Gram panchayat

A gram panchayat (transl. 'village council') or village panchayat is the only grassroots-level of panchayati raj formalised local self-governance system in India at the village or small-town level, and has a sarpanch as its elected head.[1]

For other uses, see Panchayat (disambiguation).

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The failed attempts to deal with local matters at the national level caused, in 1992, the reintroduction of panchayats for their previously used purpose as an organisation for local self-governance.[1] There are about 250,000 gram panchayats in India.[2][3]

Structure

Gram panchayats are at the lowest level of panchayat raj institutions (PRIs), whose legal authority is the 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1993, which is concerned with rural local governments.[4]

  • Panchayat at District (or apex) Level
  • Panchayat at Intermediate Level
  • Panchayat at Base Level

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.[5] The panchayat is chaired by the president of the village, known as a Sarpanch. 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.[6]

Structure
Republic of India
StatesUnion Territories
Divisions
Districts
Blocks
(Tehsils/Talukas)		Municipal Corporations
(Nagar Nigam/Maha Nagar Palika)		Municipalities
(Nagar Palika)		City Councils
(Nagar Panchayat)
Villages
(Gram Panchayat/Gram Sabha)		Wards

Meetings

According to Section. 6 (3) of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act of 1994, that state's gram sabha has to conduct a meeting at least twice a year.[7]

See also

References
  1. Sapra, Ipsita (February 2013). "Living in the villages". Rural Democracy. D+C Development and Cooperation. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. Chaturvedi, Mahesh Chandra (2012). India's waters. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1439872833. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  3. "GROUND RULES". Scroll.in. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  4. Benoy Banerjee; Irfaan Khan; Rajeev Kumar et al. (2006). "Chapter Eight: Local Governments". India Constitution at Work: Textbook in Political Science for Class XI. National Council of Educational Research and Training. ISBN 81-7450-550-4. Retrieved 30 January 2016.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  5. Seetharam, Mukkavilli (1 January 1990). Citizen Participation in Rural Development. Mittal Publications. p. 34. ISBN 9788170992271.
  6. Social Science. Vk Publications. p. 117. ISBN 9788179732144.
  7. "The Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994" (PDF). Lawsofindia.org. 2002. Section 6.(3). Retrieved 30 September 2015.


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