LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

Overview

• Local government in India falls mainly under two categories: rural self government and urban self government
• There are about 3 million elected representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), about one third of them women
• There are more than 640,000 village panchayats, about 6000 intermediate bodies and 500 district level bodies. Panchayats cover about 99.6% of India’s rural population
• The powers and functions of PRIs vary from state to state

Evolution of local government

• The earliest references to self government are found in the Rig Veda, which mentions ’sabhas’ at the village level
• Over time, these bodies evolved into Panchayats (council of five persons)
• Under British rule, local governance was authorised by the Mayo Resolution of 1870 (under Lord Mayo)
• However, it was the Ripon Resolution of 1882 (under Lord Ripon) that prioritised local government and recognised the twin objectives of administrative efficiency and political education
• The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) led to the establishment of village panchayats in the provinces and even princely states
• Panchayat system in post-independence India developed slowly. Multiple committees were constituted to study panchayat system
• Panchayat system was institutionalised with the passage of the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1992