All nine exercise questions from the NCERT textbook Indian Constitution at Work, Chapter 8 “Local Governments”, in the English edition’s own wording, with a full answer for each. Try answering them yourself first, then check. Answers to the questions the chapter asks along the way (margin questions, “Check your progress” boxes, the “Read an image” pictures and an activity) are given at the end.
1 Situations That Strengthen or Weaken Panchayats
Q. Constitution of India visualised village panchayats as units of self-government. Think over the situation described in the following statements and explain how do these situations strengthen or weaken the panchayats in becoming units of self-government.
(a) Government of a State has allowed a big company to establish a huge steel plant. Many villages would be adversely affected by the steel plant. Gram Sabha of one of the affected villages passed a resolution that before establishing any big industries in the region, village people must be consulted and their grievances should be redressed.
(b) The government has decided that 20% of all its expenditure would be done through the panchayats.
(c) A village panchayat kept on demanding funds for a building for village school, the government officials turned down their proposal saying that funds are allocated for certain other schemes and cannot be spent otherwise.
(d) The government divided a village Dungarpur into two and made a part of village Jamuna and Sohana. Now village Dungarpur has ceased to exist in government’s books.
(e) A village panchayat observed that water sources of their region are depleting fast. They decided to mobilise village youth to do some voluntary work and revive the old village ponds and wells.
Answer:
(a) Mixed: it both weakens and strengthens. It weakens the panchayat because the big decision (permission for the steel plant) was taken at the State level, without consulting the affected villages beforehand, so real power still rests at a higher level. At the same time, the Gram Sabha’s resolution that village people must be consulted and their grievances redressed before any big industry is set up is itself an act of self-government, and to that extent the situation strengthens the panchayat as a unit of self-government.
(b) Strengthens. Channelling a large share of government spending through panchayats gives the local level real resources and decision-making power, which is the basic condition for self-government.
(c) Weakens. The Gram Panchayat has no power to spend funds even for a basic need like a school building, budget heads being fixed from above limits local autonomy.
(d) Weakens. Changing a village’s very name and boundary from above without consultation treats the Gram Panchayat as just an administrative unit of the government, rather than an autonomous self-governing body.
(e) Strengthens. The Gram Panchayat identified a problem in its own area (depleting water sources) and solved it using its own resources (voluntary labour), without waiting for orders from above, this is self-government in its truest form.
2 Five Powers for the Gram Panchayat
Q. Suppose you are entrusted to evolve a local government plan of a State, what powers would you endow to the village panchayats to function as units of self-government? Mention any five powers and the justification in two lines for each of them for giving those powers.
Answer:
1. Power to levy and collect its own taxes: unless the Gram Panchayat has its own source of revenue, it will remain dependent on higher governments for everything, which destroys autonomy.
2. Power to prepare the budget and decide expenditure: villagers themselves know the village’s priorities best, so the right to decide where money is spent should rest with them too.
3. Power to plan and implement the 29 subjects (Eleventh Schedule): the right to plan on local-development subjects such as agriculture, health and education should rest with the panchayat, so that plans are made according to local need, not imposed from above.
4. Power to supervise and hold local staff accountable: government employees working at the local level (such as teachers, health workers) should also be answerable to the Gram Panchayat, so that schemes are actually implemented on the ground, not just on paper.
5. Power to call meetings of the Gram Sabha and enforce its decisions: the Gram Sabha is a forum for direct democracy, making its decisions binding on the panchayat is essential for ordinary people’s participation to be meaningful.
3 Reservation Provisions Under the 73rd Amendment
Q. What are the provisions for the reservations for the socially disadvantaged groups as per the 73rd amendment? Explain how these provisions have changed the profile of the leadership at the village level.
Answer:
Reservation provisions: one-third of the positions in all panchayat institutions are reserved for women. Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at all three levels, in proportion to their population, and if the States find it necessary, they can also provide reservations for the other backward classes (OBCs). These reservations apply not merely to ordinary members but also to the positions of Chairpersons or Adhyakshas at all three levels. Further, the one-third reservation for women applies not only to general seats but also within the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward castes, so a seat may be reserved for a woman and an SC or ST candidate at the same time, and the Sarpanch there would have to be a Dalit woman or an Adivasi woman.
