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| NATIONAL PANCHAYATI RAJ DAY | | |
Dr. Parveen Kumar, Dr, D. Namgyal
Panchayati Raj; a synonym for democratic decentralization refers to a system of local self government where local peoples plan for themselves and then take decisions regarding their development. This system is prevalent in countries throughout Asia. India is a democratic country. After Independence we followed the community development model where the country was divided into a number of community development blocks and development activities were to be carried out in blocks. After C.D model we went for National Extension Services (NES). Unfortunately the desired results were not achieved.
De-centralization of power structure in a democratic way is vital for any democracy to flourish and to ensure that the results of development reach to persons standing in the last of queue. The Directive Principles for the State Policy (DPSP) enshrined in the Indian constitution says that the ‘State shall take steps to organize village Panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government’ Keeping this in mind the then Primeminister of India Pt. J. L. Nehru constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Balvant Rai Mehta to devise an appropriate structure for democratic decentralization at the grass root level.
The Balvant Rai Mehta Committee recommended to the then Union government to realize this statement in the DPSP into actions, through a system of local self government and thus paved the path for the Panchayati raj systems in India. It is a three tier system of the local self-government that aims towards effective implementation and coordination of various rural activities to benefits lakhs of its rural population. The three tiers of the Panchayat system in India is village Panchayat comprising of different Gram Sabhas at village level, Block Panchayat or the Mandal Samiti at the block level and Zila Parishad or the District Panchayat at the district level. Pt. Nehru himself laid the foundation of Panchayati Raj in district Nagaur of Rajasthan in 1959.
The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by the Parliament in April 1993. Through these two amendments the power to rule is given to the citizens, the power is transferred towards the grassroots levels. The passage of this amendment act is hailed as one of the defining moments in the history of free India. It permitted states to take effective steps to organize village Panchayats. It institutionalized the Panchayati Raj through the village level, intermediate and district-level Panchayats. To symbolize this step towards the rural development, Dr. Manmohan Singh the then Primeminister of India in 2010 declared 24th April as the first.
National Panchayati Raj Day and since then it has been celebrated every year with different themes. The Panchayats have been entrusted to carry out different functions. The State Legislatures have the legislative powers to confer on Panchayats such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government. They have the responsibility of preparing plans and implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice. A state may authorize a Panchayat to levy, collect taxes, impose duties, tolls, fees etc. The grants-in-aid may be given to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State for the development of the area. There is also a provision of Nyaya Panchayat in each Panchayat so that minor litigations could be solved at the village/Panchayat level.
On this day to recognize the efforts of different Panchayats in the country, the Union Government also presents awards to the best performing Panchayats in the country. These awards include the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar (DDUPSP) in general and thematic categories for all three levels of Panchayats.
The nine thematic categories include sanitation, civic services, natural resource management, marginalized section, social sector performance, disaster management, community based organizations, innovations in revenue generation and e governance.
The Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar (NDRGGSP) is given to the Gram Panchayats (Village level) for outstanding performance of Gram Sabha. The Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) award is given to three best performing Gram Panchayats across the country. The e-Panchayat Puraskar is given to states for the outstanding performances for e-enablement of Panchayats. Creating a conducive atmosphere for the healthy growth and development of children is basic to social development, the Child friendly Gram Panchayat award(CFGPA) was announced in 2019 for best performing Gram Panchayats one in each state/UT for adopting child friendly practices.
These institutions of local self government are unique ones. Underlying the importance of this basic structure; father of Nation Late Mahatma Gandhi strongly also believed in Gram Swaraj and called for transfer of power to rural masses and always felt that villages should govern themselves.
Unfortunately, these institutions are being misused. Instead of becoming participatory they have become representative in character; representing the interests of few influential persons in the society.
The women folk were given representation in these local self government institutions. Seats are reserved for them in Panchayats. But despite of winning and getting elected to different posts, there husband are ruling their Panchayats. Honorable Primeminister has also called for an end to the practice of ‘husband of women Sarpanches’ or ‘Sarpanch Pati’ exercising undue influence on the work of their wives elected to power. It is the duty of every elected representative to uphold the participatory and inclusive character of these institutions. Only then the dream of Gram Swaraj would be achieved. |
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