This document provides an overview of local self-governments (LSGs) in India, with a focus on developments in Kerala. It discusses the constitutional basis for LSGs through the 73rd and 74th amendments, which aimed to decentralize governance. The organizational structure of LSGs in Kerala follows a three-tier system consisting of grama panchayats, block panchayats, and district panchayats. Grama sabhas play an important role in local planning and development. The document concludes that Kerala has gone further than other states in devolving powers and resources to local governments.

1. ASSIGNMENT
SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
ANUPAMA TEACHER VISHNU.B
LECTURER IN SOCIAL SCIENCE OPTION: SOCIAL SCIENCE
FMTC MYLAPURE FMTC MYLAPURE
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2. LOCAL SELF
GOVERNMENTS
INDEX
content Page no
1 Introduction 4-5
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3. 2 Need of Lsg’s 5
3 Decentralization in India 5-6
4 73rd and 74th acts 6-8
5 Organizational structure 9-11
6 conclusion 12
7 reference 13
INTRODUCTION
Democracy is the basic core of India’s Socio – Political and
Economic setup. Democracy means the rule of the people where
people can participate in the administrative process of the nation
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4. without any fear or discrimination. India has the largest democratic
set up in the world in which more than hundred crores of people
participate in the political and economic system of the nation.
Transferring power to the people is the back bone of Indian
democracy. Democracy ensures equality, justice, and freedom to the
people in order to express their will in nation making. Democracy is
accepted world – widely as the best form of government.
People’s Planning is an ideal concept in every sense of the
term. The aim of planning in India is rapid economic growth,
abolition of poverty and unemployment, reduction of inequalities,
industrialization and establishment of a socialist pattern of society.
The people’s involvement in planning process is
through Panchayati Raj Institutions. The Panchayati Raj Institutions
installed in the State have three tiers viz., the Gram Panchayat, Block
panchayat, and the District Panchayat and the Nagarapalika
Institutions – Municipalities And Corporation.
NEED OF LSGs
Local self government stands close to the people and solve the
problems of common people speedily and closely. It effectively
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5. protects the interests of the people. Decentralization and planning
are implemented mainly through the local government.
S. M. Vijayanand, Principal Secretary, Department of Local Self
Governments of Kerala(2002) opined that ‘ Kerala was a pioneer in
big- bang decentralization, a path breaker in methodology and as a
result the quantum of corruption has come down to the tune of 10%
at the Panchayat level vis-à-vis the PWD construction costs.
DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA
Decentralization is the transfer of decision making powers
to more directly concerned, lower levels of Government and
administrative authority. The interest in decentralization as a
mechanism for transforming society is not new. In the second half of
the twentieth century, practically every country has experimented
with some form of decentralization or local government reform with
varying aims and outcomes.
OBJECTIVES OF DECENTRALIZATION
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6. Generally the objectives of decentralization as put forward by
the countries are:
 Promotion of a more balanced development in the country
 Design of more realistic projects and programme which take
into account local potentials and constraints
 More effective co- ordination of development activities at
various spatial levels through disaggregation of planning
functions.
 Strengthening of local political and increasing people’s
participation in development
 Boosted mobilization of local resources
73RD AND 74TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
The history of panchayati raj in India, on April 24, 1993,
73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 came into
force to provide constitutional status to the PRIs are popularly
known as the Panchayati Raj and Nagarapalika Constitution
Amendment Act . The Amendment of 1993 added a new path
relating to panchayat in the Constitution under the Article 243 to
provide for the following.
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7.  Grama Sabha in Villages
 Direct election to all seats
 Reservation to SC/ST
 1/3 reservation to women
 Devolution of powers and responsibilities by state legislature
upon panchayat.
 To levy and collect appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
 Setting up of a finance commission
The passage of the 73rd and 74th Amendments marks a
new era in the federal democratic setup of the country and provides
a constitutional status to the PRIs. Consequent upon the enactment
of the Acts, almost all the states and union territories except Jammu
& Kashmir NCT Delhi and Uttaranchal have enacted legislation.
All the States except Arunachal Pradesh, NCT Delhi and
Pondicherry have held election. As a result, 2, 32,278 panchayats at
village level; 6022 panchayats at intermediate level and 535
panchayats at district level have been constituted in the country.
