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In the history of Panchayati Raj, April 23, 1993 is a landmark day. As on this day the institution of Panchayati Raj was accorded constitutional status through the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, thereby seeking to transform Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Gram Swaraj into reality. The UPA government has made Panchayati Raj as one of the pivots of the Common Minimum Programme. A full fledged Ministry status was accorded to Panchayati Raj with the two key functions of economic development and social justice.
Panchayati Raj (local self-governance) holds the key to garibi hatao (alleviation of poverty). This can come about only if the institutions of Panchayati Raj are strengthened at the grassroot level. The Government has identified 16 major dimensions to this whole process adding two more rural business hubs and IT enabled e-governance, as also 100 different steps that need to be taken to strengthen this process. It’s a movement from empowerment to entitlement and then on to enrichment, according to the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar.
A fresh national impetus has been given to the devolution of powers, responsibilities and finances through the Seven Round Tables of State Ministers of Panchayati Raj which arrived by consensus, at 150 recommendations pertaining to 18 dimensions of Panchayati Raj.
Women Power
Women hold a key place in making Panchayati Raj effective. It is clear that women have been able to enlarge their representation beyond a minimum 33.33 per cent prescribed by the Constitution. In Karnataka 45 per cent of the elected offices are occupied by women and in Uttar Pradesh 54 per cent of the Zilla Panchayat Pradhans are women. Similarly in Tamil Nadu 36 per cent of the chairpersons of gram panchayats are women. In promoting the larger social objectives through PRIs, States have been sensitized to issues of gender empowerment so that unintended consequences of such policies do not diminish the role of women in Panchayati Raj.
The Centre has the responsibility for implementing in letter and spirit, the provisions of the Constitution relating to Panchayats and Nagarpalikas. Efforts are being made towards evolving the Local Self Government institutions in States and Union Territories as a role model. Considerable progress has been made in this regard in Damn and Diu and Nagar Haveli.
The Indian voter is one and indivisible. The principle of parity between parliamentary and assembly elections, on the one hand and panchayat elections, on the other, must therefore be maintained, especially as it is noticed that peoples participation in panchayat elections is substantial and generally equal to or higher than in parliamentary/assembly elections. While all matters relating to panchayat elections have been vested by the Constitution in State legislatures/governments, there is a need to work towards commonality, if not uniformity, in election procedures and provisions.
Strong PRIs in Karnataka
In the southern part, Karnataka shines as an example in implementing and strengthening PRIs. Karnataka has initiated implementation of 77 of the 106 recommendations of the Round Tables. The amendments made to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act in October 2003 and the subsequent steps taken to strengthen the Grama Sabha; create and empower Ward Sabhas; complete Activity Mapping; and rationalize and simplify schemes entrusted to the Panchayats are examples to be emulated countrywide. The monitoring of the actualization of devolution by the Legislative Committees is a significant step in the strengthening of Panchayats in the State. The entrustment of schemes by the State Governments to Panchayats in the current year’s budget is a giant step forward in matching the functional transfer with funds. Through this process, the Panchayats now handle in excess of Rs. 3,500 crore of Plan funds per year.
West Bengal Shows The Way
West Bengal has been at the forefront of the empowerment of Panchayats from 1973 onwards. In 1994, it enacted its State Panchayat Legislation to conform to the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, so as to establish Panchayats as institutions of local self-Government in the letter and spirit of Part IX of the Constitution. The steps taken in this State to institutionalise peoples’ participation through Panchayati Raj, stand testimony to its sustained commitment towards Panchayati Raj.
The panchayat system appears to provide a systematic training ground for the people who will take top leadership positions in the country in the future. Women are making impressive strides in this quest for leadership. It appears that the leadership of the ordinary people is being established in West Bengal. Through the panchayat system, the voiceless seemed to have gained the voice. With commitment to democratic decentralization, these bodies are on their way to becoming truly self-governing institutions.
*Journalist from Kolkatta
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