India - Local Government
A large transformation is taking place across India especially after constitutional status was accorded to local government institutions in 1993. Local government is government at the village and district level. Local government is about government closest to the common people. Local government is about government that involves the day-to-day life and problems of ordinary citizens. Local government believes that local knowledge and local interest are essential ingredients for democratic decision making. They are also necessary for efficient and people-friendly administration.
The advantage of local government is that it is so near the people. It is convenient for the people to approach the local government for solving their problems both quickly and with minimum cost. Local governments can be very effective in protecting the local interests of the people. Democracy is about meaningful participation. It is also about accountability. Strong and vibrant local governments ensure both active participation and purposeful accountability. It is at the level of local government that common citizens can be involved in decision making concerning their lives, their needs and above all their development.
It is necessary that in a democracy, tasks, which can be performed locally, should be left in the hands of the local people and their representatives. Common people are more familiar with their local government than with the government at the State or national level. They are also more concerned with what local government does or has failed to do as it has a direct bearing and impact on their day-to-day life. Thus, strengthening local government is like strengthening democratic processes.
It is believed that self-governing village communities existed in India from the earliest times in the form of ‘sabhas’ (village assemblies). In the course of time, these village bodies took the shape of Panchayats (an assembly of five persons) and these Panchayats resolved issues at the village level. Their role and functions kept on changing at different points of time.
In modern times, elected local government bodies were created after 1882. Lord Rippon, who was the Viceroy of India at that time, took the initiative in creating these bodies. They were called the local boards. However, due to slow progress in this regard, the Indian National Congress urged the government to take necessary steps to make all local bodies more effective. Following the Government of India Act 1919, village panchayats were established in a number of provinces. This trend continued after the Government of India Act of 1935.
During India’s freedom movement, Mahatma Gandhi had strongly pleaded for decentralisation of economic and political power. He believed that strengthening village panchayats was a means of effective decentralisation. All development initiatives must have local involvement in order to be successful. Panchayats therefore were looked upon as instruments of decentralisation and participatory democracy. Our national movement was concerned about the enormous concentration of powers in the hands of the Governor General sitting at Delhi. Therefore, for our leaders, independence meant an assurance that there will be decentralisation of decision making, executive and administrative powers.
When the Constitution was prepared, the turmoil due to the Partition resulted in a strong unitary inclination in the Constitution. Nehru himself looked upon extreme localism as a threat to unity and integration of the nation. There was a powerful voice in the Constituent Assembly led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar which felt that the faction and caste-ridden nature of rural society would defeat the noble purpose of local government at the rural level.
Local governments got a fillip after the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts. But even before that, some efforts in the direction of developing local government bodies had already taken place. First in the line was the Community Development Programme in 1952, which sought to promote people’s participation in local development in a range of activities. In this background, a three-tier Panchayati Raj system of local government was recommended for the rural areas. Some States (like Gujarat, Maharashtra) adopted the system of elected local bodies around 1960. But in many States those local bodies did not have enough powers and functions to look after the local development. They were very much dependent on the State and central governments for financial assistance.
Many States did not think it necessary to establish elected local bodies. In many instances, local bodies were dissolved and the local government was handed over to government officers. Many States had indirect elections to most local bodies. In many States, elections to the local bodies were postponed from time to time.
After 1987, a thorough review of the functioning of local government institutions was initiated. In 1989 the P.K.Thungon Committee recommended constitutional recognition for the local government bodies. A constitutional amendment to provide for periodic elections to local government institutions, and enlistment of appropriate functions to them, along with funds, was recommended.
In 1989, the central government introduced two constitutional amendments. These amendments aimed at strengthening local governments and ensuring an element of uniformity in their structure and functioning across the country. Later in 1992, the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were passed by the Parliament. The 73rd Amendment is about rural local governments (which are also known as Panchayati Raj Institutions or PRIs) and the 74th amendment made the provisions relating to urban local government (Nagarpalikas). The 73rd and 74th Amendments came into force in 1993.
