NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY
BHOPAL
LAW AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
V SEMESTER
SYNOPSIS
ON
ROLE OF PANCHAYATS IN INDIAN DEMOCRACY
SUBMITTED BY: Ibban Javid ([Link].B.116)
Shashwat Joshi (2018B.A. LL.B.128)
SUBMITTED TO: PROF. Bir Pal Singh
INTRODUCTION
The idea of panchayati raj was frst mooted by Mahatma Gandhi. During the struggle for
freedom that culminated with independence on 15 August 1947, Mahatma Gandhi stressed
the need for village swaraj (independent republic): “My idea of village swaraj is that it is a
complete republic, independent of its neighbors for its own vital wants, and yet
interdependent for many others in which dependence is a necessity”1. Gandhi’s vision of
village swaraj has had perhaps the most powerful influence on the subsequent debates and
discussions on panchayats. In the immediate post independence period, during the debates on
the drafting of India’s constitution, sharply discrepant views on panchayats were expressed. It
was part of three tier democracy at national level, state level and village level. Panchayats did
not find a place in the first draft of India’s constitution. At the insistence of a few Gandhians
namely Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar, N G Ranga, K Santhanam, Shibbanlal Saxena and
others, a compromise was arrived at, and panchayats were included only in the nonjusticiable
part of the constitution, under Directive Principles of State Policy, as Article 40, which reads,
“The state shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers
and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.” It
found the place in the constitution in the form of one of the Directive Principles Of The State
Policy2. Within the Indian federal architecture Panchayat is the closest to the notion of direct
democracy distinct from the representative democracy of the Union and States, due to its
proximity to the community it serves. Panchayat has deep faith in democracy in which the
common man in the rural area has huge capacity to have a good living for himself and the
community under the healthy environment that the State creates. The objectives of a
panchayat include organizing common men in the process of developing themselves through
their own efforts on a continuing basis, at the same time, enhancing their capacity and self-
reliance. This begins with ‘citizen participation’ in political processes and ‘service delivery’
of local public goods, e.g. potable drinking water, general sanitation, primary health,
elementary education, maintenance of public properties etc. Hence, the key objective of the
panchayat is to balance the two values of ‘citizen participation’ and ‘service delivery’, the
basic goals of decentralized democracy envisaged in the Report of Balwant Rai Mehta Study
Team (1957) and the subsequent 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India. The rural
local government in India is called the panchayat, which literally means an assembly of five
persons. These five elderly, nominated persons, over the course of time, were vested with
sacred authority and with judicial and executive powers. These assemblies settled disputes
between individuals and villages. Their roots can be traced in the Rig Veda as dating back to
approximately 1200 BC. Panchayat in present India has inherited though little from those
native local institutions of Indian society which was predominantly rural in character in the
mediaeval period.
1
M.K. Gandhi, My Idea of Village Swaraj, Gandhi Research Foundation(Sept. 6, 2020, 10:00AM),
[Link]
2
The Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 40.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
There is not a clear idea in our minds about all these issues faced by PRI’s and thus we need
to take a look at the history of such institutions and reach a conclusion as to what the issues
faced by such institutions is and how they can be solved. An analysis into the
recommendations of various committee’s and the precedents laid down throughout the years
can give us an insight into these issues and help us arrive at a conclusion and give
recommendations for the improvement of such institutions and their empowerment in the
country.
OBJECTIVES
To analyse the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee and the Ashok
Mehta Committee and the 73rd Amendment Act in brief.
To analyse the structure of the three levels of Panchayat namely: Block Panchayat,
District Level Panchayat and Gram Panchayat in brief.
To analyse precedents laid down in the country that might give us an insight into the
role of PRI’s in the country with regards to the rural development in the Indian
Democracy.
To finally lay down recommendations and arrive at a conclusion with regards to PRI’s
in the Indian Democracy.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The researcher has used doctrinal method of data collection and has extensively used the
available material on the subject by various experts and has analyzed the provisions of law
regarding the same as well.
HYPOTHESIS
The Panchayati Raj Institutions [“PRI’s”] do not currently have a lot of power to ensure the
self-governance that they are essentially supposed to ensure. They have only been introduced
under the aegis of Directive Principles without actually any constitutional authority being
provided to them. They lack the financial capacities to hire the technical staff such as
engineers required for development projects and have the District Planning Committee
making the final decisions which leads to a lot of delays and issues of transparency. The
PRI’s also aren’t completely inclusive due to the lower status of women in such rural settings
and even though there are laws to ensure their involvement the ground level, reality is
something else entirely.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
RURAL DEVELOPMENT: PRINCIPLES, POLICIES AND MANAGEMENT BY KARTAR SINGH,
SAGE, 2009.
The book focuses on the basic concepts, policy instruments, strategies, policies and
programmes, and the management of rural development. In particular, it emphasises the
pivotal role of human resources as both a means and an end of development. Recent
developments and progress of rural development programmes like equity and growth-
oriented programmes and natural resources and infrastructure programmes have been well-
documented and analysed.
PANCHAYATI RAJ: A STUDY OF RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN INDIA BY HENRY
MADDICK, RAWAT PUBLICATIONS, 2018.
The study falls into three parts. The first is an introduction for those to whom administration
and local government in India are new fields of study. This takes essentials of the earlier
systems of local administration and local government which have strongly influenced
Panchayati Raj. The system or more accurately, systems as there are some dozen approaches
in the different states – is described in the second part. This section of the book provides
information about the essential components of any local government system – electoral
systems, council organization, staffing, finance, areas and so on. The chapter titles indicate
the extent of the coverage. The book ends with a discussion of some of the more important
problems and possible contributions to their solutions.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the structure of PRI’s at all levels of the Panchayati Raj system?
2. What are the problems that are faced by these institutions and what are the ways
recommended by law and committees to resolve them?
3. How effective are PRI’s in fulfilling their functions and how inclusive are they on the
ground level with respect to women in the country?
TENTATIVE CHAPTERISATION
INTRODUCTION
STRUCTURE OF PANCHAYATS IN INDIA
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS WITH REGARDS TO PANCHAYATI RAJ
INSTITUTIONS
CASE LAWS
ROLE OF PANCHAYATS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
SUGGESTIONS
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY