Government closest to the people
India has three levels of government — the Union, the states, and below them, local bodies in every village and city.
The third level took the longest to arrive. Article 40, a Directive Principle, asked the state to organise village panchayats as units of self-government. But a Directive Principle cannot be enforced, so for forty years panchayats existed only where state governments chose to have them — and were dissolved whenever a state government found them inconvenient.
That changed in 1992. Two amendments gave local government a place in the Constitution itself.
Added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule. Created the panchayat system as a constitutional requirement in every state.
Added Part IX-A and the Twelfth Schedule. Did the same for municipalities in towns and cities.
Before 1992 a state could abolish its panchayats, or simply not hold elections for years. After 1992 panchayats and municipalities are constitutional bodies. Elections must be held every five years, and if a body is dissolved early, fresh elections must happen within six months.
Both amendments came into force in 1993 — the 73rd on 24 April and the 74th on 1 June. National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on 24 April each year.
Where the idea came from
Panchayati raj was not invented in 1992. Three committees shaped it over four decades.
| Committee | Year | What it recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Balwant Rai Mehta Committee | 1957 | Recommended a three-tier structure — village, block and district. This is where panchayati raj began |
| Ashok Mehta Committee | 1977 | Recommended a two-tier structure instead — district and below. Not adopted |
| L.M. Singhvi Committee | 1986 | Recommended constitutional status for panchayats — the recommendation the 73rd Amendment finally implemented |
Rajasthan was the first state to establish panchayati raj, at Nagaur on 2 October 1959, inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru. Andhra Pradesh followed the same year.
The three-tier structure
Article 243B requires a three-tier system in every state — except states with a population below 20 lakh, which may skip the middle tier.
| Tier | Level | Common name |
|---|---|---|
| Village | Gram Panchayat | The base tier, in every village or group of villages |
| Intermediate | Panchayat Samiti | At the block level; optional for states under 20 lakh population |
| District | Zila Parishad | The apex tier for the whole district |
The Gram Sabha is not the panchayat. It is the body of all registered voters in a village — every adult on the electoral roll. The Gram Panchayat is the elected council. The Sabha is the electorate; the Panchayat is the government. Article 243A leaves it to the state legislature to decide what powers the Gram Sabha holds.
What is the difference between a Gram Sabha and a Gram Panchayat?
The Gram Sabha is the assembly of all registered voters in the village. The Gram Panchayat is the elected body that governs it. Every voter belongs to the Sabha; only elected members sit on the Panchayat.
Elections and reservation
All three tiers are directly elected by the people for a five-year term. The chairperson of the village panchayat is elected as the state legislature decides; chairpersons of the higher tiers are elected from among the elected members.
| Provision | |
|---|---|
| Term | 5 years; if dissolved early, elections within 6 months |
| Minimum age | 21 years to contest |
| SC and ST seats | Reserved in proportion to their population in that area |
| Women's seats | Not less than one-third of all seats, including chairperson posts |
| Backward classes | Reservation is left to the state legislature — the Constitution does not require it |
| Who conducts elections | The State Election Commission, under Article 243K |
The Constitution requires at least one-third of seats for women. Many states have gone further and reserved 50 per cent — Bihar was the first to do so in 2006, and more than half the states have since followed.
The State Election Commission is a separate body from the Election Commission of India. The SEC conducts panchayat and municipal elections; the ECI conducts Parliament and state assembly elections. The State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor and can be removed only in the same manner as a High Court judge.
Urban local government
The 74th Amendment created Part IX-A for towns and cities, with three kinds of body depending on the size and character of the area.
| Body | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| Nagar Panchayat | An area in transition from rural to urban |
| Municipal Council | A smaller urban area — a town |
| Municipal Corporation | A larger urban area — a city |
The same rules apply as in the panchayats — five-year terms, elections within six months of dissolution, reservation for SC, ST and women, and elections conducted by the State Election Commission.
The 74th Amendment also created two planning bodies. A District Planning Committee under Article 243ZD consolidates plans from panchayats and municipalities in a district, and a Metropolitan Planning Committee under Article 243ZE does the same for areas with a population above ten lakh.
The two Schedules
Each amendment added a Schedule listing the subjects that may be transferred to local bodies.
| Schedule | Added by | Contains |
|---|---|---|
| Eleventh Schedule | 73rd Amendment | 29 subjects for panchayats — agriculture, irrigation, rural housing, drinking water, roads, education, health, poverty alleviation |
| Twelfth Schedule | 74th Amendment | 18 subjects for municipalities — urban planning, water supply, sanitation, fire services, slum improvement, urban poverty |
The Constitution says the state legislature may endow local bodies with powers over these subjects. It does not say shall. So the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules are lists of what can be devolved, not what must be. How much real power a panchayat holds still depends on its state government.
