{"id":551,"date":"2020-09-17T10:33:10","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T10:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/?p=551"},"modified":"2020-09-17T10:33:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T10:33:10","slug":"strengthening-grass-roots-democracy-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/2020\/09\/17\/strengthening-grass-roots-democracy-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"STRENGTHENING GRASS-ROOTS DEMOCRACY IN INDIA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prof. V.P. Gupta,Director,<\/em><\/strong>Rau\u2019s IAS Study Circle, New Delhi \u2013 Jaipur \u2013 Bengaluru<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It has been\n25 years since decentralised democratic governance was introduced in India in\n1993. On this
\nnote, let us understand the need and importance of decentralisation for\nstrengthening of grass-roots governance in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The essence\nof democracy is decentralisation of power and allowing governance to reach the\ngrass-roots level for welfare of people. Local Government elected by the people\nthus imbibes democratic functioning of the society involving residents of the\narea. The concept of local government has been in India ever since the dawn of\ncivilization in various forms including that of Sabhas and Samitis at the\nvillage level. It was in the year 1882 when Lord Ripon issued a resolution on\nLocal Self Government. Objections were raised by the bureaucracy of those days\nagainst any extension of the powers of local bodies and giving them a\ndemocratic character. It was a comprehensive resolution which dealt with\nadministrative areas, the constitution of local bodies, their functions,\nfinances and powers. This was an important landmark in the evolution of local\nself-government in India. This led to the strengthening of local institution\nover a period of time leading to its incorporation in PART IV of the Indian\nConstitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Constitution\nof India <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 40\nof the Constitution provides for organisation of village panchayats and also\nendows them with such powers and authority to enable them to function as units\nof self-government. But Article 40 being part of Directive Principles of State\nPolicy could not be judicially imposed. Consequently Government of India\nconstituted various committees for the proper functioning and devolution power\nat the ground level. The government accepted the recommendations of Balwant Rai\nMehta Committee which proposed to set up a three-tier structure of panchayats\nin India having Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the\nblock level and Zilla Parishad at the district level. It was also considered\nthat there is an imperative need to enshrine in the Constitution certain basic\nand essential features of Panchayati Raj Institutions to impart strength,\ncertainty and continuity to it. Thus, accordingly the Constitution\n(Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992 and Constitution (Seventy-Fourth Amendment)\nAct, 1992 were enacted by the government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PART IX and\nIXA were added to the Constitution after the amendment to the Constitution. It\nprovides for constitution of Panchayat at the village, intermediate and\ndistrict level; Gram Sabha at the village level consisting of persons\nregistered in the electoral rolls of the village; Reservation of seats for\nScheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women; constitution of Finance Commission\nto review financial position of Panchayats and make suitable recommendations\nfor devolution of funds to panchayats; elections to be conducted for panchayats\nby State Election Commission. PART IXA provides for the constitution and\ncomposition of Municipalities; ward committees; power to impose tax by\nmunicipalities; Finance Commission to review financial position of\nmunicipalities and allocate taxes; election to municipalities; District\nPlanning Committee and Metropolitan Planning Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Issues with\nPanchayats in India <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the\nPanchayati Raj Institutions have been in existence for a long time, the\nparticipation of people at the grass-roots level have become more of a\nbureaucratic and mechanical exercise. There have been various instances in the\npast where approval from Gram Sabha has been either forced or forged for\nacquisition of land for various commercial purposes including mining. Even the\nlocal bureaucracy has not helped much in nurturing the institution to grow and\nsustain at ground level. Merely by making panchayats a part of Constitution\nwill not solve the case of grass-roots democracy unless its limbs are\nempowered. Thus, the core issues of local self-governance involves the\nprinciple of subsidiarity which means that what can best be done at the lower\nlevels of government should not be centralised at higher levels; a clear\ndelineation of functions entrusted to the local bodies; effective devolution of\nfinancial powers and functions and convergence of services for the citizens as\nwell as citizens centric governance structures. The Second Administrative\nReforms Commission (2nd ARC) on Local Governance has suggested various measures\nto address these core issues. Let us understand each of those issues and\nprobable solutions suggested by 2nd ARC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Principles\nof Subsidiarity <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constitutional\nstatus to panchayats and municipalities aimed at a fundamental shift in the\nnature of governance. However, experience of the past suggests that creating\nstructures of elected local governments and ensuring regular elections do not\nnecessarily guarantee effective local empowerment. While Panchayats,\nNagarpalikas and Municipalities have come into existence and elections are\nbeing held, this has not always translated into real decentralisation of power\nbecause the Constitution left the issue of degree of empowerment and devolution\nto the State Legislature. State Government and its bureaucracy are not always\nin favour to effectively empower local governments because they view it as\ndiminishing of their power and hold. Even mandatory provisions like the\nconstitution of District Planning Committees and Metropolitan Planning\nCommittees have been ignored in many States. Thus, compulsory empowerment of\npanchayats and municipalities by the state having a dedicated bureaucracy at\nground level is necessary for effective local empowerment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Autonomy <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under\nArticle 243G, while framing laws on Panchayats, State Legislatures should endow\nthese institutions \u2018with such power and authority as may be necessary to enable\nthem to function as institutions of self-government\u2019. Thus, Panchayats are\n\u2018governments at their own level\u2019 and have autonomous jurisdiction of their own.\nHowever, the problem arises when we find government functioning at various\nlevels thereby creating overlapping jurisdiction and autonomy. In such a case,\nautonomy of one may rub against autonomy of another in similar jurisdictions.\nThus, providing autonomy to panchayats will also mean withdrawal of certain\nactivities or functions from the State Government and transferring them to\nlocal bodies. This will give panchayats a true independent and autonomous\nidentity independent
