Panchayat samiti

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Panchayat samiti or block panchayat is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate tehsil (taluka/mandal) or block level in India. It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block. It has been said to be the "panchayat of panchayats". [1]

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The 73rd Amendment defines the levels of panchayati raj institution as : [2]

The panchayat samiti is the link between the gram panchayat (village council) and the zila parishad (district council). [3] The name varies across states: mandal parishad in Andhra Pradesh, taluka panchayat in Gujarat, and mandal panchayat or taluk panchayat in Karnataka, block panchayat in Kerala, panchayat union in Tamilnadu, janpad panchayat in Madhya Pradesh, anchalik panchayat in Assam.

In India, local self-government bodies exist at intermediary level and are known by different names in different states. For example, in Kerala, they are called "block panchayats," while in other states, they may be referred to as "panchayat samiti," "mandal parishad," "taluka panchayat," "janpad panchayat," "panchayat union", or "anchalik panchayat." These bodies are responsible for providing various services to the people in their respective areas, such as sanitation, healthcare, education, and infrastructure. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Composition

Typically, a taluka panchayat is composed of elected members of the area: the block development officer, members of the state's legislative assembly, members of parliament belonging to that area, otherwise unrepresented groups (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women), associate members (such as a farmer, a representative of the cooperative societies and one from the agricultural marketing services sector) and the elected members of that panchayat block (tehsil) on the zila parishad (district board). [8]

The samiti is elected for five years and is headed by a chairman/president and deputy chairman/vice president elected by the members of the panchayat samiti. [8] One sarpanch samiti supervises the other grampanchayats. It acts as a co-ordinating body between district panchayat and grampanchayat.

Composition of mandal parishads

A coterminous mandal parishad is constituted for each revenue mandal. A mandal parishad is composed of:

Mandal parishad territorial constituency (MPTC) members are directly elected by the voters, whereas the mandal president is elected by the MPTC members. The members are elected for a term of five years. The election to MPTCs is done on a party basis. The elections are conducted by the state election commission.

The sarpanch are permanent invitees to the mandal parishad meetings.

Departments

The most common departments found in a panchayat samiti are: [3]

Each department in a panchayat samiti has its own officer. Most often these are state government employees acting as extension officers, but occasionally in more revenue-rich panchayat samiti, they may be local employees. A government-appointed block development officer (BDO) is the supervisor of the extension officers and executive officer to the panchayat samiti and becomes, in effect, its administrative chief. [9]

Functions

The panchayat samiti collects all the prospective plans prepared at Gram Panchayat level and process them for funding and implementation by evaluating them from the angles of financial constraints, social welfare, and area development. It also identifies and prioritizes the issues that should be addressed at the block level.

Sources of income

The income of the panchayat samiti comes from: [10] [11] [12]

For many panchayat samiti, the main source of income is state aid. For others, the traditional taxing function provides the bulk of revenues. Tax revenues are often shared between the gram panchayats and the panchayat samiti. [10] [12]

Related Research Articles

Gram Panchayat is a basic governing institution in Indian villages. It is a political institution, acting as the cabinet of a village or group of villages. The Gram Sabha works as the general body of the Gram Panchayat. The members of the gram panchayat are elected directly by the people. The gram panchayat is headed by an elected President and Vice President, assisted by a Secretary who serves as the administrative head of the panchayat. The president of a gram panchayat is known as a "Pradhan" or "Sarpanch" in Northern India. There are about 250,000 gram panchayats present in India.

A sarpanch, gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the gram sabha in India. The sarpanch, together with other elected panchayat members, constitute gram panchayats and zilla panchayats. The sarpanch is the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community and retains power for five years. the term used to refer to the sarpanch can vary across different states of India. Here are some of the commonly used terms for sarpanch in various states: panchayat president, gram pramukh, gram pradhan, gram adhyaksha, gaon panchayat president, gram panchayat president, etc.

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A tehsil is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative centre, with possible additional towns, and usually a number of villages. The terms in India have replaced earlier terms, such as pargana (pergunnah) and thana.

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Wasunde, is the only village in the Vasunde gram panchayat in the Parner Taluka of the Ahmednagar District, state of Maharashtra, India. The village is 4.8 km (3.0 mi) by road north of Takli Dhokeshwar on State Highway 50.

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The Zila Panchayat or District Development Council or Zilla Parishad or District Panchayat or is the third tier of the Panchayati Raj system and functions at the district levels in all states. A Zila Parishad is an elected body representing the entire rural area of a district. A District Panchayat is headed by a President, who is an elected member. Block Pramukh of Block Panchayat are also represented in Zila Parishad. The members of the State Legislature and the members of the Parliament of India are members of the Zila Parishad. The Zila parishad acts as the link between the state government and the village-level Gram Panchayat.

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Block Pramukh is a term used in India to refer to the elected head of a Panchayat Samiti or Block Panchayat. The Panchayat samiti is a tier of the Panchayati raj system. It is a rural local government body at the Tehsil (block) level in India. It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the gram panchayat and the zila parishad. There are a number of variations in the name of this institution in the various states. For example, it is known as Kshetra Panchayat in Uttar Pradesh, Mandal Parishad in Andhra Pradesh, Taluka Panchayat in Gujarat, Block Panchayat in Kerala, and Mandal Panchayat in Karnataka.

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References

  1. ↑ A textbook: Sudeshna Sengupta (2008). History & Civics 9. Delhi: Ratna Sagar. p. 51. ISBN   978-81-8332-364-2. The Panchayat Samiti [...] is also referred to as the Community Block and is in fact the Panchayat of Panchayats.
  2. ↑ "National Council Of Educational Research And Training :: Home".
  3. 1 2 Sarkar, Siuli (2010). "7.3.3 Panchayat Samiti". Public Administration In India. New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Ltd. pp. 178–180. ISBN   978-81-203-3979-8.
  4. ↑ "Block Panchayaths | CRD". rdd.lsgkerala.gov.in. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Panchayat institutions in Tamilnadu".
  6. ↑ "Panchayati Raj | Panchayat & Rural Development | Government Of Assam, India". pnrd.assam.gov.in. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Panchayat Samiti in Maharashtra".
  8. 1 2 Singh, Singh Vipul (2010). "Section II Civics: Chapter 8 Rural Local Self-Government". Longman History & Civics ICSE 9. Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India: Dorling Kindersley (India) Private Ltd. p. 265]. ISBN   978-81-317-2041-7.
  9. ↑ Arora, Ramesh Kumar; Goyal, Rajni (1995). "Chapter 17 Panchayat Raj: Struggle For Effectiveness". Indian Public Administration: Institutions and Issues (second ed.). New Delhi: Wishwa Prakashan. pp. 298–300. ISBN   978-81-7328-068-9.
  10. 1 2 Singh 2010 , p. 264
  11. ↑ "Section A Civics: Chapter 7 Local Self-Government". History & Civics IX (eighth ed.). New Delhi: Rachna Sagar Private Ltd. 2011. ISBN   978-81-8137-083-9.
  12. 1 2 Madan, G. R. (1990). "Chapter 16 Panchayati Raj". India's Developing Villages (second ed.). New Delhi: Allied Publishers. p. 343]. ISBN   978-81-7023-281-0.
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