This document provides information about political resources, local self-government, Grama Sabha, and the legislative assembly in India. It defines political resources as resources used in political decision making. It discusses how local self-government operates at the village, block, and district levels in India through a three-tier system of panchayats. Grama Sabha is defined as the governing body for a village consisting of all registered voters who directly participate in decision making. The document also describes the role and functions of state legislative assemblies in India as the lower house of state legislatures where members are directly elected by voters.

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ONLINE ASSIGNMENT

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TOPIC
POILITICAL RESOURCES LOCAL SELF
GOVERNMENT GRAMA SABHA AND LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY
SUBMITTED BY,
DIVYA U R
REG. NO : 16914341004
SOCIAL SCIENCE
RAMA VILASOM TRAINING COLLEGE
VALAKOM

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INDEX
Sl. No Content Page No.
1 Introduction 1
2 Local Self Government 2
3 Grama Sabha 5
4 Legislative Assembly 6
5 Conclusion 10
6 Reference 11

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INTRODUCTION
Resources are anything that can be used to influence an outcome. Resources
are used, but it is not power itself. Resources are distributed unequally. "Power
resources" is used to describe any resources used in the exercise of power. Political
resources are resources used in political decision- making, or for all areas of social-
life that are make claims toward a legislative/decision-making body (from school-
boards to national government). Political inequality refers to structured differences in
the distribution and acquisition of political resources. Power is an attribute of people.
The term "power resources" is misleading, as it suggests that power itself can be
distributed. Most distributional theorists argue that power is relational. For example,
one actor's political resource is only a resource if it is perceived as a resource by the
other actor.
Resources are never strictly defined and can take the form of anything actors
can do within an interaction. Resources are actions available to the participants in the
interaction. These resources are valid because they are an integral part of the
interdependent relationship. The nature of the interdependent relationship reveals the
types of actions (resources) available to each participant. For example, in capitalist
economies, ownership of land and wealth is a valid resource. Employers have power
over their employees because the employees are dependent on the employer for their
economic livelihood. Power is an attribute only of relationships, not people
themselves. The interdependency approach is different from the distributional
approach because ." it assumes that each actor in the interaction has equal power
resources. Employers can only make employees work because employees agree to
work. If employees decided not to work, such as a work-strike, then the employees
could be said "to have power over" the employers. This approach does not adequately
account for "force," or physical coercion. Resources are political when they enable
claims-making toward a legislative/decision-making body. For example, romantic
relationships have elements of power, where each participant has a range of actions or
range of resources at their disposal to get what they want despite the resistance of the
other. But this behavior is not political.

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 LOCAL - SELF GOVERNMENT.
An administrative body for a small geographic area, such as a city, town,
county, or state. A local government will typically only have control over their
specific geographical region, and cannot pass or enforce laws that will affect a wider
area. Local governments can elect officials, enact taxes, and do many other things that
a national government would do, just on a smaller scale.
Panchayati Raj (Rule of Village Committee) system a three-tier system in the
state with elected bodies at the Village, Taluk and District levels. It ensures greater
participation of people and more effective implementation of rural development
programmes. There will be a Grama Panchayat for a village or group of villages, a
Taluk level and the Zilla Panchayat at the district level.
Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by such local bodies
who have been elected by the local people. The importance of local self- government
has been emphasized by political thinkers and administrators of all ages. Local bodies
are established on two different principles. The first principle comprises local bodies,
which enjoy extensive powers to act in any way they like for the betterment of the
community unless restricted by law in any sphere of activity. The second principle
comprises local bodies that cannot go beyond the specific functions defined for them
in the various acts and statutes.
The concept of Local Self Government is very ancient to India. It has
originated since the Vedic period, when the village assembly known as Samiti and
Sabha and the Gramani, the village headman existed. These assemblies represented
the kings authority in civil and military administration and collected dues on behalf of
the king.
Local Self Government during the early British existed but they had suffered a
lot. However, local bodies first came into existence in the presidency towns. In 1687
the Court of Directors ordered for the establishment of a corporation in Madras. The
Charter Act of 1793 put the municipal institutions on a legal basis. The Governor-
General had the power to appoint Justices of Peace in the presidency towns. These
Justices of Power were given powers to levy taxes on houses and lands to meet the
cost of police, cleansing and repair of roads.

