Local Self Government and Decentralisation

Lord Rippon

  • Viceroy of India in 1880.
  • Introduced reforms for Indians.
    • Repealed Vernacular Press Act.
    • Factory Act.
  • Introduced administrative reforms.
  • Aimed at self-reliant measures for Indians.

Reforms by Lord Rippon

  • Eased the plight of local Indians.
  • Introduced local self-government.
  • Known as the ‘Good Viceroy of India’.
  • Known for the Resolution of 1882.
    • Gave Indians the right to local self-government.
    • Developed municipal institutions under the British Crown.
    • Set up local self-governing bodies in rural and urban areas.
  • Known as the ‘Father of Local-Self Government in India’.

Other Reforms of Lord Ripon

  • Hunter Commission (William Wilson Hunter).
    • Called for educational reforms at primary and secondary levels.
  • First Factory Act of 1881.
    • Reduced working hours.
    • Improved conditions for factory workers.
  • Repealed the Vernacular Press Act of 1878.
    • Allowed newspapers in vernacular languages equal freedom with the Indian Press.

Ilbert Bill

  • Sought help from Sir C.P. Ilbert to abolish judicial disqualification based on race distinction.
  • Introduced on 2nd February 1883.
  • Brought British European subjects under the jurisdiction of Indian magistrates and judges.

Lord Rippon's Views

  • “It is not primarily with a view to improvement in administration that this measure is put forward and supported It is chiefly desirable as an instrument of political and popular education”.
  • Felt Indians should have a chance in their governance.

Existing Model and Issues

  • “What I want is a gradual training of the best, most intelligent and influential men in the community, to take an interest and active part in the management of their local affairs.”
  • Local self-government existed before in big and smaller cities.
  • Primary aim: sanitation, road/ferry maintenance.
  • Major factor against functioning: wide area and official control (lack of autonomy).

Reforms by Lord Rippon

  • Removed difficulties by introducing a structured system.
  • Introduced the post of thasildhar or taluk.
  • Local heads were to be elected by tax payers.
  • Extended similar form to towns.
    • Members partly elected and partly appointed.
  • Kept local government beyond the control of the government.
    • Government retained power to dissolve it in case of poor performance.
    • Made autonomous by the Act of 1882.

Reforms: The 1882 Resolution

  • Decentralize Indian taxation on a “Uniform and extended rate”.
  • Certain taxing powers were to be transferred from central to local.
  • Lord Rippon insisted on 5 new reforms.

Local Self-Governance in 1882

  • Father of local self-government in India.
  • Another form of the Panchayat Raj system.
    • Local people elect their leader/government.
  • Resolution passed to enable Indians to manage their administrative system.
  • Powers delegated to local people.
  • Object: to train Indians effectively for managing administrative systems.
  • Dealt with administrative area powers and functions of local self Government.
  • Local boards established for functioning of local self-government.

Board Composition and Powers

  • No more than one-third official members in the board.
  • Non-official members with a two-year tenure.
  • Retired non-officers can participate again.
  • Panchayati Raj system from the ancient period.
  • Landmark in the evolution of local self-government in India.
  • District boards and local boards formed in rural areas known as ‘taluk’ or ‘tehsil’.
  • Local bodies gained some financial powers.
  • Government supervision existed.
    • Approval from officials necessary for new taxes, loan appeals, etc.
  • Responsibilities: sanitation, water supply, cleaning, medical aid, primary education.

Five Reforms

  • Municipal councils should be established in every Indian city and town of over 5,000 inhabitants.
  • Local boards in all rural districts where ‘intelligent local agency can be found.’
  • Provincial Governments to ensure that all local boards, urban or rural, should have a ‘large preponderance’ of non-official members.
  • Members should be entitled to hold office for terms of not less than two years.
  • At least two thirds of the members of each local board and municipal council would be ‘non-officials’.

Election Processes

  • Members of boards and municipal councils should be chosen by election ‘where local circumstances will permit’
  • Especially in all towns of ‘any considerable size’.
  • Election should be introduced gradually even to ‘backward rural tracts.’
  • Provincial Governments to consult leading Natives for suitable local arrangements.

Leadership and Financial Decentralization

  • Official chairmen of councils should be avoided at all costs.
  • Non-official members must be ‘led to feel that real power is placed in their hands, and that they have real responsibilities to discharge.’
  • Municipal councils and rural local boards be given full management of all local rates and taxes.
  • Empowered to initiate and direct the construction of all local work

Limitations and Scepticism

  • Reforms aimed at local election were hardly successful.
  • In Calcutta, only 4 out of 68 municipalities had elected members.
  • Members were primarily officials with very few non-official members.
  • Situation same in Bombay and Madras.
  • Punjab and Assam had only appointed/official members.

