Panchayati Raj Research Articles

ROLE OF PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS TOWARDS RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PULWAMA DISTRICT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Lot of rural development programmes were carried out by panchayat raj institutions in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir from time to time in order to develop the rural area. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir assures people’s participation in developmental activities and in the local governance institutions with adequate gender, class and caste representation as per the need of the amendment package. But, the level of people’s participation in developmental activities at grassroots level seems to be very low. Moreover, gram panchayats are not adequately accountable to gram Sabha. The idea of participation, as an important part of panchayat raj, has rarely been observed in practice. Against this backdrop, the study is designed to investigate the panchayat representatives in order to understand their role towards implementation of various rural development programmes. An attempt has also been made to fully understand the role of Gram Sabha in panchayati raj system and rural development. A structured interview schedule was administrated for this purpose. Besides, informal discussions and field observations also proved to be helpful in providing inputs to strengthen the arguments in analysis.

Decentralised Governance in India: An Evaluation in Context of Panchayati Raj Institutions

The world’s largest democratic system of governance is a main feature of India. Democracy requires that there should be public participation, transparency and accountability in governance. Governance is a process in which ‘full benefit of democratic government could not be realized unless the society admits and believes that all problems in their incidence require decision at the place and by the people, by whom the incidence is most deeply felt’. The process of ushering in social change and economic development in a developing country like India requires adequate dissemination so that local committees and individuals could participate and bring local energy, enthusiasm, initiatives and resources under ideal local conditions to work out local developmental activities. The form of democratic decentralisation in India is visible in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). These institutions have been given a constitutional form by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992. The Panchayati Raj (PR) system in its present form has been in operation for the last over 70 years which is sufficient time to evaluate the objectives of its implementation. Therefore, it is pertinent and necessary to do an analysis of democratic decentralised governance in India in respect of PRIs. The present paper is an effort to highlight and understand constitutional provisions vis-a-vis reality of democratic decentralisation and PRIs in India. What are the main constraints in realisation of the constitutional obligations before these bodies of democratic governance and how can these be overcome?

Political communication strategies in Panchayati Raj election: observation study of Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh- India

India's Himachal Pradesh region is a home for several villages in which its rural political system named Panchayati Raj (PR) is increasingly influential in the state. Recently, the state holds the elections for the Panchyati Raj. The local people are enthusiastically engaged in the election and exhibited interest in voting in general and youth voting in particular. The results of the Panchyati Raj election portray the picture of all the political parties and their influence in the state. All parties emphasize the need of connecting with people through communication. The state's literacy rate is another intriguing feature in which, the state, despite living in countryside, has the second-highest percentage of literacy after Kerala. As a result, the populace as a whole are more informed and responsive to communication. It was noted that both traditional and contemporary media have been used throughout the election to communicate with the public. The current study examines the communication tactics used by all political parties in the Panchyati Raj election in the Himachal Pradesh’s district of Kangra. It is only 5.71% of the people of Kangra district residing in urban areas; while the remainder reside in rural ones. The culturally appropriate communication methods among villagers become more significant in this election. This study then aims to observe the communication tools, language (mother tongue), development issues and key factors of participants such as resident, life style, or education (villagers and candidates). The researchers used an observation study as a non-participatory means through interview tool and used content analysis method for data analysis. The results of this study showed that Pahari (people living in high terrains) were more connected with their traditional culture including communication pattern, lifestyle along with concerned with roots development.

Panchayati Raj: A Legacy of Indian Political System

Panchayati Raj Institutions have been playing a pivotal role for rural development in general and socio-economic upliftment of downtrodden section of the rural society in particular. The Panchayati Raj system is not a new concept and therefore is considered as one of the best ways of governance of the rural India. This work will be the narrative of a Panchayati Raj system. It will be the narrative of the inception and evolution of Panchayati Raj from the formative years of the Indian State and the consolidating years of the Indian Nation to the troublesome times in which the 72nd Amendment Bill became the 73rd Amendment Act of 1992. The study portrays how the present Panchayati Raj Institutions have the ancestral root in the historic past. It appears that the Panchayati raj with effective local autonomy continued to exist even during the period of Maurya’s and Gupta’s, to which we call as the period of centralized sovereignty. Panchayati raj institutions existed all the way in one form or the other. Britishers gave these local bodies a new political touch. This philosophy later acted and reacted on the minds of the wise founding fathers of constitution. Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayati Raj as the foundation of India's political system, it would have been a decentralized form of government where each village would be responsible for its own affairs. The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj (village with self-governance). Panchayati Raj was thought to be adopted as a measure to concretion the dream of decentralization. 73rd Constitution Amendment Act 1992 are the ambitious efforts made in the post-independence era to accomplish the goal of decentralization. Panchayati Raj Institutions – the grass-roots units of self-government – have been proclaimed as the vehicles of socio-economic transformation in rural India.

