Ram Rattan Sharma
Constitution of India, even prior to the 73rd amendment to the constitution explicitly recognized only a village panchayat under article 40. It mandates that the ”State shall take steps to organise village Panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them as a unit of a self Govt.” No doubt ,there is a entry 5 in state list in seventh schedule of the constitution generally providing for the establishment of local self Govt institutions, but here again ,we find, particular mention of a village Panchayat only .After the 73rd amendment ,the three tier Panchayat Raj system recognised Gram Panchayat as one of the tiers leaving it at the discretion of each state to decide the degree of the devolution of the funds, functions, functionaries and also the division thereof amongst each of the tiers including gram panchayat. However, a common prudence would entail that village panchayat has to be recognised as a cutting edge governance and grass root delivery institution while other tiers should have a policy making, guiding, mentoring and monitoring role. A few states like Kerala may have taken striding steps to truly empower gram panchayats, but over all performance of the states is not very encouraging even after a lapse of 25 years of passing the 73rd amendment. In some states, village panchayats are still treated as either the limbs of the state or a state tend to create parallel institutions. Constitution, infact provides complete freedom to the states to devolve /entrust any responsibility to them even beyond the subjects specified in eleventh schedule. However, most of the states in the country have a huge unfinished agenda with regard to 29 subjects, forget about reaching beyond. However, inspite of all these constraints, the Central Government had adopted an ingenious and innovative strategy, without interfering in the autonomy of the states and remaining within the confines of law, not only to empower the Panchayats but also to impress upon the states to follow suit. It shows how a strong determination of a visionary leader can ensure the accomplishment of a mission Panchayat empowerment. A few decisions by the Central Government in last three years of its tenure may substantiate this writ. It took a decision to implement 14th Finance Commission award .The complete 100 percent funds provided under the award for panchayats are required to be transferred exclusively to the gram panchayats. Not only direct transfer of funds to gram panchayat is a revolutionary step but insistence to treat it as a untied grant giving full authority and autonomy to the gram panchayat to utilize it for the implementation of Gram Panchayat Development plan prepared by the Gram Panchayat through participatory process in Gram Sabha is laudable. It is also being ascertained that the services which the village panchayat is expected to deliver should reach the beneficiary in the most transparent, speedy and timely manner through a Bharat net mission under which all the villages panchayats in the country be connected through cable net worked broadband. There are many more concrete steps taken in the last three years of its stint which exhibits a strong desire of the Central Government to empower and strengthen the Panchayati Raj local Govt institutional setup in general and the village Panchayats in particular. It has also taken firm steps to bring in attitudinal, behavioural and mindset changes amongst people and village level public functionaries. Rural development need not always be linked to increase in budgetery allocation, what an innovative thinking and imagination by the leadership, too can generate resources. Through a nation wide gram uday to Bharat Uday Abhiyan launched on 14th April 2016 on the birth anniversary of Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar and culminating on 24th Aug, 2016 the Panchayat Raj day, the rural community was sensitized to create an atmosphere of social harmony in the villages through gram sabhas and such other activities.
While providing boost to building social and technological infrastructure in rural areas through gram panchayats development of physical infrastructure involving them in decision making and monitoring process, the Govt. is further ensuring that all development activities taken up from any public resource including CSR funds goes towards enhancing the community ownership involvement and accountability through their Panchayati Raj institutional network. As a result of this approach the construction, completion of the rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gramsadak Yojana has increased from 133 Kms per day to 173 Kms per day in the year 2016-17. Along with it, separate boost to internal village road and farm access road construction and emphasizing uncompromising approach on quality/ maintenance making tree plantation as an integral and obligatory part of the project with adequate budget provision and involving panchayats in these processes have tremendously improved the quality of social monitoring and meaningful involvement of the Pancahayats.
(The author is former Dy. Librarian University of Jammu)
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