jbp123/hello · Datasets at Hugging Face

instruction stringlengths 1 84	input stringlengths 1 85	output stringlengths 1 83
The state legislature may make provision with respect to all matters	relating to elections to the panchayats.	Powers and Functions
The state legislature may endow the Panchayats with such powers	and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as	institutions of self-government. Such a scheme may contain provisions
for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats at	the appropriate level with respect to (a) the preparation of plans for	economic development and social justice; (b) the implementation of
schemes for economic development and social justice as may be	entrusted to them, including those in relation to the 29 matters listed in	the Eleventh Schedule.
Finances	The state legislature may (a) authorise a panchayat to levy, collect	and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees; (b) assign to a panchayat
taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the state	government; (c) provide for making grants-in-aid to the panchayats	from the consolidated fund of the state; and (d) provide for constitution
of funds for crediting all moneys of the panchayats.	Finance Commission	The governor of a state shall, after every five years, constitute a
finance commission to review the financial position of the panchayats.	It shall make the following recommendations to the Governor:	1. The principles that should govern:
(a) The distribution between the state and the panchayats of the	net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied by the	state and allocation of shares amongst the panchay-ats at all
levels.	(b) The determination of taxes, duties, tolls and fees that may	be assigned to the panchayats.
(c) The grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated	fund of the state.	2. The measures needed to improve the financial position of the
panchayats.	3. Any other matter referred to it by the governor in the interests of	sound finance of the panchayats.
The state legislature may provide for the composition of the	commission, the required qualifications of its members and the	manner of their selection.
The governor shall place the recommendations of the commission	along with the action taken report before the state legislature.	The Central Finance Commission shall also suggest the measures
needed to augment the consolidated fund of a state to supplement the	resources of the panchayats in the states (on the basis of the	recommendations made by the finance commission of the state).
Audit of Accounts	The state legislature may make provisions with respect to the	maintenance of accounts by the panchayats and the auditing of such
accounts.	Application to Union Territories	The provisions of this Part are applicable to the Union territories. But,
the President may direct that they would apply to a Union territory	subject to such exceptions and modifications as he may specify.	Exempted States and Areas
The act does not apply to the states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and	Mizoram and certain other areas. These areas include, (a) the	scheduled areas and the tribal areas in the states5 ; (b) the hill areas
of Manipur for which district councils exist; and (c) Darjeeling district of	West Bengal for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists.	However, the Parliament may extend the provisions of this Part to
has enacted the “Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the	Scheduled Areas Act”, 1996, popularly known as the PESA Act or the	Extension Act.
Continuance of Existing Laws and Panchayats	All the state laws relating to panchayats shall continue to be in force	until the expiry of one year from the commencement of this act. In
other words, the states have to adopt the new panchayati raj system	based on this act within the maximum period of one year from 24	April, 1993, which was the date of the commencement of this act.
However, all the panchayats existing immediately before the	commencement of act shall continue till the expiry of their term, unless	dissolved by the state legislature sooner.
Consequently, majority of states passed the panchayati raj acts in	1993 and 1994 to adopt the new system in accordance with the 73rd	Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992.
Bar to Interference by Courts in Electoral Matters	The act bars the interference by courts in the electoral matters of	panchayats. It declares that the validity of any law relating to the
delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such	constituencies cannot be questioned in any court. It further lays down	that no election to any panchayat is to be questioned except by an
election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as	provided by the state legislature.	Eleventh Schedule
It contains the following 29 functional items placed within the purview	of panchayats:	1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension
2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land	consolidation and soil conservation	3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development
4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry	5. Fisheries	6. Social forestry and farm forestry
