UNIT-V
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ITS ADMINISTRATION
India being a federal system has governments at two levels, Union government at the Centre and
State governments at the state level. Besides these two governments, the Constitution of India
has provided for a set of institutions for rural and urban areas, commonly known as Local
government. It is the third tier of the government aimed at development and social justice at the
local level and acts as an instrument of decentralization of powers.
This is said to be the best government largely because of its closet interface with the local
people. It provides a forum to them to deliberate on the nature of local problems and devise
appropriate solutions that are in conformity with the local situations.
. Local government is in fact a government of the local people, by the local people and for the
local people. Being located nearest to the people, the local government institutions are under
constant observation of the society. This goes a long way in enhancing local government’s
accountability.
In fact, the role of local self-government institutions is so pervasive and the services provided by
them is so closest to the daily lives of the local communities that it is said to serve the local
citizenry from “cradle to the grave”.
RURAL AND URBAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Local governments in India thus are of two types, one for the rural areas and the other for the
urban areas.
The system of rural local government is known as the Panchayati Raj System and that of the
urban local government has three kinds of institutional arrangements in different cities and
towns.
These are known as Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats.
The organization and functioning of both the Panchayati Raj System and Urban local
governments have been greatly influenced by the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts
1992.
RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM
As we have seen earlier that in the past, Panchayats used to be the seat of justice. Local disputes
and other problems were referred to Panchayats and their decisions used to be respected by one
and all.
Our national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi had a firm faith in this system. The Constitution
makers also considered this system to be very important and made provisions for it in the
Directive Principles of State Policy
The Constitution states that the State shall take steps to organize Village Panchayats and
empower them with such powers and authorities as may be necessary to enable them to function
as units of local self government.
The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee in its report submitted in 1957 recommended the
establishment of a three-tier Panchayati Raj System: Gram Panchayats at the village level, the
Panchayat Samitis at the block level or intermediate level and the Zila Parishad at the district
level.
However, it is the 73rd Constitutional Amendment 1992 that provided the present shape to the
Panchayati Raj System. Now the Panchayati Raj Institutions in most of the States have been set
up at three levels, village, intermediate and district levels.
Village Panchayat also called Gram Panchayat is the grass root institution of Panchayati Raj
System. At village level there is a Gram Sabha or Village Assembly and a Gram Panchayat
having a Chairperson known as Gram Pradhan or Sarpanch (Mukhia), a Vice Chairperson and
some Panches.
In fact, the Village Panchayats are organized and they function according to the Act passed by
every State government
Village Panchayat or Gram Panchayat most important unit of rural local self-government.
All the members of each village are voters who elect the members of the Panchayat by a secret
ballot.
In most of the States, a Village Panchayat has 5 to 9 members who are called Panches.
In every Panchayat, one-third of the seats are reserved for women.
However, there are States where the percentage of seats reserved for women is even more.
Seats are also reserved for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The Sarpanch (Mukhia) of the Panchayat is directly elected by all the voters of the village
Some offices of Sarpanches are now reserved for women, and some for persons belonging to
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Sarpanch calls the meetings of the Panchayat and presides over those meetings. He/She is to call
at least one meeting of the Panchayat per month.
Sarpanch keeps the records of the meetings of Panchayat.
The tenure of the Village Panchayat is of 5 years
FUNCTIONS OF GRAM PANCHAYAT
All the major functions of Gram Panchayat are related to the welfare and development of the
village.
With a view to fulfill the needs and requirements of the villagers every Gram Panchayat has to
perform some important functions such as provision of safe drinking water, paving of streets,
developing and maintaining good drainage system, ensuring cleanliness of the village, upkeep of
street lights, dispensary, plantation of trees, setting up and maintenance of insemination centre
for cattle, developing and maintaining play ground for sports and setting up and running the
library
SOURCES OF INCOME FOR GRAM PANCHAYAT
Financial resources are essential for performance of the functions by Panchayats
Over and above the Grants-in aid, State governments have empowered Panchayats to levy taxes
and collect funds. Some of the sources are as follows:
1. taxes on property, land, goods and cattle;
2. rent collected for facilities like Barat Ghar or any other property of panchayat;
3. various types of fines collected from the offenders;
4. grants-in- aid from the State government and Union government;
5. a part of the land revenue collected by the State government given to the Panchayats; and
6. donations collected from the villagers for some common cause.
