The Panchayati Raj System serves as a small unit of the local government which has been in practice in India since 1992. It was during the framing of the Constitution, that the provision of the Panchayati Raj System was put under the head of the Directive Principles of State Policy particularly due to reasons such as political uncertainty, scarcity of government funds which obstructed India to have a third tier government. However, after India’s independence, the Panchayati Raj System was formally established under the jurisdiction of the Indian Constitution through the 73rd Amendment Act of the Constitution.

Given below is the Panchayati Raj System Introduction:  

  1. Gram Panchayat- Village level.
  2. Block Panchayat- Intermediate level.
  3. Zilla Parishad- District level.

Gram Panchayat:

  1. Wards (small units) are represented as a combination of a single village or a group of villages.
  2. Respective wards select their representative also known as Panch or ward member.
  3. Direct selection of the ward members by the Gram Sabha members.
  4. The Sarpanch is selected by the ward members as per the act of the state.
  5. The Panch and the Sarpanch are elected for a duration of 5 years.
  6. The administrative duties and responsibilities are performed by the secretary.

Block Panchayat:

  1. Popularly known as Panchayat Samiti or Taluka Panchayats.
  2. Acts as a link between the Gram Panchayat and the District Panchayat.
  3. Do not hold elections.
  4. Consists of all the Sarpanches of the respective villages, Upa Sarpanches of each Gram Panchayat, legislative assembly members, members of the Parliament, other associate members, and Zilla Parishad members.
  5. The administration of the Panchayat Samiti is controlled by the Executive Officer.

Zilla Parishad:

  1. Third-tier or level of the Panchayati Raj System.
  2. Appointment of Chief Executive Officer by the government to look after the administration.
  3. Appointment of Chief Planning Officer, Chief Accounts Officer, and other Deputy Secretaries to assist the Chief Executive Officer.
  4. Head of the District Panchayat- Zilla Parishad chairperson.

The Panchayati Raj System was introduced to assure the people or the citizens good political governance and a full-fledged democratic environment. 

The primary Panchayati raj system is in the rural areas. The village local government which is the panchayat plays vital roles in providing justice, promoting education, health and equality to the members of the village. The Panchayati Raj also works simultaneously in promoting harmony within the village community, forwarding the message of solving conflicts by mutual understanding and discussion. The Panchayat also promotes the sense and essence of a democratic country at the very grassroot level. There are many villages still present in India that are not very actively connected to the ‘popular lands or the nearby suburban areas, towns or cities. The people in these villages are not much aware of the country they live in, how it works and how people function in them. The village panchayat gives them a very rudimentary level of understanding of how the country functions in terms of democracy. The panchayat system also works towards promoting awareness about a number of social issues such as health and hygiene for women, the use of proper sanitation and disposal, fundamental rights and so on. 

Importance of Panchayat Raj 

The Panchayat Raj is basically a local rural self-governing body that takes care of the legislative, judiciary and executive matters of the village. Politically speaking laws are the same for every citizen of this country however the Panchayat might have a separate set of rules of the villagers that at times might or might not be compatible with the mainstream law system of the country. Whatever might be the contradictions, it is needless to say that this self-governing body has a humongous amount of importance. 

  • It is known to all that India is an enormous country with a gigantic population, it is hence practically not possible for the central government to reach every nook and corner of the country. The panchayat raj works enormously towards reducing the load on the central government. 
  • It helps enormously in the decentralization process of power. In this case scenario, the power is not with the central, the authoritative body of the villager becomes the panchayat.
  • Finally, it teaches the rural citizens of India an essence of democracy or how the rest of the country works.   

Conclusion

To conclude, this article explained the breaking down of the panchayat system in India, explaining its different parts and components. It also explained the panchayat raj system’s need and how it promotes health and welfare to the rural population of the country. It also explained the importance of Panchayat raj and why it has been an inseparable part of the Indian governing system for centuries.