Gram Panchayat | |
|---|---|
| Polity type |
|
| Part of | Panchayati Raj System (Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti) |
| Formation | 2 October 1959 |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | Gram-sabha[1] |
| Executive branch | |
| Supreme leader | |
| Title | President (Pradhan/Sarpanch) |
| Cabinet | |
| Appointer | Block Development Officer |
| Judicial branch | |
| Courts | Nyaya Panchayat |
Gram Panchayat (transl. 'village council') is a basic governing institution inIndian villages. It is a political institution, acting as thecabinet of a village or group of villages. The Gram Sabha works as the general body of the Gram Panchayat. The members of the gram panchayat are elected directly by the people. The gram panchayat is headed by an elected President and Vice President, assisted by a Secretary who serves as the administrative head of the panchayat. The president of a gram panchayat is known as a "Pradhan" or "Sarpanch" inNorthern India. There are about 250,000 gram panchayats present in India.[2][3]
Established in various states of India, the Panchayat Raj system has three tiers:Zila Parishad, at thedistrict level;Panchayat Samiti, at theblock level; and Gram Panchayat, at the village level.Rajasthan was the first state to establish Gram Panchayat, Bagdari Village,Nagaur District being the first village where Gram Panchayat was established, on 2 October 1959.[4]
In 1992, the institution of Gram Panchayat was modified in order to deepen democracy. The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution re-introduced panchayats as the institutions of local self-governance, with a basic structure for operations at three administrative levels; villages, groups of villages and districts.[5]
Gram Panchayats are at the lowest level ofPanchayat Raj institutions (PRIs), whose legal authority is the73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992, which is concerned with rural local governments.[6]
The Gram Panchayat is divided into wards and each ward is represented by a Ward Member or Commissioner, also referred to as a Panch or Panchayat Member, who is directly elected by the villagers.[7] The Panchayat is chaired by the president of the village, known as aSarpanch.[8] The term of the elected representatives is five years. The Secretary of the Panchayat is a non-elected representative, appointed by the state government, to oversee Panchayat activities.[9]
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According to Section. 6 (3) of theAndhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act of 1994, a state's gram sabha has to conduct a meeting at least once within every two months.[10]
Gram Panchayat elections in India occur every five years. The village is divided into wards, and people in each ward vote for their representative. These elected members, along with the president (sarpanch) and vice president, form the Gram Panchayat. The president (sarpanch) and vice president (upa-sarpanch) in a gram Panchayat are elected from among the elected ward members. the term of office for elected members in a Gram Panchayat, including the Sarpanch and Upa-Sarpanch, is typically five years. All people over the age of 18 who are residents of the territory of that village's Gram panchayat can vote.[11][12]
Forwomen's empowerment and to encourage participation of women in the democratic process, the government of India has set some restrictions onGram panchayat elections, reserving one-third of the seats for women, as well as reserving seats forscheduled castes and tribes.[12]
