A welcome statement has come from the Chief Minister of the State in this week about the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the state. Speaking on the floor of the Legislative Council, he made three commitments: first that the election to Panchayats and the urban local bodies would take place soon; second that Panchayats would be empowered and; third, that the Panchayats at all the three levels would be constituted. The spirit of his statement is quite positive and forward looking and addresses some of the major issues confronting the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Simply Stated
Rekha Chowdhary
One of these major issues relates to the lack of institutionalisation of Panchayats and PRIs in the State. The response of the successive Governments towards these institutions can be described, at best, as arbitrary and ad hoc. It has always been some external compulsions – mostly, the pressure from the Central Government or the apprehension of losing the Central funding that Panchayats have been constituted or various amendments related to Panchayats have been introduced. There has been no internal political or ideological commitment to constitute these bodies of self-governance.
Institutionalisation of the PRIs would mean that the government would be bound under law to constitute them as per the schedule and to empower them as per the law. Ironically, this is not the case in our state. The PRIs here are dependent on the political will of the Government in power. It is only if the Government of the day wishes, the election may take place. The Governments have enjoyed sufficient freedom to ignore their legal obligation not only to constitute them but also to vest them with the powers that are already legally provided.
One can recall the politics of PRIs that has been at play during the last one and half decade. Constituted in 2001, the Panchayats were allowed to remain dissolved and non-functional after the five year term of these institutions was over. No effort was made to organise election for these institutions till 2011. Similarly the urban local bodies were elected in 2005 and their tenure was over in 2012 and no urgency was felt to constitute them. Meanwhile, there was sufficient politics of Panchayati Raj institutions during the 2008-2014 period. Sufficient noise was made about the election of Block level Panchayats but in the end, these did not take place. Right at the time of 2011 election, provision was made for the constitution of Finance Commission and Election Commission for the Panchayats but then these offices were not made functional. The two coalition partners – the Congress and the NC throughout remained embroiled over the issue of extension of 73rd constitutional amendment to the state. There were a number of announcements made about the empowerment of Panchayats and repeatedly similar orders were issued in that context. High profiled committees were constituted to study the question and an impression was also given that the provisions of 73rd Amendment Act had been adopted for the state as well. However, in the end, there was no clarity as to what was changed and what had been applied to this State.
It is in the context of the ambiguity and the non-committal attitude towards the Panchayats, that the statement of the Chief Minister assumes significance. For he is not only talking about holding election to both the Urban bodies and Panchayat as per schedule but also about transferring powers to these bodies. The most important statement that he has made in this context is about the empowerment of District Development Board and transfer of power to this level of Panchayat. Till now, there has been no discourse in the state about the District being seen in the spirit of PRIs. The District Development Board which is a legacy of the Single Line Administration system is still seen in the state as an administrative agency meant for decentralised planning. In the spirit of the 73rd Amendment, the District, like the village Panchayat and Block Panchayat is an elected body and is meant to serve not only as an institution of grass root governance at the district level but also as an important layer in the federal structure. As per this model, rather than being constituted by the administrative officers and the government representatives, it has to be comprised of directly elected representatives. It will remain to be seen as to what extent this present Government is ready to go to constitute the District Development Board as an empowered elected body representing the people but the fact that the present Government is ready to see this layer in the spirit of PRIs is welcome.
The statement of CM assumes importance from another perspective as well. The Panchayats as instruments of local self Government and grassroots democracy have received very positive response from the erstwhile militancy ridden areas. The 2011 election evoked massive response from the people and on the whole around 80 percent people participated in conflict ridden Kashmir region. That many of the candidates had taken the risk of life by contesting election has been clearly reflected from the frequent targeting of Panchayat members by the militants. Many of these Panchayat members have become sitting ducks whenever the militants want to pressurise the state. To sustain the faith of these Panchayat members in the democratic processes as well as of the electorate who chose to make the Panchayat election credible by participating in large numbers, it is very important that these institutions be empowered and given respectability that these deserve. This is an urgent requirement in the context of ever changing situation in the valley. It is very important that before the issue becomes debatable in the next Panchayat election and people start questioning the worth of Panchayats, these institutions be given the effective powers and responsibilities.
It is yet to be seen as to what extent the present Government goes in institutionalising the Panchayats and making them effective tools of grassroots democracy. But the statement made by the CM is a good beginning. One can hope that these words will be soon translated into action and not only the urban bodies would be constituted very soon but the process of election of the Panchayats would be in place much before the present tenure of the Panchayat is over. One may also expect that the Block level Panchayat will also be organised soon. If that happens, then one may ask for amending the Panchayati Raj Act of the state to incorporate the principle of direct election both at the Block and the District level. Meanwhile, what the state government can do is activate the bodies like State Election Commission and State Finance Commission. One amendment, however, that is urgently required before the next election of village Panchayat is due – is that of extending the principle of reservation to the Sarpanches. If women and other weaker sections of society can be trusted to be good Panches, there is no logic that they should not be trusted to be effective Sarpanches.
(Feedback welcome at rekchowdhary@gmail.com)
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