Local Government Notes in English Class 11 Political Science Chapter-8 Book-1
0Team Eklavyaजून 06, 2025
Meaning of local governance
The governance at the village and district level is called local governance. Local governance is the governance closest to the common man. It gets the day to day tasks of the people done such as -
Getting basic work done in streets and neighborhoods
Providing first aid locally
street light installation
Providing primary school
maintenance and repair of drains
Providing road and sanitation facilities
is a matter of local government
The problems of the common man are related to his daily life. Local governance believes that local knowledge and local interests are essential components of democratic decision making.
Knowledge of local problems is also necessary for better governance and public welfare administration.
The advantage of local government is that it is closest to the people and hence their problems are solved very quickly and at a lower cost.
In India, local government works in two ways
1. At the village level ( Panchayat )
district council
Gram Panchayat
Gram Sabha
2. At the Municipal level (Nagar Palika)
Municipal council
Municipality
City Council
Why do we need local government?
Local governance is necessary to establish a strong democratic system.
Local governance is needed to ensure local level political, economic participation
Local governance is necessary for ordinary citizens to have access to their representatives.
To complete the work successfully and speedily (public welfare work)
For mutual harmony and successful administration.
Evolution of local governance in India
It is believed that self-governing village communities existed in the form of 'Sabha' in ancient India. With the passage of time, these village assemblies took the form of Panchayat. With the changing times, the role and work of Panchayats also kept changing.
In modern times, elected bodies of local government came into existence after 1882. At that time Lord Rippon, who was the Viceroy of India, initiated the formation of these bodies. At that time it was called Local Board.
Progress in this direction was being made at a very slow pace. The Indian National Congress demanded from the government that it should take necessary steps to make all the local boards more effective.
After the Government of India Act of 1919 was enacted, Gram Panchayats were formed in many provinces. This trend continued even after the Government of India Act of 1935.
Mahatma Gandhi had insisted that economic and political power should be decentralized. He believed that strengthening village panchayats is an effective means of decentralizing power. Local people should participate in every development work
Local Government in Independent India
After the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution, local governance got a strong foundation.
Even before this, some efforts were made to create local government bodies. In 1952, the Community Development Programme was introduced.
The objective of this programme was to involve the public in various local development activities.
It was against this backdrop that a three-tier Panchayati Raj system was recommended for the rural areas.
Some states (Gujarat, Maharashtra) adopted the system of local bodies formed through elections in 1960, but in many states these local bodies did not have enough power to look after local development. These bodies were heavily dependent on the state and central government for financial help.
Many states did not even consider that there was a need to establish local bodies through elections. There are many examples where local bodies were dissolved and the responsibility of local governance was handed over to government officials.
In many states, most local body elections were held indirectly. In many states, local body elections were postponed from time to time.
After 1987, a thorough review of the institutions of local governance began.
In 1989, the P.K. Thugana Committee recommended giving constitutional status to local government bodies.
The Committee recommended that the Constitution should be amended to provide for periodic elections to local government institutions, determine their proper functions and provide funds to such institutions.
The Committee recommended that the Constitution should be amended to provide for periodic elections to local government institutions, determine their proper functions and provide funds to such institutions.
73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution
In 1989, the Central Government put forward the matter of two constitutional amendments.
The aim of these amendments was to strengthen local governance and bring uniformity in its functioning and structure across the country.
In 1992, the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution were passed by the Parliament.
The 73rd amendment of the Constitution is related to the local governance of the village. It is related to the institutions of the Panchayati Raj system.
The 74th Amendment of the Constitution deals with urban local governance (municipality).
The 73rd and 74th Amendments came into force in 1993.
Features of 73rd Amendment
1. Three - layered structure
1. Zila Panchayat / Taluka
2. Block Committee / Taluka
3. Gram Panchayat / Village Assembly
Now the structure of Panchayati Raj system is three-tier in all the states. The Gram Panchayat comes at the bottom i.e. the first level.
There are one or more villages within the area of a Gram Panchayat.
The intermediate level, i.e. the middle rung is that of the division which is also called block or taluka.