PANCHAYAT SAMITI OR MANDAL PARISHAD
Panchayat Samiti is the intermediate or the middle tier of the Panchayati Raj System. These are
named differently in different States. . It coordinates all the activities of the Panchayats in a
Block. A Panchayat Samiti is constituted by the following members:
[Link] the Sarpanches (Mukhias) or Chairpersons of the Gram Panchayats within the Block
[Link], MLAs and MLCs of that Block
[Link] Officers of that Block
The term of each Panchayat Samiti is five years in all States.
In its very first meeting, each Panchayat Samiti elects two of its members as Chairperson and
ViceChairperson.
Chairpersonships of at least 1/3rd Panchayat Samities stand reserved for women members.
Likewise, some of the offices of Chairperson are reserved for members belonging to Scheduled
Castes.
The tenure of the Chairperson is coterminous with the tenure of the Panchayat Samiti.
The members of a Panchayat Samiti can remove the Chairperson by passing a resolution
supported by 2/3rd majority.
A Panchayat Samiti usually meets at least six times in one year. There cannot be a gap of more
than two months between its two meetings
FUNCTIONS OF PANCHAYAT SAMITI
Panchayat Samiti performs a number of functions. Some important functions are: (a)agriculture,
(b)land improvement, (c)watershed development, (d)social and farm forestry, and(e) technical
and vocational education.
(f) provision of drinking water in the villages, (g) development and repair of rural roads, (h)
framing of rules and regulations for the markets, (i) provision of improved seeds and chemical
fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural tools and implements, (j) promotion of cottage industries such
as handlooms, handicrafts, traditional art and artisans, (k) the welfare of Scheduled Castes and
Tribes and other backward classes, and (l) promotion of the self employment schemes in the
rural areas.
SOURCES OF INCOME FOR PANCHAYAT SAMITI OR MANDAL PARISHAD
The main source of income of Panchayat Samiti is the Grants given by the State government.
Besides, it also levies taxes, levies and receives a fixed percentage of land revenue.
ZILA PARISHAD
Zila Parishad is at the apex, being the third tier of Panchayati Raj System. It is situated at the
district level.
Zila Parishad also has a term of 5 years. The Chairpersons of the Panchayat Samitis are ex-
officio members. MPs and MLAs belonging to the district are also the members of Zila Parishad.
Chairperson of the Zila Parishad is elected from the directly elected members.
Not less than 1/3rd of the offices and seats are reserved for the women members. Seats are also
reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
FUNCTIONS OF ZILA PARISHAD
The following are the major functions of the Zila Parishad, though you may find some variations
across the States:
1. providing essential services and facilities to the rural population, planning and executing the
development programmes for the district;
2. supplying improved seeds to farmers, informing them of new techniques of farming,
undertaking construction of small-scale irrigation projects and percolation tanks, and maintaining
pastures and grazing lands;
3. setting up and running schools in villages, executing programmes for adult literacy, and
running libraries;
4. starting Primary Health Centers and hospitals in villages, managing mobile hospitals for
hamlets, conducting vaccination drives against epidemics and family welfare campaigns;
5. executing plans for the development of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, running
ashram for adivasi children, and setting up free hostels for scheduled caste students;
6. encouraging entrepreneurs to start small scale industries like cottage industries, handicrafts,
agriculture products, processing mills, dairy farms, etc., and implementing rural employment
schemes; and
7. constructing roads, schools and also taking care of the public properties;
SOURCES OF INCOME FOR ZILA PARISHAD
As you have seen, the Zila Parishad performs a number of important functions. For executing
them it needs money. This is arranged through its sources of income that are as follows:
1. income from taxes levied by Zila Parishad, license fees and market fees;
2. income from various properties of Zila Praishad;
3. grants from the State and Central governments; and funds allotted by the State for
developmental activities.
URBAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
As Panchayati Raj System is meant for rural area, similarly there are institutions of urban local
government. There are three types of urban local bodies – (a) Municipal Corporations for the big
cities, (b) Municipal Councils for all other cities with smaller population and (c) Nagar
Panchayats for transitional areas (semi urban areas)
But a significant difference between Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and the urban local
bodies is that while the PRIs are closely linked with one another, the urban local bodies are
independent
It was during the British colonial rule that the first urban local government came into existence in
1688 when a Municipal Corporation was formed in the city of Madras (now known as Chennai).
