Pachayati Raj Institution , 5th Schedule , 6th Schedule

Historical Background	Harappan Chola British 1688 urban local self govt. in Madras Father of Indian local self-government Lord Ripon DPSP (article 40) Entry 5 in State list Balwant Rai --- Ashok Mehta--- GVK Rao --- LM Singhvi ----
Philosophy	Principle of Subsidiarity
Objective	Democratic decentralization
Facts	81% of GPs in Bihar and 33% in UP do not have their own buildings
Significance	Grass root democrcy Direct democracy Bottom-up approach to Adminstration More economical (local resource, Vigilance) Empowerment of People Lowers down the burden Decentralised Planning
Constitutional Provisions	Community Development Programme 1952 73rd Amendment Part IX and Schedule Mandatory Provision Mandatory Provision with flexibility Voluntary Provision Gram Sabha Functions  Democratic Function (Right to recall MP, Ch) Administration Identification Report verification Finance (Audit and tax) Social Audit Fixing of priorities for spending fund Transparency and accountability Awareness Problems Large size Low awareness (treated more like a meeting) No discussion. debate Low women participation Irregular meeting Class, caste and gender discrimination Power distance (poor and marginalised has low say) Solution Relation has to restructure like Parliament-Cabinet NGO involvement in management Mandatory Provision for meeting Flow of Information Civil society involvement like Principle. Govet servant Capacity building, low awareness  State Control For technical. Financial, administrative …… support Regulation (inspect, supervise) Administration (employee) Pre-mature dissolution Audit, account Binding directions
Criticism	4F Functions 93% funds are tied (reduced to implementing agency) No devolution of power Funds State Finance Commission Temporal: Not in sync with UFC Politicisation: Competency Recommendation are not implemented Auditing Lack of untied funds Poor finance Low taxation power and whatever given not utilised Functionaries Employees Framework SFC, SEC, DPC Lack of will and vision on part of State Ineffective participation Caste (Proxies of general category), Class (land owners, influential in) and Gender(only on paper, BBB Brigade, Panchyat Pati) discrimination Rotational Policy of reservation of seats 2nd ARC reserve for 10 Years Reservation Policy ST, SC has been fixed to 22% against the Provisions of population Creamy layer benefitted Proxy of General Restrictive Qualification like education, Toilets etc. Corruption in PRIs (poor accounts and audit) Continuation of Parallel agencies and programmes (DM, Parastatal agencies, MPLAD, MLALADs, SHG, NGOs etc) Criminalisation Domination of senior political leaders Poor resources (infra(no building for 30%), human) Compulsory voting Financial Incentive for being elected without consent Extra Judicial Bodies (Khap Panchyats) PESA
Solution	Devolution Index by Ministry of Panchyati Raj (Kerala) 90% of state have less than 0.5
2nd ARC	Optional provision to be made mandatory Legislative council in every state with a representation of local bodies (Voice) SEC: Committee recommendation appointment Interference: local legislators should not be made members of local bodies Framework law: laying down a principle for devolution based on Activity mapping and Subsidiarity Capacity Building Time-bound ATR of SFC Removal of MPLAD, MLALAd, ParaStatal bodies District level department should do away function assigned to PRIs Human Resource: right to recruit Increase revenue base
Evalution	No Pan India judgement (regional variations) Women Empowerment Positive 10 lakh elected women Women oriented distribution of finance Eradication of social evil Issue Panchayat Pati Dual Responsibility Illiteracy and lack of knowledge Limited exposure and lack of motivation Rotational policy issue Developmental impact Mixed for agriculture Depends on Weaker section: no significant impact Social and economic prosperity still lacking Education : no

Nagaland

Demand for 33% constitutional reservation for the Women in ULBs Issues: 243T Vs 371A(religion, social practice, customary laws etc are to be considered as far as state has not allowed) Poor governance Gender equality Arguments for: violation of constitution already there in village development board HC: not a customary practice Gender sensitivity Poor political representative against: customary law accepting nomination and not standing Way forward: reform customary laws

Gram Uday se Bharat Uday (Village self-Governance Campaign)

Aimed at improving social Harmony, rural livelihood and strengthening Panchayti Raj across the country by Ministry of Panchayti Raj and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment 11 day nation-wide village self-governance campaign from April 14 to April 25 Between April 14 and 16 a social harmony programme through which village will honour Dr. Ambedkar. Between April 17 to 20 'village farmer assemblies' will be organised to inform regarding the agricultural schemes National meeting of Tribal women Gram Panchayat women President

Gram Panchayat Development Programs	Central Government launched a program Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas: Preparation of annual structured gram panchayat plan Involve audit of work done in last few years
About	Annual Plan where village panchayats would decide where the money should go 2.5 crore SHG women and 31 lakh elected panchayat leaders
Scope	Human Development (IMR, MMR, malnutrition, literacy, communicable diseases Marginal Deprived sections, (SC, ST, Women and destitute) Civic Services: Sanitation, Street light, playground, internet connectivity Economic development: Agriculture and irrigation, market, godown Disaster Vulnerability Assessment: For disaster mitigation plan
Significance	Stakeholder Involvement Consolidation of all financial services at Gram Panchayat level Development works: undertaken in prioritized manner, through collective provisioning Responsive government: strengthen bond between government
Concerns	Lack of awareness Over emphasis on investment Inadequate public service Review of GPDP non existent Lack of integration in plans at block and district levels

Step Taken	73rd and 74th amendment Act Ministry of PR Index of devolution based rewards
Regressive steps	Haryana and Rajasthan education and other qualification for election to be contested Financially incentivising for Panchayat being elected without consent e.g. Gujarat Compulsory Voting in Gujarat