Change in the profile of leadership: as the Indian population has 16.2 percent Scheduled Castes and 8.2 percent Scheduled Tribes, about 6.6 lakh elected members of local bodies now come from these two communities. This has significantly altered the social profile of local bodies, which have become more representative of the social reality they operate within. Of the more than 32 lakh members elected to local bodies every five years, at least 13 lakh are women, and because reservation also covers the posts of Sarpanch and Adhyaksha, there are at least 200 women Adhyakshas in Zilla Panchayats, 2,000 women Presidents of block or taluka panchayats and more than 80,000 women Sarpanchas in Gram Panchayats. Geeta Rathore, elected Sarpanch of Jamonia Talab Gram Panchayat first from a reserved seat and then from a non-reserved seat, shows that this leadership is real. The change has also caused tension: the dominant social groups which controlled the village earlier do not wish to give up their power, which intensifies the struggle for power. But such tension is not always bad, since there is bound to be some conflict whenever power is given to those who did not enjoy it earlier.
4 Main Differences Before and After the 73rd Amendment
Q. What were the main differences between the local governments before 73rd amendment and after that amendment?
Answer:
1. Constitutional status: earlier, local bodies depended on the will of State governments, which could dissolve them; now the three-tier Panchayati Raj structure has constitutional status.
2. Regular elections: earlier, elections were not held regularly; now elections every five years are mandatory, and fresh elections within six months if dissolved.
3. Reservation: earlier, there was no constitutional provision for reservation for women or SC/ST; now one-third of seats are reserved for women, and SC/ST get reservation proportional to population.
4. State Election Commissioner and State Finance Commission: there is now provision for an independent State Election Commissioner to conduct elections, and a State Finance Commission to decide financial transfers, no such independent institution existed earlier.
5. List of subjects: now 29 subjects are clearly assigned to panchayats in the Eleventh Schedule, earlier no such defined scope was fixed.
5 Opinion on Alok, Neha, and Jayesh’s Conversation
Q. Read the following conversation. Write in two hundred words your opinion about the issues raised in this conversation.
Alok: Our Constitution guarantees equality between men and women. Reservations in local bodies for women ensure their equal share in power.
Neha: But it is not enough that women should be in positions of power. It is necessary that the budget of local bodies should have separate provision for women.
Jayesh: I don’t like this reservations business. A local body must take care of all people in the village and that would automatically take care of women and their interests.
Answer:
All three speakers have a partial point, but no single one gives the full picture. Alok is right that without reservation, women’s participation in local power would have remained almost negligible, figures show that lakhs of women were elected after reservation was introduced, which is a major achievement in itself.
But Neha’s point is just as important, merely holding a post does not automatically secure women’s interests, if the budget of local bodies does not have separate provision for women’s needs (such as drinking water, safety, health), the effect of holding power remains limited. The chapter itself notes that women’s presence has brought a new perspective and a greater sensitivity to discussions at local bodies, so their voice in the budget matters.
Jayesh’s point is weaker, leaving things to the hope that a body will “take care of everyone” has historically meant women’s needs get neglected, that is exactly why reservation was needed in the first place. Without reservation, power structures remain naturally male-dominated.
My opinion is that reservation is a necessary first step, but not sufficient on its own, it should be combined with clear budget provisions for women and capacity-building.
6 Concerns Addressed by the 73rd Amendment
Q. Read the provisions of the 73rd Amendment. Which of the following concerns does this amendment address?
(a) Fear of replacement makes representatives accountable to the people.
(b) The dominant castes and feudal landlords dominate the local bodies.
(c) Rural illiteracy is very high. Illiterate people cannot take decisions about the development of the village.
(d) To be effective the village panchayats need resources and powers to make plans for the village development.
