Grassroots Democracy: Local Government in Rural Areas

How villages govern themselves: the Gram Sabha, the Gram Panchayat and its Sarpanch, the three tiers up to the Zila Parishad, their work and their money.

Key ideas

Grassroots democracy is democracy at the local level, where people take part in running their own area.
The Gram Sabha is all the adult voters of a village; it meets to question the panchayat about its work and spending.
The Gram Panchayat is the small elected body that does the day-to-day work, led by the Sarpanch.
The village is divided into wards; each ward elects a panch, and elections are held every five years.
A Gram Panchayat repairs roads and drains, provides drinking water, looks after street lights and keeps records of births and deaths.
It gets money from local taxes (on houses and markets) and from state and central grants.
At least one-third of the seats are reserved for women so that their needs are heard.

Remember

Three tiers	Gram Panchayat (village), Panchayat Samiti (block), Zila Parishad (district)
Gram Sabha	all adult voters of the village
Sarpanch	elected head of the Gram Panchayat
Panchayat Secretary	keeps the panchayat’s records
73rd Amendment	1992: panchayats in the Constitution in all states
Term / voting age	five years / 18 years
Seats for women	at least one-third

Watch out

Mixing up the Gram Sabha (all adult voters) and the Gram Panchayat (the elected body).
Giving panchayats national jobs like issuing passports: those belong to the central government.
Getting the tiers in the wrong order: village, then block, then district.

Worked example

Which TWO of these are jobs of a Gram Panchayat? (a) looking after street lights (b) issuing passports (c) keeping records of births and deaths

Working: issuing passports is done by the central government.

Answer: looking after street lights; keeping records of births and deaths