ONLINE ASSIGNMENT

BY
PRASANTHI T P
SOCIAL SCIENCE
CANDIDATE CODE: 16914301015
KARMALA RANI TRAINIG COLLEGE

TOPIC

POLITICAL - LOCAL SELF GOVT INSTUTIONS,

GRAMA SABHA, LEGISTATIVE ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCTION
Political institutions are organizations which create, enforce, and apply laws;
that mediate conflict; make (governmental) policy on the economy and social
systems; and otherwise provide representation for the populous. Examples of such
political institutions include political parties, trade unions, and the (legal) courts.
The term 'Political Institutions' may also refer to the recognized structure of rules
and principles within which the above organizations operate, including such
concepts as the right to vote, responsible government, and accountability.
The political institutions like local self government institutions in India.
Since 1992,has been formalized under the panchayathi raj system. The modern
system is based in part on the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and in the part by the
work of various committees to harmonies the highly centralized Indian
governmental administration with degree of local autonomy. Several commissions
and Administrative Reforms Committees like
The Royal Commission on Decentralisation [1907]
Montague Chemsford [1919]
The Balwanth Rai Mehtha Committee91985]
G.V.K Rao Committee[19850]
73rd constitutional Amendment. etc
The

constitution

visualizes

panchayats

as

institutions

of

self

governance.However, giving due consideration to the federal structure of indias

polity, most of the financial authorities and powers to be endowed on panchayats
have been left at the discretion of concerned state legislatures .these provisions

combines represent active and direct democracy in India. Hence, panchayats have
journeyed from an institution with in the culture of the biggest democracy in the
world where village level democratic structures are functioning for their
development.
Local self-government in India
Local self-government in India, since 1992,has been formalized under
the panchayat raj system (rule by village committee), a three-tier system with
elected bodies at the village, taluk and district levels. The modern system is based
in part on traditional panchayat governance, in part on the vision of Mahatma
Gandhi and in part by the work of various committees to harmonize the highly
centralized Indian governmental administration with a degree of local
autonomy.[1] The result was intended to create greater participation in local
government by people and more effective implementation of rural development
programmes. Although, as of 2015, implementation in all of India is not complete
the intention is for there to be a gram panchayat for each village or group of
villages, a tahsil level council, and a zilla panchayat at the district level.India has a
chequered history of panchayati raj starting from the self-sufficient and selfgoverning village communities that endured the rise and fall of empires in the past,
to the current highly structured system.
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act[
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. It was a political drive to see PRIs as a solution
to the governmental crises that India was experiencing. The Constitutional (73rd
Amendment) Act, passed in 1992 by the Narasimha Rao government, came into
force on April 24, 1993.
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. 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.73rd Amendment of the
Constitution empowered the Gram Sabhas to conduct social audits in addition to its
other functions.
Local self-government Institutions
Local self-government means local or regional government. It is a part of the
State or national government. It works on those subjects only which are related
with the interest of the local people. A gram panchayat is the cornerstone of a local
self-government organisation in India of the Panchayati raj system at the village or
small town level, and has a Sarpanch as its elected head.
A local self-government is smaller in size than the State or national
government and it administrates the area, village, town or the metropolitan cities.
For example, there are Gram Panchayats (Village panchayat) in villages and
Municipal corporations in urban areas.

Types of Local Self Government

There are mainly two types of local self-governments in India.
1.
2.

The Village local self-government and

The Municipal self-government.

Village local self government

The village local self-government is the village or gram-Panchayats.The
members of the Gram panchayat are elected for a period of five yearsThe Zilla
Parishad also belongs to this category. Gram Panchayat is an excellent example of
Democratic set-up of India. The elected representative of Gram Panchayat is
known as Sarpanch. There is also a reservation of women in Gram Panchayats. The
main source of revenue of Gram Panchayat includes property and other taxes, and
grants from the State government and Zilla Parishad.
The functions of Gram Panchayat includes:
Supply of water,
Construction, repair and maintenance of roads,
Lighting of roads,
Public health, hygiene and sanitation,
Development of agricultural activities, etc.
The local self-government is administered or conducted by a body consisting
of the representatives of the local people. Part of its total revenue is collected by
imposing some taxes locally. And its total income is spending for local

development and services. Its services are quite different from the services of the
Central or the State governments.
Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat
The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992 was enacted to
reform the Panchayat System in India. The Legislature of Indian States were given
powers to determine the powers and composition of Gram Sabha and Gram
Panchayats. Hence, the powers, functions and composition of Gram Panchayats are
determined by the State Governments in accordance with the local needs.
Gram Sabha
Gram Sabha has been envisaged as the foundation of the Panchayati Raj
system. A village having population not less than 1500 forms Gram Sabha and
every adult of the village is member of Gram Sabha. The Gram Sabha includes all
the adult citizens of the village. It is empowered to elect the Gram Panchayat. The
Sabha can influence 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 1,00025,000. Several small villages having low population
can be grouped into one Gram Sabha.
There are various committees, viz. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Public
Works, Social Welfare, and Health and Sanitation, within each Gram Sabha.
Functions:
1

The Gram Sabha performs such functions as the States prescribes from time

to time.

They play a vital role by electing the right candidates as members (Panch) of

GramPanchayats,
3

They keep a check on the activities of Gram Panchayat and influence their

decisions for the welfare of the village.

4

They conduct general meetings. Beyond the prescribed minimum number of

meetings, they can conduct such meeting as per the needs.

