Panchayat

Unit 3

Panchayat

Learning Objectives

* Know about our Panchayat system

* Understand that Panchayat provides the basic facilities to the village people

* Know about the duties of Gram sabha

* Know about the local self government

Dandora Announcement!

“A special Gram Sabha meeting will be held on the occasion of Independence day. All the villagers are requested to participate”.

(After hearing the announcement, Iniyan rushed towards his home)

 Iniyan : Dad…what did the dandora announcer say?

 Dad : He announced that a special Gram Sabha meeting would be held on the occasion of Independence Day.

 Iniyan : What is Gram Sabha meeting? What will they do in the meeting?

 Dad : People of our village gather together and discuss about the roles of the Panchayat board.

Iniyan : Oh I see! What is Panchayat board Dad?

 Dad : I‛m so glad you asked. Let me tell you about the Panchayat.

 Ours is a vast country. It has town and villages. Therefore, many panchayats must exist. Village Panchayat is the root of Panchayat Raj system. It provides the basic facilities for the village people. The 73rd constitutional Amendment Act was passed by the Parliament in April 1993. The Amendment‛s salient feature is the three tier system of Panchayat Raj. Panchayats have been set up in every village with 500 people and above.

 Iniyan: Dad…Who are all the members of village Panchayat

LET US KNOW

There are 12,620 Gram Panchayats, in Tamil Nadu

 Dad : There is a President (head of the Panchayat) and a Vice President along with ward members (6-15).

 Iniyan : How the Panchayat members are selected?

 Dad : Village people select the president and members through the election. There is one electing every five years.

The term “Gram Swaraj” was first introduced by Mahatma Gandhi. 

ACTIVITY

Let us answer

1. Write the name of your village panchayat president?

The name of my village panchayat president is Mr. Tamilselvan.

2. How many ward members are there in your village panchayat?

There are twenty four ward members in my village panchayat.

LET US KNOW

The Uthiramerur inscriptions in Kanchipuram indicate that the Chola Kingdom followed the ‘Kudavolai‛ method to elect candidates for village administration.

Kudavolai is a traditional method of election.

Village people gather and write the names of preferred candidates in palm leaves and kept it in a mud pot called ‘Kudam‛. The candidate having maximum number of leaves would be elected.

ACTIVITY

Let us do

Select your class leader using the Kudavolai system.

• I tell all the students in my class to write the name of a student in a piece of paper whom they want to elect as a class leader.

• Then whoever gets the maximum number of voes gets elected as class leader.

 Iniyan : Dad…What are the duties of these members?

 Dad : Their duties is to provide basic needs of the villagers.

The obligatory functions of the Panchayat are:

1. Providing electricity and maintaining the street lights.

2. Construction and maintenance of village wells.

3. Providing drinking water.

4. Constructing roads and maintaining them.

5. Setting up sewage channels.

6. Constructing small bridges.

7. Repairing Primary School buildings.

8. Providing sanitation facilities.

 Iniyan : Oh! They are doing so much works. But, to do the works, they need a lot of money. What will they do for the money?

 Dad : Our central and state government provide money to the panchayat. We pay taxes to panchayat. Panchayat use this money for the development of the village.

Collecting tax is an obligatory function of panchayat.

They do some discretionary functions too… Such as,

1. Planting trees in either sides of roads

2. Setting up and maintenance of public markets

3. Setting up of “Gardens”

4. Establishing passenger lodging

5. Setting up and maintenance of play ground

6. Constructing library

7. Establishing centres for informal and adult education

8. Organizing festivals in village

9. Maintaining the cleanliness of village

Think

1. Is there a library, in your village?

No, There is no library in my village.

2. Is there a park, in your village?

Yes, There is a small park in my village.

3. Is there a playground in your village?

Yes, There is a playground in my village.

Awards are given to best performing panchayats

An Admiring village

850 houses were built free of cost for the people in Odanthurai Panchayat in Coimbatore. Their Panchayat attained the level of self-sufficiency to provide basic facilities.

This village got the following awards:

1. Nirmal Purashkar Award

2. Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi Environment Award

Any awards received in your village?

Answer: My village has got "clean village" awards for this year.

 Iniyan : Dad… Will you go to the Gram Sabha meeting which will be held tomorrow?

 Dad : Sure, I will go. It is important to participate in the Gram sabha meeting to discuss about the village developmental plans and to take remedial measures.

LET US KNOW

Gram Sabha is the root of democracy.

Gram Sabha meeting must be held at least four times a year.

Meeting must be conducted on following dates.

26th January, 15th - August , 1st – May,  2nd -October

Duties of Gram Sabha

1. Planning and executing village developmental programmes.

2. Verifying income and expenditure of village funds.

3. Planning to rectify the grievances of the people.

Town Panchayat

These are the same as village panchayats in the towns. Here the population ranges between 5000 to 30,000. The members of the town panchayats are elected in the same way as village panchayat. Their tenure is 5 years. They fulfill the basic requirements of the people of the town.

Recap

* Village panchayat provides the basic facilities for the village people.

* Panchayat Raj is the three tier system.

* Collecting tax is a compulsory duty of panchayat.

* Gram Sabha meeting must be held at least four times a year.

* The members of the town panchayats are elected in the same way as village panchayat.