7. Minor forest produce	8. Small-scale industries, including food processing industries	9. Khadi, village and cottage industries
12. Fuel and fodder	13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of	communication
14. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity	15. Non-conventional energy sources	16. Poverty alleviation programme
17. Education, including primary and secondary schools	18. Technical training and vocational education	19. Adult and non-formal education
20. Libraries	21. Cultural activities	22. Markets and fairs
23. Health and sanitation including hospitals, primary health centres	and dispensaries	24. Family welfare
25. Women and child development	26. Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and	mentally retarded
27. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the	scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes	28. Public distribution system
COMPULSORY AND VOLUNTARY PROVISIONS	Now, we will identify separately the compulsory (obligatory or	mandatory) and voluntary (discretionary or optional) provisions
(features) of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) or the Part	IX of the Constitution:	A. Compulsory Provisions
1. Organisation of Gram Sabha in a village or group of villages.	2. Establishment of panchayats at the village, intermediate and	district levels.
3. Direct elections to all seats in panchay-ats at the village,	intermediate and district levels.	4. Indirect elections to the post of chairperson of panchayats at the
intermediate and district levels.	5. Voting rights of the chairperson and other members of a	panchayat elected directly or indirectly.
6. 21 years to be the minimum age for contesting elections to	panchayats.	7. Reservation of seats (both members and chairpersons) for SCs
and STs in panchayats at all the three levels.	8. Reservation of one-third seats (both members and chairpersons)	for women in panchayats at all the three levels.
9. Fixing tenure of five years for panchay-ats at all levels and	holding fresh elections within six months in the event of	supersession of any panchayat.
10. Establishment of a State Election Commission for conducting	elections to the panchayats.	11. Constitution of a State Finance Commission after every five
years to review the financial position of the panchayats.	B. Voluntary Provisions	1. Endowing the Gram Sabha with powers and functions at the
village level.	2. Determining the manner of election of the chairperson of the	village panchayat.
state not having intermediate panchayats, in the district	panchayats.	4. Giving representation to the chairpersons of the intermediate
panchayats in the district panchayats.	5. Giving representation to members of the Parliament (both the	Houses) and the state legislature (both the Houses) in the
panchayats at different levels falling within their constituencies.	6. Providing reservation of seats (both members and chairpersons)	for backward classes in panchayats at any level.
7. Granting powers and authority to the panchayats to enable them	to function as institutions of self-government (in brief, making	them autonomous bodies).
8. Devolution of powers and responsibilities upon panchayats to	prepare plans for economic development and social justice; and	to perform some or all of the 29 functions listed in the Eleventh
Schedule of the Constitution.	9. Granting financial powers to the panchayats, that is, authorizing	them to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
10. Assigning to a panchayat the taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied	and collected by the state government.	11. Making the grants-in-aid to the panchay-ats from the
consolidated fund of the state.	12. Providing for constitution of funds for crediting all moneys of the	panchayats.
PESA ACT OF 1996 (EXTENSION ACT)	The provisions of Part IX of the constitution relating to the Panchayats	are not applicable to the Fifth Schedule areas. However, the
Parliament may extend these provisions to such areas, subject to	such exceptions and modifications as it may specify. Under this	provision, the Parliament has enacted the “Provisions of the
Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act”, 1996, popularly	known as the PESA Act or the Extension Act.	At present (2019), ten states have Fifth Schedule Areas. These are:
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,	Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. All	the ten states have enacted requisite compliance legislations by
amending the respective Panchayati Raj Acts.	Objectives of the Act	The objectives of the PESA Act are as follows6 :
1. To extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to	the panchayats to the scheduled areas with certain modifications	2. To provide self-rule for the bulk of the tribal population
3. To have village governance with participatory democracy and to	make the gram sabha a nucleus of all activities	4. To evolve a suitable administrative framework consistent with
traditional practices	5. To safeguard and to preserve the traditions and customs of tribal	communities
6. To empower panchayats at the appropriate levels with specific	powers conducive to tribal requirements	7. To prevent panchayats at the higher level from assuming the