Gram Panchayat
Gram Panchayat is the organization of elected panchas by the members of
Gram Sabha of the village. It is a self-government organization. The number of
members in a Gram Panchayat depends upon the population of the village.
Generally, the number of elected panchas in a Gram Panchayat varies
between seven and seventeen members. However, it may vary from state to state.
There is provision for reservation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
Women candidates. The head of the Panchayat is known as Sarpanch.
Municipal local self-government
Municipal local self governments are the governing bodies of urban areas
.the functions of municipal corporation and municipalities includes town planning
,water supply ,road, preventive health care and hygiene,street lighting etc .India
,the local self government institutions are of both the Indian and western types.
The village panchayath system is purely an Indian concept and the zilla parishads
are also mainly of Indian orgin.

Limitations of the local self government

The local self-government system has some obvious limitations. It has been
alleged that the services rendered by the local self-government often becomes
discriminatory.
The local self-government often makes residential arrangements for the
elderly people or hostel accommodation for the handicapped students which may
be considered as discriminatory services.
If the administration is run by the local self-governmental institutions, it may
encourage not only regionalism but also narrow-mindedness and such a tendency
will always go against the democratic system practiced in the national level.
However, refuting these allegations the exponents of the local selfgovernment institutions hold the view that such local self-governments are the
basis of democracy and the best way to develop political consciousness among the
people. Through the local self-government the regional and local interests convert
into national interest.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Local Self Government
The scope of Local Self Government is completely different from the other
two levels of administration, viz, state government and central government. The
advantages and disadvantages of Local Self Government is discussed below.
Advantages
Solution at grass-root level: The local self government solves the problems
of rural people at the grass-root level. This strengthens democracy. The typical
needs of a particular village is well attended by this system of government. The

state government remains so much busy with multifarious functions that it seldom
gets time to attend to the basic problems of different rural areas. The local
government reduces the burden of responsibility of the state government to a large
extent.
Perform various functions: The functions performed by the local selfgovernments is vital for making life of the local people happier and prosperous.
The various needs of the rural areas such as construction and maintenance of roads,
availability of water, construction of schools and education facilities, improvement
in agriculture, etc. are taken care of by the local self-government.
Encourages local leadership:
The problems of particular rural area can be best attended by the members of
the Panchayat. The state or national government cannot do so because of so many
reasons. Therefore, the problems of local people are solved by local leaders though
the institution of local self government. The real improvement in the social and
economic conditions of people can happen only through the intentional
participation in the developmental plans and programs.
Training ground of citizenship:
The local people are motivated to confront and solve their problems of their
own. They become less dependent upon other external agencies. It creates
confidence among the local leaders at the grass-root level. These leaders put their
best foot forward. Many local leaders advances their career to become state-level
and national level politicians.

New experiments:
New infrastructural and developmental projects can be first implemented at
local level to gauge its impact on the system. Successful projects can later be
introduced in other areas of local government.
Disadvantages
The system of Local Self Government is not completely without any defect
or drawback. The disadvantages of Local Self Government are discussed below:
Regionalism:
Sometimes it is criticized on the ground that it incites regionalism. The local
leaders get so much entangled in the solution of their own problem that hardly they
are able to see things beyond their nose and join the national mainstream.
Fail to address National problems:
Secondly some critics remark that the leaders at the local level fail to
appreciate the state or national problems in their real perspective because of the
very difference in the nature and scope.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly
The kerala legislative assembly popularly known as the Niyama sabha is the
law making body of kerala .the assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives
and nominatd member from the Anglo Indian community. Each elected member
represents one of the constituencies with in the borders of Kerala and is reffered to
as member of Legislative Assembly.
The evolution of Kerala Legislative Assembly begins with the formation of a
legislative council in the princely state of Travancore.In 1956 ,the state of kerala

was formed on linguistic basis ,merging Travancore ,Cochin and Malabar regions
.The first

general election in the kerala state was held in February-March

1957.The first kerala legislative assembly was formed on 5 April 1957.The

assembly had 127 members .The present kerala legislative assembly consist of 140
elected members ,nominated by the Governor from the Anglo Indian community
.The normal term of the Legislative Assembly is 5 years unless sooner dissolved.
The legislature comprises the governor and the legislative assembly, which
is the highest political organ in state. The governor has the power to summon the
assembly or to close the same. All members of the legislative assembly are directly
elected, normally once in every five years by the eligible voters who are above 18
years of age. The current assembly consists of 140 elected members and one
member nominated by the governor from the Anglo-Indian Community. The
elected members select one of its own members as its chairman who is called the
speaker. The speaker is assisted by the deputy speaker who is also elected by the
members. The conduct of meeting in the house is the responsibility of the Speaker.
The main function of the assembly is to pass laws and rules. Every bill
passed by the house has to be finally approved by the governor before it becomes
applicable.
The normal term of the legislative assembly is five years from the date
appointed for its first meeting. But while a proclamation ofstate of emergency is in
operation, the said period will be extended by Parliament by Laws for a period not
exceeding one year at a time.

Conclusion
In my conclusion political institutions are necessary for the successful
development and working of the democratic scenario. Some of the political
institutions like local self government institutions, Gramasabha,,Legislative
assembly etc..By

the efficient and transparent working of these institutions

will promote successful Governance. Through these institutions government

functions are done .These institutions also helps decentralization of power through
various organs .This helps the participation and representation of local people
.Therefore it will promote inequality and justice in the country.
Reference
1 Jump up^ Sapra, Ipsita (February 2013). "Living in the villages". Rural
Democracy. D+C Development and Cooperation. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
2 Jump up^ Chaturvedi, Mahesh Chandra (2012). India's waters. Boca Raton,
FL: CRC Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1439872833. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
3 Jump up^ "GROUND RULES". scoll.in. Retrieved 14 July 2015