CLAT 2022 - Panchayati Raj Institutions & Participative Democracy

By Aman Prakash|Updated : November 16th, 2021

Legal Aptitude is one of the important sections in Law Entrance Exams. In every competitive exam in the Legal Aptitude section, there are questions related to Amendments in the Indian Constitution are asked. In this post, we are sharing you with a detailed analysis of "Panchayati Raj Institutions".

Panchayati Raj Institutions and Participative Democracy

  • India, since independence, has been a parliamentary form of democracy. There have been various judgments like Ram Jawaya Kapoor v. State of Punjab, where the Supreme Court has interpreted that India is a Parliamentary democracy. As we know that in a democracy, the participation of the people/ citizens plays a vital role.

  • Without the active involvement of people, it would be more like a dictatorship. Until 1992, such participation was quite limited. However, after the introduction of the 73rd amendment, which introduced Panchayati Raj Institutions and gave them a constitutional status, the participation of people from rural areas has received a major boost.

  • Owing to the fact that the majority of the Indian population still resides in rural areas, this has proved to be a significant step in increasing the participation of people in the world’s largest democracy.

  • But, how has the introduction of Panchayati raj institutions given a push to the political participation of people?

SIGNIFICANCE

Increase the democratic representation of people

  • Before the Panchayati Raj Institutions were conferred with constitutional status, the panchayats functioned informally, without any due incentives. Therefore, people were not so enthusiastic to participate in the working of panchayats.

  • However, after the 73rd amendment, the working of Panchayati raj institutions have received a huge boost. They are now conferred with adequate powers and responsibilities with incentives. Therefore, people are much more willing to contest in elections.

  • Further, as panchayats are directly linked with the state government due to the decentralization of power, this has helped people to connect better with the policies of the government and understand the nuances in an effective and efficient manner.

 Effective and efficient planning

  • Under the 73rd amendment, the Panchayati raj institutions have been given the power and responsibility to provide basic services to the people and plan the development of the villages.

  • The gram panchayats are often in close contact with the people and thus understand their needs better. They are in a much better position to carry out the implementation of plans and recommend development plans in their respective villages.

  • The Gram Sabha discusses the plans of Gram Panchayat with GPDP (Gram Panchayat Development plan) and is executed by the elected representatives. This greatly improves the implementation of the policies.

Ensures Good Governance

  • The consensus of the people and majority in such consensus is one of the major aspects of participative democracy and to ensure good governance. The Panchayati raj institutions take into account both of these aspects.

  • As a village often consists of a small number of people, organizing a referendum for implementation of the development plan is quite feasible. Therefore, the panchayats can always refer to the needs of the people and take decisions by the majority.

  • It leads to greater satisfaction in the minds of people towards the democratic institution of the country.

  • However, as the panchayats have increased the participation of people in a democracy, there have been inherent problems plaguing the Panchayati raj institutions. These include:

SHORTFALLS

Lack of effective decentralization

  • The Panchayati raj institutions have been placed under the control of states. The state governments, according to their respective agendas devolve the powers and responsibilities on the panchayats.

  • However, more often than not, it has been seen that the Panchayati raj institutions have not been conferred with sufficient powers to carry out the functions and responsibilities of the panchayats.

  • This has led to discontent among the people. Further, powers on important subjects, specifically pertaining to the important subjects have not been devolved on the panchayats. These subjects include food and fodder, rural electrification, non-formal education, vocational education, etc. This has severely hindered the functioning of the panchayats.

  • Therefore, the state governments need to come up with a better policy of decentralization in order to help the Panchayati raj institutions grow. This will not only help build the trust of people in the democratic institution itself, but it will also improve the functioning of the panchayats. It will further lead to better policy implementation and efficient implementation of government programs.

 Lack of Funds

  • Despite the decentralization of powers and responsibilities, the Panchayati raj institutions often suffer from the lack of funds to carry out the various activities assigned to them.

  • The funds granted to the panchayats have to be disbursed on the recommendations of the finance committee of the respective states. However, the finance commission barely looks into the requirements of the village panchayats and disburse meager funds. Most of the village panchayats are not able to procure funds on their own due to the limited tax authority conferred on them.

  • Thus, the Finance Commission ought to conduct a better inquiry into the functioning and requirement of the village panchayats. The state also needs to provide more taxing powers to the Panchayati raj institutions to make them a self-governing institution that has the capability to arrange for their own funds.

 Lack of women participation

  • Although the 73rd amendment has reserved 1/3rd of the seats for women and the people from the SC/ST community, their actual participation is still bleak. Due to the orthodox outlook of the people in rural areas, people are reluctant to even vote for women and the members of the backward castes.

  • Even if a woman or SC/ST person contests the election, they are not able to garner enough votes to even have a fair election. This signifies that without proper awareness, this 1/3rd reservation is mere lip service. Thus, over the years, the title of Sarpanch has been associated with a male figurehead, signifying the prevalence of patriarchy and gender/caste bias in the rural areas.

  • The government must ensure that there is enough awareness in the rural areas and enough protection is given to women and SC/SC communities to help them contest elections in a fair manner.

Infrastructural Challenges

  • Despite being a constitutional body, the Panchayati raj institutions have not been provided with their own building. The panchayats, thus often function in government schools, anganwadis, or an informal designated place in the village.

  • Although some villages have their own building, they are devoid of basic amenities like safe drinking water, washrooms, and electricity.

  • Therefore, the government should try to provide the panchayats with their own buildings for a timely meeting of the panchayats and to promote more efficient planning.

  •  It has been 27 years since the panchayats have been provided with constitutional status. On various fronts, the panchayats have done stupendous work but have also failed on various fronts due to myriad reasons.

  • The government needs to take a more proactive approach to deal with such shortcomings to address the issues faced by the Panchayati raj institutions. This would help to deepen the role of panchayats in participative democracy in a long run.

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