SUPRERME COURT VERDICT ON HARYANA PANCHAYATI RAJ (AMENDMENT) ACT 2015	Rajmala vs State of Haryana Right to contest is a constitutional right, nor a fundamental neither statutory States have power to curtail it by law Minimum education qualification Functional toilets Not have defaulted in cooperative loans Not have outstanding due on domestic rural electricity bills Insolvency and unsound mind
Objective of PRI	Basic objective was to empower the people at grass root level specially socially and educationally backward This excludes 80% of Dalit women of Haryana
For	For Educational and Social empowerment Only education can power the human of discrimination of right and wrong 2003 verdict of necessary conditions of two children shows they wanted to use electoral process for promoting family planning Toilets Procedure Established by law: Article 40 and 246(3) powers the state govt.to make laws to enable functioning of self-government Better Decision Making and problem solving Spill Over Effect Leadership Quality may improve
Criticism	Equality before the law and Equal Protection of law Amendment are discriminatory and criteria are arbitrary Only 57% of the adult population will be qualified Still 30% people don't have functional toilet Literacy rate is 76% Poor and backwards and women  will be most of the disqualified Different qualification for different caste seems to be irrelevant What about MLAs and MPs Against the Right to Contest Election Unethical Practices Bogus certificates Corruption Further Aggravate the already existing Inequalities Wisdom plays greater role than education Ambedkar criticised based on two mistakes Illiterate seen to unintelligent Literate seen to be intelligent If this would be the case then upper class considered traditionally intelligent but they ever used the intelligence ever for low Explicit Objective is not seems to improve governance but others like family planning, toilets, education  etc. of
Way Forward	More ground reform needed before such law like Education Capacity Building and Training Awareness with Social Society Such condition can be made for other government service and Programme like Bolsa Familia rather in PRIs
	In an economically and socially unequal society, exclusion from the democratic process on the basis of social Indicator is tampering with Basic Structure of the Constitution Ends are commendable but not means People penalised for failure of state

Scrapping of Ministry of Panchayti Raj
Functioning	Bringing state ministers together Promoting best practices Convening academic experts and field level NGOs Monitoring special interest of women representatives, Dalits and tribals Periodic reports
For	Better coordination, synergy and effectiveness of programmes FFC increased devolution can be used for funding Every states have different needs and one-size fits all approach do not work in India, therefore state will have more autonomy and can tackle their specific need
Against	Above functions will be seriously diluted In the guise of MoRD centre can interfere in the activities of Panchayats and it is against the principle of federalism and decentralisation Against the constitutional mandate, which provides for joint responsibility of centre and states for decentralisation

Rajasthan Scrapped the criteria for education
Background	Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Act, 2015 In Rajbala vs State of Harayan, SC upheld the educational qualification criteris Right to contest is constitutional, neither statutory nor fundamental Can be curtailed by suitable legislation
Against	Against grassroot democracy, not for MLA or MP Misplaced focus: have to put forward public demand, rather than knowing technicalities Discriminatory towards women and weaker section Exclusionary Move: In rajasthan 70% of all population got barred from contesting State responisibility: to educate people, can’t punish them
For	Progressive legislation: encourage focus on education May put topic of MP MLA educational qualifications on front Improvement in social indicator, will lead to betterment Role model effect
Way forward	memorandum to the Simon Commission in 1928, B.R. Ambedkar said, “Those who insist on literacy as a test and insist upon making it a condition precedent to enfranchisement, in my opinion, commit two mistakes. Their first mistake consists in their belief that an illiterate person is necessarily an unintelligent person…Their second mistake lies in supposing that literacy necessarily imports a higher level of intelligence or knowledge than what the illiterate possesses…”. Find ways and means of making elected bodies more representative

5th and 6th Schedule Area

News	New constitutional Amendment bill 125 was tabled in RS to increase financial and executive powers of the 10 Autonomous district councils
6th schedule	Article 244 Special provisions regarding the administration of the tribal areas of 4 states Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura  Why: to preserve their cultural identities.
Rationale	Have not assimilated properly with the lives of people of mainland Other tribes have assimilated Areas are treated differently, by constitution
Provisions	Territorial recognition: Assam Governor Rest: president autonomous district councils, regional councils and village
Powers	Challenges
Legislative laws on land forest, inheritance, cultivation and administration Parliamentary laws can be applied only with modification and exception	Inadequate decentralization not everywhere councils are set up Governor's assent leads to delay etc. Prevalent of state laws
Judicial Powers Trials of suits and cases with in tribe Village courts	Districts councils failed to form village courts Difficulties in the functioning of the local courts due to lack of finance  Most of the courts manned by those who don't even have judicial background. Political patronage, despotism and money power
Other	Lack of development  Power of nominating members to the councils has been actually practiced by the ministers and not the governors Very little representation of the ethnic minorities Corruption and illicit activities eg. north Chacher is under NIA scrutiny Discretionary powers of the government no timely election not representative bodies
Finance tax revenue collection	non involvement of state finance commission Dependent of Grant-in-aid of the state government: delays in receiving Much less when compared to Other local government Missuse: by diversion, Miss-management, Lack of planning  Non-payments of the royalty share by the State govt. to them
Administration Education dispenceries market	Education: Still poor parameters  No provision of coordination of work between district council, regional council and state government
Steps taken	Elected village council in all areas SEC, SFC women inclusion and ethinic minorities Transparency, accountability etc

5th Schedule	6th schedule
Tribal council: creation of state legislature	Autonomous district council, creation of consti
No financial power to prepare budget	Financial power to prepare budget
Limited devolution of power	Greater devolution of power.

PESA	Bhooriya committee: it was enacted in 1996 in part 11 of the constitution It was for the extension of Local governance to schedule 5 areas with flexible approach by balancing the cultural autonomy and modern political decentralization principle