Mention three levels of the local self-governing bodies under the Panchayati Raj System.
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Panchayati raj in India
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For other uses, see Panchayat (disambiguation)
See also: Local self-government in India
Panchayati Raj (Council of five officials) is the system of local self-government of villages in rural India[1] as opposed to urban and suburban municipalities.
Muhamma Panchayat office, Kerala
It consists of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through which the self-government of villages is realized.[2] They are tasked with "economic development, strengthening social justice and implementation of Central and State Government Schemes including those 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule."[2]
Part IX of the Indian Constitution is the section of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats.[3][4] It stipulates that in states or Union Territories with more than two million inhabitants there are three levels of PRIs:
the Gram Panchayats at village level
the Panchayat Samiti at block level and
the Zila Parishad at district level.[2]
In states or Union Territories with less than two million inhabitants there are only two levels of PRIs. The Gram Sabha consists of all registered voters living in the area of a Gram Panchayat and is the organization through which village inhabitants participate directly in local government. Elections for the members of the Panchayats at all levels take place every five years. The Panchayats must include members of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the same proportion as in the general population. One third of all seats and chairperson posts must be reserved for women, in some states half of all seats and chairperson posts.[2]
The modern Panchayati Raj system was introduced in India by the 73rd constitutional amendment in 1993, although it is based upon the historical Panchayati raj system of the Indian subcontinent and is also present in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.[citation needed] Following a proposal submitted in 1986 by the LM Singhvi Committee[5] to make certain changes to the Panchayati raj institutions, which had already existed in early Indian history and which had been reintroduced, not very successfully, in the 20th century,[citation needed] the modern Panchayati raj system was formalized and introduced in India in April 1993 as the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution,[citation needed] following a study conducted by a number of Indian committees on various ways of implementing a more decentralized administration. The modern Panchayati Raj and its Gram Panchayats are not to be confused with the extra-constitutional Khap Panchayats found in parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
In India, the Panchayati Raj now functions as a system of governance in which gram panchayats are the basic units of local administration. The system has three levels: Gram Panchayat (village level), Mandal Parishad or Block Samiti or Panchayat Samiti (block level), and Zila Parishad (district level). Currently, the Panchayati Raj system exists in all states except Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, and in all Union Territories except Delhi.
The Panchayats receive funds from three sources:
Local body grants, as recommended by the Central Finance Commission
Funds for implementation of centrally sponsored schemes
Funds released by the state governments on the recommendations of the State Finance Commissions