Panchayats and municipalities: local self-government
The third tier of government: elected panchayats in the countryside and municipalities in towns, constitutional since 1993.
What the paper can ask
- The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (set up January 1957, report November 1957) recommended the three-tier system; Nehru inaugurated the first Panchayati Raj at Nagaur, Rajasthan, on 2 October 1959.
- Three tiers: gram panchayat, panchayat samiti (block) and zilla panchayat (district), the middle tier only in states above two million people; the Gram Sabha is all registered voters of a village.
- Elections every five years by the State Election Commission; at least one-third of seats and chairperson posts for women, raised to half in several states; a State Finance Commission recommends their funds.
- National Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April marks the date in 1993 when the rural amendment came into force; it has been observed since 2010.
Why exams ask
Setters ask which amendment covers panchayats and which municipalities, what each Schedule lists, the committee and the first state, and the Directive Principle behind it.
The full story
Village self-rule was a Gandhian ideal written into the Directive Principles, but it took decades to become law. The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee of 1957 proposed three tiers, and Rajasthan started the first scheme in 1959. In 1992 Parliament passed two amendments, one for rural panchayats and one for urban municipalities, adding new Parts and two new Schedules of subjects.
In the news
Test yourself
1.Which Directive Principle directs the State to organise village panchayats?
Correct. Article 40 directs the State to organise village panchayats and endow them with powers of self-government; Part IX gave this constitutional form in 1992.
Not quite. Article 40 directs the State to organise village panchayats and endow them with powers of self-government; Part IX gave this constitutional form in 1992. It goes into your error book.
2.Panchayats were given constitutional status by which amendment?
Correct. The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 (in force 24 April 1993) inserted Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule for Panchayats; the 74th did the same for Municipalities with Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule.
Not quite. The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 (in force 24 April 1993) inserted Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule for Panchayats; the 74th did the same for Municipalities with Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule. It goes into your error book.
3.Urban local bodies (Municipalities) were given constitutional status by which amendment?
Correct. The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule, in force from 1 June 1993.
Not quite. The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule, in force from 1 June 1993. It goes into your error book.