powers and authority of panchayats at the lower level of the	gram sabha	Features of the Act
The features (or the provisions) of the PESA Act are as follows:	1. A state legislation on the Panchayats in the Scheduled Areas	shall be in consonance with the customary law, social and
2. A village shall ordinarily consist of a habitation or a group of	habitations or a hamlet or a group of hamlets comprising a	community and managing its affairs in accordance with traditions
and customs.	3. Every village shall have a Gram Sabha consisting of persons	whose names are included in the electoral rolls for the
Panchayat at the village level.	4. Every Gram Sabha shall be competent to safeguard and	preserve the traditions and customs of the people, their cultural
identity, community resources and the customary mode of	dispute resolution.	5. Every Gram Sabha shall–
(i) approve of the plans, programmes and projects for social	economic development before they are taken up	implementation by the Panchayat at the village level; and
(ii) be responsible for the identification of beneficiaries under	poverty alleviation and other programmes.	6. Every Panchayat at the village level shall be required to obtain
from the Gram Sabha a certification of utilisation of funds for the	above plans, programmes and projects.	7. The reservation of seats in the Scheduled Areas in every
Panchayat shall be in proportion to the population of the	communities for whom reservation is sought to be given under	Part IX of the Constitution. However, the reservation for the
Scheduled Tribes shall not be less than one-half of the total	number of seats. Further, all seats of Chairpersons of	Panchayats at all levels shall be reserved for the Scheduled
Tribes.	8. The state government may nominate such Scheduled Tribes	which have no representation in the Panchayat at the
intermediate level or the Panchayat at the district level. But such	nomination shall not exceed one-tenth of the total members to	be elected in that Panchayat.
9. The Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level	shall be consulted before making the acquisition of land in the	Scheduled Areas for development projects and before resettling
or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the	Scheduled Areas. However, the actual planning and	implementation of the projects in the Scheduled Areas shall be
10. Planning and management of minor water bodies in the	Scheduled Areas shall be entrusted to Panchayats at the	appropriate level.
11. The recommendations of the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at	the appropriate level shall be mandatory for grant of prospecting	licence or mining lease for minor minerals in the Scheduled
Areas.	12. The prior recommendation of the Gram Sabha or the	Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be mandatory for grant
of concession for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction.	13. While endowing Panchayats in the Scheduled Areas with such	powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to
function as institutions of self-government, a State Legislature	shall ensure that the Panchayats at the appropriate level and the	Gram Sabha are endowed specifically with–
(i) the power to enforce prohibition or to regulate or restrict the s	and consumption of any intoxicant	(ii) the ownership of minor forest produce
(iii) the power to prevent alienation of land in the Scheduled Ar	and to take appropriate action to restore any unlawfully aliena	land of a Scheduled Tribe
(iv) the power to manage village markets	(v) the power to exercise control over money lending to	Scheduled Tribes
(vi) the power to exercise control over institutions and functionarie	all social sectors	(vii) the power to control local plans and resources for such pl
including tribal sub-plans	14. The State Legislations shall contain safeguards to ensure that	Panchayats at the higher level do not assume the powers and
authority of any Panchayat at the lower level or of the Gram	Sabha.	15. The State Legislature shall endeavour to follow the pattern of
the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution while designing the	administrative arrangements in the Panchayats at district levels	in the Scheduled Areas.
16. Any provision of any law (relating to Panchayats in the	Scheduled Areas) which is inconsistent with the provisions of	this Act shall cease to be in force at the expiry of one year from
However, all the Panchayats existing immediately before such	date shall continue till the expiry of their term, unless dissolved	by the State Legislature sooner.
FINANCES OF PANCHAYATI RAJ	The Second Administrative Reforms Commission of India (2005–	2009) has summarized the sources of revenue of the Panchayati Raj
Institutions (PRIs) and their financial problems in the following way7a:	1. A major portion of Part IX of the Constitution deals with	structural empowerment of the PRIs but the real strength in
terms of both autonomy and efficiency of these institutions is	dependent on their financial position (including their capacity to	generate own resources). In general, Panchayats in our country
receive funds in the following ways:	(i) Grants from the Union Government based on	recommendations of the Central Finance Commission as