In the states which are small in size, there is no need to create Mandal or Taluka Panchayat i.e. intermediate level.
The district panchayat is at the topmost level. The entire rural area of the district comes under its purview.
Every adult person registered as a voter in a Panchayat constituency is a member of the Gram Sabha. The role and work of the Gram Sabha is decided by the laws of the state.
2. Elections
The elections at all the three levels of Panchayati Raj are conducted directly by the public; the term of every Panchayati Raj is 5 years.
If the Panchayat is dissolved prematurely by the state government then elections have to be held again within six months.
3. Reservation
One third of the seats are reserved for women in all Panchayati institutions .
There is provision of reservation for SC/ST on the basis of their population .
If the state government wants, it can also reserve OBC seats .
4. Transfer of subjects
29 such subjects which were earlier in the State List have now been listed in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution.
These subjects are to be transferred to Panchayati Raj institutions.
These subjects are related to development and welfare work at the local level.
The actual transfer of these functions depends on the law of the state.
Each state will decide how many of these 29 subjects are to be handed over to the local bodies.
5. Provisions for tribal population
Tribal populated areas of many states of India were kept out of the provisions of the 73rd Amendment. These provisions did not apply to these areas.
But in 1996 a separate Act was enacted and these areas were also included within the scope of the provisions of the Panchayat system.
Many tribal communities have customs for the management of common resources such as forests and water bodies.
For this reason, this right of the tribal communities has been protected in the new Act. They can take care of the resources according to their customs.
For this purpose, the Gram Sabha of such areas has been given relatively more powers and the elected Gram Panchayat has to take permission from the Gram Sabha in many ways.
The basic idea behind this Act is to preserve the local tradition of self-governance and to introduce such communities to elected bodies in the modern way.
6. State Election Commissioner
It is necessary for the states to appoint a State Election Commissioner.
This commissioner will be responsible for conducting elections of Panchayati Raj institutions.
Earlier this work was done by the state administration, which is under the state government.
Now like the Election Commissioner of India, the Election Commissioner of the State is also autonomous.
The State Election Commissioner is an independent officer. His office is not connected with the Election Commission of India.
7. State Finance Commission
It is necessary for the state government to form a State Finance Commission every five years. This commission will assess the financial condition of the local government institutions in the state.
The Commission will review the distribution of revenue between state and local government systems on the one hand, and between urban and rural local government institutions on the other.
This initiative ensures that allocation of funds to rural local government does not become a political issue.
74th Amendment
The 74th Amendment is related to urban local governance i.e. municipalities.
Urban area:-
1. Such an area should have a population of at least 5000
2. At least 75% of working men do work other than farming
3. The population density should be at least 400 persons per square kilometer.
Features of local government
The 74th Constitutional Amendment in many ways replicates the 73rd Amendment but this amendment deals with urban areas.
All the provisions of 73rd Amendment relating to direct elections, transfer of reservation subjects, Regional Election Commissioner and Regional Finance Commission are included in 74th Amendment and apply to municipalities.
Implementation of 73rd and 74th Amendment Now all the states have enacted laws to implement the provisions of 73rd Amendment.
At present, in rural India, approximately
1. District Panchayat – 600
2. Block level Panchayat – 6000
3. Gram Panchayat – 2,40,000
At present, in urban India, approximately
1. Municipal corporation – 100
2. Nagar Palika – 1400
3. Nagar Panchayat – 2000
The provision of reservation for women in Panchayats and Municipalities has ensured the presence of women in large numbers in the local bodies.
There is provision for reservation for posts like president and sarpanch. Due to this, a large number of elected women public representatives have occupied posts like president and sarpanch.
Today at least 200 women are presidents of district panchayats. 2,000 women are presidents of block or taluka panchayats and the number of women sarpanches in gram panchayats is more than 80,000. There are 30 women mayors in municipal corporations.
More than 500 women hold the post of president in municipalities. Nearly 650 Nagar Panchayats are headed by women.
Subjects of local government
drinking water
Poverty eradication
Social Welfare
Agriculture, irrigation, roads, small scale industries
