Vol. XXInstitute of Social Sciences APRIL 2013 No. 4

Institute of Social Sciences

TWENTIETH YEAR OF PUBLICATION

PANCHAYATI RAJ

UPDATEOur Panchayats - Our Future

Ranjeet Nirguni and Rajeev Ranjan BandhuPanchayati Raj facing a bureaucratic eclipse in Bihar

It was after a long gap in 2001 that the panchayat elections were held in Bihar in consonance with the 73rdConstitutional Amendment Act. There was a cognisable senseof excitement among the people. Provisions for devolvingpower related to 29 departments were brought in BiharPanchayat Raj Act. 2006.

Fifty percent reservation for women was made at all thethree levels, which became a pioneering example in thecountry compelling many states to follow the trend. Butcontrary to the provisions, the powers of the Gram Sabhashave proved to be a mere eye-wash. Now these powers liewith the Panchayat Secretary, BDO, DDC and DM. Panchayatshave been overshadowed by bureaucracy. Gram Sabhas donteven have the powers to consider the beneficiaries for BPL,ration-kerosene, Indira Awas Yojana and various social securityschemes. Even otherwise the decisions of the Gram Sabhasare just recommendatory in nature. They are not binding.As a result, the people in the villages are indifferent towardsGram Sabhas.

There is unwarranted bureaucratic interference in theaffairs related to Gram Sabhas, which is a matter of graveconcern.This deprives Gandhis last man of his voice. Thoughthe government provided for the devolution of powers relatedto 29 departments, it has failed to issue notificationsregarding the same.The administrative control andsupervision of the panchayat functionaries was accorded tothe panchayat representatives, but in practice they are underthe direct control of bureaucrats and administrative officials.

Many times panchayat representatives are belittled orspoken derisively as corrupt whereas the real perpetratorsof corruption are the Ministers, MPs, MLAs, IAS officers andother administrative officials. To cover up the misdeeds ofthe latter, the panchayat representatives are made softtargets. There is not even a single government scheme beingimplemented without greasing the palms of theseunscrupulous bureaucrats and officials.

The elected representatives of panchayats at all levels,who are close to the common man and work shoulder toshoulder with them are subject to insult. In recent times,scores of panchayat representatives have been killed, butthe government has turned a deaf ear to this issue.

Recently, Nitish Kumar, CM, Bihar while answering aquestion on Panchayati Raj in the State Legislative Councilexpressed his anguish over the formation of confederationof panchayat representatives in Bihar. He said that panchayatrepresentatives are not the employees of a factory or anygovernment organisation. One fails to understand thisunqualified agony of the CM. Why didnt he realise that for

the first time in the history of Panchayati Raj of Bihar, sucha huge confederation came into being? It was only when theDM, Muzaffarpur ordered filing of FIRs against 87 grampanchayat presidents in 2012 without any show cause noticesthat these Mukhiyas took the lead and gradually the firespead across Bihar. All these go on to suggest that there is asense of deep discontent amongst the panchayatrepresentatives across Bihar.

It is very disturbing to see that the State Governmentwhich is seeking special status for Bihar is reluctant to giveeven an ordinary status to Gram Sabhas, whereas the ruraldevelopment is considered to be the edifice of overalldevelopment of the State.

Another question which comes to mind is why the Stategovernment which becomes the pioneering example of givingfifity percent reservation to women in the country is runningaway from empowering Gram Sabhas.

It is ridiculous that the DDC should asks for directionsfrom the Patna Secretariat as to what would be the properplace to install a hand-pump in a remote village! Gram Sabha,which is so close to the people is not considered efficient tofix up a place for hand pump! A Mukhiya (Gram PanchayatsPresident) ends up taking 10 rounds of a block to get theBDO to listen to him.

The State government says that Zilla Panchayat shouldmanage the salary of its employees from the incomegenerated from its internal resources, where as the Govt.itself has overtook all the internal resources like roads, localmarkets, entertainment tax etc.

It is a matter of dismay that when Lok Sabha and VidhanSabhas have their privileges defined, why are Gram Sabhasdeprived of the same? Why is the State Govt. running awayfrom fixing funds, function and functionaries for panchayats?There is always a sense of excitement when it comes tofixing the salaries and honoraria of the MPs and MLAs, butwhy does the govt. draw a blank when it comes to fixingthe same for panchayat representatives?

Nowadays, the workload on the panchayatrepresentatives keeps them occupied 24x7. A lot of timegoes into the planning and execution of development schemesat the grassroots. The number of panchayat functionaries iscritical. As a consequence, the final responsibility of executionlies upon panchayat representatives failing which it becomesdifficult for them to face the common people.