The state legislature may make provision with respect to all matters

relating to elections to the panchayats.

Powers and Functions

The state legislature may endow the Panchayats with such powers

and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as

institutions of self-government. Such a scheme may contain provisions

for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats at

the appropriate level with respect to (a) the preparation of plans for

economic development and social justice; (b) the implementation of

schemes for economic development and social justice as may be

entrusted to them, including those in relation to the 29 matters listed in

the Eleventh Schedule.

Finances

The state legislature may (a) authorise a panchayat to levy, collect

and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees; (b) assign to a panchayat

taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the state

government; (c) provide for making grants-in-aid to the panchayats

from the consolidated fund of the state; and (d) provide for constitution

of funds for crediting all moneys of the panchayats.

Finance Commission

The governor of a state shall, after every five years, constitute a

finance commission to review the financial position of the panchayats.

It shall make the following recommendations to the Governor:

1. The principles that should govern:

(a) The distribution between the state and the panchayats of the

net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied by the

state and allocation of shares amongst the panchay-ats at all

levels.

(b) The determination of taxes, duties, tolls and fees that may

be assigned to the panchayats.

(c) The grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated

fund of the state.

2. The measures needed to improve the financial position of the

panchayats.

3. Any other matter referred to it by the governor in the interests of

sound finance of the panchayats.

The state legislature may provide for the composition of the

commission, the required qualifications of its members and the

manner of their selection.

The governor shall place the recommendations of the commission

along with the action taken report before the state legislature.

The Central Finance Commission shall also suggest the measures

needed to augment the consolidated fund of a state to supplement the

resources of the panchayats in the states (on the basis of the

recommendations made by the finance commission of the state).

Audit of Accounts

The state legislature may make provisions with respect to the

maintenance of accounts by the panchayats and the auditing of such

accounts.

Application to Union Territories

The provisions of this Part are applicable to the Union territories. But,

the President may direct that they would apply to a Union territory

subject to such exceptions and modifications as he may specify.

Exempted States and Areas

The act does not apply to the states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and

Mizoram and certain other areas. These areas include, (a) the

scheduled areas and the tribal areas in the states5 ; (b) the hill areas

of Manipur for which district councils exist; and (c) Darjeeling district of

West Bengal for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists.

However, the Parliament may extend the provisions of this Part to

has enacted the “Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the

Scheduled Areas Act”, 1996, popularly known as the PESA Act or the

Extension Act.

Continuance of Existing Laws and Panchayats

All the state laws relating to panchayats shall continue to be in force

until the expiry of one year from the commencement of this act. In

other words, the states have to adopt the new panchayati raj system

based on this act within the maximum period of one year from 24

April, 1993, which was the date of the commencement of this act.

However, all the panchayats existing immediately before the

commencement of act shall continue till the expiry of their term, unless

dissolved by the state legislature sooner.

Consequently, majority of states passed the panchayati raj acts in

1993 and 1994 to adopt the new system in accordance with the 73rd

Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992.

Bar to Interference by Courts in Electoral Matters

The act bars the interference by courts in the electoral matters of

panchayats. It declares that the validity of any law relating to the

delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such

constituencies cannot be questioned in any court. It further lays down

that no election to any panchayat is to be questioned except by an

election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as

provided by the state legislature.

