Ch 8Local Governments — Class 11 Political Science, concept-first.

A democracy is not complete with an elected government only at the centre and at the State level -- it is equally necessary to have an elected government right at the local level, to look after local…

Two real stories make the case for local government better than any abstract argument. Geeta Rathore, from Jamonia Talab Gram Panchayat in Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh, was first elected Sarpanch i…

Local government means government at the village and district level — the level of government that is closest to the common people and closest to the everyday problems of ordinary citizens.

Local government in India is not a recent invention. It is believed that self-governing village communities, in the form of 'sabhas' or village assemblies, existed in India from the earliest times, an…

Even before the 73rd and 74th Amendments gave local government constitutional backing in 1993, independent India had already made some attempts to build it up.

Acting on recommendations like the P.K. Thungon Committee's, the central government introduced two constitutional amendment bills in 1989, aimed at strengthening local governments and bringing an elem…

The 73rd Amendment set out the specific changes it wanted every State's rural local government — the Panchayati Raj system — to make.

The 73rd Amendment gave every State a uniform three-tier structure of Panchayati Raj institutions. At the base is the Gram Panchayat, covering a single village or a group of villages.

Under the 73rd Amendment, all three tiers of Panchayati Raj institutions — Gram Panchayat, intermediate Panchayat, and Zilla Panchayat — must be elected directly by the people, and each elected Pancha…

The 73rd Amendment introduced constitutionally guaranteed reservations meant to bring groups that had historically been shut out of village power into Panchayati Raj institutions.

Twenty-nine subjects that had previously belonged to the States' own list of responsibilities were identified and listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, for transfer to Panchayati Raj in…

The 73rd Amendment requires every State government to appoint a State Election Commissioner, who is responsible for conducting elections to Panchayati Raj institutions.

The 73rd Amendment also requires every State government to appoint a State Finance Commission once every five years.

Where the 73rd Amendment deals with rural local government, the 74th Amendment deals with urban local bodies, known as Nagarpalikas.

In the years since the 73rd and 74th Amendments came into force, every State has passed the legislation needed to implement them, and in the decade between 1994 and 2004, most States held at least two…

The overall experience of the 73rd and 74th Amendments suggests that, so far, local governments in India continue to function mainly as agencies that implement welfare and development schemes designed…