Under these circumstances, why cant the governmentfix up salaries and pension of the panchayat representativescommensurate with their responsibilities? The Gram Sabhasdont have any administrative, (Contd. on page - 8)

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PANCHAYATI RAJ UPDATE 2 APRIL 2013

BOOK

FROM THE STATES

ANDHRA PRADESHANDHRA PRADESHANDHRA PRADESHANDHRA PRADESHANDHRA PRADESHPanchayat voters lists very soon: The State ElectionCommission (SEC) has directed all district panchayatofficers in the State to prepare and publish the electoralrolls of all gram panchayats in their respective districtswith reference to Jan 1, 2013 as the qualifying date. Theelections to panchayat raj bodies were to be held in July-August, 2011, but postponed because of protractedlitigation. As a first step towards conduct of elections,the SEC initiated the process of preparation of photo-electoral rolls and issued notification on 19 March.

ASSAMASSAMASSAMASSAMASSAMPanchayat level paddy procurement centres: On 25March, the State government announced thatprocurement centres for paddy at panchayat andcooperative levels would be set up from next year toincrease the purchase from farmers. Participating in adebate in state Legislative Assembly on 25 March, theAgriculture and Food Processing Minister Nilamoni SenDeka said that rice production in the State is expected totouch a record 55 lakh metric tonnes this year as against50 lakh MT last year. Since 2010-11, we have becomea surplus State as far as production is concerned. Now,we want to increase procurement from the farmers andfrom next fiscal year, we plan to set up procurementcentres in panchayats and cooperatives, Deka said.

GOAGOAGOAGOAGOADisaster management awareness for panchayat staff:A two-day community awareness programme onchemical disasters was held at the South Goa DistrictCollectorate to chalk out disaster management plans. Theseminar that concluded on 21 March was attended byelected representatives of panchayats and municipalities.South Goa district collector N D Agrwal stated that theidea behind the seminar was to sensitize participants onhow to act in case of any emergency and how they couldhelp reduce damage and save lives in the process beforethe arrival of authorities and agencies concerned to thesite.Wont interfere with panchayat vetoes: The Stategovernment will not interfere if village panchayats in Goadeny licences to projects that have obtained NOCs fromthe town and country planning (TCP) department, ChiefMinister Manohar Parrikar told the Goa LegislativeAssembly on 19 March. Parrikar said that gram sabharesolutions are binding on village panchayats and not onthe TCP department.He alleged that sometimes villagepanchayats issue construction licences to projects despitegram sabha resolutions objecting to the projects. This isbecause some village panchayat members have personalbenefits in these projects, he said.Parrikar took pains to

explain that gram sabhas need to be mindful of theirzones of consideration and should not try to imposetheir powers where it is not legally binding. He reiteratedthat village panchayat members give licences to projectsin violation of gram sabha resolutions because somemembers have taken money. The TCP department onlygives NOCs, it does not give licences. Licences are givenby the village panchayat and if village panchayats refuselicences despite NOCs from the TCP department, thegovernment will not interfere or bring pressure on thevillage panchayats, Parrikar said.

JAMMU AND KASHMIRJAMMU AND KASHMIRJAMMU AND KASHMIRJAMMU AND KASHMIRJAMMU AND KASHMIRPanchayat members threaten to quit if attacked:Members of the All Jammu and Kashmir PanchayatConference (AJKPC), a body of village representatives,have threatened to resign if the government failed tocheck attacks on the elected panchayat members bymilitants. If anything untoward happens to anyone ofus, then all the panchayat members will quit and itsresponsibility will fall on the State government, particularlyon Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, AJKPC Kashmirpresident Imtiaz Afzal Baig said on 23 March. Followingthe recent fidayeen (suicide) attack and an attack carriedby militants on security forces, the panchayat membersin the State, particularly in the Kashmir Valley, areterrified, he said. All panchayat ghars to be constructed beforeSeptember: The Minister for Rural Development andPanchayati Raj, Ali Muhammad Sagar on 28 Marchexhorted the officers to bring transparency in thedistributions of job cards to provide succor to the poorand ensure the construction of all panchayat ghars beforeSeptember 2013. He said that under 11th PanchayatFinance Commission, as many as 1,040 panchayat gharsshall be constructed at a cost of Rs. 20 lakh each, out ofwhich construction of 409 panchayat ghars have alreadybeen taken in hand for which Rs.16 crore have beenspent till date.

JHARKHANDJHARKHANDJHARKHANDJHARKHANDJHARKHANDPanchayat bodies to be computerized: The Stategovernment has decided to computerize all panchayatsof the State enabling to prepare developmentprogrammes, according to local needs and priorities ofthe communities. There are around 4,400 panchayats inthe State. Governor Syed Ahmed said that despiteopposition from various sections, the government hasdecided to devolve power to the panchayats. I hopethat the steps taken by the government to empower themembers of Panchayati Raj Institutions ( PRIs) and installcomputers in each panchayat will bring the desiredchange and those who were opposed to devolution ofpower will be proved wrong, said Ahmed at a State-levelawareness programme for PRIs organized by the StatePanchayati Raj Department in Ranchi on 2 March.

APRIL 2013 3 PANCHAYATI RAJ UPDATE

KERALAKERALAKERALAKERALAKERALAPanchayat adamant on pond conversion: ThePallichal gram panchayat is all set to go ahead with itsmove to convert a big pond into a swimming pool despiteopposition from a section of the local people, who fearacute water shortage in the area during the summermonths.The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI)and the Kerala Karshaka Sangham (KKS) have decidedto oppose the conversion of the pond nearVedivachancoil, near the National Highway. The KKSpassed a resolution against the conversion of the pondinto a swimming pool. We held a discussion on theissue and passed a resolution that the swimming poolshould not be built by converting the pond, which is thewater recharging source of the area, said KKS Pallichalunit executive member S Raghuvaran. Stressing that thepanchayats move to destroy a pond will not be allowedat any cost, DYFI Pallichal local committee president RS Prasanth said that the DYFI, along with the KarshakaSangham, will form an action council for protecting thepond. As a first step, we are planning poster, door-to-door and signature campaigns against the environmentaldestruction that the conversion could bring in, he saidand added that the panchayat had misled many peoplein the locality in the name of the project. Panchayatpresident K Rakesh claimed that the swimming pool wouldnot add to the water woes of the people. The panchayatwill do everything possible for augmenting the rechargefacility near the pond, which could only help in preservingwater, he said. The proposed lift irrigation (water fromthe feeder canal connecting the Neyyar Dam) will add tothe water recharge capacity, he said and claimed thatthe conversion of the pond would not reverse the waterpattern in the area.District panchayat gives priority to health, education:On 25 March,Bindu George, the vice president of Kochizillapanchayat,presentedthezilla panchayat budget for2013-14, focusing on rural development and education.While Rs. 192 crore was set apart for rural development,the education sector got an allocation of Rs. 88.4 crore.School Infra, a project for constructing new buildingsfor 50 higher secondary schools, has been allotted Rs.10 crore. The Nabard, coastal area development andMP/MLA local area development funds will be used torenovate classrooms and labs under the project.Vidyadeepam, a project to provide special coaching toacademically backward students in classes 8-10standards, will get Rs. 75 lakh while Rs. 10 lakh hasbeen earmarked to impart sex education to students inclasses 8-12. The funds for rural development projectsmainly depend on MGNREGS, for which Rs. 173 crorehas been set aside. For the welfare of SC/ST and otherbackward classes, Rs. 34 crore has been earmarked.Health sector is another focus area of the budget. Rs. 1crore each has been allocated for the construction of aK Karunakaran memorial OP block at Aluva districthospital and haemophilia centre there.

MADHYA PRADESHMADHYA PRADESHMADHYA PRADESHMADHYA PRADESHMADHYA PRADESHThe State government to introduce pension forpanchayat secretaries: Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan while addressing programme held by panchayatsecretaries organization said that contributory pensionscheme would be chalked out for panchayat secretariesand priority would also be given in departmentalexaminations. He exhorted panchayat secretaries to takea pledge for uplifting rural life and making villagesdynamic, saying that all administrative services are meantfor public welfare.

MAHARASHTRAMAHARASHTRAMAHARASHTRAMAHARASHTRAMAHARASHTRAGramsevak to be suspended for siphoning off funds:The Nasik district collector recently recommended thesuspension of a gramsevak to the chief executive officerof the zilla parishad for siphoning off Rs. 3.15 lakh meantfor 58 employees working under MGNREGS. TheMGREGS beneficiaries of the Balapur village Balapur inKalwan taluka filed a registered complaint with the sub-divisional officer, Kalwan, saying they did not getpassbooks for the accounts they had requested in theyear 2010. Fifty five of the 58 beneficiaries of the schemehave claimed that their accounts were operated duringthe period and Rs. 3.15 lakh was in total, withdrawn fromtheir accounts during the period.According to thebeneficiaries, their passbooks, which of their accountsthat they received in the month of March 2013, showedat least four withdrawals for at least four times since2010. As the gramsevak and gram rojgar sevak have theprimary responsibility of clearing payments, they havebeen held responsible. While gram rojgar sevak

Assault on woman officer inGadchiroli: HC notice to R R PatilTaking suo motu cognisance of a media report ofassault on a woman official in Gadchiroli district ofMaharashtra on the International Womens Day, on 25March, the Bombay High Court issued notices toMaharashtra government and State Home Minister R RPatil. A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah andJustice Anoop Mohta also issued notices to the DirectorGeneral of Police, the Gadchiroli Zilla Parishad executiveofficer and the district Deputy Superintendent ofPolice. We are taking suo motu cognisance of the issueof assault on a lady official on the International WomensDay in Gadchiroli, the judges said. On March 8, thisyear, the official, associated with the Centre-sponsoredNational Rural Health Mission and responsible forrecruitment in the district, was called for a meeting ofthe health committee at the Zilla Parishad office. At themeeting, she was allegedly abused by the ZP office-bearers for certain decisions related to the recruitmentprocess. The woman further claimed that whilereturning home, she was assaulted by some persons. The woman had said in her complaint that politicalgoons in the district were a more menace than Naxals.

PANCHAYATI RAJ UPDATE 4 APRIL 2013

(contractual employee) has been dismissed, we havedirected the CEO, Nasik zilla parishad to suspendgramsevak, Santosh Jadhav, the collector Nasik, VilasPatil said.The payments were withdrawn in the namesof women who got married two years ago and also in thenames of the people who had died at least five yearsago, the deputy collector, Employment GuaranteeScheme, DA Kardak said.Zilla panchayat stays admissions at St. MarysSchool:The education department of the Pune zillaparishad has ordered a stay on the admission processof St Marys School for not following the rules of theRight to Education (RTE) Act. The ZP education officerin the notice to the school said that it cannot go aheadwith the admission process until further notice. As perthe rules of the RTE Act, minority unaided schools areexempted from the 25 per cent reservation quota to admitstudents from the economically backward segments ofsociety. Zilla Parishad extension officer and HaveliPanchayat Samiti member K D Bhujbal conducted aninquiry into the schools admission process and foundthat the school did not possess a minority certificate.

ODISHAODISHAODISHAODISHAODISHANaveen hikes honorarium of panchayat leaders onBijus BDay: Ahead of the next general elections, theOdisha government on 5 March raised the sitting feesand honorarium of three-tier panchayat functionaries onthe occasion of State-level Panchayati Raj Daycelebrations in Bhubaneswar. The State has beenobserving Panchayati Raj Day every year on March 5,the birth anniversary of legendary Biju Patnaik for manyyears. The day also marked his son Naveen Patnaikcompleting 13 years in the office of the Chief Minister. Iwant to announce that the State government has decidedto increase sitting fees and monthly honorarium of all the

panchayat functionaries in the State, the chief ministersaid while addressing the gathering of panchayatrepresentatives.

PUNJABPUNJABPUNJABPUNJABPUNJABPanchayat polls through wardbandi: Minister for RuralDevelopment and Panchayat Department Surjit SinghRakhra on 5 March said that while zilla parishad andblock samiti elections will be conducted in Punjab byMay 15, gram panchayat elections will be held on May31. Rakhra said, the State government has taken aninitiative to conduct panchayat election throughwardbandi. Work for wardbandi has been completed asper votes of the villages. A total 81,500 wards have beenconstituted. Digital maps of all villages are prepared andall wards are shown in these maps. He added that earlier,people used to face harassment at different offices whilethey wanted information of their wards. The departmenthas taken an initiative to prepare digital maps of villagesand wards. Now, anyone can get information about theirwards as it will be available on departments website.Panchayat polls delayed by a week: The Punjab Elec-tion Commission delayed by a week the polling processto the panchayat polls in the State. As per the revisedschedule, S S Brar, the State Election Commissionersaid that the notification for the poll to the panchayatsamitis and zilla parishads will now be issued on 3May. While the last date for making nominations is May8, the scrutiny will take place on May 9. The last date forwithdrawal of candidature is May 19, whereas date ofpoll will be May 21. The results will be declared on May23. He said that the State Election Commission is in theprocess of making preparations to conduct elections to145 panchayat samitis and 22 zilla parishads due to beheld in the State. Since one or two days ago, informa-tion was being received in the Commission that in someof the districts, delay is occurring in the publication ofreserved seats and general seats. This matter was be-ing looked into by the Election Commission, he said. People were also agitated over haste shown by theState government in holding elections in middle of wheatharvesting season.

TAMIL NADUTAMIL NADUTAMIL NADUTAMIL NADUTAMIL NADUModel schools in panchayat unions: Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa recently announced the creation of modelschools in most backward panchayat unions of the State.The schools would be created in 26 panchayat unionsof Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Mangalur, Dharmapuri, Erode,Tiruppur, Krishnagiri, Salem, Tiruvannamalai, Ulundurpetand Namakkal districts, an official release said. Theschools would start functioning during the next academicyear for classes from six to twelve in the neighbouringgovernment high schools till they get their own building.Posts of 17 teaching staff and seven non-teaching staffwould be created in each of the model schools, thestatement said.

Women power rules in Bajattoor gram panchayat

A small village panchayat in Puttur district of Karnataka has set an example of women powerto the rest of the world. Bajattoor village in Puttur talukis governed by women who occupy most of theadministrative positions- panchyat president, vice-president, development officer, secretary, staff, librarian,taluk panchayat member and the school principal areall women. Panchayat president Vijaya Damodhar andvice-president Lalitha, were elected under the womenreservation quota. B Shashikala is working as PDO inthis panchayat while Chandravathi was appointed assecretary. Bharathi is the clerk while Mamatha is thecomputer operator and Savitha is the librarian. All thegram panchayat positions are shared by women. Mallikafrom this village was elected to the taluk panchayat andthe nearby school principal is Chitravathi. All prominentpositions are occupied by women who are ablydischarging their duties.

APRIL 2013 5 PANCHAYATI RAJ UPDATE

TRIPURATRIPURATRIPURATRIPURATRIPURAState tops in MGNREGS implementation: Tripura hasranked first in implementing the MGNREGS in 2012-13by providing 86.27 days of work on an average to a ruralhousehold, State Rural Development Minister JitendraChowdhury claimed. When the national average is 39,the State could provide 86.27 days of work to the jobcard holders. Tripura secured first position in implemen-tation of the Act, the Minister said. Tripura is followedby Mizoram (69.25 mandays per household) and TamilNadu (51.26 days of work per job card holders). He saidthat women in the State got more jobs than their malecounterparts under the scheme.

UTTAR PRADESHUTTAR PRADESHUTTAR PRADESHUTTAR PRADESHUTTAR PRADESHPanchayat launches anti-hooch drive: Grampanchayat in Ammanullahpur village of Meerut districthas launched a drive against hooch, which has ruinedmany families in the hamlet. The gram panchayat hasdecided to impose fine on sellers and buyers of thecountry-made liquor in the area. The panchayatannounced its decision on 6 March to impose a fine ofRs.500 on anyone consuming hooch, while personsselling illicit liquor will be fined Rs. 5,000. The panchayatpresident Mange Ram said that the gram panchyat hadformed a committee of villagers including women toimplement the decision. He further added that thepanchayat would give a prize of Rs. 500 to anyoneinforming the police about hooch. Police in-charge ofJani police station in the area said that the initiative takenby the gram panchayat against hooch was good, butthey should not take the law in their hands. Bid to unseat kin, D P Yadav abducts panchayatmembers: D P Yadav has foiled attempts of opponentsto remove his relative as chairperson of Badaun districtpanchayat, allegedly by abducting 12 of its members.The panchayat was to take up a no-confidence motionagainst Poonam Yadav on February 26, but the meetingwas postponed after SSP Dharamveer Yadav reportedthat 12 of its members had been abducted. SP leadersblamed Yadav, but he denied the allegation. They aremisusing power, he said. 22 members signed beforethe oath commissioner that they had been coerced bythe SP to sign the no-confidence motion. No member ismissing. SP has only 10 members and two of them haveapproached me. They do not have a majority. They canbook me on fabricated charges, but I have the majority.

WEST BENGALWEST BENGALWEST BENGALWEST BENGALWEST BENGALZilla parishad restrained from building market atNandigram: The Calcutta High Court restrained in aninterim order the Purba Medinipur (East Midnapore) ZillaParishad from any further construction of a permanentmarket place at Nandigram mouza. Jaynarayan Giri and15 others moved a writ petition alleging that PurbaMedinipur Zilla Parishad, without acquiring the land

measuring 0.38 acres at Nandigram mouza, floated atender for construction of a permanent market place onNovember nine, 2012. It was alleged that no acquisitionwas done and without acquiring a private land, a statutorybody cannot issue tender for construction at the saidplace. Justice Biswas directed that no construction bedone untill further orders and directed the zilla parishadto produce papers relating to the land and tender.Two-phase panchayat polls in April: West Bengal chiefminister on 22 March gave her nod to two-phasepanchayat elections on April 26 and 30, going againstthe State Election Commissions opinion to conduct it inthree phases across April-May. The State governmentsaid that the rural polls would be held under the watch ofarmed police force, but did not name any specificsecurity force. The election watchdog has recommendedholding the polls under the surveillance of centralparamilitary forces. State Panchayat Minister SubrataMukherjee said that the polls would be held in two stageswith three districts going to polls on April 30 and the restof the districts holding the elections on April 26. TheTrinamool Congress and the State poll panel have formonths battled over the issue. While the Commissionrecommended a three-phase voting and deployment ofcentral paramilitary forces, the State government wanteda two-phase poll by using only the State police.The partyhad even accused State Election Commissioner of beingbiased and asked the poll panel not to cross its limits.The districts which go to polls April 26 are: Cooch Behar,Jalpaiguri, South Dinajpur, Nadia, North 24 Parganas,South 24 Parganas, Purulia, Howrah, East Midnapore,West Midnapore, Bankura, Birbhum, Burdwan andHooghly. The polls in North Dinajpur, Malda andMurshidabad districts will be held April 30.

Jairam Ramesh hands over Gram Sabha TPs to Odisha tribals

In a move that will give a big boost to the economy oftribals, Union rural development minister JairamRamesh on 3 March handed over Gram Sabha transitpasses (TPs) to tribals in Jamguda village of OdishasKalahandi district in the presence of union tribal affairminister KC Deo and Odisha revenue minister SN Patro.The TPs will assert the community ownership of thetribals giving Gram Sabha to manage, harvest and sellbamboo with forest department having no role toplay.The development of tribals should be the priorityand they should not be denied their rights, Rameshsaid. Deo on the other hand said that the initiativewould make the tribals self-reliant. Jamguda was thesecond village in the country in 2010 when it gotcommunity right over 123.50 hactares of local forestunder Forest Rights Act of 2006 which defines bambooas a minor forest produce and gives community the rightto manage, harvest and sell bamboo and first in theState to exercise rights over bamboo under the Act. Morethan 15,000 villages in Odisha have been identified forgrant of community ownership as per FRA.

PANCHAYATI RAJ UPDATE 6 APRIL 2013

Panchayati Raj or Collector Raj?George Mathew

It is universally recognised that for ensuring peoplesparticipation in governance and holistic development, the bestinstrumentality is local government. So when Parliament passedthe 73rd Constitution Amendment Bill on December 23, 1992to enshrine the essential features of panchayats in theConstitution, this was hailed as historic. But where do ourpanchayats stand 20 years after becoming institutions of self-government? A big issue before the founders of the Constitutionwas whether to make panchayats constitutional bodies or not.Even though Mahatma Gandhi was the strongest advocate ofpanchayats, to his utter dismay, panchayats found a mentiononly in the Preamble. It took another 43 years for panchayats tofind a place in the Constitution.

A general feeling remains that panchayats are marginalisedconstitutional bodies. The main reason is political. When apolitical party is out of power, it swears by panchayats; once itis in power, it seeks to weaken the panchayati raj. Here, whathas been the role played by the Congress? Three years beforethe partys inception, Viceroy Ripons local govern-ment resolution (1882) set the stage for the idea of self-government, not only local but national as well. The Congressfirmly and continuously fought for local government, till Indiawon independence. The All India Congress Committee workedhard to make village panchayats really self-governing, endowedwith real powers. From 1920 to 1947, under Gandhijisleadership, gram swaraj was at the centre stage of politicaldiscourse. Yet, when India got Independence, Congress paidmere lip service to panchayati raj.

Jawaharlal Nehru coined this term, panchayati raj. Between1957 and 1964, he fought to establish panchayati raj on a firmfooting, almost like a crusader, with support from trustedlieutenants like S K Dey. He also knew that his party did not, byand large, share his enthusiasm for giving powers to thepanchayats, that the opposition against decentralisation ofpower was very strong within the Congress. After his death, theministry for panchayati raj and cooperation was abolished in1966 at one stroke, without even a whimper of protest.

Then in 1977 when the Left Front came to power in WestBengal, local government got a leap forward. E M SNamboodiripad was a great inspiration for the WestBengal Marxist party leadership, to implement a new generationof panchayati raj. The former Kerala chief ministers vision wasto make a radical change in the very concept of democracyand adopt what is called four-pillar democracy. He fullysupported Ram Manohar Lohias idea of chowkhamba raj across village, district, state and Union.

Besides Nehru, the only Congress prime minister who tooka bold step for the sake of panchayati raj was Rajiv Gandhi.During his tours, he realised that the district administration wasnon-responsive and even cruel at times, because it wasunrepresentative. This encouraged him to introduce the 64thConstitution Amendment Bill on May 15, 1989 to give panchayatsconstitutional status. But the irony is that when the Congresscame to power in Karnataka, it sought to subvert panchayati rajthere. Hardly any Congress-ruled state has been a pioneer indevolving power to the panchayats, except DigvijaySingh conducted the first elections as per the 73th Amendmentin Madhya Pradesh in 1994.

After Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress took up panchayati raj only

in 2004 when the UPA came to power, by creating the ministryof panchayati raj. Under Mani Shankar Aiyars leadership, thisministry generated ideas and programmes at the state leveland below to make panchayats the institutions of self-government, and created a new momentum towardsdecentralised governance. Still, one continues to see politicalleaders try to subvert the decentralisation of power, and one isreminded of M L Dantwalas observation that whatever may betheir rhetoric, politicians are scared of the emergence of rivalpolitical forces. When political parties of all hues do not believein local government, who is the happy lot? The bureaucracyofficers from the village level to the highest level. Thebureaucracy has been subverting the ideals of local governmentsince 1882. And even after 66 years of Independence, ouradministrative culture remains deeply mired in the imperialmodel of governance, retaining their distrust of localgovernments. The collector-BDO-gram sevak raj continuesto this day. In 1995, I conducted a study of Shadnagar in AndhraPradesh where Nehru had inaugurated the first panchayat insouth India on October 11, 1959. I asked why panchayats werenot working. An old guard said: the officials worked againstgiving power to the non-officials, especially the people`srepresentatives from the villages. In this, they were hand in glovewith state-level politicians. Hardly anything has been done tochange this mindset of the bureaucracy and of political leadersin the country and, therefore, panchayati raj remains a pipedream.

The inability of the panchayati raj institutions to becomeinstitutions of self-government is not hard to explain. As AnnieBesant said prophetically in 1917 in Calcutta, Tie up a baby`sarms and legs, and then leave it to teach itself to walk. If it doesnot succeed, blame the baby. The free baby will learn equilibriumthrough tumbles; the tied-up baby will become paralysed, andwill never walk. (Courtesy: The Times of India, April 15, 2013)

Build toilet, or lose ration cardSane Parmar, woman pradhan of Mushin panchayat in Pragpur block of Kanga district of HimachalPradesh has decided to act tough and would not renewration cards of families for not implementing the normsof sanitation. It is the duty of the panchayat to ensuresanitation and hygiene in panchayat area. We havefound that many families despite having resources werenot constructing toilets. Gram Sabha decided that if suchfamilies do not construct their own toilets by March thentheir ration cards will not be renewed and their oldration cards would be cancelled.With this decision,Mushin has become first panchayat in the state to taketough measures to ensure open defecation-freeenvironment. Through a notification issued on April 20,2011, Himachal Pradesh government had set the targetof achieving Nirmal Himachal goal by providing safedrinking water, personal hygiene and environmentalcleanliness in the state. For the sustainability of thecampaign, a panchayat-specific action plan for effectivesolid and liquid waste management was notified. Buteven after two years, the Nirmal Himachal goal is still adistant dream as open defecation problem continues inmany parts of rural areas.

APRIL 2013 7 PANCHAYATI RAJ UPDATE

Rural Decentralisations contribution to Agricultual Development

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

BHARAT DOGRA

While speaking to farmers in different parts of the countryregarding their problems, an issue that comes up againand again is the sharply increasing cost of cultivation. Farmerscomplain that the increasing expenses of new farming practicesand debts they had to bear have made survival difficult for them.The government keeps saying that it gives huge subsides onfertilisers and electricity for agriculture, but still farmers find thatthe cost of cultivation is very high for them.

How did we get into this situation? Traditional farmingmethods were very low-cost methods because they werelargely based on self-reliance of farmers and rural communities.Certainly improvements were needed, but these improvementsshould have respected the principle of self-reliance (this wasemphasised very much by Mahatma Gandhi, but ignored bythe government). It is due to the neglect of the principle of self-reliance, which in turn made farmers dependent for all theirinputs on the commercial market,

The most harmful was the increasing dependence oncommercial seeds. Many commercial seeds were such thatthese brought accompanying dependence as chemicalfertilisers, pesticides, weedicides etc.

How did this happen? This was the result of a highlycentralised approach to agricultural development. Technocratssitting in Delhi took decisions that technologies which used morechemical fertilisers and pesticides were good for the entirecountry. The entire agricultural development budget, subsidies,scientific research institutes, media etc. were used in a highlycentralised way to promote only select technology. This is howexpensive, ecologically harmful and unsustainable farmpractices were spread over a large part of the country within afew decades.

This was in gross violation of the principles ofdecentralisation. If decentralised decision making had takenplace, then many diverse methods and crop varieties suitablefor our villages and based on the wisdom of farmers wouldhave flourished by now.

Dr. R.H. Richaria, former Director of the Central RiceResearch Institute (Cuttack) and the seniormost rice scientistof the country opposed this centralised approach and insteadrecommended a highly decentralised approach based onindigenous varieties of rice. His research in Chattisgarhparticularly among tribal farmers revealed to him how they hadpreserved thousands of rice varieties and other cultivationswhich gave very good yield at very low costs in local conditions.His ideas are invaluable even today and we can learn muchfrom these ideas.

In the areas of research as well as extension, Dr. Richariarecommended a highly decentralised approach. This, heemphasised, is inherent in the nature of the rice plant.

To quote, if we were to think of a single characteristic featureof the rice plant which yields food for millions, it cannot beanything else but its variability in the form of thousands of itscultivars, spread in India and in other rice growing belts of theworld. This is because of the rice plants flexible genetic make-up and mutational power of adaptation.

Therefore, he recommended the establishment of a widenetwork of adaptive rice centres in all rice growing areas allover the country.

The adaptive rice centres will be the custodians of all localrice cultivars in respective localities, assembled immediately,supplemented if necessary, by the already available materialsof the locality at different research centres. They will bemaintained under their natural habitat to safeguard the future.They will be known as local treasuries of rice germplasm (aterm suggested by Dr. Frankel of Australia).

The function of the centres will be :(a) to maintain the evolved rice genetic material for future

studies and use as it is practically impossible to retain it in itsoriginal form at a central place in India or abroad. It can only bemaintained in its original condition at its natural habitat and onlyby seeking help of the rice growers themselves.

(b) to educate the young farmers to appreciate the valueand importance of their own material adding new ones as theirhobby.

On the basis of his wide experience Dr, Richaria said,Invariably I found in rice areas some rice growers taking keeninterest in their local rice varieties as they are very muchabsorbed in them and they have all praise for them, so much sothat they trace back the history of individual rice varieties to theirancestry with their utility and such selected and devoted ricefarmers will be put in charge of the centres. I also observed thatsome of them identify their rice varieties in their own way (not interms of the modern knowledge of Botany) which amount tothousands.

This inherent and institutional facility of selection andmaintenance of thousands of rice cultivars gradually beingaccumulated and descended upon for unknown centuries, eversince the rice first originated must be preserved and exploitedfor the advantage of the present generation and to ensure thesafety of those still unborn.