Eleven before Twelve, village before city. The 11th Schedule has 29 subjects for panchayats; the 12th Schedule has 18 subjects for municipalities.
Finance
Local bodies need money, and the amendments created a mechanism for it.
Article 243I requires the Governor to appoint a State Finance Commission every five years to review the financial position of panchayats and recommend how state revenue should be shared with them. Article 243Y extends this to municipalities.
The Central Finance Commission under Article 280 must also recommend measures to augment the state's Consolidated Fund to supplement the resources of panchayats and municipalities — a duty added by the 73rd and 74th Amendments.
Important articles
Part IX and Part IX-A of the Constitution.
| Article | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Article 40 | Directive Principle — the state shall organise village panchayats |
| Article 243A | Gram Sabha and its powers |
| Article 243B | Three-tier structure of panchayats |
| Article 243D | Reservation of seats for SC, ST and women |
| Article 243E | Five-year term of panchayats |
| Article 243I | State Finance Commission for panchayats |
| Article 243K | State Election Commission |
| Article 243Q | Three types of municipality |
| Article 243ZD | District Planning Committee |
| Article 243ZE | Metropolitan Planning Committee |
Article 243 onward forms Part IX. The letter G is skipped in some lists because Part IX-A (municipalities) uses articles numbered 243P to 243ZG — the Constitution ran out of plain numbers and switched to letters.
Everything on one look
The two amendments, the three tiers, reservation rules and the two Schedules.
- 73rd Amendment created Part IX for panchayats
- 74th Amendment created Part IX-A for municipalities
- The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects
- The Twelfth Schedule lists 18 subjects
- Local bodies serve a 5-year term
- Fresh elections within 6 months of early dissolution
- One-third of seats are reserved for women, at minimum
- Minimum age to contest is 21 years
- States below 20 lakh population may skip the middle tier
- Balwant Rai Mehta (1957) — recommended the three-tier structure
- Ashok Mehta (1977) — recommended two tiers, not adopted
- L.M. Singhvi (1986) — recommended constitutional status
- Rajasthan was the first state, at Nagaur on 2 October 1959
- Both amendments came into force in 1993
- National Panchayati Raj Day is 24 April
- Article 40 is a Directive Principle, not the source of panchayat powers — Part IX is
- The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee recommended three tiers; Ashok Mehta recommended two
- The Eleventh Schedule has 29 subjects, the Twelfth has 18 — the numbers are commonly swapped
- Rajasthan, not Andhra Pradesh, was the first state to establish panchayati raj
- The Gram Sabha is the body of voters; the Gram Panchayat is the elected council
- One-third women's reservation is a minimum, and many states have raised it to half
- Reservation for backward classes is optional and left to each state legislature
- The State Election Commission is separate from the Election Commission of India
- The state legislature may, not shall, devolve the Schedule subjects to local bodies
- States below 20 lakh population may skip the intermediate tier
- The 73rd Amendment, 1992 added Part IX and gave panchayats constitutional status
- The 74th Amendment, 1992 added Part IX-A for urban local bodies
- Both amendments came into force in 1993
- National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on 24 April
- Article 40 is the Directive Principle that first asked states to organise village panchayats
- The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) recommended the three-tier panchayat structure
- The Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) recommended a two-tier structure, which was not adopted
- The L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986) recommended constitutional status for panchayats
- Rajasthan was the first state to establish panchayati raj, at Nagaur on 2 October 1959
- Article 243B requires a three-tier structure of village, intermediate and district panchayats
- States with a population below 20 lakh may skip the intermediate tier
- The Gram Sabha consists of all registered voters in a village
- Panchayats and municipalities serve a five-year term
- If dissolved early, fresh elections must be held within six months
- At least one-third of all seats are reserved for women, and many states reserve half
- SC and ST seats are reserved in proportion to their population in that area
- Reservation for backward classes is left to each state legislature
- The minimum age to contest a local body election is 21 years
- The State Election Commission conducts local elections, not the Election Commission of India
- The Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects that may be devolved to panchayats
- The Twelfth Schedule lists 18 subjects that may be devolved to municipalities
- A Nagar Panchayat governs an area in transition from rural to urban
- A Municipal Council governs a town and a Municipal Corporation governs a city
- Article 243I requires a State Finance Commission every five years