April 24,1993 is a red-letter day in the history of Panchayati Raj in India as on this day the constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force to provide constitutional status to the Panchyati Raj institutions.
73rd Amendment Act, 1992
The salient features of the Act are: –
- To provide 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 20 lakh.
- To hold Panchayat elections regularly every 5 years.
- To provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women (not less than 33%)
- To appoint State Finance Commission to make recommendations as regards the financial powers of the Panchayats.
- To constitute District Planning Committee to prepare draft development plan for the district as a whole.
Powers and Responsibilities
According to the Constitution, Panchayats shall be given powers and authority to function as institutions of self-government. The following powers and responsibilities are to be delegated to Panchayats at the appropriate level
- Preparation of plan for economic development and social justice.
- Implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice in relation to 29 subjects given in Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
- To levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
Gram Sabha
In the Panchayati Raj set up, the Gram Sabha, the general assembly of villagers, has a key role for effective functioning of Panchayats. In the Gram Sabha meeting, the rural poor, the women and the marginalized people would now get an opportunity to join in decision making on matters affecting their lives. Active functioning of the Gram Sabha would ensure a participatory democracy with transparency, accountability and achievement.
- Gram Sabha should meet least in each quarter preferably on Republic Day, Labour Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti.
- Decide developmental work to be undertaken by Panchayats based on needs assessment.
- Suggest remedial measures for economy and efficiency in the functioning of the Panchayats.
- Question and scrutinize the decisions of Panchayats in the meeting of Gram Sabha.
- Discuss the Annual Financial Statement of Gram Panchayats.
The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
This Act extends Panchayats to the tribal areas of eight States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. This has come into force on 24th December 1996. Except Rajasthan and Bihar all States have passed laws to give effect to the provisions contained in the Act, 40 of 1996.
Under the Act, Gram Sabha has been vested with powers for: –
- Ownership of Minor Forest Produce
- Development plans approval
- Selection of beneficiaries under various programmes
- Consultation on land acquisition
- Manage minor water bodies
- Control mineral leases
- Regulate/Prohibit sale of intoxicants
- Prevent alienation of land and restore unlawfully alienated land of STs
- Manage village markets
- Control money lending to STs
- Control institutions and functionaries in all social sectors.
Training and awareness generation program
The Ministry of Rural Development extends limited financial assistance to the States in their effort to train and create awareness among the elected members of Panchayats and functionaries. The State Governments are being asked to conduct such training courses. The Ministry has also been providing financial assistance through the Council for Advancement of Peoples Action & Rural Technology (CAPART) to the non-governmental organizations for conducting training and awareness generation programmes on Panchayati Raj. This Ministry also commissions research and evaluation studies related to Panchayati Raj from voluntary organizations/institutions.
URL – http://www.indianngos.com/issue/rural/govt/members/schemes18.htm