Answer:
(a) is addressed. Regular elections every five years, and re-election within six months if dissolved, keep elected representatives continuously accountable to the people, this fear of losing their seat is what secures accountability.
(b) is addressed. The provision of reservation for women and SC/ST directly addresses this exact concern, that dominant castes and feudal landlords should not have a one-sided hold over local bodies.
(d) is addressed. The 29 subjects of the Eleventh Schedule and the provision for a State Finance Commission for financial transfers are added precisely to give Gram Panchayats real power and resources to plan.
(c) is not directly addressed by the Amendment, the 73rd Amendment has no provision for removing illiteracy or solving it, this is a separate concern linked to education policy.
7 Justifications for Local Government and Vengaivasal’s Decision
Q. The following are different justifications given in favour of local government. Give them ranking and explain why you attach greater significance to a particular rationale than the others. According to you, on which of these rationales the decision of the Gram panchayat of Vengaivasal village was based? How?
(a) Government can complete the projects with lesser cost with the involvement of the local community.
(b) The development plans made by the local people will have greater acceptability than those made by the government officers.
(c) People know their area, needs problems and priorities. By collective participation they should discuss and take decisions about their life.
(d) It is difficult for the common people to contact their representatives of the State or the national legislature.
Answer:
My ranking: (c) > (b) > (d) > (a). I placed (c) at the top because it touches the core principle of democracy itself, the right to decide about one’s own life, the other three justifications are practical consequences of this same basic principle.
The Vengaivasal Gram Panchayat’s decision was mainly based on (c). In 1997 the Tamil Nadu government allotted two hectares of land within the Panchayat’s area to 71 government employees, and the Collector of Kancheepuram, on the instructions of higher authorities, directed the Panchayat to pass a resolution endorsing the allotment. The Panchayat President and the Gram Panchayat refused, because the people of the village, not officials far away, should decide what is done with the village’s own land. When the Collector ordered the land to be acquired, the Panchayat went to the Madras High Court; the single judge upheld the Collector’s order, but on appeal the Division Bench reversed it, holding that the government order was a gross violation of the constitutional status of the Panchayats. The Panchayat was asserting exactly rationale (c): local people know their area and should decide about their own life collectively.
8 Identifying What Involves Decentralisation
Q. Which of the following according to you involve decentralisation? Why are other options not sufficient for decentralisation?
(a) To hold election of the Gram Panchayat.
(b) Decision by the villagers themselves about what policies and programmes are useful for the village.
(c) Power to call meeting of Gram Sabha.
(d) A Gram Panchayat receiving the report from the Block Development Officer about the progress of a project started by the State government.
Answer:
(b) is the most accurate instrument of real decentralisation, because the actual power to make decisions rests with the villagers themselves, which is the true purpose of decentralisation, not just an institutional structure but a genuine transfer of decision-making authority.
(a) is not sufficient. Holding elections for the Gram Panchayat is a necessary first step, but if the elected panchayat does not have real decision-making power and resources, holding elections by itself is not decentralisation, merely building an institution.
(c) is not sufficient. The power to call a Gram Sabha meeting is necessary, but if the meeting only conveys decisions already made from above, without any real power to decide, it too remains a mere formality.
(d) does not involve decentralisation, this is only the presentation of a progress report on a scheme planned from above, the Gram Panchayat has no visible power to change or decide on this scheme, it is merely an exchange of information.
9 Decentralisation in Primary Education: The Gram Sabha Meeting
Q. A student of Delhi University, Raghavendra Parpanna, wanted to study the role of decentralisation in decision making about primary education. He asked some questions to the villagers. These questions are given below. If you were among those villagers, what answer would you give to each of these questions? A meeting of the Gram Sabha is to be called to discuss what steps should be taken to ensure that every child of the village goes to the school.
(a) How would you decide the suitable day for the meeting? Think who would be able to attend/not attend the meeting because of your choice.
(i) A day specified by the BDO or the collector. (ii) Day of the village haat. (iii) Sunday. (iv) Naag panchami/sankranti.
