STATUS OF PANCHAYATI RAJ STATE PROFILE CHHATTISGARH STATE

STATUS OF PANCHAYATI RAJ STATE PROFILE CHHATTISGARH STATE

1. Introduction: The State of Chhattisgarh came into being on 1 November 2000, when it was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. According to the 2001 Census, Chhattisgarh has a total population of almost 2.1 crore. The State has 20,378 villages, 96 tehsils, 146 blocks and 16 districts. In accordance with Sections 78 and 79 of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, any law already in force in the State of Madhya Pradesh when Chhattisgarh was created remained applicable in the new state of Chhattisgarh. Accordingly, the Panchayati Raj legislation in force in Madhya Pradesh at the time the State was divided became applicable to Chhattisgarh in toto. That law (as amended from time to time) has been re-designated as the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam, 1993 and it provides the basis of the current Panchayat system in place in Chhattisgarh. The first elections to the three levels of Panchayats after the formation of Chhattisgarh State, were held in January 2005. 2. Basic Statistics concerning Panchayati Raj in Chhattisgarh: The nomenclatures used for the three levels of Panchayats in Chhattisgarh under the Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam 1993 are as follows: Table 1: Name and level of Three Tier Panchayat System 1 Level of Panchayat District Panchayat Intermediate Panchayat Village Panchayat Name used Zilla Panchayat Janpad Panchayat Gram Panchayat The details of the number of Panchayats at each level are as follows: Table 2: No. of Panchayat Representatives at each level 2 1 Zilla Panchayat 16 2 Janpad Panchayat 146 3 Gram Panchayat 9139 Total 9301 Table 3: Number of Elected Panchayat Representatives at each level: 3-A: Gram Panchayat 2 No. of elected representatives General SC ST Total Women 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total No. of ward members 71010 16336 60084 147430 49763 Total No. of Sarpanchas 3488 864 5468 9820 3382 Grand total of elected representatives 74498 17200 65552 157250 53045 Percentage 47.4 10.9 41.7 100.0 33.7 1 Source: Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam 1993 2 Statistical Data of Government of Chhattisgarh, 2006-07 86

3C: Zilla Panchayat 2 No. of elected representatives 3-B: Janpad Panchayat 2 No. of elected representatives General SC ST Total Women 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total no of elected ward members 1362 305 1164 2831 954 Percentage 48.1 10.8 41.1 100.0 33.7 General SC ST Total Women 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total no of elected ward members 153 35 117 305 103 Percentage 50.2 11.5 38.3 100.0 33.8 Dimension 1: Effective Devolution of Functions: 3. Legislative Devolution of Functions Section 49 Chapter 6, of the Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Adhiniyam enumerates the functions to be carried out by the Gram Panchayat within the finances available in the Gram Panchayat fund. These are as follows: Table 4A: Description of functions of Gram Panchayat: Year 2006 3 1 Drinking Water 2 Roads 3 Bridges & Culverts 4 Maintenance of Community Assets 5 Fairs & Festivals 6 Health and Cleanliness 7 Public Distribution System 8 Social Welfare Under Section 50, the functions of the Janpad Panchayat to be carried out from within the finances available in the Janpad Panchayat Fund are as follows: Table 4B: Description of functions of Janpad Panchayat : Year 2006 4 1 Agriculture 2 Social 3 Animal 4 Fisheries forestry husbandry 5 Public health 6 Adult education 7 Communication 8 Cottage industries 9 Women and child developmen t 10 Social welfare 11 Family welfare 12 Fairs and festivals Apart from these, Janpad Panchayat has also been given the responsibility to implement schemes handed over to them for such implementation by the State Government. 3 Under Section No.49, chapter 6 of Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam 4 Under SectionNo. 50, chapter 6 of Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam 87

Under Section 52, the function of the Zilla Panchayat include consolidation of Panchayat plans and preparation of plans for economic development and social justice for the districts, coordination and monitoring of the Gram Panchayat and Janpad Panchayat and implementing schemes allocated by the Centre or the State Government. There is also a provision under Section 53 that the State Government can increase or rescind any of the powers allocated to the Panchayat. 4. Status of Activity Mapping: The legislative devolution was further elaborated through orders issued on 20 th August 1994 and further enlarged on 20 th August 1998 through a Cabinet resolution (both in erstwhile MP). The 20 th August 1998 order, which has been adopted in Chhattisgarh not only states the actual functions devolved, but also makes a clear-cut division between the Panchayat sector and the State Sector. It also enunciates the general principles covering the financial, administrative, implementation and staff arrangements. The order also states out the functions of the Gram Sabha in both Scheduled and Non-Scheduled Areas. The format of the order is excellent for adoption in other states also. Chhattisgarh has embarked on a comprehensive Activity Mapping that aims at spelling out activities relating to each function in a more clear-cut fashion as compared to the 1998 order. The Union Minister for Panchayati Raj visited Chhattisgarh in August 2005 and in the Statement of Conclusions signed with the Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh on 28.8.05, it was agreed that Activity Mapping would be completed and relevant Government Orders issued by November 2005. Chhattisgarh intended to undertake Activity Mapping and transfer of funds for the devolved activities simultaneously. Accordingly, Activity Mapping has been prepared for 27 subjects. The two matters omitted in the Activity Mapping are surprisingly, Water Supply and Forestry, both of which have been devolved to the Panchayats under the provisions of the Panchayati Raj legislation. In spite of the Activity Mapping framework being ready since the past year, the necessary executive orders to operationalise Activity Mapping have not been issued so far. Recently, there have been high level discussions in the government regarding operationalisation of Activity Mapping and ensuring the transfer of fiscal resources to the Panchayats accordingly. 5. Status of DRDAs: It has been reported that the DRDAs have been merged with Zilla Panchayats. The Zilla Panchayat president is the Chairperson of the DRDA. Dimension 2: Effective Devolution of Functionaries: 6. Detailed Rules have been laid down in 1999 for recruitment to Panchayat Services for Fisheries, Rural Development, Animal Husbandry, Women & Child Development and Health. The Resolution in the Round Table regarding institution of Panchayat Services seems to have been complied with. Information regarding recruitment to these Services needs to be obtained from Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh s approach to the devolution of functionaries has been particularly unique. Being a young state and with staff shortage, the government has declared several staff cadres as dying cadres (such as Sahayak Gram Panchayat Adhikari, Gram Panchayat Adhikari, Clerical and 88