Eleventh Schedule

It contains the following 29 functional items placed within the purview

of panchayats:

1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension

2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land

consolidation and soil conservation

3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development

4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry

5. Fisheries

6. Social forestry and farm forestry

7. Minor forest produce

8. Small-scale industries, including food processing industries

9. Khadi, village and cottage industries

12. Fuel and fodder

13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of

communication

14. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity

15. Non-conventional energy sources

16. Poverty alleviation programme

17. Education, including primary and secondary schools

18. Technical training and vocational education

19. Adult and non-formal education

20. Libraries

21. Cultural activities

22. Markets and fairs

23. Health and sanitation including hospitals, primary health centres

and dispensaries

24. Family welfare

25. Women and child development

26. Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and

mentally retarded

27. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the

scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes

28. Public distribution system

COMPULSORY AND VOLUNTARY PROVISIONS

Now, we will identify separately the compulsory (obligatory or

mandatory) and voluntary (discretionary or optional) provisions

(features) of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) or the Part

IX of the Constitution:

A. Compulsory Provisions

1. Organisation of Gram Sabha in a village or group of villages.

2. Establishment of panchayats at the village, intermediate and

district levels.

3. Direct elections to all seats in panchay-ats at the village,

intermediate and district levels.

4. Indirect elections to the post of chairperson of panchayats at the

intermediate and district levels.

5. Voting rights of the chairperson and other members of a

panchayat elected directly or indirectly.

6. 21 years to be the minimum age for contesting elections to

panchayats.

7. Reservation of seats (both members and chairpersons) for SCs

and STs in panchayats at all the three levels.

8. Reservation of one-third seats (both members and chairpersons)

for women in panchayats at all the three levels.

9. Fixing tenure of five years for panchay-ats at all levels and

holding fresh elections within six months in the event of

supersession of any panchayat.

10. Establishment of a State Election Commission for conducting

elections to the panchayats.

11. Constitution of a State Finance Commission after every five

years to review the financial position of the panchayats.

B. Voluntary Provisions

1. Endowing the Gram Sabha with powers and functions at the

village level.

2. Determining the manner of election of the chairperson of the

village panchayat.

state not having intermediate panchayats, in the district

panchayats.

4. Giving representation to the chairpersons of the intermediate

panchayats in the district panchayats.

5. Giving representation to members of the Parliament (both the

Houses) and the state legislature (both the Houses) in the

panchayats at different levels falling within their constituencies.

6. Providing reservation of seats (both members and chairpersons)

for backward classes in panchayats at any level.

7. Granting powers and authority to the panchayats to enable them

to function as institutions of self-government (in brief, making

them autonomous bodies).

8. Devolution of powers and responsibilities upon panchayats to

prepare plans for economic development and social justice; and

to perform some or all of the 29 functions listed in the Eleventh

Schedule of the Constitution.

9. Granting financial powers to the panchayats, that is, authorizing

them to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.

10. Assigning to a panchayat the taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied

and collected by the state government.

11. Making the grants-in-aid to the panchay-ats from the

consolidated fund of the state.

12. Providing for constitution of funds for crediting all moneys of the

panchayats.

PESA ACT OF 1996 (EXTENSION ACT)

The provisions of Part IX of the constitution relating to the Panchayats

are not applicable to the Fifth Schedule areas. However, the

Parliament may extend these provisions to such areas, subject to

such exceptions and modifications as it may specify. Under this

provision, the Parliament has enacted the “Provisions of the

Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act”, 1996, popularly

known as the PESA Act or the Extension Act.

At present (2019), ten states have Fifth Schedule Areas. These are:

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,

Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. All

the ten states have enacted requisite compliance legislations by

amending the respective Panchayati Raj Acts.

Objectives of the Act

The objectives of the PESA Act are as follows6 :

1. To extend the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to

the panchayats to the scheduled areas with certain modifications

2. To provide self-rule for the bulk of the tribal population

3. To have village governance with participatory democracy and to

make the gram sabha a nucleus of all activities

4. To evolve a suitable administrative framework consistent with

traditional practices

5. To safeguard and to preserve the traditions and customs of tribal

communities

6. To empower panchayats at the appropriate levels with specific

powers conducive to tribal requirements

7. To prevent panchayats at the higher level from assuming the

powers and authority of panchayats at the lower level of the

gram sabha

Features of the Act

The features (or the provisions) of the PESA Act are as follows:

1. A state legislation on the Panchayats in the Scheduled Areas

shall be in consonance with the customary law, social and

2. A village shall ordinarily consist of a habitation or a group of

habitations or a hamlet or a group of hamlets comprising a

community and managing its affairs in accordance with traditions

and customs.

