Local Governance & Panchayati Raj

173rd Amendment: Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions. It added Part IX (Articles 243 to 243-O) and the Eleventh Schedule, which lists 29 subjects that States may devolve to Panchayats.

The Amendment came into force on 24 April 1993 — observed as National Panchayati Raj Day. Before it, Panchayats existed only under State law and could be superseded or ignored; Part IX makes regular elections, reservation and a Gram Sabha constitutional requirements rather than optional State policy.

Figure. The 73rd Amendment package: Part IX (Articles 243–243O), the Eleventh Schedule's twenty-nine subjects, and constitutional status for Panchayati Raj Institutions.

274th Amendment: urban local bodies

The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 did for urban local bodies what the 73rd did for Panchayats. It added Part IX-A (Articles 243-P to 243-ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule with 18 subjects for municipalities.

Three institutional forms sit under Part IX-A: Municipal Corporations for larger urban areas, Municipal Councils for smaller urban areas, and Nagar Panchayats for areas in transition from rural to urban. The rural–urban pair to keep straight is Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects) versus Twelfth Schedule (18 subjects).

Figure. 74th mirrors 73rd for cities: Part IX-A and the Twelfth Schedule for urban local bodies, beside Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule for rural PRIs.

3Three-tier structure and the Gram Sabha

Part IX contemplates a three-tier Panchayati Raj stack: Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the intermediate or block level, and Zila Parishad at the district level. A State whose population exceeds 20 lakh must constitute all three tiers.

The Gram Sabha under Article 243A is the foundational body of direct democracy — the assembly of registered voters in a village (or group of villages). The elected Gram Panchayat is the executive layer that sits above it; the Sabha and the Panchayat are not the same body.

Figure. Institutional stack only: district Zila Parishad above block Panchayat Samiti above village Gram Panchayat, with the Gram Sabha as the voter body beneath the elected village tier.

4Mandatory features: elections, reservation, SEC and SFC

Part IX hard-wires several features that States cannot drop. Panchayat elections must be held every five years, and if a body is dissolved early, fresh elections must follow within six months. Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to population, and not less than one-third of seats (and chairperson posts, by rotation) for women under Article 243D — many States have raised the women's share to 50%.

Two State-level commissions are also compulsory: a State Election Commission to conduct Panchayat (and municipal) elections, and a State Finance Commission under Articles 243-I and 243-Y, constituted every five years to review the financial position of local bodies and recommend the distribution of State taxes and grants.

Figure. Part IX hard-wires elections every five years, reservation floors, a State Election Commission and a State Finance Commission — features States cannot drop.

5Balwant Rai Mehta and Ashok Mehta Committees

Two Union committees shaped the pre-1992 design debate. The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) recommended the three-tier PRI system that Part IX later constitutionalised. Rajasthan was the first State to establish Panchayati Raj on that model — at Nagaur on 2 October 1959 — with Andhra Pradesh following soon after.

The Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) recommended a two-tier system and made the district Zila Parishad the focal point of planning. That proposal did not become the constitutional default — Part IX kept three tiers — but the district-as-planning-hub idea still appears in questions that contrast the two Mehta reports.

Figure. Balwant Rai Mehta (1957) recommended the three-tier stack Part IX later constitutionalised; Ashok Mehta (1977) preferred a two-tier alternative.

6Devolution: Functions, Functionaries, Funds

Articles 243G (Panchayats) and 243W (Municipalities) empower States to endow local bodies with powers and responsibilities. The practical test of whether that endowment is real is the '3 Fs' — Functions (which subjects and schemes are actually transferred), Functionaries (whether staff report to the local body), and Funds (whether own-source revenue and untied grants match the workload).

Constitutional status alone does not finish decentralisation. Incomplete activity mapping, tied scheme grants, weak own-source revenue and bureaucratic dominance leave many Panchayats as implementing agencies rather than institutions of self-government.

Figure. Real devolution is tested on three Fs — Functions (subject endowment), Functionaries (staff) and Funds (SFC and grants) — not on the mere existence of elected local bodies.

Reading a devolution claim

1. Name the articleArticle 243G for Panchayats, Article 243W for Municipalities — both enable State devolution; neither automatically transfers every Eleventh or Twelfth Schedule subject.
2. Ask the 3 FsFor each claimed transfer, check Functions (what work), Functionaries (whose staff) and Funds (whose money).
3. Separate structure from autonomyRegular elections and reservation create the structure; functional and fiscal autonomy decide whether the body is self-governing or only an implementation agent.

7PESA Act, 1996 and Fifth Schedule areas

The 73rd Amendment did not automatically extend Part IX to Fifth Schedule (tribal) areas. Parliament filled that gap with the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 — PESA — which extends Panchayat provisions to those areas with adaptations.

Under PESA the Gram Sabha is specially empowered over community resources: control of natural resources, ownership of minor forest produce, and dispute resolution according to customary law. The 73rd Amendment alone does not place those Fifth Schedule adaptations in force.

Figure. Fifth Schedule areas did not automatically get Part IX; PESA 1996 extends adapted Panchayat law and strengthens Gram Sabha powers in those areas.