LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

VILLAGE PANCHAYATS

Village Panchayats form local units of administration for villages under the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958 (Bombay Act No. III of 1959). In every local area which has a population of not less than 500 a panchayat has to be established. It is also permissible for the State, if sufficient reasons exist, to direct the establishment of a panchayat in a local area having a population of 250 and above but less than 2,000.

Constitution: The maximum number of members for a panchayat is fifteen and the minimum is seven. The members are elected on the basis of adult franchise. The State Government is empowered to reserve seats (in joint electorate) for the representation of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, unless Government are of opinion that the reservation is not necessary having regard to the population in the village of such castes and tribes. In every panchayat two seats are reserved for women. The term of office of panchayat is for four years which is extendable up to five years by the Collector if and when occasion demands such extension. Every panchayat has to elect a sarpanch and a upa-sarpanch from amongst its members. Even village panchayat or group of panchayats has a secretary. With the passing of the Zilla Parishads and the Panchayat Samitis Act of 1961, the village panchayat secretaries have become Zilla Parishad servants and are at present designated as Assistant Gram Sevaks. They are full-time servants and their appointments are made on time-scale basis.

The number of village panchayats in the Sholapur district and the villages covered by them is shown in the following statement:-

* In some cases hamlets are also having independent Village Panchayats. Hence the number of independent Village Panchayats and number of villages, covered by them may not be identical in some cases.

In the year 1972-73 there were 869 village panchayats covering 948 villages. The panchayat samiti-wise break-up of village panchayats is: Sholapur North, 44; Barshi, 133; Akkalkot, 87; Sholapur South, 67; Mohol, 81; Mangalwedha, 65; Pandharpur, 80; Sangola, 66; Malshiras, 73; Kannala, 91 and Madha, 82.

The constitution of village panchayats for a few years is shown in the following statement:-

During the year 1970-71 the total number of elected members was 7,343 and nominated 93. Of 7,436 total seats, 1,666 seats were reserved for women, 1,141 for scheduled castes and 41 for scheduled tribes.

In respect of finance the following statement shows the position for a few years:-

The break-up of the income and expenditure of all village panchayats for the year 1970-71 is shown below:-

During the year 1972-73 the income and expenditure of all village panchayats in the district stood at Rs. 1,12,74,000 and Rs. 96,71,000 respectively.

Control over Panchayats: Powers of control over panchayat are given to the Zilla Parishad and to the Collector. Both have concurrent powers to call for information and to compel the panchayat to take into consideration any objection they have to any act of the panchayat, either of commission or of omission, of any information which necessitates the commission of any act by the panchayat. The standing committee of the Zilla Parishad has powers of suspension and prohibition in respect of execution of any order or resolution of a panchayat which, in its opinion, is likely to cause injury or annoyance to the public or to lead to a breach of the peace.

The Collector is authorised to carry out each year the audit of the accounts of a panchayat and forward a copy of the audit-note to the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti. If it appears to the Collector that a panchayat has made default in the performance of its obligatory duties, he may order the duty to be performed within a specified period, and if the duty is not performed within that period, the Collector can appoint some person to perform it and direct that the expenses be paid by the defaulting panchayat.

The State Government is also given powers to carry out at the cost of the panchayat any of the panchayat's obligatory duties when it appears to it that the panchayat has neglected to take action. The State Government, after consultation with the Zilla Parishad, can dissolve or supersede a panchayat, if in its opinion, the panchayat had exceeded or abused its powers or made persistent default in the performance of its obligatory duties or persistently disobeyed any of the orders of the Standing Committee. If a panchayat is superseded, all its powers and duties are exercised and performed by a person or persons appointed by the State Government.

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