\nfrom the state government to perform their power and functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Delineation\nof Functions <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Powers to\npanchayats and municipalities have been provided to enable them to function as\ninstitutions of self- governance under Article 243(G) and 243(W) respectively.\nFor this, they may also be empowered to prepare local plans for economic\ndevelopment and social justice and to implement schemes and perform functions\nincluding those listed in the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules. However, the past\nexperience suggests that progress of devolution of powers and responsibilities\nto local governments at various levels has been poor and uneven. The\nimplementation space at local levels is thus occupied by a multiplicity of\ngovernmental agencies leading to confusion, unnecessary duplication and wastage\nof funds. Thus, there should be clear delineation of functions for each level\nof local government. It has to be done continuously by restructuring\norganisations and framing subject-matter laws so as to avoid overlapping of\nfunctions. Second ARC has suggested adding subjects on education, public health\nincluding community health centres\/area hospitals, traffic management and civic\npolicing activities, urban environment management and heritage and land\nmanagement including registration in the 12th Schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Devolution\nof Funds <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The local\nbodies rely heavily on their respective state governments for financial\ninflows. The major sources of income for local governments like property tax\nare not properly collected due to lack of a proper mechanism of levying and\ncollection of such tax. This makes the coffers of local bodies extremely\ninadequate to meet their operational needs. Responsibility to provide civic\namenities falls short of expectation due to inadequacy of funds. Thus, the\nlocal governments have to stay at the mercy of their state government for\nallocation of funds through grants to meet their needs including salary of the\nstaff. In this respect, Article 243H and 243X makes it obligatory for the State\nGovernment to authorise the local bodies by law to impose taxes, duties etc.\nand assign to the local bodies such taxes\/duties levied and collected by the\nState Government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

State\nFinance Commission (SFC) under Article 243I and 243Y recommends principles for\ndistribution of funds between the urban local bodies and different panchayats.\nThus, the role of State Finance Commission becomes important regarding\ndevolution of financial resources for panchayats and municipalities. However,\ndevolution of finance to local bodies depends upon the revenue generated by\neach state which is never the same. While some states have followed the concept\nof pooling of all revenues and then sharing, others follow different\npercentages of devolution for different taxes. Thus, apart from principles of\ndevolution of taxes, even fiscal administration of every state needs to be\nimproved as it involves levy and collection of taxes at local level. State\ngovernments generally take a long time to implement the report of SFCs which further\ndelay the process of devolution of funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capacity\nBuilding for Self-Governance <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crucial\nissue of capacity building in urban and rural local bodies remains a largely\nneglected area in decentralised self-governance. Lack of training of personnel\nhas resulted in capacity deficit within the Panchayat and Municipal\nInstitutions. Thus, a proper exercise needs to be taken for capacity building\nwhich includes individual development along with organisational development\nthrough various schemes. Individual development involves the development of\nhuman resources including enhancement of an individual\u2019s knowledge, skills and\naccess to information. It enables them to improve their performance and that of\ntheir organisation. State government should encourage holistic training\nprogrammes involving expertise in different fields. This can be best achieved\nby \u2018networking\u2019 of institutions concerned with various subjects such as\nfinancial management, rural development, disaster management and general\nmanagement etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion:<\/strong> Empowering\nlocal bodies at ground level is very important as it involves people at local\nlevel which helps in strengthening democratic decentralisation. However, for\nthe local bodies to function efficiently, they must be provided autonomy in\ntheir functioning. Local bodies having administrative, legislative and\nfinancial autonomy with a dedicated bureaucracy at the lower level will help in\nrealising the dream of Mahatma Gandhi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this\nstructure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever widening, never\nascending, circles. Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the\nbottom. But, it will be an oceanic circle, whose centre will be the individual,\nalways ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the\ncircle of the villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of\nindividuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the\nmajesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integrated units. Therefore,\nthe outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle, but\nwill give strength to all within and will derive its own strength from it.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Mahatma Gandhi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prof. V.P. Gupta,Director,Rau\u2019s IAS Study Circle, New Delhi \u2013 Jaipur \u2013 Bengaluru It has been 25 years since decentralised democratic governance was introduced in India in 1993. On this note, let us understand the need and importance of decentralisation for strengthening of grass-roots governance in the country. The essence of democracy is decentralisation of power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":552,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}