Gram Sabha
The act provides for a Gram Sabha as the foundation of the Panchayati Raj system. It is a body consisting of all the registered voters in the area of the panchayat.
A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislative of a State may, by law, pro-vide (Article 243A), there shall be at least two meetings of the Gram Sabha every year and the quorum for a meeting of the Gram Sabha shall be one-tenth of the total number of members
Three-Tier System: The act provides for three-tier system of Panchayati Raj in every state with Panchayats at village, intermediate and district level. In Rajasthan nomenclature used is:
Elected members & chairpersons:
All members of the Panchayats at village, intermediate and district level shall be elected directly by the people and Sarpanch of Gram Sabha is elected directly adult voters.
The chairpersons of panchayats at intermediate & district level shall be elected indirectly – by and from amongst the elected members. Manner of election of Chairpersons at village level is decided by State legislative assembly.
Elections to the Panchayats: The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Panchayats shall be vested in a State Election Commission.
Duration of Panchayats: Every Panchayat unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer.
Reservations of Seats: Seats shall be reserved for-(a) the Scheduled Castes; and (b) the Scheduled Tribes; in every Panchayat in ratio of population and Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribe/of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat.
Exempted Areas: The Act did not apply to Jammu & Kashmir and certain Scheduled areas in some states. However, the act provided power to Parliament to extend the Act to these scheduled areas with certain special provisions. Under which, Parliament passed “The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA Act”. Rajasthan passed its conformity legislation in accordance with PESA on 30th Sept. 1999.
Finance Commission: The Finance Commission shall be constituted under Article 243-I to review the financial positions of Panchayati Raj Institutions and make recommendations to the Governor.
Panchayats in Rajasthan: Rajasthan has a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj with 33 Zila Parishads (District level), 295 Panchayat Samities (Block level) and 9891 Panchayats (Village level, comprising of a village or a group of villages).
Each Zila Parishad has territorial constituencies. A Zila Parishad having population upto 4 lacs has 17 constituencies and in case the population exceeds 4 lacs, then for every one lac, the number of constituencies increases by two. The 33 Zila Parishads at present have 1014 constituencies.
Similarly, Panchayat Samities also have territorial constituencies. A Panchayat Samiti having population upto one lac consists of 15 constituencies and in case the population exceeds one lac then for every 15000 or part thereof in excess of one lac the number of constituencies increases by two. The 295 Panchayat Samities are presently divided into 6236 constituencies.
Each Panchayat has been divided into wards. The 9900 Panchayats at present have 108953 wards.
Additional Rules for PRI’s in Rajasthan: Rajasthan was the first state to impose the two-child norm as a bar to standing for elections and as a disqualification for occupying a Panchayat elected seat.
Rajasthan is also the first State in the country to fix a minimum educational qualification for contesting elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions. The Assembly passed the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (amendment) Bill, 2015, which makes Class VIII pass mandatory for the post of Sarpanch — except in tribal reserved areas, where the minimum qualification is Class V — and Class X for Zila Parishad or Panchayat Samiti elections. The amendments to Section 19 of the Rajasthan Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 also make a functional toilet mandatory in the house of a contestant. Fifteen States including Rajasthan have enacted legislation for 50% reservation of women in PRI’s.