Class IV cadres of Education Tribal Health and 7-8 other departments) and new recruitment to these cadres is undertaken directly by the Panchayats. The new recruitment rules are issued under the Panchayati Raj Adhiniyam. Chhattisgarh is therefore closest to implementing the Round Table recommendation on the creation of Panchayat cadres. Chhattisgarh has been particularly successful in respect of the recruitment of new Shiksha Karmis at the level of the Janpad Panchayats. It is reported that more than 30,000 teachers have been so recruited into local level cadres and have been deployed to the Gram Panchayats by the Janpad Panchayats. However, there is a shortage of Panchayat secretaries for the Gram Panchayats in the States. According to the information received in connection with the Chhattisgarh Rural Employment Scheme, the number of Gram Panchayats in NREGA District is 6190. However, the number of Panchayat Secretaries is only 5618, of whom 1317 Secretaries work full time while 4301 work part time. There is no other staff available in these Panchayats. Dimension 3: Effective Devolution of Finances: 7. Establishment of a Panchayat window in the State Budget: In respect of creation of a Panchayat sector window in the budget, separate budget heads were created for Panchayats (referred to as Demands - No: 80 for general allocations, No: 82 for Tribal Sub-Plan and No: 15 for Special Component Plan). Following the 1998 order, each department whose functions were devolved, have been earmarking few schemes relating to these functions and devolved funds relating to these schemes into the budget heads described above. However, it has to be ascertained whether this allocation actually matches the range of functions devolved to Panchayats in the State. 8. Quantum of untied and programmatic funds that reaches each Panchayat: As regards allocating funds to three levels of Panchayats, a separate budget heads were created for Panchayats (referred to as Demands - No: 80 for general allocations, No: 82 for Tribal Sub-Plan and No: 15 for Special Component Plan). Following the 1998 order, each department whose functions were devolved, earmarked a few schemes relating to these functions and devolved funds relating to these schemes into the budget heads described above. As on 2005-06 the amounts devolved to Panchayats by various departments under both plan and non-plan is as follows: Table 5: Department-wise allocation of funds : Year 2006-07 5 Sl no Name of the department Budget (Rs. lakhs) 1 Agriculture 668.00 2 Public Health and Family Welfare 296.00 3 Primary Education 4556.00 4 Tribal Department 15333.31 5 PHED 1665.00 6 Animal Husbandry, Milk Dept. and Poultry Dept. 297.30 5 Budget 2006-07 of Chhattisgarh Govt. 89

7 Fisheries Department 417.40 8 Women and Child Welfare Department 145.30 9 Rural Industries Department 195.50 10 Rural Development Department 47062.75 11 Social Welfare Department 8900.00 12 Mining Department 800.00 Total 80336.56 However, Rs. 481 crores does not include all schemes pertaining to Panchayats. A number of new schemes of both Central and State governments have not yet been devolved in accordance with the 1998 order. Even in respect of some of the devolved schemes, officers continue to exercise their executive functions. 9. Own revenues of Panchayats: There are provisions under Sections 74, 75, 76, 77 and 80 regarding taxes and fees which can be imposed by the Panchayat. Information on such taxes, fee actually levied by Panchayats and data on tax collection needs to be obtained from Chhattisgarh. 10. Establishment of SFCs and their reports: The first State Finance Commission (SFC) has been constituted after the formation of the State. Its report is awaited. 11. Manner of transfer of funds to Panchayats: Funds are transmitted through state government treasury to Zilla panchayat, which then transfers funds to the other levels of Panchayat through banks and the treasury. The CEO -ZP has the powers to withdraw money from treasury. Dimension 4: Gram Sabhas: 12. Gram is defined as a village or a group of villages which have been notified as a village under Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Act 1993. Chapter 14(A), of the Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Act defines village and Gram Sabha in Schedule V Areas and also enumerates the powers of a Gram Sabha. Accordingly, in Schedule V Areas, a village is defined as a unit which comprises a habitation or a small village or a group of small villages inhabited by a community which manages its affairs according to its traditions. Gram Sabhas can, therefore, be constituted for villages, hamlets or even a habitation. The powers of Gram Sabhas include maintenance of cultural identity and tradition, control over schemes including schemes under Tribal Sub-plan and control over natural resources within the area of a village. There is a Gram Sabha for every village. Gram Sabha consists of all the people who are registered in the list of voters within the area of a Gram Panchayat. According to Section 6 of Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Act 1993 as amended in 2004, a Gram Sabha must meet once every three months in a year. Presence of 1/10 th of the total number of members of Gram Sabha of whom 1/3 rd must be women, constitutes the forum for conduct of a Gram Sabha meeting. The Gram Sabha has the power to consider any of the items relating to the responsibilities of a Gram Panchayat and the Gram Panchayat must implement its recommendations. Gram Sabhas have been given powers to identify and prioritize schemes for 90