Under the changes brought about by the 73rd amendment in Panchayati Raj institutions, all States now have a uniform three tier Panchayati Raj structure. At the base is the ‘Gram Panchayat‘. A Gram Panchayat covers a village or group of villages. The intermediary level is the Mandal (also referred to as Block or Taluka). These bodies are called Mandal or Taluka Panchayats. The intermediary level body need not be constituted in smaller States. At the apex is the Zilla Panchayat covering the entire rural area of the District. The amendment also made a provision for the mandatory creation of the Gram Sabha. The Gram Sabha would comprise of all the adult members registered as voters in the Panchayat area. Its role and functions are decided by State legislation.
All the three levels of Panchayati Raj institutions are elected directly by the people. The term of each Panchayat body is five years. If the State government dissolves the Panchayat before the end of its five year term, fresh elections must be held within six months of such dissolution. This is an important provision that ensures the existence of elected local bodies. Before the 73rd amendment, in many States, there used to be indirect elections to the district bodies and there was no provision for immediate elections after dissolution.
One third of the positions in all panchayat institutions are reserved for women. Reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are also provided for at all the three levels, in proportion to their population. If the States find it necessary, they can also provide for reservations for the other backward classes (OBCs).
Twenty-nine subjects, which were earlier in the State list of subjects, are identified and listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. These subjects are to be transferred to the Panchayati Raj institutions. These subjects were mostly linked to development and welfare functions at the local level. The actual transfer of these functions depends upon the State legislation. Each State decides how many of these twenty-nine subjects would be transferred to the local bodies.
The provisions of the 73rd amendment were not made applicable to the areas inhabited by the Adivasi populations in many States of India. In 1996, a separate act was passed extending the provisions of the Panchayat system to these areas. Many Adivasi communities have their traditional customs of managing common resources such as forests and small water reservoirs, etc. Therefore, the new act protects the rights of these communities to manage their resources in ways acceptable to them. For this purpose, more powers are given to the Gram Sabhas of these areas and elected village panchayats have to get the consent of the Gram Sabha in many respects. The idea behind this act is that local traditions of self government should be protected while introducing modern elected bodies. This is only consistent with the spirit of diversity and decentralisation.
The 74th amendment dealt with urban local bodies or Nagarpalikas. It is very easy to identify a big city like Mumbai or Kolkata, but it is not so easy to say this about some very small urban areas that are somewhere between a village and a town. The Census of India defines an urban area as having: (i) a minimum population of 5,000; (ii) at least 75 per cent of male working population engaged in non-agricultural occupations and (iii) a density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km. As per the 2011 census (provisional data), about 31% of India’s population lives in urban areas.
In many ways the 74th amendment is a repetition of the 73rd amendment, except that it applies to urban areas. All the provisions of the 73rd amendment relating to direct elections, reservations, transfer of subjects, State Election Commission and State Finance Commission are incorporated in the 74th amendment also and thus apply to Nagarpalikas. The Constitution also mandated the transfer of a list of functions from the State government to the urban local bodies. These functions have been listed in the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution.
Today there are nearly 500 Zilla Panchayats, about 6,000 block or intermediary Panchayats, and 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats in rural India and over 100 city Corporations, 1400 town Municipalities and over 2000 Nagar Panchayats in urban India. More than 32 lakh members are elected to these bodies every five years. Of these, at least 10 lakhs are women. In the State Assemblies and Parliament put together there are less than 5000 elected representatives. With local bodies, the number of elected representatives has increased significantly.
Local bodies have very little funds of their own. The dependence of local bodies on the State and central governments for financial support has greatly eroded their capacity to operate effectively. While rural local bodies raise 0.24% of the total revenues collected, they account for 4% of the total expenditure made by the government. So they earn much less than they spend. That makes them dependent on those who give them grants.
The experience with the functioning of local government in the first decade after the amendments showed that local governments in India enjoyed limited autonomy to perform the functions assigned to them. Many States had not transferred most of the subjects to the local bodies. This meant that the local bodies cannot really function in an effective manner. Therefore, the entire exercise of electing so many representatives became somewhat symbolic. Some people criticise the formation of the local bodies because this had not changed the way in which decisions are taken at the central and the State level. People at the local level do not enjoy much powers of choosing welfare programs or allocation of resources.
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