(b) What is a suitable venue for the meeting? Why?
(i) Venue suggested by the circular of the district collector. (ii) Religious place in the village. (iii) Dalit Mohalla. (iv) Upper caste Tola. (v) Village school.
(c) In the Gram Sabha meeting firstly a circular sent by the district collector was read. It suggested what steps should be taken to organise an education rally and what should be its route. The meeting did not discuss about the children who never come to school or about girls’ education, or the condition of the school building and the timing of the school. No woman teacher attended the meeting as it was held on Sunday. What do you think about these proceedings as an instance of people’s participation?
(d) Imagine your class as the Gram Sabha. Discuss the agenda of the meeting and suggest some steps to realise the goal.
Answer:
(a) The most suitable day would be one when most people have not gone out for farm work or wage labour, and women are also free from housework, a day fixed from above (i) or a religious festival (iv) risks ignoring local needs. The haat day (ii) is unsuitable because people are busy buying and selling that day and cannot attend the meeting with full attention. Sunday (iii), as shown in (c), keeps important people like women teachers away. So the best approach is for the Gram Sabha itself to ask the villagers and fix a day convenient for the majority, rather than a day imposed from above or by custom.
(b) The village school (v) is the most suitable venue, being directly linked to education, neutral, and accessible to all castes and communities. A religious place (ii) may make some communities uncomfortable, choosing the Dalit Mohalla (iii) or the upper-caste Tola (iv) would signal bias and reduce other groups’ participation, and a venue fixed by the district collector (i) is not necessarily convenient for local people.
(c) This is a poor example from the point of view of participation. The agenda for the meeting was set from above (by the collector’s circular), the village’s real issues, such as children who never come to school, girls’ education, and the condition of the school building, were not discussed at all, and holding the meeting on a Sunday kept an essential voice, the woman teacher, away. This shows that merely calling a Gram Sabha meeting is not enough unless the agenda and timing are decided keeping local needs and everyone’s participation in mind.
(d) Suggestions for a class discussion: decide the day and time of the meeting by asking the villagers, include making a list of out-of-school children and finding out why in the agenda, discuss separately the obstacles to girls’ education (such as safety, housework), take the views of both parents and teachers on the school building and timetable, and keep both the time and venue convenient for women and marginalised communities to ensure their participation in the meeting.
Most of the questions above share one underlying formula: decentralisation is real only when the power to decide rests with local people themselves, simply building a structure (elections, meetings, institutions) is not enough. Applying this same formula to different examples (the Gram Panchayat, the Gram Sabha, Vengaivasal) in the exam earns the most marks.
10 In-text Questions (asked within the chapter)
The chapter also asks questions in its margins, in its “Check your progress” boxes, with two pictures under “Read an image” and in a class activity. They are not part of the exercise list, but they test the same ideas, so an answer to each is given here in the order the book prints them.
Q. But aren’t there cases of male members of the village panchayat harassing the woman Sarpanch in some places? Why are men not happy when women assume positions of responsibility?
Answer: Yes, such cases do happen. Positions of power in the village were earlier held almost entirely by men, often from the dominant social groups, and reservation for women has moved some of that power to women. Some men resent losing it, and old attitudes that women should not lead do not change overnight. The chapter notes the same struggle in general terms: the dominant groups which controlled the village earlier do not wish to give up their power, and in many cases women were at first mere proxies for male family members. But it also says that such instances are becoming fewer, and stories like Geeta Rathore’s show women winning respect through their work.
Q. Is it possible that we only had governments at the local level and a coordinating body at the national level? I think Mahatma Gandhi advocated some ideas along these lines.
Answer: Gandhiji did imagine something close to it. He wanted independence to “begin at the bottom”, with every village a self-sustained republic, and life as “a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom”. But a country as large and diverse as India also needs national and State governments for defence, currency, foreign affairs, planning and resolving disputes between regions. This is why the framers, worried about unity after Partition, created strong central and State governments, and why local government was later strengthened through the 73rd and 74th Amendments rather than made the only level of government. Local governments complete democracy at the bottom; they do not replace the higher levels.
