Everything You Need To Know 73rd Amendment Act

The 73rd Amendment Act was passed in 1992, and on April 24, 1993, it became operative. The Act's main objective was the democratic decentralization of authority and resources from central government to locally elected bodies in order to promote citizen participation in governance. The Indian Constitution now has a new Part-IX called "The Panchayats" that was added by this act. This Part-IX contains provisions from Articles 243 to 243 O. Panchayati Raj Institutions, the oldest local government structure on the Indian subcontinent, were only fully acknowledged by the Indian Constitution as the third level of democracy by the 73rd Amendment Act. 

 

•    The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992, which went into effect on April 24, 1993, gave local government’s constitutional protection.

 

•    Through this amendment, the constitution gained the 11th schedule, which listed 29 Panchayat-related topics.

 

•    Additionally, Part IX, which included provisions from Articles 243 to 243 O, was introduced to the Constitution by this measure.

 

•    The state governments were now required by this modification to implement the new Panchayati Raj system in conformity with the act's stipulations.

 

•    The people listed on the village's election lists within the Panchayat's jurisdiction made up the Gram Sabha, the governing body of the Panchayati Raj System.

 

•    The three-tier panchayat system, which includes panchayats at the village, intermediate, and district levels, was made available in every state, bringing consistency to the organization of Panchayati Raj institutions across the nation.

 

•    The chairman of the Panchayat at the intermediate and district levels shall be indirectly elected from among the elected members thereof, whilst the members of the Panchayat at the village, intermediate, and district levels shall be directly elected by the people.

 

•    In every panchayat, seats for SC and ST are reserved in proportion to their population. Additionally, there is a provision for 1/3 of the seats to be reserved for women. Any reservation for members of the underprivileged class in Panchayats at any level may be made by the state legislature.

 

•    At every level, panchayats have been given a five-year term of office. It may, however, be disbanded before its tenure is over.

 

•    If a panchayat is elected after the previous one has been dissolved, it will remain in place for the remainder of the time that it would have remained in place if the State Election Commission had not dissolved it.

 

•    The state election commission has been established and given a number of responsibilities, including oversight, direction, and control over the creation of electoral rolls.

 

•    The state electoral commission is also responsible for managing the Panchayat elections.

 

•    The governor appoints the finance panel to assess the Panchayats' financial standing.

 

•    This commission advises the governor to establish the guidelines for how taxes should be allocated between the state and Panchayats. Additionally, it establishes the taxes, levies, tolls, and other charges that Panchayats may be charged.

 

•    According to the rules established by the state government, the Panchayats are responsible for maintaining their own finances and having those accounts audited.

 

•    Panchayat Authority and Purpose

 

•    The state legislature grants the Panchayats their authority and duties.

 

•    The Panchayats create a plan for their residents' social fairness and economic advancement.

 

•    It puts into action the plans created by the federal and state governments to improve the lives of the populace.

 

•    Panchayats have the authority to improve local employment opportunities and carry out development projects.

 

•    The local legislature could authorise the levying and collection of taxes, duties, duties, and fees by a panchayat, transfer to the panchayat taxes, duties, and fees levied and collected by the state government, provide grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the state's consolidated fund and establish funds to credit all panchayat funds.

 

•    State legislatures have the authority to pass laws governing the upkeep and audit of panchayat accounts.

 

•    In addition to a few other places, the act does not apply in Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. The scheduled and tribal areas inside the states, the hilly regions of Manipur with district councils, and the Darjeeling district of West Bengal with the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council are some examples of these territories.

 

•    However, the requirements of this Part may be extended to scheduled areas and tribal territories, subject to the exclusions and changes prescribed by the Parliament.

 

•    Under this clause, the "Provisions of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act", popularly known as the PESA Act or the Extension Act, was passed by the Parliament in 1996.

 

•    Maintenance of Existing Panchayats and Laws

•    Up until one year following the beginning of this act, all state laws pertaining to panchayats shall continue to be in force.

 

•    In other words, within a year of the act's implementation on April 24, 1993, the states must implement the new Panchayati Raj System based on it.

 

•    All panchayats that were in place previous to the act's passage will, however, remain in place until the end of their tenure, unless they are dissolved early by the state legislature.

 

•    As a result, in accordance with the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, the majority of states passed Panchayati Raj Acts in 1993 and 1994.

 

•    Courts are not allowed to interfere with panchayat elections under this law.

 

•    It states that no law governing the definition of constituencies or the distribution of seats within those constituencies may be contested in a court.

 

•    Additionally, it stipulates that no election to a panchayat may be contested unless an election petition is submitted in accordance with the rules established by the state legislature and is lodged with the relevant authority.

 

•    Gram Sabha establishment in rural areas.

 

•    The Panchayat is a three-level institution that exists at the village, intermediate, and district levels.

 

•    All Panchayat positions are filled through direct elections.

 

•    Chairman positions are indirectly elected at the intermediate and district levels.

 

•    The age requirement to run in a Panchayat election has been set at 21.

 

•    Reservation of seats for women (one-third) and SC/ST (according to population)

 

•    The Panchayats' terms of office are set at five years.

 

•    Establishing a state finance commission to assess panchayats' financial standing every five years.

 

•    Reservation of seats at all three levels for women and members of the SC/ST groups (based on population).

