Mumbai Gram Panchayat Act 1958

[Janne Desir]

Tags: Maharashtra Grampanchayat Act, Adv. Rajesh Chaudhari, Chaudhari Law Publisher, महरष्ट्र ग्रमपंचयत अधनयम, Maharashtra Grampanchayat Act by Chaudhari Law Publisher, Maharashtra Grampanchayat Act 1958 in Marathi by Rajesh Chaudhari, Village Panchayat Act 1958 by Chaudhari, Maharashtra Grampanchayat act by choudhari law publisher, CHP005, Grampanchayat Adhiniyam by Chaudhary

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The authors would like to thank Narendra Singh Bais for drawing their attention to the issues discussed in this article and Keshav Gurnule of Srishti for supplying the information on Kurkheda taluka.

Although the term gram sabha was known to Indians for hundreds of years, it received due recognition only after the ratification of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution. Prior to that, the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, which was one of the pioneering acts in this regard, had defined gram sabha as a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to village comprised within the area of panchayat.1 The 73rd Amendment Act in 1992 retained this definition when it stated that the gram sabha means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level. As panchayats is a state subject, the respective state governments were asked to amend their state laws in the light of the 73rd Amendment. Most of the state governments have retained the same definition.

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Established in various states of India, the Panchayat Raj system has three tiers: Zila Parishad, at the district level; Panchayat Samiti, at the block 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]

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 a Sarpanch.[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]

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]

For women's empowerment and to encourage participation of women in the democratic process, the government of India has set some restrictions on Gram panchayat elections, reserving one-third of the seats for women, as well as reserving seats for scheduled castes and tribes.[12]

Despite strong opposition from opposition parties, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday passed by voice vote the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 (Amendment) bill proposing the direct election of the municipal council president. The bill was moved by the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who holds the urban development department. Further, the assembly also passed by voice vote the Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act, 1958 (Amendment) bill moved by the rural development minister Girish Mahajan proposing the direct election of the gram panchayat sarpanch.

Pawar said that Gram Panchayat elections are not held at party level or on party symbols. But other elections are held on the symbol of this party. Therefore, only those who have money, money muscle, will remain in terror. So, this step is dangerous for democracy. Therefore, this bill should be repealed.

Besides, Jadhav said there was no provision to move no confidence motion against the directly elected president after two and half years. Jadhav claimed that Shinde has been taking all decisions that BJP wanted and cautioned him to be aware of this plot.

Mumbai, Oct 24 (PTI) Maharashtra cabinet today gaveits nod to amend the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, NagarPanchayat and Industrial Township Act, to facilitate directelection of Chairman of Nagar Panchayats.

After reaping a huge political benefit from directelection of municipal council chiefs, the BJP-led governmentof Maharashtra had earlier this year decided to amend theMaharashtra Gram Panchayat Act, 1958, to facilitate directelection of sarpanches (gram panchayat heads).

The Maharashtra government has decided to allow people to directly elect sarpanchs or village heads. Though the Opposition has termed the move anti-democratic, political analysts believe the Bharatiya Janata Party will reap the benefits of this decision during panchayat elections later this year.

It has also said that contestants should have studied until Class VII pass. The sarpanch will also have more administrative powers and present the annual budget in the gramsabha on August 15 every year. The gram panchayat will not be able to move a no-confidence motion against the sarpanch in the first two years after his or her election and six months before of the next election.

The decision to give more powers to village heads and the introduction of budget assumes significance as 28,332 gram panchayats in the state have been allocated about Rs15,000 crore as development funds.

The direct elections will lead to more competition and spending during elections, according to experts. Though the government maintains that it will provide a level playing field to all candidates, observers believe that candidates with the backing of the ruling parties will benefit.

The decision comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government succeeded in installing the highest member of municipal council chairman in elections held earlier this year. After the government decided to elect municipal council presidents directly, the BJP won the highest number of seats (71 seats of 191 councils that went to election in three phases). The Congress, which had the highest number in councils, could win only 35 seats.

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