Local Government: Urban and Rural

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the structure, reforms, and functions of local government in India, including both Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Urban Local Bodies

Local government institutions in towns and cities, such as Municipalities and Municipal Corporations, responsible for providing basic civic facilities.

74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992

The act that made statutory provisions for the establishment, empowerment, and functioning of urban local self-governing institutions.

Nagar Panchayats

Urban local bodies constituted for small urban areas as mandated by the 74th Amendment.

Municipal Councils

Urban local bodies constituted for big urban areas under the 74th Amendment.

Municipal Corporations

Urban local bodies for very big urban areas, such as Delhi or Mumbai.

State Election Commission

The body constituted to conduct elections for both Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local self-governing bodies.

State Finance Commission

A commission constituted every five years to deal with the financial affairs of both rural and urban local self-governing bodies.

Twelfth Schedule

The schedule added to the Constitution by the 74th Amendment which enumerates the functions of municipal bodies.

Mayor

The political head of a Municipal Corporation, elected by the Councillors for a one-year term.

Municipal Commissioner

A civil servant, usually a senior IAS officer, who serves as the administrative head of a Municipal Corporation.

Obligatory Functions

Compulsory functions that a municipal body must perform, such as water supply, street lighting, and drainage.

Discretionary Functions

Optional functions that a municipal body may take up if funds permit, such as maintaining orphanages or housing for low-income groups.

Octroi

A duty on certain items brought into a city; an important source of income for municipalities in Western India.

Panchayati Raj Institutions

System of rural local self-government in India based on the philosophy of grassroots democracy.

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957)

A committee that suggested a three-tier structure of Panchayati Raj for democratic decentralisation.

Zila Parishad

The uppermost tier of the Panchayati Raj system, functioning at the district level.

Panchayat Samiti

The intermediate or block level tier of the Panchayati Raj system that links Gram Panchayats and Zila Parishads.

Gram Panchayat

The lower tier of the Panchayati Raj system at the village level, consisting of directly elected members.

Ashok Mehta Committee (1978)

A committee that suggested a two-tier structure of Panchayati Raj consisting of Zila Parishad and Mandal Panchayat.

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992

The act giving constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions and establishing a three-tier structure at the Zila, Block, and Village levels.

Gram Sabha

The only institution of direct democracy in India, consisting of all adult residents within a village or group of villages.

Nyaya Panchayat

Judicial panchayats set up to provide speedy and inexpensive justice for petty civil and criminal cases, with the power to impose fines up to $Rs. 100$.

Ex-officio

A person who holds an office by virtue of the fact that they hold another office, rather than being elected to that specific post.

Block Development Officer (B.D.O.)

The official who heads the developmental activities of a Panchayat Samiti.

Toll Tax

A tax charged for the use of a specific facility, such as a bridge maintained by a local body.

Tehbazari

A fee or fine collected by urban bodies on takhats and chabutras.