Panchayati Raj in India: Committees, 73rd Amendment, PESA and the Three Fs Problem (UPSC Notes + PYQs)

Background: Gandhi’s village republics and Article 40

Gandhi imagined India as a federation of self-reliant village republics. The Constituent Assembly was divided: Ambedkar saw villages as sinks of localism and caste, so panchayats went into the Directive Principles as Article 40, asking the State to organise them as units of self-government. For forty years they existed only where States chose. The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) recommended a three-tier system after the Community Development Programme failed to win people’s participation, and Rajasthan began it at Nagaur on 2 October 1959. The Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) preferred two tiers, while the G.V.K. Rao (1985) and L.M. Singhvi (1986) committees argued for constitutional status. The 64th Amendment Bill failed in 1989; the 73rd Amendment (1992) finally came into force on 24 April 1993, now marked as National Panchayati Raj Day.

How we got here

Compulsory and voluntary provisions

Compulsory: gram sabha; three tiers (intermediate tier optional for States under 20 lakh population); direct elections to all seats; minimum age 21; reservation for SCs/STs in proportion to population; at least one-third for women; five-year term with elections within six months of dissolution; State Election Commission (Art. 243K); State Finance Commission every five years (Art. 243-I).

Voluntary: reservation for backward classes; powers over the 29 Eleventh Schedule subjects; taxation powers; representation of MPs and MLAs.

PESA, 1996

The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act gives gram sabhas in Fifth Schedule areas powers over minor forest produce, minor minerals, land acquisition consultation, money-lending and village markets. Several States notified rules late; consent provisions are often bypassed.

The three Fs problem

Panchayats lack funds (own revenue is tiny), functions (few States devolved all 29 subjects) and functionaries (staff answer to line departments). The Devolution Index of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj ranks States on this. “Sarpanch-pati” proxy rule by husbands of elected women is another persistent problem.

Key Articles of Part IX

Several States, including Bihar, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, have raised women’s reservation in panchayats to 50%, well above the constitutional floor.

What has worked

Over 31 lakh elected representatives, about 46% women; Kerala’s People’s Plan Campaign (1996); e-Gram Swaraj and SVAMITVA property cards; Gram Panchayat Development Plans; Finance Commission grants now flow directly to panchayats.

The Gram Sabha: heart of the system

The Gram Sabha is the body of all adults on the electoral roll of a village. It is the only form of direct democracy in the Constitution. Its functions, set by State laws, usually include approving the village plan and budget, choosing beneficiaries for schemes, and conducting social audits, which are mandatory under the rural employment guarantee. Under PESA, the Gram Sabha has stronger powers: consent for land acquisition, control over minor forest produce, and protection of customs. In practice many Gram Sabhas meet rarely, attendance is thin, and decisions are made by the sarpanch and officials. Where they work, as in Kerala’s People’s Plan Campaign or in villages that used social audits to catch fraud, the results have been striking.

Problems: why panchayats remain weak

• Funds: most money comes as tied scheme grants; own revenue from property tax and fees is tiny.
• Functions: States have devolved few of the 29 subjects in a real sense; line departments keep control.
• Functionaries: panchayats lack their own staff; secretaries and engineers report to the State.
• Sarpanch-pati: husbands or relatives act for elected women, though many women leaders have grown in confidence over successive terms.
• Elections delayed in some States, and State Finance Commissions constituted late or their reports ignored.
• Capacity: weak planning, accounting and digital skills.

Way forward for Mains

The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission and successive Finance Commissions have pointed in the same direction: activity mapping that clearly assigns each function to a tier, untied grants tied to performance, a separate cadre for panchayats, empowered Gram Sabhas and timely elections. Digital tools such as e-Gram Swaraj for planning and accounting, and property cards under the SVAMITVA scheme that can widen the property tax base, help. The goal is not just more money but genuine local choice, so that a village can decide its own priorities and be held accountable for them.

Panchayati Raj: UPSC angle

Panchayati Raj UPSC PYQs (Prelims)

Questions UPSC has actually asked, from the official papers. Pick an option to check yourself.

Mains PYQs on this topic

Questions from the official UPSC Mains papers (2023-2026 in the Battle IAS Mains bank), newest first. Each links to a model answer.

1. UPSC Mains 2024 · GS Paper II · Q5 · 10 marks

   Analyse the role of local bodies in providing good governance at local level and bring out the pros and cons merging the rural local bodies with the urban local bodies.

   Model answer and approach

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