3. Every village shall have a Gram Sabha consisting of persons

whose names are included in the electoral rolls for the

Panchayat at the village level.

4. Every Gram Sabha shall be competent to safeguard and

preserve the traditions and customs of the people, their cultural

identity, community resources and the customary mode of

dispute resolution.

5. Every Gram Sabha shall–

(i) approve of the plans, programmes and projects for social

economic development before they are taken up

implementation by the Panchayat at the village level; and

(ii) be responsible for the identification of beneficiaries under

poverty alleviation and other programmes.

6. Every Panchayat at the village level shall be required to obtain

from the Gram Sabha a certification of utilisation of funds for the

above plans, programmes and projects.

7. The reservation of seats in the Scheduled Areas in every

Panchayat shall be in proportion to the population of the

communities for whom reservation is sought to be given under

Part IX of the Constitution. However, the reservation for the

Scheduled Tribes shall not be less than one-half of the total

number of seats. Further, all seats of Chairpersons of

Panchayats at all levels shall be reserved for the Scheduled

Tribes.

8. The state government may nominate such Scheduled Tribes

which have no representation in the Panchayat at the

intermediate level or the Panchayat at the district level. But such

nomination shall not exceed one-tenth of the total members to

be elected in that Panchayat.

9. The Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level

shall be consulted before making the acquisition of land in the

Scheduled Areas for development projects and before resettling

or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the

Scheduled Areas. However, the actual planning and

implementation of the projects in the Scheduled Areas shall be

10. Planning and management of minor water bodies in the

Scheduled Areas shall be entrusted to Panchayats at the

appropriate level.

11. The recommendations of the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at

the appropriate level shall be mandatory for grant of prospecting

licence or mining lease for minor minerals in the Scheduled

Areas.

12. The prior recommendation of the Gram Sabha or the

Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be mandatory for grant

of concession for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction.

13. While endowing Panchayats in the Scheduled Areas with such

powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to

function as institutions of self-government, a State Legislature

shall ensure that the Panchayats at the appropriate level and the

Gram Sabha are endowed specifically with–

(i) the power to enforce prohibition or to regulate or restrict the s

and consumption of any intoxicant

(ii) the ownership of minor forest produce

(iii) the power to prevent alienation of land in the Scheduled Ar

and to take appropriate action to restore any unlawfully aliena

land of a Scheduled Tribe

(iv) the power to manage village markets

(v) the power to exercise control over money lending to

Scheduled Tribes

(vi) the power to exercise control over institutions and functionarie

all social sectors

(vii) the power to control local plans and resources for such pl

including tribal sub-plans

14. The State Legislations shall contain safeguards to ensure that

Panchayats at the higher level do not assume the powers and

authority of any Panchayat at the lower level or of the Gram

Sabha.

15. The State Legislature shall endeavour to follow the pattern of

the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution while designing the

administrative arrangements in the Panchayats at district levels

in the Scheduled Areas.

16. Any provision of any law (relating to Panchayats in the

Scheduled Areas) which is inconsistent with the provisions of

this Act shall cease to be in force at the expiry of one year from

However, all the Panchayats existing immediately before such

date shall continue till the expiry of their term, unless dissolved

by the State Legislature sooner.

FINANCES OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission of India (2005–

2009) has summarized the sources of revenue of the Panchayati Raj

Institutions (PRIs) and their financial problems in the following way7a:

1. A major portion of Part IX of the Constitution deals with

structural empowerment of the PRIs but the real strength in

terms of both autonomy and efficiency of these institutions is

dependent on their financial position (including their capacity to

generate own resources). In general, Panchayats in our country

receive funds in the following ways:

(i) Grants from the Union Government based on

recommendations of the Central Finance Commission as