Reasons for Failure

  • Did not have a statutory force (not an enacted legislation).
  • Skepticism of the British.
  • Aim of Lord Rippon was to introduce the system, not to make ground breaking change.

11th and 12th Schedules of Indian Constitution

  • 11th Schedule: Panchayats’ powers, authority, and responsibilities (29 issues).
  • 12th Schedule: Municipalities’ powers, authority, and responsibilities (18 matters).
  • 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 added the 11th schedule.
  • 74th Amendment Act of 1992 added the 12th schedule.

Rural Self-Government

  • 73rd amendment to the constitution (1992).
  • Addressed lack of financial resource and means to conduct regular elections.
  • Principles are a part of Article 40 of the Constitution.

Article 40

  • One of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
  • State shall undertake necessary steps to organise village panchayat.
  • Article 243: Definitions.

Urban Self Government

  • Several types of Urban self governments.
    • Municipal corporation.
    • Municipality
    • Town area committee
    • Cantonment area
  • Chairperson of municipal corporation would mostly be a IAS official.

Urban Local Government

  • Governance of an urban area by the people through their elected representatives.
  • Mandated by the 74th Amendment to the Constitution in 1992.
  • Act divided into mandatory and non-binding parts.

Mandatory Features

  • Constitution of Nagar panchayats, municipal councils and municipal corporations
  • Reservation of seats in urban local bodies for Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes
  • Reservation of seats for women up to one-third seats
  • State Election commission will have to conduct elections for panchayat system
  • State Finance commission will look into the finance aspects of panchayat
  • The members enjoy a fixed tenure of five years.

Non-Voluntary Features

  • Providing reservation for backward classes
  • Giving financial powers in relation to taxes, duties, tolls and fees etc
  • Making the municipal bodies autonomous.

Municipal Bodies

  • Consist of people directly elected from the municipal wards.
  • Subject matter of state list.
  • Constitution aims to provide adequate representation for people belonging to weaker sections/backward classes & women.
  • Functions as a mini legislature for planning.
  • Handles administrative aspects (e.g., epidemic control).
  • Mandatory functions: laying roads, maintaining roads, street lighting, drainage.
  • Other functions: public vaccination, health centres, electrification, slum clearance.

73rd Amendment

  • Long-awaited dream of founding fathers.
  • Introduced as the 69th amendment (failed in upper house).
  • Separate panchayat system was initially seen as robbing states of autonomy.
  • In 1992, parliament convinced of necessity for specific provision for panchayat.
  • Created Article 243 of the Constitution.

Salient Features of 73rd Amendment

  • Gram sabha: all members registered with electoral rolls (elected and non-elected members).
  • Three-tier panchayat: Gram panchayat, Mandal panchayat and Zilla panchayat.
  • Less than 20 lakh population: option of not having intermediate level.
  • Sarpanch is elected by indirect elections.
  • Reservation: specific seats allocated for backward classes and women members.

Term and Eligibility

  • Term: 5 years
  • Provision for disqualification (Art. 243F).
  • Eligibility: Any member above 21 years can contest in elections.
  • Member qualified to be an MLA is also qualified to become a panchayat member.

Areas of Power for the Panchayat

  • Agriculture, including agricultural extension.
  • Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land consolidation and soil conservation.
  • Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development.
  • Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry.
  • Fisheries.
  • Social forestry and farm forestry.
  • Minor forest produce.
  • Small scale industries, including food processing industries.
  • Khadi, village and cottage industries.
  • Rural housing.
  • Drinking water.
  • Fuel and fodder.
  • Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of communication.
  • Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.
  • Non-conventional energy sources.
  • Poverty alleviation programme.
  • Education, including primary and secondary schools.
  • Technical training and vocational education.
  • Adult and non-formal education.
  • Libraries.
  • Cultural activities.
  • Markets and fairs.
  • Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centers and dispensaries.
  • Family welfare.
  • Women and child development.
  • Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and mentally retarded.
  • Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
  • Public distribution system.
  • Maintenance of community assets.

Local Self Government: A Journey

  • Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated Panchayati at Nagaur on 2 October 1959.
  • Gandhi wanted Gram Swaraj through Panchayati Raj.
  • Rajasthan was the first state to implement it.
  • Article 40: State to organise village panchayats and enable them to function as units of self-government.

Historical Context

  • Framers of the Indian Constitution did not make a binding commitment beyond Art. 40.
  • Pandit Nehru was committed to the idea of centralised federal structure.
  • 1952: Nehru and Vinobha Bhave introduced “community Development programme”.
  • Led to growth of panchayat systems in almost 60,000 village level panchayats.
  • System faced a standstill during Madam Indra Gandhi’s time.

Shift in Policy

  • Situation changed with the first non-congress government at the central level and measures by the communist party in West Bengal.
  • Greater necessity for local self governments was felt in the 1990’s.
  • Drastic shift in policy decision in relation to local self government.
  • Congregated to form the local self governments.

Provisions Relating to Local Governments

  • Creation of Art. 243 and other provision do no mandate the implementation of the local self government, they rather delegate the power to the respective states to create the bodies.
  • Criticized as a weak method for implementation.
  • Rationale: need for states to step up and act/ if done otherwise, it would result in exceeding dominance of centre over state.
  • Introduced 29 new entries in 11th schedule and 18 new entries in 12th schedule.
  • Significant change was provisions relating to elections for local self governments.

Assessing the Impact

  • The paradox of centre-state- panchayat.
  • State which seeks more autonomy has been the stumbling block for panchayat.
  • Panchayat often acts as an additional body to govern, merely implementing central sponsored schemes.
  • True objective will be fulfilled when local government acts as a representative at grassroots level for the impoverished people.

Ninety-Seventh Amendment Act

  • Gave constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies (2011).
  • Made the right to form cooperative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).
  • Included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on the promotion of cooperative societies (Article 43B).
  • Added a new Part IX-B in the constitution: “The Cooperative Societies” (Article 243-ZH to 243-ZT).

Historical Evolution

  • Ancient Period (3000 BCE - 1200 CE):
    • Mauryan Empire (322 BCE - 185 BCE): Local bodies known as "Mahamatras" or village headmen.
  • Medieval Period (1200 CE - 1757 CE):
    • Decentralized system of governance known as the "Panchayat" system.
    • Mughal period: Officers known as "Muhtasibs" supervised the Panchayats.

British Colonial Rule

  • (1757 CE - 1947 CE):
    • East India Company initially continued with the Panchayat system.
    • Gradually replaced it with a more centralized administration.
    • Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems weakened traditional self-governance.

Renewed Interest and Post-Independence

  • 19th century marked a renewed interest in local self- governance (Lord Ripon).
  • Ripon Resolution of 1882 aimed at decentralizing power.
  • Municipalities were established in cities, and local boards were set up in rural areas.
  • Post-Independence Era (1947 CE - present):
    • Constitution of India (1950): Three-tier system.
      • Gram Panchayats at the village level.
      • Panchayat Samitis at the block level.
      • Zila Parishads at the district level.
    • Commonly referred to as Panchayati Raj.

Amendments and Current Role

  • 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1992.
    • Provided constitutional status to Panchayats and Municipalities.
    • Mandated regular elections, reservation of seats, devolution of powers, and financial resources.
  • Today, local self-governance plays a vital role in India's democratic setup.
    • Empowering communities, promoting grassroots democracy and social justice.

Committees and Commissions in India

  • These committees have played crucial roles in shaping policies, suggesting reforms, and strengthening the functioning of local self- government institutions.
  • Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957)
  • Ashok Mehta Committee (1977)
  • GVK Rao Committee (1985)
  • L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986)
  • Sarkaria Commission (1983-1988)
  • Rajmannar Committee (1991)

Committee Recommendations

  • Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957):
    • Emphasized decentralized governance.
    • Recommended the establishment of a three- tier Panchayati Raj system in rural areas.
  • Ashok Mehta Committee (1977):
    • Recommended increasing the powers and responsibilities of Panchayats.
    • Introducing direct elections for the positions of the Panchayat head.
    • Ensuring financial autonomy for local bodies.
  • GVK Rao Committee (1985):
    • Focused on strengthening the financial base of Municipalities.
    • Ensuring greater citizen participation, and improving urban governance.
  • L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986):
    • Advocated for devolution of powers, decentralization of planning and development.
    • Reservation of seats for marginalized communities and women.
  • Sarkaria Commission (1983-1988):
    • Suggested the formation of State Finance Commissions.
    • Giving greater financial powers to local bodies.
    • Ensuring better coordination between various levels of government.
  • Rajmannar Committee (1991):
    • Recommended measures to strengthen local self-governance.
    • Enhancing the powers and functions of Municipalities.
    • Ensuring adequate financial resources.
    • Promoting transparency and accountability.
  • These committees have played instrumental roles in shaping the policies and frameworks for local self-governance in India.
  • Their recommendations have often led to legislative changes, constitutional amendments, and policy reforms aimed at empowering local bodies, promoting decentralization, and ensuring effective governance at the grassroots level.