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In addition to that in the late 19th century, the British Government initiated the
concept of Local Self Government. When Lord Ripon became the Viceroy of India
and provided notable contribution to the development of Local Government in the
country. In 1882, he abandoned the existing system of local government by the
officially nominated people. According to his local self-government system, the
enormous Local Boards were split into smaller units to achieve greater efficiency.
Moreover, to ensure popular participation in the management of local affairs,
nomination system was replaced by an effective election process. Lord
Ripon is considered to be the founding father of urban local government. The
Indian Councils Act of 1892 introduced Municipal Corporations and District Boards
that created for local administration.
The Bengal Act of 1842 delineates the commencing of municipal institutions
beyond the presidency towns. The act was authorized to facilitate the inhabitants of
any place of public resort or residence to make better provision for proposes
connected with public health and convenience. This Act empowered municipal bodies
to impose indirect taxes. The Act was however of a controlled disposition. The
growth of Municipal Institutions received additional impetus after the issuing of the
Royal Army Sanitary Commission Report in 1868. In the ensuing years, several
municipalities were founded in every territory.
The 73rd Amendment Act of the Constitutional in 1992 came into force to
provide constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions. This Act proceeded
further with the Panchayats in the tribal areas of eight States including Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa
and Rajasthan, from 24 December 1996. According to this act, the Panchayati Raj
system was introduced as Local Self Government for all States. The Act aims
toprovide 3-tier system in the Local Self Government and announces to hold
Panchayat elections regularly every five years. The act also provides reservation of
seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women. Moreover, the act declares
to appoint State Finance Commission to make recommendations regarding the
financial powers of the Panchayats and to constitute District Planning Committee to
prepare draft development plan for the district. Since the Independence movement,
Local Self Government had played a significant role. However, after Independence,
the Constitution of India was framed on federal principles. The Constitution makers

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divided the functions of the government on the three lists such as Federal, State and
Concurrent. The local government bodies came under the State List and are governed
by the State Statutes. or in the case of Union Territories, by the Union Parliament.
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act
The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, headed by MP Balwantrai Mehta was a
committee appointed by the Government of India in January 1957 to examine the
working of the Community Development Programme (1952) and the National
Extension Service (1953) and to suggest measures for their better working. The
recommendations of the committee were approved by NDC in January 1958 and this
set the stage for the launching of Panchayati Raj Institutions throughout the country.
The committee recommended the establishment of the scheme of 'democratic
decentralization' which finally came to be known as Panchayati Raj.
The idea which produced the 73rd Amendment was not a response to pressure
from the grassroots, but to an increasing recognition that the institutional initiatives of
the preceding decade had not delivered, that the extent of rural poverty was still much
too large and thus the existing structure of government needed to be reformed. It is
interesting to note that this idea evolved from the Centre and the state governments.
The Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, passed in 1992 by the Narasimha Rao
government, came into force on April 24, 1993. It was meant to provide constitutional
sanction to establish "democracy at the grassroots level as it is at the state level or
national level". Its main features are as follows:
 The Gram Shabha or village assembly as a deliberative body to decentralised
governance has been envisaged as the foundation of the Panchayati Raj
System.
 A uniform three-tier structure of panchayats at village (Gram Panchayat -GP),
intermediate or block (Panchayat Samiti - PS) and district (Zilla Parishad -ZP)
levels.
 All the seats in a panchayat at every level are to be filled by elections from
respective territorial constituencies.
 Not less than one-third of the total seats for membership as well as office of
chair persons of each tier have to be reserved for women.

