One of the revolutionary steps taken in new India had been the promulgation in 1993 of the Constitution (Seventythird Amendment) Act, 1992 installing Panchayati Raj as the third tier of democratic governance (independent Local SelfGovernment) in rural India. Similarly, the Constitution (Seveny-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 gave constitutional status to the municipalities and municipal corporations as independent self-government in urban areas. Thus, the Panchayat became the basic unit of democracy and administrative set up of the country and an essential part of the basic structure of the Constitution (Articles 243 to 243-O ~ Part IX).

Panchayati Raj is not new to India and has had a long history. The panchayat in its various avatars has survived through ages since the Vedic period. During the Mauryan and Gupta periods, till the thirteenth century, the panchayats received royal sanction and protection. While during the Islamic rule the village panchayats didn’t receive legal recognition and practically went into hiding in North and Central India, the village panchayats remained vibrant and continued to function independently in the Chola empire and other kingdoms in the major parts of Southern and Western India.

The British colonial administration recognized the significance of this ancient institution and promptly integrated them in their scheme of rural administration like the Zamindari system in greater Bengal. Impressed with the system, Sir Charles Metcalfe, GovernorGeneral of India (1835-36) had referred to the independent Panchayats as “little republics” where the arm of the colonial administration did not easily reach. In the modern era, Mahatma Gandhi and the Sarvodaya leaders talked of Gram Swaraj ~ self-reliant villages- as an article of faith of the nationalist movement. The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution envisaged a 3- tier Panchayati Raj:

* Village Panchayat at the village level (Gram Panchayat or Gaon Panchayat etc.)

* Intermediate Panchayat at Block level (Panchayat Samiti, Panchayat Union, Mandal Parishad, Mandal Praja Parishad, Anchalik Panchayat, Janpad Panchayat, Kshetra Panchayat, Taluka Panchayat etc.)

* District Council (Zilla Parishad, Zilla Panchayat, District Panchayat etc.)

The Village Panchayat consists of the Gram Sabha, a Sarpanch (President or Pradhan), the executive committee (the panchas) and standing committees on finance, development, education, health, welfare, etc. The Gram Sabha is the general assembly consisting of all votingage adults of the village who elect themselves to the Sabha. The Sarpanch (president) is directly elected by members of the Gram Sabha by secret ballot. Similarly, the members of the panchayat (7 to 31) including the chairperson and members of the standing committees are also elected by the Gram Sabha. One third of the seats (in some states 50 per cent) are to be reserved for women at all levels. Reservations for the SCs, STs and OBCs are also mandatory. Elections to the panchayats are held every five years, to be conducted by the State Election Commission.

Financial assistance to the panchayats is determined by the State Finance Commission. The Panchayat Samiti at the block level is mainly composed of ex-officio individuals ~ the Sarpanchas (presidents of village panchayats) of the area, the MPs, the MLAs of the region, the Sub-divisional officer (SDO), co opted members (representatives of SC, ST, OBC and women), associate members (a farmer from the area, a representative each from the cooperative societies and marketing services) and a few elected members. The composition of the Zilla Parishad (District Council) varies from state to state.

In West Bengal, the District Council is composed of all the SDOs of the district, a district panchayat officer appointed by the government, a civil servant nominated by the state government, all MPs and MLAs of the district, two members elected by the Sarpanchas of each sub-division, chairpersons of the Panchayat Samitis of the district, a chairperson or mayor of the local municipality nominated by the government, chairperson of the district school board and two female members nominated by the government. However, in the state of Kerala, both the Panchayat Samitis and the District Councils are composed of members who are directly elected. In the majority of the States, the Zilla Parishad is headed by a president and a vice president and consists of the elected members, the ex-officio members and the standing committees.

The total number of members of the Zilla parishad is not to exceed 30 (Rajasthan has 25). A civil servant, normally the district magistrate or the district collector acts as the chief executive officer and heads the administrative set-up. A deputy chief executive officer drawn from the district administration acts as the secretary to the Zilla Parishad. At the apex level exists the Ministry of Panchayati Raj created in May 2004 with the motto “empowering every citizen to be a catalyst of change.” The Central ministry headed by a cabinet minister serves as the policy planning body and sets the goals and programmes along with financial assistance on an all-India basis. The State governments have set up a separate department of Panchayati Raj for the supervision of the activities of the panchayats within the State.

The States have also created a State Finance Commission for devolution of financial powers to the Panchayats and other local bodies. The States have also created a State Election Commission for conducting periodic elections to the local self-governments ~ the panchayats and the municipalities. According to an estimate of the United Nations, India has surpassed China becoming the most populous country in the world with a population of 1.426 billion (as of April 2024). India has perhaps the largest workforce (‘public servants’) in the government sector. India’s administrative set-up is a mammoth organization functioning at five levels:

* The Central level (the Union Government)

* The State level (28 State governments and eight Union Territories administration)

* The Public Enterprises Level (Central PSEs: 515 (2022); State Level PSEs: 1239 (2021).

* The Statutory Bodies and Autonomous Institutions Level like the IITs, AIIMS, ICAR, institutions of national importance, research institutions, universities etc.( Central: 650+; States: 1200+ – aggregate data not available)

* The Local Self-Government Level: (a) Urban Self-government (municipalities and corporations): 7,935 (2011 Census), (b) Rural self-government (Panchayats): 2,85,114 (2024) Integrating into the tapestry of the vast administrative system, India’s 641,000 villages are divided into and administered by 806 districts. A staggering number of Panchayats as shown below cover 99 per cent of the rural population and are responsible for electing more than three million people’s representatives in rural India.

* Number of Gram Panchayats: 2,55,623

* Number of Panchayat Samitis: 6,897

* Number of Zilla Parishads:665

* Number of Traditional Local Bodies:16,129 (Source: Annual Report of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for 2021-22).

(The writer is a former Dy. Comptroller & Auditor General of India and a former Ombudsman of Reserve Bank of India. He is also a writer of several books and can be reached at brahmas@gmail.com)