LOCAL SELF-GOVERMENT

village panchayats

Village Panchayats form the basic unit of the local self-government administration in the district. All the 1,035 villages in the district are covered by 463 independent Village Panchayats and 242 group Village Panchayats. The tahsilwise distribution of Village Panchayats in the district is as under—

All the Village Panchayats are governed under the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, which was made applicable to the Marathwada region of the state from June 1, 1959.

Prior to the coming into force of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, village panchayats were under control of the District Village Pancnayat Mandal with the Collector of the district as the chairman. After the enforcement of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, the District Village Panchayat Mandal was abolished and the control overt the Village Panchayats was transferred to the Zilla Parishad.

The tenth schedule under Section 286 of the act has provided for the amendment of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958 and has conferred statutory powers upon the Panchayat Samitis, the standing committee and the general body of the Zilla Parishad.

The district Village Panchayat officer whose services have been transferred to the Zilla Parishad guides and inspects the Village Panchayats in the district. Besides, he also solves the difficulties experienced by the Village Panchayats on the spot and takes review of the development schemes entrusted to the Village Panchayats. The Panchayat Samitis are also expected to exercise supervision over the proper functioning of the Village Panchayats within its sphere of activity. The block development officer who is an ex-officio secretary of the Panchayat Samiti is responsible for giving guidance to the Village Panchayats.

The standing committee of the Zilla Parishad is empowered to appoint panchas by nomination when a casual vacancy in the Village Panchayat could not be filled in within two months through election. The president of the Zilla Parishad has the power of accepting the resignation of a sarpanch. He is also competent to decide a dispute regarding the removal of the member of the Village Panchayat from his office for continuous absence of more than six months in the village or for continuous absence from the meetings of the Village Panchayat. He can also accord sanction to a Village Panchayat to carry out any work. The power to remove any member, an upasarpanch or a sarpanch for misconduct, neglect of duty or incapacity to perform duty vests in the Zilla Parishad.

The Zilla Parishad and the Panchayat Samitis are required to encourage the establishment and foster the development of panchayats in the district, to supervise and control the administration of panchayats falling under their jurisdiction and to perform such other functions imposed by the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958 and as the state government may prescribe from time to time.

The Zilla Parishad and the Panchayat Samitis are competent to call for any proceedings of a panchayat or an extract therefrom, any book or document in the possession or under the control of panchayat, and any return, statement, account or report which the Zilla Parishad or the Panchayat Samiti thinks fit to require such panchayat to furnish. A panchayat is required to take into consideration any objection which appears to the Zilla Parishad and Panchayt Samiti to exist to the doing of anything which is about to be done, or is being done by such panchayat.

The Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis may call for any information from the Village Panchayat and they have the power to require a panchayat to furnish a reply within specific period.

If it is observed by the standing committee of the Zilla Parishad that the panchayat has made default in the performance of it duty, the standing committee may appoint a person to perform the duties of Village Panchayat and expenses thereof shall be paid by the defaulting panchayat as provided under Section 144 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958.

The state government has the power under Section 145 of dissolving a panchayat if. it fails to obey the orders of Panchayat Samiti under Section 128, if it persistently disobeys any order of standing committee or the orders of Commissioner under Section 142.

The management and control of the cattle-pounds has been vested in the Village Panchayats under Chapter XIII of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958.

The provisions of Section 169 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, as amended by the tenth Schedule of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, empower the Village Panchayat with powers of collection of land revenue However, this function has been transferred to the talathis working under the revenue authorities of the district.

The secretary of a Village Panchayat appointed under Section 60 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, acts as the executive head of the Village Panchayat. The chief executive officer of Zilla Parishad is the appointing and controlling authority over the Village Panchayat secretaries. All administrative work of Village Panchayats, recovery of taxes and fees, recording proceedings of Village Panchayat meetings, giving notice of occur rence of vacancy in a Village Panchayat, serving the notices of motion of no confidence, maintaining the accounts of Village Panchayats, maintaining the accounts of cattle-pounds, maintaining the records of births and deaths in the Village Panchayat area has been entrusted to him. Every Village Panchayat has generally a secretary. In certain cases, however, two or three Village Panchayats have a common secretary.

The block development officers are responsible for the smooth functioning of the Village Panchayats in their areas. They are assisted by one extension officer for Village Panchayats, who inspects twelve Village Panchayats in a month and there inspects all the Village Panchayats in a year. The following the standards fixed for inspection of Village Panchayats different officers—

The chief executive officer of Zilla Parishad has to inspect at least 2 Village Panchayats in every block, the maximum being 15 Village Panchayats in a year. The administrative officer-cum-district village panchayat officer has to inspect 15 Village Panchayats in a month, the maximum being 180 Village Panchayats in a year. The block development officers are required to inspect five Village Panchayats in a month.

The chief executive officer has to submit a report to the standing committee of the Zilla Panshad at the close of February every year and the said report has to throw light on the inefficient Village Panchayats, who have not taken action to impose local taxes and fees and who have failed to discharge their normal duties. The standing committee has to take suitable action against such defaulting Village Panchayats. The Village Panchayats are entitled to receive the land revenue grant equal to 30 per cent of the net land revenue of the village and equalisation grant under Section 132 (a) of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, i.e. a grant which shall be equal to the difference between the amount arrived at on a per capita basis and the amount paid to the panchayat under Section 131.

A Village Panchayat is also entitled to receive the income out of the cess at 20 paise per rupee of land revenue under Section 127 (1) of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958.

In addition to the above referred sources of income, the Village Panchayats have their own local sources of income such as taxes and fees under Section 124 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act 1958. The provisions of the Section 133 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, have provided for raising of a fund known as district village development fund from contributions paid by all Village Panchayats at the rate of 5 per cent of the net annual income of Village Panchayat in a year. This fund is administered and controlled by the standing committee of the Zilla Parishad. The object of this fund is to advance loans to the needy Village Panchayats for taking up schemes of development specially those of sanitation and public health as mentioned in Section 45 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958. Such Village Panchayats which have meagre sources of income can apply to the standing committee for grant of such loans. The standing committee is empowered to sanction loan to the extent of Rs. 30,000 and the Zilla Parishad, over Rs. 30,000. The benefit of this fund has been taken of by four Village Panchayats so far.

The president of the Zilla Parishad, chairmen of different subject committees and the chairmen of Panchayat Samitis visit the Village Panchayats to bring about co-ordination in their working.