A threat to local self-governance

In 1920, during the British rule, various acts under the Panchayat Act allowed common citizens to participate, to some extent, in their village’s development and justice system. After independence, most rural development programmes were implemented through panchayats. However, the Indian Constitution, which came into effect on January 26, 1950, provided for only two levels of government. Part 5 of the Constitution outlined the Union government, while Part 6 detailed the state governments. For a long time, the country was governed by these two levels of government. In 1992, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments introduced a third level of government. Under Part 9 of the Constitution, panchayats were established, while under Part 9A, municipalities were introduced as self-governance institutions. Although the Indian Constitution does not explicitly define self-government, the idea was to grant villages the right to make decisions at the local level, forming a government of their own after the Union and state.

While Part 9 includes several mandatory provisions, some aspects were left to the discretion of state legislatures. The mandatory provisions included the formation of gram sabha, the structure of panchayats, reservations, tenure, the establishment of a state finance commission and a state election commission. However, provisions related to the different levels of panchayats, their titles and powers, the election or nomination of chairpersons, as well as finances and accounting, were made voluntary. As a result, there has been widespread negligence and disregard in granting panchayats the necessary powers and authority. In most states, instead of functioning as self-governing units, panchayats have been reduced to mere implementing agencies of state governments. This has led to state governments arbitrarily dissolving gram panchayats or merging them into urban local bodies.

The Constitution states that the 74th Amendment applies to urban areas and the 73rd Amendment to rural areas. However, it does not mandate converting villages into cities. Despite this, state governments have merged surrounding villages and small towns into urban categories, eroding village autonomy. Urban development responsibilities are being handed over to development authorities, which are administrative units rather than democratic institutions. This trend started with the Delhi Development Authority, which had unique circumstances, but the system has now been adopted nationwide, shifting power to bureaucracy. Instead of strengthening democratic institutions like panchayats and municipalities, they are being dissolved and replaced with administrative units. State governments across India are following this approach—Noida and Greater Noida being prime examples. The issue is not just about resisting such changes for schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) but about protecting the spirit of the Constitutional Amendments. The current developments undermine threaten the foundation of local self-government in India.

(Chandrashekhar Pran is the founder of Teesri Sarkar Abhiyaan, a non-profit working on strengthening Panchayti Raj Institutions)

This was first published as part of the story ‘Urban Trap’ in the 1-15 March, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth