The country is observing April 24 as the Panchayati Raj Day, a day to take time and reflect on how far we have collectively achieved for strengthening the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) that offer unique opportunities for empowering the local communities and accomplishing major goals of decentralization set out in the Constitution and thereby to demonstrate the power of people in decision making processes.
In the 90s, the 73rd Constitution Amendment deepened the discourse on decentralisation to a large extent. The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from April 24, 1993 has institutionalized Panchayati Raj through the Panchayats set up at Village, Intermediate and District levels. The Amendment Act of 1992 contains provision for devolution of powers and assignment of responsibilities to the Panchayats in respect of both preparation of plans for economic development and social justice and implementation of the same including the twenty-nine subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. The Panchayats as envisaged in the 73rd Amendment Act were later on extended to the Scheduled Areas in nine States; namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan in due course as mandated by PESA Act 1996, which was specially designed and enforced for the purpose.
It’s heartening to see the impact of reservation of the seats for women in the PRIs thanks to 73rd Amendment. Since 1993, when the 73rd Constitution Amendment came into force, women have moved forward and demonstrated their capacities and abilities to hold such positions and fulfil the aspirations of their constituency. With every succeeding Panchayat election, women have been able to enlarge their representation beyond the minimum 33 per cent prescribed by the Constitution. Of the total 28 lakh elected Panchayat representatives, more than 10 lakh are estimated to be women. This takes the overall presence of women in Panchayats to approximately 36.7 per cent (as on 01.12.2006), thus changing the profile of rural leadership. However, there is a flip side too to this booming scenario of women empowerment. In some cases the relatives of newly elected women representatives extend a hand-holding support to them for discharging very many official functions, which were new to them, but in quite many cases the male relatives go to the absurd extent of being present in the official proceedings on behalf of women, a practice that can never be approved.
Committees at bureaucratic levels are being constituted for the implementation of centrally sponsored schemes on the plea that the PRIs lack capacity and skills in respect of the same. This gives rise to a structural conflict because while the official committees report to their respective parent departments, it is however the PRIs who are supposed to be the actual implementing agencies and therefore worth reporting to. The report of ‘Expert Committee on leveraging Panchayat Raj Institutions for the more efficient delivery of public goods and services’ published in the year 2013 states that despite the Cabinet Secretary’s clear directive to all the Union Ministries through a circular dated November 8, 2004 and the Planning Commission guidelines to provide the necessary role to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the implementation of Centrally-Sponsored Schemes (CSS), only two among the 150-odd CSS had provided a role to the PRIs. These two are Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF). As a consequence, the channel of reporting accountability as built into the parallel official bodies is led upwards i.e. to the officers of the line departments and not downwards to the people in the Gram and the Ward Sabhas.
In an effort to comply with 73rd Constitution Amendment Act 1992, almost every State Government of the country repealed their respective Panchayat laws which were old and outdated, and replaced them by a single, comprehensive and consolidated Panchayat law. In the nomenclature of their Panchayat laws, one can find the mention of the year 1993 or 1994 (For instance, Madhya Pradesh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam 1993, Bihar Panchayat Raj Act 1993, Gujarat Panchayati Raj Act, 1993, Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act 1994, Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 and the like). Only 4 States including Odisha stand out as exception to this general trend, other States being West Bengal (WB Panchayati Raj Act 1973), Maharashtra (Bombay Village Panchayats Act 1958 and Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act 1961) and Uttar Pradesh (Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act 1947), the nomenclature of whose Panchayat laws still bears pre-1993 timing. These three States and Odisha like other States have of course amended their Panchayat laws in a purported compliance to 73rd Amendment. Now, only two States in the entire country namely Odisha and Maharashtra don’t have single consolidated law on Panchayatiraj. Here too Odisha stands behind Maharashtra. Maharashtra has two Panchayat laws as mentioned above, while Odisha has three, namely Orissa GP Act 1964, Panchayat Samiti Act 1959 and Zilla Parishad Act 1991. There have been only a few cosmetic changes in the above laws under the compulsion of 73rd Amendment but real power continues to rest with the bureaucrats at different levels as in the old, pre-73rd Amendment days. For instance, in each of Odisha’s three principal Panchayat laws, there is as of today a Chapter titled ‘Control’, which endows powers to bureaucrats from the lowest to the highest level to exercise control of various types and by various degrees over the Panchayats at each level. This is absolutely incompatible with the letter and spirit of 73rd Amendment. Thus, the first and foremost task of every votary of Panchayat Raj in Odisha should be to see how a single, consolidated law covering all the three tiers of Panchayat, and that too framed in a user friendly language and in conformity to the mandate of 73rd Amendment is given effect to in place of the today’s anachronistic trio of Panchayat laws.
During the lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls of 2014, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had committed to establish one “Panchayat in every village having 1,000 population and to extend financial autonomy” to them. This is a welcome promise. But a Gram Sabha should consist of a much smaller population, who live in close proximity and, if need be, get together and act on any issue at a shorter notice.
In such a situation, the Gram Panchayat consisting of the elected leaders from among such a smaller but cohesive population, can be expected to act properly as the executive arm of the Gram Sabha. Thus, such a reformed structure of Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat will make the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) more participatory and effective. As required under FRA 2006 and PESA, 1996, the Odisha Government must go a step further and declare ‘one village, one Gram Sabha and one Panchayat’ irrespective of its existing position including un-surveyed status.
Further the Government of Odisha should make necessary amendments in all three Panchayat laws in the line with the 73rd amendment to effect all round empowerment of the Panchayats so that the people don’t have to visit the Block, Tehsil or District offices every time. People’s hope and aspirations around the PRIs are growing fast. The Government of Odisha should go beyond rhetoric and take initiatives to amend the existing Panchayat laws in the line with the 73rd amendment in a time bound manner.
(The writer is from the National Centre for Advocacy Studies, Bhubaneswar. M- 08763210608)