Q. (i) How does local government strengthen democracy?
(ii) In the example given above, what do you think the Government of Tamil Nadu should have done?
Answer:
(i) Democracy is about meaningful participation and about accountability, and strong local governments ensure both. Local government is closest to the people, so ordinary citizens can take part in decisions about their own lives, needs and development, and can approach it quickly and at minimum cost. Geeta Rathore’s story shows committed participation, and the Vengaivasal Gram Panchayat’s struggle shows accountability. So strengthening local government is like strengthening democratic processes.
(ii) The Government of Tamil Nadu should have respected the constitutional status of the Panchayat. Before allotting land within the Panchayat’s area, it should have consulted the Gram Panchayat and the Gram Sabha and taken their consent, instead of directing the Collector to force the Panchayat to endorse a decision already taken. The Division Bench of the High Court held exactly this: the government order was not only an infringement of the powers of the Panchayat but a gross violation of its constitutional status.
Q. Why are people afraid of factionalism at the village level when all the political parties and organisations or even my class has factions? Are groups and factions always so bad?
Answer: Groups are not always bad; different opinions and competition are a normal part of democracy. The fear in the Constituent Assembly, voiced by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, was about something more specific: that the faction-ridden and caste-ridden nature of rural society would defeat the purpose of local government, because in a village one dominant caste or landlord group could capture the panchayat and use it against weaker sections. That is why the 73rd Amendment added safeguards such as reservation for SCs, STs and women, regular elections and the Gram Sabha. With such safeguards, groups can compete without one of them controlling the village.
Q. (i) Both Nehru and Dr. Ambedkar were not very enthusiastic about local government bodies. Did they have similar objections to local governments?
(ii) What was the constitutional provision about local governments before 1992?
(iii) Which were the States that had established local government during the 1960s and 1970s?
Answer:
(i) No, their objections were different. Nehru looked upon extreme localism as a threat to the unity and integration of the nation, a fear sharpened by the turmoil of Partition. Dr. Ambedkar felt that the faction-ridden and caste-ridden nature of rural society would defeat the noble purpose of local government at the rural level.
(ii) Local government was a State subject, and it was mentioned in the Directive Principles of State Policy as a policy directive to all governments. Being a Directive Principle, it was non-justiciable and primarily advisory.
(iii) The chapter names Gujarat and Maharashtra, which adopted a system of elected local bodies around 1960.
Q. Does a Gram sabha mean the democratic forum of the entire village? Do Gram sabhas actually meet regularly?
Answer: Yes, in principle. The 73rd Amendment made the creation of a Gram Sabha mandatory, and it comprises all the adult members registered as voters in the Panchayat area, so it is the one forum in which every voter of the village can take part directly. Its role and functions are decided by State legislation. In practice, Gram Sabhas in many places do not meet regularly or meet only for a short formal meeting, and attendance, especially of women and weaker sections, is often low. The meeting described in Exercise 9 of this chapter, where a circular was read out and the real issues were never discussed, shows this problem.
Q. We read in the chapter on Elections that the bill for reservations for women in the Assemblies and in the Parliament could not be passed. How come women’s reservations in local bodies were accepted so easily?
Answer: Reserving one-third of seats in local bodies did not threaten the seats of sitting MPs and MLAs, the very people who had to pass the law, whereas reservation in the Assemblies and Parliament would have meant that many of them lost their own seats. Local bodies were also being newly given constitutional status through the 73rd and 74th Amendments, so reservation came as part of a fresh structure rather than a change to an existing one. The result was a large presence of women: more than 32 lakh members are elected to local bodies every five years, and at least 13 lakh of them are women.
Q. Why are subjects only from the State list to be transferred? Why can’t we transfer some subjects from the Union List also?