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 Reservation for weaker castes and tribes (SCs and STs) have to be provided
at all levels in proportion to their population in the panchayats.
 To supervise, direct and control the regular and smooth elections to
panchayats, a State Election Commission has the Act has ensured constitution
of a State Finance Commission in every State/Union Territories, for every five
years, to suggest measures to strengthen finances of Panchayati Raj
Institutions.
 To promote bottom-up-planning, the District Planning Committee (DPC) in
every district has been accorded constitutional status.
 An indicative list of 29 items has been given in Eleventh Schedule of the
Constitution. Panchayats are expected to play an effective role in planning
and implementation of works related to these 29 items.
 GRAMA SABHA
Grama Sabha is the body consisting of all persons registered in the electoral
possesses all the powers endowed on it by various Acts and Rules issued by the State
Government. Thus the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts have provided
an opportunity for the persons registered as voters in the village to directly participate
in the decision making process. Gram Sabha include all the adult citizens of the
village. It is empowered to support or topple down the Gram Panchayat body. The
Sabha can contribute to the number of decisions taken by the Panchayat and can
modify weak decisions whenever they feel. The Panchayat can be established for a
village having a population of 1000-25000. The villages having less population are
grouped under Gram Sabha. The member count usually ranges from 7 to 17
depending on the strength of the village population. These form various Committees,
viz. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Public Works, Social Welfare and Health and
sanitation in village Gram Panchayat.
Ordinarily Grama Sabha gives the impression of meeting of villagers of a
revenue village. However, Orissa Grama Panchayat Act defines Grama Sabha in a
different manner. According to the OGP Act all the voters of all the revenue villages
under a Grama Panchayat are the members of Grama Sabha. The meeting of the
members is known as Grama Sabha meeting.

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Kerala has created a fourth tier in the form of Grama Sabhas equated with the
electoral constituency of a Village Panchayat All the electors of the Ward are
members of the Grama Sabha. It is an attempt to create a new set up for direct
democracy - involving the people of the ward. The Grama Sabhas have been given
clear rights and responsibilities with absolute powers for identification of
beneficiaries, strong advisory powers for prioritizing developmental needs and wide
powers of social audit.
The Importance of Gram Sabha
The Gram Sabha prevents the Panchayat from doing wrong things like
misusing money or favouring certain people.lt plays an important role in keeping an
eye on the elected representatives and in making them responsible to the persons who
elected them.
 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a
legislature, or to one of its branch. The name is used by a number of member- states
of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of other countries. If a State
has a bicameral legislature, the Legislative Assembly is the Lower House while the
Legislative Council is the Upper House. The Legislative Assembly is also known as
the popular chamber. It is more powerful than the Legislative Council.
The constitution of India provides that a Legislative Assembly cannot have
more than 500 members and less than 60 members. In other words, the number of
members of the Legislative Assemblies of different states varies between 60 and 500.
If the Governor of a state feels that the members of Anglo-Indian community have not
been duly represented in the Legislative Assembly, he can nominate one member to it.
The Members of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.s) are elected directly by
voters from different territorial constituencies. For the purpose of election to the
Legislative Assembly, each state is divided into many single-member territorial
constituencies. The provision for double-member constituency which was there for
some time in the past has been abolished.
To be eligible to contest in election to the Legislative Assembly, a person must
have the following qualifications.

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 He must be a citizen of India.
 He must have completed 25 years of age.
 He must possess such other qualifications as May, by law, is prescribed by the
Parliament.
During the President's Rule, the Legislative Assembly is either dissolved or
kept under animated suspension.
The Legislative Assembly is the lower chamber of the State Legislature. It is
popularly known as Vidhan Sabha. The members of this House are directly elected on
the basis of adult suffrage from the territorial constituencies. The constitution fixes
the maximum and minimum number of members to be elected to the Assembly which
is 500 and 60 respectively. All constituencies are proportionately equal in population.
Any Indian citizen who is 25 years of age or more, hold no office of profit and
possess such other qualifications as determined by the People's Representation Act
can become a member of the State Legislative Assembly. The tenure of the Assembly
is five years but it may be suspended or dissolved earlier. The term of five years may
be extended in case of a proclamation of emergency.
The Speaker
Soon after the constitution of the new assembly after the election the members of the
House elect one of the members from among themselves as Speaker and Deputy
Speaker, to work in his absence. The office of the Speaker is held with utmost: respect
and dignity in the tradition of Parliamentary democracy. As the head of the House and
the presiding officer he maintains decorum of discussion. The Speaker after his
election severs his relation with the political party of which he is the member. His
rulings in the House is final. He decides whether a bill is a Money Bill or not. He
decides the Rules of Business in consultation with the Chief Minister and the Leader
of Opposition. He appoints the Chairman of different House Committees. As per
tradition if the Deputy Speaker happens to be a member of any committee, he
automatically becomes the chairman of the committee.
Special powers of Legislative Assembly.
A motion of no confidence against the government in the state can only be