Women participation in Panchayati Raj with special reference Haridwar (Uttarakhand)

The study was conducted in Haridwar district, Uttarakhand , India(2022 Jan). The primary purpose of the study was to analyze the role of women in the Panchayati Raj program in the study area. Data were collected from 129 randomly selected respondents randomly assigned to different polling stations in Haridwar district. The purpose of this study was to explore the platform provided to Panchayati raj institutions in improving women's participation in decision-making. On the basis of which the conclusion can be drawn whether the test is successful or not. If so, to what extent and in what circumstances? And if not, why not? After studying and analyzing the role of women in the Panchayati raj in selected areas of Haridwar district, it is commendable that women's education is important because an educated woman can play a more important role in decision-making than an illiterate woman. For this purpose, better educational resources should be provided to women. In addition, the promotion of research into women's issues and problems is important. Women's incomes in the Haridwar region are low due. Research shows that there is not much awareness about political issue and their rights.

A review: Panchayati raj system and community development in India

A review: Panchayati raj system and community development in India

A Study on Women's Political Activism in a Grampanchayat, Anantapuramu District, Andhra Pradesh

The current research focuses on how these local government units are run and how elections are conducted to learn more about women's political engagement in Panchayati raj. 95 women from Vepulaparthy Gram Panchayat of Brahmasamudram Mandal in Anantapuramu District were surveyed as part of the research in January 2022. The study found that women's political engagement in the Panchayat election process was adequate. Still, women lack interest in politics regarding assembly and parliamentary elections. Women's sluggishness may be mainly attributed to the patriarchal nature of society, culture, and education.

Panchayati Raj Institutions in India

Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) is a system of rural local self-government in India. Panchayati Raj is a system of governance in which gram panchayats are the basic units of administration. It has 3 levels: village, block and district. “Panchayat” literally means assembly (yat) of five (panch) and ‘Raj’ literally means governance or government. Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayati Raj a decentralized form of Government where each village is responsible for its own affairs, as the foundation of India’s political system. His term for such a vision was “Gram Swaraj”(Village Self-governance).The dream of 'Gram Swaraj' of our beloved father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi and motto of 'Power to People' are essence of true democracy. The task of capacity building of these large numbers of Panchayats is quite gigantic exercise. As per the assessment of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj even after 22 years of enactment of 73rd Constitutional (Amendment) Act and also after having three rounds of Panchayat elections in many States in India the empowerment of Panchayats have not taken place as envisioned in the 73rd Constitution (Amendment) Act in 1992.The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution in 1992 gave Constitutional status to the Panchayats as institutions of local self government and also for planning and implementing programmes for economic development and social justice. The Panchayati Raj System is not a new concept and therefore is considered as one of the best ways of governance of the rural India. However, the System of Panchayati Raj despite having derived their power and existence from the constitution of India. In this paper discuss Panchayati raj Structure, Evolution, 73rd Constitutional (Amendment) Act, Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Panchayati Raj System in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Keywords: Panchayati Raj, Constitution, Amendment and development

Role of ICT in rural development in India: A study on Panchayati raj institutions in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh

Role of ICT in rural development in India: A study on Panchayati raj institutions in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh

Elusive empowerment: characteristics of indirectly elected women chairpersons of district councils in Uttar Pradesh, India

The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India was introduced with a stated legislative intent of reserving not less than a third of seats for women in institutions of local self-government, the three-tier panchayati raj institutions. That amendment is considered a milestone in India’s project of empowerment of women. This paper evaluates the power and prestige of the post of an adhyaksha (chairperson) of a zila (district) panchayat (council) in general, and in particular the status of women elected to the post during 2016 in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Analysing the candidature, electoral success, electoral practices and subsequent functioning of zila panchayat adhyakshas (ZPAs), the authors argue that despite seats being reserved for women, no meaningful political empowerment of women has occurred in UP. The paper questions the efficacy of the indirect mode of election of ZPAs in bringing about empowerment of women, arguing that indirect elections enable powerful ruling elites to use women as proxies, subverting the legislative intent of the 73rd Amendment. The paper therefore proposes electoral reforms.