Answer: Because local government itself is a State subject, and the 29 subjects in the Eleventh Schedule are matters of local development and welfare, such as drinking water, rural housing, minor irrigation and primary education, which were earlier in the State List. Union List subjects like defence, foreign affairs, currency or railways concern the whole nation and cannot be run village by village. What local bodies can do is help implement central schemes at their level, and the chapter’s conclusion notes that they already act as agencies implementing the welfare and development schemes of the central and State governments.
Q. State governments themselves are poor. In the last chapter we read that they ask for money from the Central government. How can they give money to the local government?
Answer: This is a real problem, and the chapter admits it: local bodies have very little funds of their own and depend on the State and central governments. Rural local bodies raise only 0.24% of the total revenues collected but account for 4% of the total expenditure made by the government. The 73rd Amendment tried to make the sharing fairer by requiring every State to appoint a State Finance Commission once in five years, to review the distribution of revenues between the State and local governments and between rural and urban bodies, so that allocation of funds does not become a political matter. Part of the money a State passes on also comes from central grants and schemes.
Q. Identify some of the powers that your State government has delegated to panchayats.
How to do it: Look up your State’s Panchayati Raj Act or the State Panchayati Raj department’s website, or ask a member of your local panchayat. Then compare what has been delegated with the 29 subjects of the Eleventh Schedule (some of them are agriculture, minor irrigation, drinking water, rural housing, roads, primary and secondary education, health and sanitation, women and child development, and the public distribution system). Note which subjects have been given to the panchayats with the funds and staff to carry them out, and which remain only on paper. The chapter says many States have not transferred most of the subjects, so your list will show how much real autonomy the panchayats in your State have.
Q. Can I hope that these urban local bodies will do something for better housing for the slum dwellers? Or at least provide them toilets?
Answer: That is exactly the kind of work the 74th Amendment expects of them. The Constitution mandates the transfer of a list of functions from the State government to urban local bodies, listed in the Twelfth Schedule, and these are matters of urban welfare and services. Being elected, and with seats reserved for SCs, STs and women, Nagarpalikas are closer to slum dwellers than the State government is, so people can demand housing and sanitation from them directly. Whether this happens depends on how many functions and how much money the State actually transfers, the same gap between law and practice that the chapter describes for rural bodies.
Q. This flag is a symbol of the expectations of the people about local governments. People don’t want only formal laws. They want genuine implementation of those laws. Write briefly what you think about this slogan: We are the government here in the village!
Answer: The slogan expresses the true aim of decentralisation: that people in a village should themselves decide what policies and programmes they want, through their Gram Sabha and Panchayat, instead of only carrying out orders from above. The 73rd Amendment gave the structure for this, but the slogan will come true only when States actually transfer the 29 subjects, with funds and staff, to the panchayats. As the chapter concludes, the true test of democracy is not merely in the legal provisions but in the practice of those provisions.
Q. Look at this photograph. The local Sarkar is sitting out in the sun. Is there any other feature that strikes you?
Answer: The most striking feature is the banner on the wall behind the meeting: “Dilli Mumbai mava sarkar, mavanate mate sarkar”, which says that Delhi and Mumbai have our government, but in our village we ourselves are the government. It carries the same idea as the flag slogan “We are the government here in the village!”: the villagers’ own assembly sees itself as the real government of the village, not as an office of the State. The meeting itself is held out in the open, close to the people and without big buildings or offices, and women sit in the gathering along with the men, which reflects how reservation has changed the social profile of local bodies.
Q. So, the law is good but it is mostly on paper. Is this what they call the gap between theory and practice?
Answer: Yes. In theory, the 73rd and 74th Amendments assigned as many as 29 subjects to local governments, mandated regular elections and gave them State Election Commissioners and State Finance Commissions. In practice, many States have not transferred most of the subjects, local bodies enjoy limited autonomy and have very little money of their own, and the exercise of electing so many representatives becomes somewhat symbolic. That difference between what the law provides and what actually happens is the gap between theory and practice, and the chapter ends by saying that the true test of democracy lies in the practice of these provisions.