Indian Polity · Topic 15 of 25
Rural and urban local self-government institutions and their constitutional status
The Basics
Local self-government means elected bodies at the village and town level that manage local affairs like roads, water, sanitation and schools. Before 1993, these bodies existed in India for a long time, but without any constitutional backing, so their powers depended entirely on the goodwill of State governments.
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Before the 74th Amendment of 1992, India's towns and cities were governed by municipal bodies. These bodies were created under separate state laws, with no common constitutional framework. They suffered from weak finances, untrained staff, outdated laws and unclear relations with rural areas. To fix these problems, the central government appointed several committees and commissions between 1949 and 1988. Each committee studied a different issue: money, staff, structure or planning.
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The Balwantrai Mehta Committee was the first official body that designed the structure of what we now call Panchayati Raj, the system of rural local self-government in India.
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Once the three-tier Panchayati Raj system was in place, it still depended entirely on ordinary laws passed by state legislatures. States could delay elections, supersede panchayats, or starve them of funds, since there was no constitutional backing. Several committees were set up in the years after Balwantrai Mehta to study why Panchayati Raj institutions were weak and to suggest how to strengthen them. Their common conclusion was that panchayats needed constitutional status so that their existence, elections and powers could not be taken away easily.
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Once the 73rd Amendment made panchayats constitutional bodies, a new problem appeared. States had a duty to devolve powers under Article 243G. But many did not actually transfer functions, funds and functionaries to panchayats. So the central government set up several committees after 1993 to study this gap and suggest real devolution and better grassroots planning.
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Panchayats existed since the 1950s, but only as creatures of state laws. States could change, weaken, or dissolve them freely, since there was no constitutional backing. The Singhvi Committee recommended giving panchayats constitutional status. This set the stage for a fresh effort to make local government permanent and protected. The effort took three attempts across three different governments before succeeding.
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The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional status to panchayats, the rural local governments. It added a new Part IX, titled 'The Panchayats', containing Articles 243 to 243-O, and a new Eleventh Schedule listing 29 functional subjects for panchayats. It came into force on 24 April 1993. This act gave practical shape to Article 40 of the Directive Principles, which asks the state to organise village panchayats as units of self-government.
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The panchayati raj system is built as a three-tier structure running from the village up to the district, so that decisions can be taken close to the people while still being coordinated over a wider area. At the base is the Gram Panchayat, covering one village or a group of neighbouring villages. Above it is the Panchayat Samiti (also called Mandal, Block or Taluka Panchayat) at the intermediate level, covering a block made up of several Gram Panchayats. At the top is the Zila Parishad (also called Zilla Panchayat), covering the entire rural area of a district.
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Reservation for women in local bodies means a fixed share of panchayat and municipal seats, and of chairperson posts, is kept exclusively for women.
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The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, known as the PESA Act, extends panchayat self-government to tribal Fifth Schedule areas with special modifications suited to tribal life.
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Panchayats were given functions under the Eleventh Schedule, but functions mean nothing without money. The Constitution therefore created a financial framework so that panchayats are not left as powerless bodies entirely dependent on the goodwill of state governments.
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The State Election Commission for panchayats is a constitutional body created by Article 243K. It has superintendence, direction and control over preparing electoral rolls. It also controls the conduct of all elections to panchayats.
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Giving panchayats constitutional status through the 73rd Amendment was meant to make them real self-governing units, not just implementing agencies. Three decades later, their performance still falls short of this goal. The main reason is that states have not genuinely transferred power, money and staff to them.
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The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional status to urban local bodies, called municipalities or Nagarpalikas. It added a new Part IX-A to the Constitution, titled 'The Municipalities', with Articles 243P to 243ZG. It also added a new Twelfth Schedule listing eighteen functional items for municipalities. Before this, local self-government in towns existed only as a state subject. It depended entirely on the goodwill of state governments, with no constitutional guarantee of elections or powers.
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Besides municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats, India has other types of urban bodies. These exist outside the regular 74th Amendment framework. They are created for special situations, such as fast-growing towns, defence areas, or single civic functions. Most are not constitutional bodies like the three main types.
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Eighteen functions under the Twelfth Schedule mean little without money and staff. The Constitution also covers municipal finances, personnel and ward-level committees. This helps urban local bodies function as governments, not mere implementing agencies.
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National training institutions train officers and staff who run municipal governments. They exist because municipal work needs skills in finance, planning, engineering and law.
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The 74th Amendment Act of 1992 did more than give constitutional status to municipalities. It also recognised that a district contains both rural panchayats and urban municipalities, and their development plans cannot be prepared in isolation. Two new provisions, Article 243ZD and Article 243ZE, were added to solve this problem of fragmented, uncoordinated planning.
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