Page 51 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change

Notes political parties taking part in Zila PR elections, and imparting training to panchayat members.
The Santhanam Committee was appointed to study the problems of resources and finances of
PRIs. It recommended measures like: (i) giving powers to panchayats to levy special taxes based
on land revenue, house-tax, etc., (ii) sanctioning of grants to panchayats by state governments,
(iii) handing over sources of revenue to PRIs, (iv) evolving mutual financial relations between
different levels of PRIs, (v) augmenting financial resources through gifts and donations, and (vi)
setting up Panchayati Raj Financial Corporation to provide loans and financial assistance to
panchayats and help them in providing basic amenities in villages.
Taking the views of these committees, the government decided to amend the Constitution. This
amendment was made by the Lok Sabha in December 1992, by the Rajya Sabha in December 1993,
and after being ratified by 17 State Assemblies, it came to be known as Constitution Amendment
Act, 1993. It came into force from 1994. Today, PRIs are functioning in 22 out of 25 states and in six
out of seven union territories. In 15 states, it is a three-tiered system, in four it is 2-tiered and in
three, it is one tier system.
The functions assigned to panchayats may be classified as obligatory, discretionary and transferred
functions. These functions include: providing civic amenities, infrastructural facilities and
developmental activities. Broadly, the functions may be described as: health and sanitation (control
of epidemic, construction and maintenance of lavatories, maintenance of burial grounds, cleaning
of roads, tanks, ponds and drains), public works (construction and maintenance of roads, drinking
water pumps, wells, street lights), agriculture and animal husbandry (distribution of improved
seeds and pesticides, planning for increasing agricultural production, arranging cattle fairs,
improving cattle breeding, development of poultry and fishing), uplifting the weaker sections
(arranging for their education, cultural activities and residential houses), and some miscellaneous
works (meeting calamities, encouraging and strengthening cottage industries, strengthening
cooperative societies, development of forests, welfare of women and children, adult education
programmes).
Since their inception, roles of panchayats have been gradually changed and the scope of their
functioning has been enlarged. Even the assumptions have undergone a change. Not only the
representatives of the people (i.e., panchayats) have been assigned the responsibility of
administering local public affairs but also of raising the required finances and locating man-power
resources.
The main problems faced by the panchayats before the 1993 Constitutional Amendment were: (1)
Functions and powers given to panchayats were limited. (2) Panchayats were ill-equipped in
terms of manpower to undertake planning. (3) Panchayats had no power to generate their own
resources through taxation, etc. (4) Elections were not held on regular basis. (5) Women and
weaker sections had no representation. Thus, the high hopes with regard to the panchayats were
not fulfilled. The main obstacles in the successful functioning of PRIs were described as: non-
legalistic status of PRIs, irregular elections, frequent suppressions and suspensions, inadequate
representation of weaker sections, insufficient powers given to panchayats, lack of financial
resources, non-cooperation on the part of bureaucracy, lack of people’s participation and lack of
political will. Barnabas (1998: 450) has identified five causes of failure of the Panchayati Raj:
confusion about functions, absence of autonomy, confusion in administrative arrangement, absence
of coordination and fragmented and overlapping structure.
After this amendment, the main changes introduced in Panchayati Raj were: (1) Establishment of
panchayats at three or two levels and a gram sabha in each village was made mandatory. (2)
Tenure of PRIs was fixed as five years, i.e., every five years, direct election of all members at three
panchayat levels was made mandatory. (3) While election of chairman at the intermediate and
district levels was to be indirect, election of the chairman at the village level was left to the state
governments to decide. (4) A list of 29 functions was provided to panchayats. These relate to rural
development, infrastructure, social welfare, public distribution system, maintenance of community
assets, etc. (5) Seats were reserved for SCs, STs, and women at all three levels of panchayats. (6)
Finance Commission was set up to devolve funds and suggest ways of financing panchayats. (7)

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