Later on, similar bodies were formed for the administration at Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay
(Mumbai)
During the British rule many changes were made in urban local bodies. Gradually certain
structural changes were made, powers of the local bodies were enhanced and some funds were
also provided.
After independence three types of urban local bodies were functioning. But the 74th
Constitutional Amendment 1992 brought about major changes in the system of urban local
government. Now three types of urban local governments are functioning: (a) Municipal
Corporations for the big cities, (b) Municipal Councils for smaller cities and (c) Nagar
Panchayats for those areas that are in transition from rural areas to urban areas.
MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS
Municipal Corporations are established in big cities according to the provisions made in the Acts
enacted by the State Legislatures.
Municipal Corporations have Direct Elections. The entire city is divided into wards and for each
ward a ward representative is choosen
Theses ward representatives are also known as Councillors
The Councillors of Municipal Corporations are elected for 5 years.
The elected Councillors elect one of them as Mayor annually.
The Mayor is known as the first citizen of the city.
The 74th Constitutional Amendment has provided for reservation of not less than 1/3rd of the
total seats for women. There is also a provision of reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections in proportion to their population.
Out of these reserved seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, one-third would be
reserved for women belonging to these communities
There is an official post of Municipal Commissioner, who is the Chief Executive Officer and is
appointed by the State government who is usually a Civil Servant
FUNCTIONS OF MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS
The main functions of the Municipal Corporation are as follows:
1. Health and Sanitation: Responsible for cleanliness of the city, disposal of garbage;
maintenance of hospitals and dispensaries; promoting and conducting vaccination drives;
checking of adulteration etc.
2. Electricity and Water Supply: Provision and maintenance of street lights, supply of electricity,
supply of safe drinking water; construction of infrastructure and providing facilities for water
supply, maintenance of water tankers etc.
3. Educational: Establishment of primary schools, provision of mid-day meals and other facilities
for the children.
4. Public works: Construction, maintenance and naming of roads; framing rules for the
constructions of houses, markets, restaurants and hotels; removing of encroachments and
demolition of dangerous buildings.
5. Miscellaneous functions: Maintaining record of Births & Deaths; provision and maintenance
of cremation grounds/burial grounds, night shelters; making arrangements of scooter & taxi
stands and public facilities.
6. Entertainment: Provision of parks, auditoriums etc.;
7. Cultural: Organizing music, dramas, painting and other art shows; and activities like
maintenance of libraries and museums;
8. Sports Activities: Provision of play grounds for various games and also arranging sports
competitions & tournaments;
9. Welfare Services: Setting up and maintaining Community halls; running public distribution
system; implementing family welfare schemes and also schemes for the welfare of Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes & backward classes.
Sources of Income for Municipal Corporation
Income from taxes: Municipal Corporation imposes taxes on various items such as – house tax,
entertainment tax, tax on hoardings and advertisements, registration fees, tax on building plans
etc.
Other fees and charges: These include water supply charges, electricity charges, sewer charges,
license fee from shop keepers, and toll tax and octoroi duty.
Grants-in-Aid: State government and Union government provide grants-in-aid for various
projects and programmes related to development.
Income from Rents: Corporations rent out the properties and get rent for various shops, kiosks,
community centres, Barat Ghars and various sites for fairs, marriages or other exhibitions.
MUNICIPAL COUNCILS
Cities which do not have very large population have Municipalities known as Municipal
Councils to look after the local cities, their problems and developmental work.
Every Municipal Council has Councillors who are elected by the adult voters of the city for 5
years. Only those persons can be elected as Councillors who fulfill the conditions laid down by
the State Election Commission
Chairperson or President of the Municipal Council is elected by the Councillors from among the
elected members.
Chairperson holds the office till he/ she enjoys the confidence of the majority of the elected
members. Every Municipal Council has an Executive Officer who is appointed by the State
government who is usually a civil servant
He/ She looks after the day-to-day work and also the administration. The Health Officer, Tax
Superintendent, Civil Engineer are the other important officers.
Functions of the Municipal Council
Functions of the Municipal Council are as follows:
1. Health and Sanitation - Managing cleanliness of the town, disposal of garbage, prevention of
sale of unhygienic and adulterated food items, and maintenance of dispensaries or hospitals;
2. Electricity and Water Supply - Ensuring supply of electricity and safe drinking water,
maintaining water tanks and also water tankers;
3. Education - Maintaining and running of primary schools and literacy centres.
4. Birth and Death Records - Keeping the records regarding registration of birth and deaths in the
city/town and also issuing the certificates for the same;
5. Public Works - Paving of streets, repairing and maintenance of municipal roads, construction
and maintenance of Barat Ghars, Community Halls, Markets, Public facilities etc.
SOURCES OF INCOME
Taxes: Taxes on properties, vehicles, entertainment and advertisement;
Rents and fees/charges: Charges for water supply, sewer system;
Licenses fees, Rents of the community Halls, Barat Ghars and Shops etc.;
Grants from the State government;
Fines: Fines from the tax offenders, law breakers, on encroachments etc
NAGAR PANCHAYATS
An urban centre with more than 30,000 and less than 100,000 inhabitants has a Nagar Panchayat
It is composed of a Chairperson and Ward Members. It may have a minimum of ten elected
Ward Members and three nominated Members
FUNCTIONS OF NAGAR PANCHAYAT
Nagar Panchayat is responsible for
(a) Cleanliness and disposal of garbage;
(b) Supply of drinking water;
(c) Maintenance of public amenities like street lights, parking space and public conveniences;
(d) Setting up and maintaining fire services; and
(e) Registration of deaths and births.
SOURCES OF INCOME
Taxes such as house tax, water tax, toll tax;
License fees and fee for approving building plans;
Rents collected by renting Barat Ghars and other properties; and
Grant-in- Aid from the State government.
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION
Apart from the above stated rural and urban local self governments, there is administrative
machinery in every district.
This not only contributes to the functioning of the local bodies directly and indirectly, but also
performs administrative and development functions.
In every district there are Sub-Divisions and Blocks or Talukas and the officials posted there
assist the district administration
The key officials at the district level are: District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, District
Education Officer, District Agriculture Officer, District Forest Officer etc. All these officers are
the heads of their departments in the district.
District Magistrate However, it is the District Magistrate who is in-charge of the whole district
administration. This post is also named as Deputy Commissioner, District Collector or Upayukta.
He/She belongs to the Indian Adminstrative Service (IAS). District administration is responsible
to implement the policies and programmes of the State and Central governments.
District had been an important unit of administration since long
The District Magistrate, therefore, has been assigned various important powers and functions to
perform on behalf of the State government.
The main functions of District Magistrate are as follows:
1. Maintaining law and order and ensuring peace in the district;
2. Implementing various policies and programmes of the State government and the Central
government;
3. Acting as the main link between State government and district level institutions and offices;
4. Co-ordinating the activities of different departments such as education, health, welfare, land
management, police, jail and culture;
5. Taking adequate and appropriate measures during emergencies and disasters and conducting
relief work;
6. Ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections for various representative bodies, such as Lok
Sabha,Vidhan Sabha, Block Samities, Zila Parishad, Municipalities,
7. Managing collection of the revenue and other taxes;
8. Performing judicial functions and deciding various disputes and even imposing penalties and
fines;
9. Listening to the grievances of the people and redressing them.
SUB- DIVISIONAL OFFICER
For better administration each district is divided into smaller units called Sub Divisions.
Although the sub divisions of the district are under the District Magistrate, an officer called the
Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) is made in-charge of this unit. The SDO is there to assist the
District Magistrate in the field of administration and also works as his/her representative.
The SDO belongs to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or to the cadre of State Civil
Service.
He/She keeps the land records and collects land revenue.
He/She has the power to issue licenses for armed weapons like guns and pistols, and is also
authorized for the issuance of Driving License, Certificates regarding the domicile, Schedule
Castes/Schedule Tribes and other Backward Classes.
THE BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
The Block is the unit of administration at the lowest level.
The officer in-charge of the Block is called Block Development Officer (BDO).
He/She belongs to State Civil Service cadre and looks after various activities of the Block.
The BDO is linked with the middle tier of Panchayati Raj as he/she is the ex-officio Secretary of
the Panchayat Samiti and keeps the record of the meetings, prepares budget and coordinates
various developmental activities.