These panchayats are being manned by about 29.2 lacks elected
representatives of panchayats at all level. This is the broadest
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8. representative base that exists in any country of the world –
Developed or under developed.
Organizational Structure and responsibility of
Local Bodies in Kerala: - 3 Tier System
Grama Panchayats
At the bottom level, there is the Grama Panchayat.According to
the Kerala Panchayati Raj Act, 1994; there should be a Grama
Panchayat for a village or a group of villages. The total number of the
members of Grama Panchayat will be decided on the basis of
population .It varies from panchayat to panchayat. All members are
elected directly by the people. A fixed number of seats should be
reserved for SC/STs depending on their population. One – third of
the total seats of the Grama Panchayat should be reserved for
women. The members of the Grama Panchayat will elect its
president and vice president from along themselves. They have close
interaction with the people at mass level. They are entrusted to
prepare the blue print of the plan incorporating the assessed needs
of the area.
The Grama Panchayat is the ‘Constitutional Local Body’
functioning at the village level. According to the Panchayati Raj Act,
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9. Grama Panchayat as to summon the Grama Sabha consisting of the
entire voters at the ward level at least twice in a year. The elected
representative of the ward has to attend the Grama Sabha and
collect the proposals of the needs raised by the people. He is
answerable to the Grama Sabha to the activities of the panchayat .
Role of Grama Sabha:-
The Grama Sabha is the most important institutional mechanism
for people’s participation in decentralization. The sponsors of the
People’s plan fruitfully utilized this constitutional arrangement for
drafting the blue print of the people’s plan at the lowest level, the
Grama Sabha. The Grama Sabha is made the soul of the Panchayati
Raj Institutions in the states. It will approve the annual budget and
the plans of developmental programmes, annual statement of
accounts seek clarification from the President or members about the
works undertaken by the panchayats.
Block Panchayat
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10. Section 8 of the Kerala Panchayati Raj Act states that
there should be a block panchayat at the block level. It occupies the
middle position between the Grama Panchayat and the District
Panchayat. A fixed number of seats of the block panchayat should
be reserved for SC/STs depending upon their population in the block
panchayat area. The members of the block panchayat will elect its
president and vice – president from themselves. At the block
panchayat level, another expert committee and the elected
representatives are entrusted to codify the draft of the People’s Plan
prepared by the Grama Panchayat under their jurisdiction. The State
Government appoints an expert committee from time to time at
block level.
District Panchayat:-
There are 14 District Panchayats in the State. These District
Panchayats have to codify draft the district level plan document by
reviewing plan documents prepared and submitted by their
respective Block Panchayats. At the district level, they have to
prepare a single district plan document by codifying the entire block
level documents. There are municipalities and municipal
corporations also. Therefore, at the district level, codified single plan
document has two corollas, one meant for Panchayati Raj System
and other for the Nagarapalika System. For this purpose, a District
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11. Level Planning Committee was formulated in the monitoring phase
comprising official and non – official experts. The District Level
Planning Committee should be a scientific one which entrusts
priority only on the basis of viability of project without any
reservation including political.
3 TIERS
GRAMA PANCHAYAT DISTRICT PANCHAYAT
BLOCK PANCHAYAT
CONCLUSION
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12. Today local governance is seen as an integral part of
our federal system and involves devolution of
functions, funds and functionaries to panchayats and
other local governments. A study among major States
in India leads one firm conclusion that no state except
Kerala has devolved powers and resources. So it is very
important to make the local governments as self
sufficient for ensuring democracy and make the dream
of our Father of The Nation into reality – self sufficient
local government.
REFERENCES
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13. Oomen M.A : Deepening Decentralised Governance In Rural
India: Lessons from The People’s Plan Initiatives Of
Kerala (2004)
Vijayanand S.M : Status of Panchayati Raj in Kerala (2002)
Biju M.R : Decentralization – An Indian Experience.(2008)
Mohanan .S : Resource mobilization in people’s planning:
a case study( 2001)
Aiyer Mani Shankar : ‘Panchayati Raj: the way forwar‘,Economic
And Political Weekly 3 August, (2002)
corrected by
Anupama M R
Lr in social science
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