Twenty-five years have gone by since India passed the 73rd/74th Constitutional Amendments heralding decentralized governance ushering in the third tier of government in Indian federal polity. Looking back, this was a momentous event, a paradigm shift in democratic governance and fiscal federalism. Even after a quarter century of decentralization, local expenditure as a percentage of GDP is only 2 per cent compared with the OECD (14 per cent), China (11 per cent), and Brazil (7 per cent).
Recent Developments Haryana Gives 7 Star Rankings to Panchayats In a novel initiative, Haryana government has decided to give star rankings to its panchayats on the basis of seven social parameters under the state’s 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow scheme.
Devolution of Power Strengthening the third tier of governance - the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) like municipal corporations, municipalities, is one of the objectives of Central Finance Commissions.
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Evolution of Panchayati Raj as a Concept
Committee |
Year |
Balwant Rai Mehta |
1957 |
V.T. Krishnammachari |
1960 |
Takhatmal Jain Study Group |
1966 |
Ashok Mehta Committee |
1978 |
G.V.K. Rao Committee |
1985 |
Dr. L.M. Singhvi Committee |
1986 |
S.Mohinder Singh Committee |
2013 |
Different Bodies
Composition of Panchayats | Composition of Municipal Corporations |
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Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA Act)
Since the laws of Panchayati Raj/Municipalities do not automatically cover the scheduled areas, the PESA Act was enacted on 24 December 1996 to enable Tribal Self Rule in these areas. The Act extended the provisions of Panchayats to the tribal areas of nine states that have Fifth Schedule Areas. Most of the North eastern states under Sixth Schedule Areas (where autonomous councils exist) are not covered by PESA, as these states have their own Autonomous councils for governance. The nine states with Fifth Schedule areas are:
25 years of Democratic Decentralization in India This year marks the 25th anniversary of the enforcement of the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, which gave official status to the Panchayati Raj institutions in rural India and Local Administrative bodies in urban areas, respectively. An analysis of PRIs performance in all these years- Success of PRIs
Failures of PRIs
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Institutions
Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR)