News Excerpt:
A Look at Panchayati Raj Institutions with Himachal Pradesh as a Case Study
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
- The 73rd Constitutional Amendment was a pivotal moment for PRIs in India, granting them Constitutional status and aiming to fulfill Article 40 of the Constitution.
- This article is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, which calls for the organization of village Panchayats and the delegation of necessary powers for them to function as self-governing units.
- PRIs were established as the third tier of decentralized governance in India, with a focus on local economic planning and social justice.
- The Amendment introduced uniform provisions for elections, composition, tenure, and financial status across the country, with some exceptions such as tribal areas under Schedule V, and states like Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
- The Amendment mandated certain provisions: a three-tier PRI system at village, block, and district levels; direct elections for a five-year term; 30% reservation for women and proportionate reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes; and the establishment of State Finance Commissions and independent state election commissions.
- Prior to this Amendment, PRIs had varied legal statuses across different states.
Current Status of PRIs
- Three decades after this significant change, the devolution of the much-discussed three Fs — Functions, Functionaries, and Finances — remains uneven across Indian states.
- Despite a constitutional mandate, the actual implementation has been inconsistent.
Devolution Index of PRI
- The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj launched the Panchayat Empowerment & Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS) in 2006-07 to assess the performance of states in empowering PRIs, developing a Devolution Index (DI) to measure progress.
- The objective of PEAIS was to arrive at a Devolution Index (DI) to assess the extent of devolution of 29 subjects to PRIs on framework, functions, finances and functionaries.
- The assessment under this scheme was carried out by reputed independent organisations like National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) from 2006-07 to 2008-09, and the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) from 2009-10 to 2012-13.
- However, the results have been largely disappointing.
- A 2015-16 Devolution Report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences highlighted the gap between policy devolution and actual practice.
- Himachal Pradesh ranked 17th among 26 states in the Aggregate Index of Policy adjusted against practice, indicating limited practical devolution despite policy changes.
- Only a few states, such as Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, have made notable progress.
Provisions at the discretion of the states
- Matters related to Functions, Functionaries, and Finances—detailed from Article 243A to Article 243G of the Constitution—are entrusted to the discretion of the states.
- The powers and functions of the Gram Sabha (GS), which is crucial for grassroots democracy, as well as the composition of Panchayats and the election of their chairpersons, are determined by state discretion.
- State laws also define the powers, authority, and responsibilities of Panchayats, enabling them to operate as institutions of local self-government.
- These laws empower Panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and social justice and to carry out various mandatory and discretionary functions within their jurisdiction.
- Additionally, state laws are expected to grant Panchayats the authority to implement schemes related to economic development and social justice, particularly in relation to the 29 subjects listed in Schedule XI of the Constitution, which cover matters of local concern affecting people's lives.
Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions
- The Gram Sabha (GS) is expected to engage in planning and decision-making processes regarding these subjects, while the Gram Panchayat (GP) implements the GS's mandates.
- States are encouraged to decentralize planning and governance, positioning Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as local self-governing bodies.
- State laws should also enable Panchayats to impose taxes, raise funds, and receive grants-in-aid from the state's consolidated fund.
Himachal Pradesh: A Case Study
- The Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1994 was enacted to align state laws with the 73rd Amendment.
- Yet, after 30 years, many Gram Panchayats (GPs) lack dedicated Panchayat secretaries and technical assistants.
Problems:
- Vigilance committees are often improperly composed, and attendance at Gram Sabha meetings by village-level functionaries from various departments is inconsistent.
- Village-level functionaries from various departments are mandated to attend the meetings of the Gram Sabha (GS) within their jurisdiction. However, in practice, this mandate is largely ignored.
- To promote decentralized planning and empower Panchayati Raj Institutions, the state government issued a notification on July 31, 1996, devolving functions of 15 departments to Panchayats at all three levels.
- Despite this, these departments mostly issued further guidelines, rather than transferring real power and functionaries to PRIs.
- Under various central and state schemes, the GS was given the authority to identify beneficiaries.
- Some departments, such as agriculture and horticulture, allowed PRI functionaries to initiate Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) for field-level officials.
- Additionally, some village-level institution buildings, like veterinary dispensaries and primary school buildings, were transferred to the Panchayats.
- Despite these measures, the HP Annual Administrative Report 2022-23 acknowledged the ineffectiveness of such token decentralization, stating that essential powers, finances, and functions as mandated by Article 243G remain pending.
- Consequently, Gram Panchayats struggle to send development plans to the district planning committee.
Decentralized Programs
- Several decentralized planning programs, such as Mukhya Mantri Gram Path Yojna (MMGPY), Sectoral Decentralized Planning (SDP), and Vidhayak Keshetra Vikas Nidhi Yojna (VKVNY), provide funds to Gram Panchayats.
- A Regional and District Planning Division oversees these programs and the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).
- A scheme monitoring information system tracks these expenditures.
- National Panchayat awards, intended to encourage competition among PRIs, ironically impose thematic focus areas on GPs, limiting their autonomy.
Financial Dependency
- PRIs typically implement central or state government schemes in a limited capacity, reliant on grants from the Central Finance Commission (CFC), State Finance Commission (SFC), their own revenue sources, and other funding avenues.
- However, their financial independence is minimal, as their own source revenue is low.
- The 15th CFC provided untied grants to PRIs, but even these are often restricted by state-imposed conditions.
- Most funds are earmarked for specific tasks without considering local contexts, such as the Swachh Bharat Mission grant for toilets, which is insufficient in remote areas due to high transportation costs.
Lack of Awareness
- Despite training programs, many PRI representatives lack awareness of their powers and functions. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India have developed training courses for PRI accountants, yet the Skill India program has not capitalized on this to create quality accountants for PRIs.
Conclusion
- There is a pressing need to sensitize all stakeholders, including elected representatives, line departments, and village residents, about the role of PRIs as local self-government institutions, in line with the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.
- Currently, PRIs are subordinate to state bureaucracy and politicians, hindering the realization of participatory governance, decentralized planning, and grassroots democracy. This issue needs to be fixed in order to properly implement PRI.
