A condensed summary of this chapter for last-minute revision: definitions, numbers, dates, and comparison tables. The full notes are available separately for detailed reading.
1 The Three-Tier Structure of Panchayati Raj
| Level | Name | Area |
|---|---|---|
| District level | Zilla Panchayat | Entire district |
| Intermediate level | Mandal / Block / Taluka Panchayat | Block/Tehsil (need not be constituted in smaller States) |
| Village level | Gram Panchayat | One or more villages |
| Base of all | Gram Sabha | All adult voters in the village |
2 Numbers Worth Remembering
73rd / 74thConstitutional Amendments: 1992, constitutional status for rural / urban local government
1/3Reservation for women at every level, including within SC/ST/OBC seats
29Subjects assigned to panchayats in the Eleventh Schedule
5 yearsTerm; fresh election mandatory within 6 months if dissolved
32 lakh+Total representatives elected under the 73rd and 74th Amendments, over 13 lakh of them women
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1882 | Lord Ripon’s initiative: the first major step for local government |
| 1919 / 1935 | Government of India Act, 1919: village panchayats set up in a number of provinces, a trend that continued after the 1935 Act |
| 1948 | Ananthasayanam Ayyangar’s speech in the Constituent Assembly in favour of panchayats |
| 1952 | Community Development Programme |
| 1989 | P.K. Thungon Committee: recommends constitutional status for panchayats |
| 1992 | 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments passed |
| 1995 | Geeta Rathore elected Sarpanch from a reserved seat (Jamonia Talab, Sehore, M.P.) |
| 1996 | PESA Act: extends panchayats to Scheduled Areas |
| 1997 | Vengaivasal (Tamil Nadu) Gram Panchayat versus the Collector, the land dispute |
| 2000 | Geeta Rathore re-elected from a general seat |
3 Definitions, Exactly as They Should Be Written
All Definitions in One Place
73rd AmendmentConstitutional status for rural local government (Panchayati Raj), uniform three-tier structure (the intermediate tier need not be constituted in smaller States)
74th AmendmentConstitutional status for urban local government (Nagarpalika), Twelfth Schedule
Gram SabhaAssembly of all adult voters of the village, the base of direct democracy
Article 243GPower for panchayats to plan and implement subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule
State Election CommissionerIndependent constitutional authority conducting elections to local bodies
State Finance CommissionBody recommending revenue distribution between the State and local bodies
PESA, 1996Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, extends greater powers to the Gram Sabha in tribal areas
4 Two Famous Examples at a Glance
4.1 Geeta Rathore versus Vengaivasal
Geeta Rathore (Jamonia Talab, Sehore, M.P.)
- 1995: elected Sarpanch from a reserved seat
- 2000: re-elected from a general seat
- Shows reservation can give women real leadership acceptance
Vengaivasal (Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu)
- 1997: land allotted to 71 government employees
- Gram Panchayat’s resistance, conflict with the Collector
- Madras High Court: single-judge bench for the Collector, Division Bench for the Panchayat
4.2 Brazil and Bolivia: Two Foreign Examples of Decentralisation
Brazil: States, Federal Districts, and Municipal Councils each have independent powers, States cannot interfere in Municipal Councils’ functioning, just as the Republic cannot interfere in the States’.
1994Popular Participation Law
314Municipal governments with elected mayors
20%Of nationwide tax collections distributed to municipalities per capita
Final Recap
- Three-tier structure: Zilla Panchayat, Mandal/Block/Taluka Panchayat, Gram Panchayat, based on the Gram Sabha
- 73rd Amendment: 5-year term, 1/3 women’s reservation (within SC/ST/OBC seats too), 29 subjects (Eleventh Schedule), PESA 1996
- 74th Amendment: urban bodies (Nagarpalikas), the 73rd’s provisions applied to urban areas, Twelfth Schedule; what counts as “urban” is defined by the Census of India (5,000 people, 75% of male workers in non-agricultural work, 400 persons per sq. km), not by the Amendment
- Geeta Rathore and Vengaivasal: two real examples of reservation’s success and local-versus-administrative conflict
- Limitation: rural local bodies’ revenue contribution is only 0.24 percent, but expenditure is 4 percent of the government budget, dependence on grants persists
- The State Election Commissioner conducts elections, the State Finance Commission recommends revenue-sharing, both are gifts of the 73rd and 74th Amendments
- Bolivia: the 1994 Popular Participation Law, 314 municipalities, frequently cited as one of the most successful cases of democratic decentralisation in Latin America
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