Attitude of Panchayat Leaders towards Panchayati Raj Institutions as Influenced by their Socio Personal Characteristics

Attitude is “a mental and neural state of readiness, organised through experience, and exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related”. While attitudes are basically learned over the years, some inherited characteristics do affect such attitudes. Our personal experiences with people and situations develop our attitude towards such persons and situations. During the implementation of the panchayati raj system Chhattisgarh has faced several opportunities and difficulties. The institutionalising panchayati raj. What, then, are the circumstances under which panchayat can improve the work effectiveness of their members through influences on individual choices about the level of effort and about strategy? The interview schedule was used as a tool for collecting the raw information from the panchayat leaders. In all 263 respondents from 9 janpads were interviewed personally to obtain the requisite data. It was found that majority of the janpad and jila panchayat leaders (58.73%) had moderately favourable attitude towards panchayati raj institutions. Majority of the janpad and jila panchayat leaders were middle-aged, belonged to other backward classes, most of them were educated up to higher secondary, they belonged to large size families with more than five members each and most of them had membership in one or more social organizations signifying high social participation.

Problems and Challenges faced by Panchayati Raj Institutions in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir

The creation of the institution of Panchayati Raj was a landmark in Indian history for democracy to percolate deep down to the grass-root level. It is seen as a mechanism through which the unheard’s voice could find a place in the planning and implementation process. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, passed by the union government of India becomes the Panchayati Raj law, on April 24, 1993. This amendment act gave the constitutional status to the Panchayats. The power of the local bodies to govern and manage local issues is the highest level of democracy observed in India. Its outcome is the people’s involvement in running their affairs, which results in direct and participatory democracy at a local level, whereas at the national level, it is a parliamentary democracy. The concept of Panchayati Raj in Jammu and Kashmir is the original one; it was the Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of the erstwhile state, who introduced the concept of Panchayati Raj in the state in 1935 when he enacted the first Village Panchayati Regulation Act No 1. To see the development concerning the Panchayati Raj in other states of the nation, the government later came with new and comprehensive legislation, which is called the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act 19891. Even though Panchayati raj institutions provide opportunities to the local people to participate in the political and development process at the grass-root level, but these institutions still do not work suitably in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.The present paper deals with the problems and challenges faced by the representatives of these institutions and emphasize the effect of militancy in the proper functioning of these institutions in the union territory of J&K.

Making Decentralisation Work: A Comparative Ethnographic Analysis of Forest Conservation and Village Governance in West Bengal, India

The literature on forest conservation lacks comparative analyses of decentralisation across different sectors to understand their relative advantages and limitations. This article adopts an ethnographic approach to compare the functioning of two decentralised village-level institutions in the state of West Bengal, India: the forest protection committees created under joint forest management and the gram panchayat, the lowest tier of the panchayati raj institution. The comparative analysis shows that despite their decentralised structure, the village forest protection committees have very little discretionary power relative to the powers exercised by gram panchayats. Gram panchayats have been effective in developing an inclusive and transparent decentralised governance system which retains the support of diverse interest groups within communities and other layers of the state. The study shows that style of decentralisation under joint forest management in West Bengal has been alienating forest-based communities from conservation because their voices remain symbolic in local, state, and national-level policy decisions. The study provides new theoretical and methodological insights for analysing decentralisation by underscoring the importance of criteria such as discretionary power for local decision-making and accountability; local bureaucratic and infrastructure support; and designated physical space in the everyday working of decentralised governance at the village level.

PATRIARCHY AND WOMEN REPRESENTATION IN PANCHAYATI RAJ INSTITUTIONS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF PATRIARCHY UPON THE ELECTED WOMEN REPRESENTATIVES IN THE SELECTED GAON PANCHAYAT OF NALBARI DISTRICT, ASSAM

Equal representation of all – men and women by all other considerations – is one of the well-proclaimed objectives of democracy. Equal political rights conferred upon men and women are expected to address various structural challenges traditionally faced by the women in most of the developing countries like India. However, in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh of South Asian region witness that women are suffering from various socio-cultural, political and economic challenges. In this context, this study aims to examine a research question: Does patriarchy have an impact upon the women representatives elected to local government bodies while performing their institutional duties and functions? The followed up question is: How does patriarchy influence the performance of the women representatives elected to local government bodies? Using qualitative approach, this study makes the needed empirical investigation and argues that gender norms and social structure have impact upon the women representatives elected to local government bodies. It draws its empirical lessons using the method of in-depth interview with the key respondents. The key respondents in this study include the women representatives elected to panchayati raj institutions, especially the Gaon Panchayat, the local government bodies in India. The researcher interviewed ten women representatives elected to Ghoga Gaon Panchayat, in the district of Nalbari, Assam. Empirical findings of the study find that women are more familiar with their day-to-day social life, especially associated to household activities such as caring children. Ongoing gender norms seem to function in the mindset of these women representatives.

