Reservations

The 73rd Amendment introduced constitutionally guaranteed reservations meant to bring groups that had historically been shut out of village power into Panchayati Raj institutions. One-third of all the seats in every panchayat body, at all three tiers, are reserved for women. Seats are also reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at all three levels, in proportion to their share of the local population, and States may additionally provide reservation for Other Backward Classes if they consider it necessary. Crucially, these reservations are not confined to ordinary member seats — they apply equally to the position of Chairperson, or 'Adhyaksha', at each of the three levels, so a Panchayat's own presiding officer, not just its rank-and-file members, can be a reserved-category representative. Reservation for women, moreover, is not layered only on top of the 'general' seats; it operates within the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well, so that a seat can be reserved simultaneously for a woman and for a member of a Scheduled Caste or Sc …