahul. 2013. ‘What Ails Panchayati Raj?’. Economic and Political Weekly,
Volume XLVIII, No. 30 (Jul. 27), p. 173.

 Bardhan, P. and Dilip Mookherjee. 2006. ‘Decentralization in West Bengal: Origins,

Functioning and Impact’, in: Pranab Bardhan and Dilip Mookherjee (eds.)
Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing Countries, (London: The MIT
Press)

22
  Chaudhuri, Shubham. 2006. ‘What Difference Does a Constitutional Amendment Make?
The 1994 Panchayati Raj Act and the Attempt to Revitalize Rural Local Government in
India’, in: Pranab Bardhan and Dilip Mookherjee (eds.) Decentralization and Local
Governance in Developing Countries, (London: The MIT Press)

 Crook, Richard and James Manor. 1995. ‘Democratic Decentralisation and Institutional
Performance: Four Asian and African Experiences Compared’, Journal of
Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, Volume 33, No. 3, pp. 309-334 (Frank Cass:
London).

 Hazarika, Sujata D. 2006. ‘Political Participation of Women and the Dilectics of 73rd
Amendment’. The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 67, No. 2 (April- June), pp.
245-260 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/41856212> (Last Access: 15th November, 2014)

 Mohanty, Bidyut. 1995. ‘Panchayati Raj, 73rd Constitutional Amendment and Women’.
Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 30, No. 52 (Dec. 30), pp. 3346-3350. <
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4403611> (Last Access: 10th November, 2014)

 Reddy, Nandana and Damodar Acharya. 2007. ‘Striking at the Roots of Democracy’.
Economic and Political Weekly, May 5, p. 1601.

 Rondinelli, Dennis et. al. 1983. ‘Decentralization in Developing Countries’. World Bank
Staff Working Papers Number 581, Management and Development Series Number 8
(World Bank: Washington).

 Singh, Hoshiar. 1994. ‘Constitutional Base for Panchayati Raj in India: The 73rd
Amendment Act’. Asian Survey, Vol. 34, No. 9, September, p. 820.

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