This highly decentralised approach implemented with thefull involvement of local farmers is still very relevant not only inthe case of rice but actually in the case of all crops. In fact, inthe present-day time of unexpected weather patterns in the ageof climate change, the relevance of these methods hasincreased further. But unfortunately, the government is stillsupporting highly centralised technologies such as those basedon genetic engineering and GE (genetically engineered) or GM(genetically modified) crops. This is particularly harmful in thesetimes of climate change.

In a recent widely publisiced letter written to the PrimeMinister of India, 17 distinguished scientists have stated,...Climate change brings sudden, extreme, and unpredictablechanges in weather, which requires that a cropping system beflexible, resilient and as genetically diverse as possible. GMtechnology offers just the opposite.

Alternative proven technologies that can reduce the amountof fossil fuel used in farming already exist in our country. Thisincludes methods for reducing fertiliser applications, selectingfarm machinery appropriate for each task, managing soil forconservation, limiting irrigation and (using) agro-ecologicalfarming techniques.Clearly such an approach is moreconducive to the decentralised approach. How? panchayatsmust be given a direct role in the maintenance and supervisionof such centres. Their greater involvement is required.Panchayat members can be crucial agents for spreadingawareness in the villages in this direction, which, in turn will begenuine strengthening of Panchayati Raj.

PANCHAYATI RAJ UPDATE APRIL 2013

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Kumar. Saurabh S. Gram sabha to be consulted onVedantas mining project, says SC, Down toEarth, 18 April 2013

Suvojit , Chattaopadhyay, Panchayati raj institutionsand the burden of expectations, MINT, 4 March2013.

Contd. from page - 1 ...financial and judicial powers. As a result of reservation, many panchayatmembers from extremely backward castes and scheduled castes have beenelected as sarpanch (Head of the GramPanchayat). Many of them areilleterate and not aware of the legal processes. If they are not assisted byNyaya-Mitra (Legal Assistant) and adequate security, they would feelembarrassed and become non-functional.

The condition of zilla and block panchayats is even more worse. DeputyDevelopment commissioner (DDC) is the CEO of Zilla Panchayat, but eitherdue to multi-tasking or for some other reasons, DDC tries to play truantwith the Zilla Panchayat activities.

Barring a few districts, the funds under various heads like BRGF,MGNREGS, 12th Finance Commission, 13th Finance Commission, 4th StateFinance Commission is lying idle across the State.

What could be the rationale for this? District Planning Committees (DPCs)are constituted, but are more or less non-functional. Once in a while,meeting is called for and without any discussion, the proposals are clearedoff. One wonders, does the implementation of Panchayati Raj is aboutmerely conducting elections at regular intervals! It seems that elections arebecoming mere formalities and are for namesake. It is high time that the

NCAER study aims at strengtheningPanchayati Raj system

A study has been conducted by the National Council of Applied EconomicResearch, suggesting various ways to streamline the delivery mechanism ofthe Panchayati Raj system and strengthen the village councils. Therecommendations of the report was presented to the government on the Panchayati Raj Day on 24 April 2013 . The exercise conductedin 242 villages across 17 states, has found that while the rural infrastructureand the degree of access to public access has improved, corruption hasaffected the implementation of centrally sponsored schemes like National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act. According to the research body, at present 85per cent of all revenues of the village council come through centrally sponsoredschemes, while another 10 per cent come from State funding. The researchbody has argued in favour of strengthening institutions like village health andeducation committees and review of the methods to implement centrallysponsored schemes like MGNREGS should be changed.

Panchayats should meet four times a yearThe Central government has asked the States to ensure panchayats meet atleast four times each year, Panchayati R aj Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deosaid recently. Deo said that advisories had been sent to all the States. It is adirective under the Panchayati Raj Act. Officials said that regular meetings ofpanchayats were critical for involving villagers in the decision-making processat the grassroots level. The ministry has also asked States to video recordpanchayat meetings on sensitive issues such as forest produce, landacquisition, mining and natural resources, which may affect the way of life ofthe community.

State government needed to realize that thecommon people of the country are moresensible than leaders and bureaucrats. Thismyth is created by the government (mainlythe bureaucrats) that they are more capableand enlightened authorities to take care ofthe people of the State than the peoplethemselves. The new movements haveabsolutely exposed this bureaucratic design.People participating in these movements havea better knowledge of the polity and economy.They have a better idea of governance. Unlikebureaucrats, who always tend to becomepower aggrandizer, common people alwaysdiscuss the methods of good governance basedon peoples participation and cooperation.

People are less afraid of the governmentthan government is afraid of its own people.The foundation of the government rests onthe back of its imaginative and innovativemethods of maintaining distance from thegrassroot institutions.

It seems that the government includingbureaucrats are feeling challenged by theparticipation of the New People. They aredeveloping inferiority complexes and most oftheir actions and decisions are emanatingfrom this frustration that now they are nomore in a position to control their people inthe way they used to do.

However, it is also mandatory that thepeople must understand the increasingfrustration of the ruling classes and act in away to take their frustration to a thresholdin order to regain their own power at thelevel of Gram Sabhas.

(The writers are member, Zilla Parishad,Samastipur and Educational Activist respectively)