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introduced in the Legislative Assembly. If it is passed by a majority vote, then the
Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers must collectively resign. A money bill
can only be introduced in Legislative Assembly. In matters related to ordinary bills,
the will of Legislative Assembly prevails and there is no provision of joint sitting. In
such cases, Legislative council can delay the legislation by maximum 4 months (3
months in first visit and 1 month in the second visit of the bill).
The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Niyamasabha is
the law making body of Kerala, one of the 29 States in India. The Assembly is formed
by 140 elected representatives and one nominated member from the Anglo-Indian
community. Each elected member represents one of the 140 constituencies within the
borders of Kerala and is referred to as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA).
State Legislature
In states where there are two houses there is a Legislative Council [Legislative
Assembly]. In such a case, the Legislative Council is the Upper House, while
Legislative Assembly is the Lower House of the State Legislature. The Governor shall
not be a member of the Legislature or Parliament; shall not hold any office of profit,
shall be entitled to emoluments and allowances. (Article 158 of Indian constitution).
The Legislative Assembly consists of not more than 500 members and not less
than 40. States which have small population and are small in size have a provision for
having even lesser number of members in the Legislative Assembly. All members of
the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of Adult Franchise, and one member
is elected from one constituency. Just as the President has the power to nominate 2
Anglo Indians to the Lok Sabha, similarly, the Governor also has the power to
nominate 1 member from Anglo Indian's community as he/she deems fit, if he/she is
of the opinion that they are not adequately represented in the Assembly.
Terms
The term of the Legislative Assembly is five years. But it may be dissolved
even earlier than five years by the Governor on the request of Chief Minister. The
term of the Legislative Assembly may be extended during an Emergency, but not
more than six months at a time. In the State of Jammu and Kashmir the tenure of
the Legislative Assembly is 6 years.
The Legislative Council is the Upper House in the State. Just like the Rajya

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Sabha it is a permanent House and cannot be dissolved. The term of each member is 6
years and 1/3 members of the House retire after every two years.
Powers
The most important function of the Legislature is law making. The State
Legislature has the power to make laws on all items on which Parliament cannot
legislate.
As regards Money Bill, the position is the same. Bills can originate only in the
Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council can either pass the bill within 14 days
from the date of the receipt of the Bill or suggest changes in it within 14 days. But
these changes may or may not be accepted by the Assembly.
The State Legislature besides making laws also has one electoral power in
electing the President of India. Elected members of the Legislative Assembly along
with the elected members of Parliament are involved in this process.
We have seen that some parts of the Constitution can be amended by
Parliament with the approval of half of State Legislatures. Thus the State legislatures
take part in the process of amendment of our Constitution.
Presiding Officers
Similar to the Presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the
Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council also have Presiding Officers. The
Legislative Assembly has a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker and the Legislative
Council has a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman. They are elected from among the
members of the House.

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CONCLUSION
I concluded that the local self government is the major part of India. Local self
government helps to improve social and economic emancipation of people. Gram
Sabha is one of the major body in local self government. It helps to increase women
participation in the field of panchayat. Legislative Assembly is focused on major
issues of people and these problems discussed.

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REFERENCE
 www.wikipedia.com
 Main stream
 Economic & Political weakly
 www.kkhsou.in