Gram panchayats are local governments at the village or small town level in India. As per 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300. Sometimes two or more villages are clubbed together to form group-gram panchayat when the population of the individual villages is less than 300.
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Sarpanch / Chairperson
The Sarpanch or Chairperson is the head of the Gram Panchayat. The elected members of the Gram Panchayat elect from among themselves a Sarpanch and a Deputy Sarpanch for a term of five years. In some places the panchayat president is directly elected by village people. The Sarpanch presides over the meetings of the Gram Panchayat and supervises its working. He implements the development schemes of the village. The Deputy Sarpanch, who has the power to make his own decisions, assists the Sarpanch in his work.
The Sarpanch has the responsibilities of
- Looking after street lights, construction and repair work of the roads in the villages and also the village markets, fairs, festivals and celebrations.
- Keeping a record of births, deaths and marriages in the village.
- Looking after public health and hygiene by providing facilities for sanitation and drinking water.
- Providing for education.
- Implementing development schemes for agriculture and animal husbandry.
Sources of Income
The main source of income of the Gram Panchayat is the property tax levied on the buildings and the open spaces within the village. Other sources of income include professional tax, taxes on pilgrimage, animal trade, grant received from the State Government in proportion of land revenue and the grants received from the Zilla Parishad.
Gram Sabha
All men and women in the village who are above 18 years of age form the Gram Sabha. The Gram Sabha meets twice a year. Meetings of the Gram Sabha are convened to ensure the development of the people through their participation and mutual co-operation. The annual budget and the development schemes for the village are placed before the Gram Sabha for consideration and approval. The Sarpanch and his assistants answer the questions put by the people. The different problems and difficulties of the people are also discussed in the Gram Sabha. All decisions of community development should take in Special Gramsabha only.
Principles of decentralisation
Dr S B Sen committee, a committee appointed by the Government of Kerala in 1996, had suggested the following principles, which was later adopted by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, for local governance :-
- subsidiarity
- democratic decentralisation
- delineation of functions
- devolution of functions in real terms
- convergence
- citizen centricity
References
- Subramaniam Vincent (2002-02-28). "Ugly duckling to swan". India Together. http://www.indiatogether.org/2003/apr/gov-kardcrefm.htm.
- Our Civic Life (Civics and Administration). Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, Pune
- Introduction on Panchayati Raj, Gram Sabha and Self Governance
See also
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