 

•    The Panchayats have a fixed five-year term, and if any Panchayat is superseded, new elections will be held within six months.

 

•    For the purpose of holding panchayat elections, a state election commission is established.

•    Giving MPs and MLAs representation in Panchayats at various levels within their district.

 

•    To ensure that backward classes have seat reservations in Panchayats at all levels.

 

•    To endow Panchayats with power and authority so they can operate as self-governing institutions.

 

•    Giving Panchayats financial authority and allowing them to levy, collect, and use taxes, duties, etc.

 

•    Granting the Gram Sabha authority and duties at the village level.

 

•    Selecting the procedure for choosing the local panchayat's chair.

 

•    Panchayats at various levels within their constituency are represented by members of the state legislature and the Parliament (both Houses).

 

•    Backward classes are given priority for filling positions in panchayats, including those of members and chairs.

 

•    Panchayats are given powers and authority to function as self-governing entities (or, to put it another way, as autonomous organizations).

 

•    Panchayats will be given more authority and responsibility to design plans for social justice and economic development, as well as to carry out some or all of the 29 tasks stated in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.

 

•    Granting the panchayats the ability to levy, collect, and appropriate taxes, charges, tolls, and fees.

 

•    Distributing humanitarian money to panchayats out of the state's consolidated fund.

 

•    Establishing a fund to which all panchayat funds will be credited.

 

The following 29 useful things fall under the scope of panchayats:

•    Land augmentation, land reform implementation, land consolidation, and soil conservation.

 

•    Minor water management, watershed development, and irrigation.

 

•    Poultry, dairy farming, and animal husbandry.

 

•    Fisheries.

•    Farm forestry and social forestry.

 

•    Auxiliary forest products.

 

•    Small-scale companies, such as those that process food.

 

•    Khadi, rural, and small-scale industries.

 

•    Rural dwelling.

 

•    Consuming water.

 

•    Fuel and food.

 

•    Culverts, bridges, ferries, canals, and other communication infrastructure.

 

•    Distribution of electricity and rural electrification.

 

•    Alternative energy sources.

 

•    Programme to combat poverty.

•    Primary and secondary education.

 

•    Technical instruction and career education.

 

•    Adult education and informal learning.

 

•    Libraries.

 

•    Cultural pursuits.

 

•    Fairs and markets.

 

•    Hospitals, primary health centers, and dispensaries are all part of health and sanitation.

 

•    Family well-being.

 

•    Child development and women.

 

•    Social welfare, including that of the mentally impaired and those with physical disabilities.

 

•    The wellbeing of the less fortunate, especially of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

•    System of general distribution.

 

•    Upkeep of community resources.

 

•    Before the 1992 legislative reforms, village panchayats had been in operation in India for a considerable amount of time, but the organization had a number of intrinsic shortcomings, such as the inability to function as a people's government that could address their demands.

 

•    Inadequate funding, shaky elections, and underrepresentation of the weaker groups such as women and scheduled castes and tribes were among the factors that led to this.

 

•    The government is required to make it simpler for gram panchayats to be constituted and operated effectively, according to Article 40 of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution.

 

•    The 73rd Amendment Act was enacted by the Indian national government in 1992 to address these issues and improve local self-governance.

 

•    Both houses of Congress agreed on the legislation, and it became a law on April 24th, 1993.

 

•    The 73rd Amendment Act's primary goal was to democratically decentralize authority and resources from the center to locally elected officials in order to increase citizen participation in governance.

 

•    The Act gave state governments the authority to carry out the necessary steps to create gram panchayats and provide them the ability to act independently.

 

•    The 73rd Amendment's goal relates to Article 40 of the constitution, which calls for the state to set up village panchayats and give them the requisite authority and powers to function as self-governing entities.

 

•    This amendment is founded on the Gandhian Principle of the DPSP, which advocated for decentralized democracy, or the idea that individuals should make their own decisions.

 

•    Gandhiji supported a third level of government that could comprehend the issues facing the villager’s at the most basic level.

 

•    The Amendment's major shortcoming is the lack of funding for PRIs. Local governments have two options for funding their operations: local taxes or transfers from other governments.

•    The involvement of local MPs and MLAs in the Panchayat's operations also had a negative impact on its performance.

 

•    The 73rd Amendment merely mandated the creation of local self-governing bodies, leaving it up to state legislatures to decide how to distribute authority, responsibility, and funding, this was where PRIs fell short.

 

•    The state government must expressly approve the power to tax, even for topics outside the scope of PRIs. The 73rd Amendment gave state legislatures the authority to decide this nevertheless, the majority of states have not done so.

 

•    PRIs also have structural issues that impede the aggregation of bottom-up planning, such as a lack of secretarial assistance and technical ability.

 

•    Though the 73rd amendment's requirement for reservations gave women and SC/STs representation in PRIs, there is still PanchPati and proxy representation for women and SC/STs representatives, respectively. 

 

Following independence, the national government made various attempts to advance Panchayati Raj in its truest form. However, it took 45 years after independence for the Constitution to be revised to grant Panchayats constitutional standing because of widespread illiteracy, a lack of political will in the state administration, and a lack of financing. Since then, panchayats have been crucial in the decentralization of power and the defense of the general populace.