Polity-Administration

Local Self Government in Rajasthan

Historical Background of PRI in Rajasthan

Local self-government in India refers to governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state. India is a federal republic with three spheres of government: central, state and local.

Since Ancient times, village panchayats have been an integral part of social life. It is believed that this system was first introduced by King Prithu during colonisation Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Rigveda mentions – Gramini as the leader of the village. Shreni was a well-known term for merchant guilds. A fairly detailed description of the village communities is found in Kautilya’s Artha-Shastra. These rural republics in India continued to flourish in the country during the Hindu, Muslim and Peshwa government till the arrival of the East India Company. Here, we look at evolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) in Rajasthan.

What is difference between local government and local self government?

The only difference is that local self-government is a type of local government where the local government is voted upon by those who live in the jurisdiction. Local governments may be elected or appointed by the center but they have no law-making power.

Panchayats during Ancient and Medieval period in Rajasthan:

The study of various Lekhas reveals that executive committees or Panchayats existed in Rajasthan during the ancient period. These agencies were then called Panchkulas (Committee of five), which worked under the Presidentship of the Mahant. These Panchkulas were composed of village elders who were heads of various castes and religious groups of a village.

Besides these, there were also committees referred as Goshthis (guilds) which were a kind of corporations of professionals meant for looking after the local administration of the areas they furnished.

According to V.B. Mishra, during 600 A.D. to 1027 A.D., there was despotic rule in Western Rajasthan under Pratihara dynasty but village remained autonomous units. Grama or village was the last administrative unit having fixed sites and boundaries. The head of the Grama was called Gramapati or Gamagamika. The Gramapati administered the village with the assistance of the village council composed of the village elders. The Council exercised considerable jurisdiction over the village disputes.

PRI in Rajasthan during Mughal Period:

With the establishment of Mughal rule at Delhi, the Princely States of Rajputana were influenced to some extent but village administration remained unchanged.

During this Period there existed ‘Caste Panchayats’ as well as Panchayats of the whole village for Social Purposes

The functions of Village Panchayats included settlement of disputes, watch and ward, education, sanitation, recreation and organisation of festivals. Additionally, every caste had its own Panchayat in the village whose structure and functions were more or less similar.

PRI in Rajasthan during British Rule:

Under the British administrators, there was minimal development of Panchayats until 1928 when Bikaner State took the lead by passing an act to provide for the establishment of Panchayats. The Jaipur Village Panchayat Act was also passed in 1937. In 1939 Karauli also passed a Village Panchayats Act. Gram Panchayat Acts were passed in Mewar and Marwar in 1940 and 1945 respectively. Bharatpur introduced similar enactment in 1944 and Sirohi in 1947. Besides these, there was Panchayat Acts in force in some other states, e.g., Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar, Tonk, Shahpura, etc.

PRI in Modern Rajasthan: Beginning

The United States of Rajasthan was inaugurated in 1948 comprising Mewar and other princely states, with its capital at Udaipur and Chief Minister as Shri Manikya Lal Verma. One of his very first acts was to promulgate the Gram Panchayat Raj Ordinance of 1948. Following the Ordinance, elected Panchayats based on Universal Adult franchise came into being in various villages of the former feudatories in Udaipur, Kota, Pratapgarh, Kushalgarh, Banswara, Dungarpur, etc. Thus, 790 Panchayats came into existence in 13,656 Villages of formers Rajasthan.

After the inauguration of unified Rajasthan and formation Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953 was passed and was enforced on January 1st, 1954.

The Government of Rajasthan started Community Development Programme (CDP) in 1952 as a part of planned development in the state. On the recommendation of the Grow More Food Enquiry Committee, the National Extension Service (NES) was started in 1953. The Balwant Rai Mehta Study Team examined the working of CDP & NES and suggested ‘Democratic Decentralisation’ in order to make these programmes successful. The National Development Council also endorsed this proposal and asked each State Government to implement the idea. As a consequence, the Rajasthan Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads Act, 1959 was passed with effect from October 2nd, 1959. This new act also amended the Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953.

But after 1965 Panchayats became weak when all the extension officers of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Industries were withdrawn from Panchayat Samitis. The concern departments became important. Girdhari Lal Vyas Committee in 1973, pointed out limitations of the Panchayat system in the State, but suggestions to improve the functioning of the Panchayat System were not implemented. The dormant status of Panchayat was not just limited to Rajasthan but majority of states, forcing Union Government to make a series of committees to revive the PRI in India.

Ashok Mehta Committee (1978) recommended a constitutional status for Panchayats and L.M.Singhvi Committee (1986) proclaimed the PRIs as the third tier of government and strongly recommended that PRIs should be constitutionally recognized, preserved and protected. It was followed by a series of consultations and workshops to work out modalities to constitutionalise the Panchayats. Finally, 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1993 was enacted. On the basis of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, Rajasthan passed the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.

Panchayati Raj in Rajasthan

After Independence, Rajasthan was the first state to establish Panchayati Raj. The scheme was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Nehru on October 2, 1959 in Bagdari Village of Nagaur district. Panchayati Raj in India aims to build democracy at grass-root level and signifies the system of rural self government. Panchayats are an effective vehicle for people’s participation in administration, planning and democratic process and so organisation of village Panchayats has been made a Directive Principle of State Policy (Article 40). After, 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 these institutions have received Constitutional status.

73RD CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ACT OF 1992

Significance of the Act: The act has given a practical shape to Article 40 of the Constitution which says that, ‘The State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government’ (DPSP). The act gives a constitutional status to the panchayati raj institutions. It has brought them under the purview of the justiciable part of the Constitution. In other words, the state governments are under constitutional obligation to adopt the new panchayati raj system in accordance with the provisions of the act.

Additionally, neither the formation of panchayats nor the holding of elections at regular intervals depends on the will of the state government any more. The act transfers the representative democracy into participatory democracy. It is a revolutionary concept to build democracy at the grass-root level in the country.

Major Features of the Act:

This act has added a new Part-IX to the Constitution of India. It is entitled as ‘The Panchayats’ and consists of provisions from Articles 243 to 243O. Additionally, the act has also added Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution which contains the 29 functional items of the panchayats.

The provisions of the act can be grouped into two categories-Compulsory and Voluntary. The compulsory (mandatory or obligatory) provisions of the act have to be included in the state laws creating the new panchayati raj system. The voluntary Provisions, on the other hand, may be included at the direction of the states.