Background
Panchayats have been the backbone of the Indian villages since
the beginning of recorded history. In 1946, Gandhi had aptly remarked that the
Indian independence must begin at the bottom and every village ought to be a
Republic or a Panchayat with powers. His dream got translated into reality with
the introduction of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system to ensure people’s
participation in rural reconstruction.
The passage of the Constitution (73rdAmendment) Act, 1992 (or simply the Panchayati Raj
Act) marks a new era in the federal democratic set up of the
country. It provided the much needed constitutional sanction to the Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRIs) for functioning as an organic and integral part of the
nation’s democratic process. It came into force with effect from April 24, 1993
and did not apply to the Schedule V areas of the nine states, Schedule VI Areas
of the North-East and the District of Darjeeling in West Bengal as well as
J&K.
The Panchayati Raj Act was needed in order to streamline the
functioning of the PRIs, which were marked by long delays in holding of
Panchayat elections, frequent suspension / super session /
dissolution of the Panchayat bodies, lack of functional and financial autonomy,
inadequate representation of marginalized and weaker sections and meager,
occasional and tied Government grants. This crippled the functioning of
Panchayats and did not allow them to function as institutions of local
Self-Government as had been envisaged in the Constitution.
Features of
the Act
The Act has five main features: (a) a 3-tier system of
Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 20 lakh; (b) Panchayat
elections regularly every 5 years; (c) reservation of seats for Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women (not less than one-third of seats); (d)
appointment of State Finance Commission to make recommendations as regards the
financial powers of the Panchayats, and (e) constitution of District Planning
Committees to prepare development plans for the district as a whole.
Thus, the Panchayats have been endowed with such powers and
authority as may be necessary to function as institutions of self-government
and social justice. Providing real functional autonomy at the village level is
at the core of the amendment Act.
Achievements
As a result of the enactment of the Act, 2,32,278 Panchayats at
village level; 6,022 Panchayats at intermediate level and 535 Panchayats at
district level have been constituted in the country. These Panchayats are being
manned by about 29.2 lakh elected representatives of Panchayats at all levels.
This is the broadest representative base that exists in any country of the
world – developed or under-developed.
Issues in
Implementation of the Panchayati Raj Act
Despite
the positives like enactment of State Panchayati Raj Acts, Setting up of State
Election Commission and State Finance Commissions, and holding of regular
Panchayat elections providing reservation for SCs/STs/Women in Panchayats, the
results of implementation of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 at the ground level have fallen far short
of expectations. Stating specifically,
1. Although
the political decentralization can be clearly seen in the regular Panchayat
elections with good participation of people, the administrative and fiscal
decentralization have remained rather limited. The State Governments have
failed to give up their control on matters of local administration and finance.
2. Panchayats
have not been granted enough powers for revenue generation. As a result, they
only have limited functional autonomy.
3. Recommendations
of State Finance Commissions (SFCs) are generally not taken seriously.
4. Powers
given to the State Election Commissions also vary from State to State. They
should have been given powers to deal with all matter relating to Panchayat
elections namely, delimitation of constituencies, rotation of reserved seats in
Panchayats, finalization of electoral rolls, etc.
5. Gram
Sabhas have not been empowered and strengthened to ensure greater people’s
participation and transparency in functioning of Panchayats as envisaged in the
Panchayat Act.
Panchayats
(Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (or PESA Act, 1996)
The PESA Act, 1996 is
regarded as a corrective legal measure to the 73rd amendment (Panchayati Raj Act) in order to extend the provisions
of the Panchayat Raj to the Scheduled and Tribal areas falling under the
Schedule Five areas of the nine States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and
Rajasthan. The PESA Act, 1996 which came into force on 24thDecember,
1996. It gave radical governance powers to the tribal community and recognizes
its traditional community rights over local natural resources.
It not only accepts the
validity of “customary law, social and religious practices, and traditional
management practices of community resources”, but also directs the state
governments not to make any law which is inconsistent with these. Accepting a
clear‐cut role of the community, it gives wide‐ranging powers to Gram Sabhas, which had hitherto been
denied to them by the lawmakers of the country. The State Governments were
required to enact their legislation in accordance with the Provisions of Act
before the expiry of one year i.e. 23rd December, 1997.
Poor
Implementation of the PESA Act, 1996
It also needs to be pointed out that tribal areas represent the
last sumps of natural resources on this planet, simply because tribal lifestyle
and culture have inherent respect for the forests and natural resources and
tribal religions and outlook ensures survival of all living beings, through
holistic and ecologically sound belief system. PESA offers a wonderful way to
strengthen their hands in the larger interest of social justice as well as
deepen grass-root democracy. Implementing the following suggestions will
achieve both the goals.
§ Even
after a decade and a half after the PESA Act, there is very little awareness
about the Gram Sabha being designated as a self‐governing body or
having legal jurisdiction over the natural resources and forests. Neither is
there any support mechanism for the Gram Sabhas to play any significant role.
§ It is a
clear indication that sincere implementation of PESA has not been seriously
attempted by the state governments. They still want to govern the PESA areas
through the centralized administration and laws that actually weaken what PESA
provisions offer the tribal community. There is hardly any willingness on the
part of the officials of various departments to relinquish control on resources
and functions that are given to the Gram Sabhas by PESA. Nor do they have any
respect for tribal lifestyle and culture. What is needed is the empowerment and
capacity building of the tribal community through a sustained awareness
campaign so they can take charge of their lives as envisioned in the PESA
provisions.
§ There
is an urgent need to amend the Indian Forest Act, Land Acquisition Act, and
other related Acts so that the ownership on minor forest produce, water bodies
and land resources are explicitly handed over to the Gram Sabhas of the PESA
areas.
§ No
State Government officer should have the power to over-rule any recommendation
of a Gram Sabha. This legacy of British Raj is anti-democratic and must be
abolished immediately.
§ The
current system of governance is still largely colonial in nature and the
bureaucracy conditioned on centralized authority has been unable to accept the
radical change envisioned in the PESA Act. Therefore, in order to sensitize
them an immediate extensive training-cum-awareness campaign for all relevant
officials of various ministries should be initiated.
§ There
is a need that Gram Sabha institutions should be developed as institutions ofself-governance and not
treated merely as institutions of local
governance. The required administrative structure and machinery should be
provided for making the Gram Sabha an effective body of district
administration. It is also imperative that the Gram Sabhas have direct access
to funds so that they can exercise their power rather independently.
§ Physical
infrastructure in interior areas should be strengthened in order to protect the
life and property of tribals. Special attention should be paid to the
construction of culverts, bridges, check dams, compound walls for schools, etc.
§ The
concept of community ownership of resources in PESA areas should be integrated
into the provisions of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. All community resource
based schemes should involve Gram Sabhas in planning and implementation.
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