An Experiment in Feminist Technology in Local Governance: Revisiting the Question of ‘Invited Spaces’ of Participation in Kerala

In this article, we foreground the potential for a space for collective deliberation and political subjectivities building among women leaders in local governance. We interrogate the Gramamukhya portal, which was initiated in 2011 and continued until 2015, as a democratic space to politicise the invited spaces of governance. Revisiting the question of women’s engagement in panchayati raj institutions in Kerala, we suggest that the practice of citizenship can become politically effective for women in governance if they use a platform that facilitates critical engagement from within and without the invited spaces of participation. This reflection becomes all the more significant given the contemporary political context of Kerala, where the women’s question is caught between developmentalist intentions of the state and right-wing political mobilisations at the grass-roots level.

Social Audit And Panchayati Raj

Social audit can be used in the various sectors like health, water, financial institution, organizations, companies, public and private sectors. With the help of social audit, industries can measure their performance. The social audit got a legal statue after incorporation of the 73rd amendment to the Indian constitution regarding panchayati raj institutions. This amendment gave power to gramsabha to conduct social audits and it has with this historic amendment that the concept of social audit gained importance in our country. The gramasabha shall conduct regular social audit of all the projects under the scheme taken up with in gram panchayat. So this study analyzed the performance of PRIs through social audit practice. It is purely based on primary data which has used convenient method of sampling method. The result has contributed that, social audit practice through gramsabha has developed the rural area but still there is a need for effective implementation of social audit practice. So government should provide training to panchayat raj employees to effectively carry social audit apart from this other institutions such as NGOs need to support villagers to conduct social audit.

Inclusiveness in the Panchayati Raj Institutions

The 73rd amendment of the Indian Constitution has evolved as a significant mechanism for devolution of power and democratic decentralisation. The template was to transform the power relation at three levels, that is, family, community and state apparatuses. Studies on the representation of underprivileged groups (caste, gender and tribes) in the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) have highlighted the continued discrimination against these groups. This article analyses both enabling and disabling factors which affect the performance of the elected representatives (ERs) belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women from seven states. The findings (both qualitative and quantitative) of the study highlight general as well as group-specific enabling and disabling factors that impact the performance of the ERs in PRIs.

Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Rural Development: An Analytical Study of Arunachal Pradesh

Rural Development is viewed as strategy to bring improvement in the economic, political and social life of the rural people. The participation of people in rural development is a must because the developmental activities have to be carried out by the government along with their cooperation. The local government is considered as an instrument of development and welfare programmes. The full benefit of democracy can be realized only when there is true devolution of both power and resources down to the grassroots. Arunachal Pradesh, predominantly a tribal state with more than 26 major tribes and several dozen of minor groups fulfilled the constitutional requirement of institutional arrangement for decentralisation with formulation of Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1997 by replacing the NEFA (North Eastern Frontier Agency) Panchayati Raj Regulation, 1967. However, people still suffer from socio-economic backwardness and yet to reap the benefit of devolution of power to the people. Hence, the study is an attempt to analyse the role of panchayati raj institutions in rural development and perception of the rural locals in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions' Accounting and Reporting in Building Public Confidence and Legitimacyan Empirical Study

“Indian independence must begin at the rural place. Every village should be a republic or a Panchayat having full powers” -Mahatma Gandhi The strength and success of panchayat raj institutions mainly depend on the reliability and accuracy of its financial administration. Financial administration is the backbone of the panchayat institutions. It is a fact that success or otherwise depends mainly this variables, finance and financial administration with transparency. Hence, ever since the inception local government reform, whether it is fiscal administration, resource mobilization, revenue and expenditure planning, budgeting and auditing and accounting transparency residing a significant place. Financial management is concerned with the proper management of the funds of the related institutions or organization. This present research is to explore the perception of panchyat officials against budget preparation and maintenance of accounts ie., books of account, registrars and records. The study also details about the efficiency in managing budgeting and auditing activities in Gram panchyats, Taluk panchayats and Zilla panchayat with respect to shivamogga district. The study concludes through offering appropriate strategy need to draw through policies for both governments as well as to panchayat’s officials to improve the performance of institutions to fulfill the need of rural mass.

Issues and Challenges in Functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions for Sustainable Development: A Case Study

Sustainable developmental goals (SDG’s) are new global level of goals, with targets and indicators that 193 member countries of United Nations in the world have mutually set and agreed upon. There are 17 goals on which the entire world is focusing at present to ensure sustainable development. For attaining these goals, local self-governance is used at the grassroots levels and in India the machinery is Panchayati raj Institutions. These institutions operate from central and state government level and include all the villages in it. These villages have panchayats and it is maintained by Gram Pradhans i.e. elected representatives, Secretary and other members of the gram panchayats. Though a lot is being done at grassroot level by these Gram Pradhans, under the mechanism of Panchayati raj institution and other administrative bodies, however it is not free from challenges. The present case study is a descriptive study which focuses attention to identify different challenges the elected representatives experience, in Panchayati raj institutions in India, which contribute directly for the sustainable development.