development, to identify all beneficiaries under Poverty Alleviation Schemes, to consider annual budget of the Gram Panchayat, to consider the annual accounts of the Gram Panchayat and to approve annual development plans of the Gram Panchayat. All the functions which are listed under the purview of the Gram Panchayat in Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam, 1993, as amended in 2004, are also listed within the jurisdiction of the Gram Sabha. Dimension 5: Planning 13. According to the Chhattisgarh Zila Yojana Samiti Adhiniyam, 1995, District Planning Committees (DPCs) are required to be constituted for consolidation of Plans of Panchayats and Municipalities for the whole District. A DPC can have 10, 15 or 20 members as may be decided. 4/5 th of the members are elected from among the elected representatives of Zila Panchayat and Municipalities. The Chairperson of a DPC can be a Minister from Chhattisgarh and the Collector is the Member-Secretary. Special invitees include MLAs and MPs of the respective constituencies. The State Government is required to issue guidelines under Section 11 of the Act for district planning. District Planning Committees have been accordingly constituted in Chhattisgarh in accordance with the provisions of Article 243 ZD. Planning guidelines are also reported to have been issued. Dimension 7: Parallel Bodies 14. There are two development authorities operating in Bastar and Surguja region covering 6 districts that operate independently in these 6 districts. There are no parallel bodies at the Janpad and GP levels. However at the Gram Panchayat level, separate independent committees function in respect of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Health and Sanitation work as parallel bodies at GP level. Dimension 8: The Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) 15. One third or 33% of the entire population of Chhattisgarh is tribal. Seven districts of Chhattisgarh are listed in Schedule V of the Constitution, namely, Surguja, Koriya, Joshpur, Kanker, Bastar, Dantewada and Korba. Another six districts are partially covered under Schedule V, namely, Raigarh, Bilaspur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Raipur and Dhamtari. The details of the powers given to Panchayats and the Gram Sabha in the Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Adhiniyam as they apply to PESA areas are given in Table 6 below: 91

Table 6: Powers of Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha in Scheduled Area 6 Powers Consultation before Land Acquisition for development projects and before resettling or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects. Prior recommendation in granting prospecting license or mining leases for minor minerals as well as for grant of concessions for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction. Power for planning and management of Minor Water Bodies. Central PESA Gram Sabha or Panchayat Panchayat Chhattisgarh PESA Not clearly stated. Not clearly stated. But can be interpreted as to be with the Gram Sabha, under the provision stipulating control of natural resources within the village. Gram Sabha Janpad and Zilla Panchayat Enforcing prohibition, regulation or restriction on the sale or consumption of any intoxicants. Ownership of minor forest produce. Prevention of alienation of land in Scheduled Areas and taking appropriate action to restore unlawfully alienated land of Scheduled Tribe. Control over institutions and functionaries in all social sectors. Management of village market. Control over Money Lending. Control over local plans and resources for such plans including tribal sub-plans. Approval of the developmental plans, programmes and projects for social and economic development. Identifying and selecting beneficiaries for poverty alleviation and other programmes. Granting of certificate of utilisation of funds or plans programmes and projects that are implemented by the Panchayat. Gram Sabha and Panchayat Gram Sabha and Panchayat Gram Sabha alone Not stated clearly. Not transferred to panchayat Not stated clearly. However, Gram Sabha has been given control over natural resources, which include land, water and forest. Janpad & Zilla Panchayat. GP/GS Not clearly stated Janpad Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat Gram Sabha alone 6 As per PESA Act 1996 92

Dimension 9: Reservations for Women 16. Under the Panchayat Adhiniyam, one-third of the seats have been reserved for Women. Similar reservations have been made for women within the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes. The details of the seats occupied by Women are given in Table 7 below: Table 7 : Participation of Women in PRIs : 2006-07 7 Gram Panchayat (Panchas) No of elected representatives No of women % of women SC 16336 5022 30.74 ST 60084 20239 34.50 General (including-obc) 71010 24502 24.00 Total 147430 49763 33.75 Gram Panchayat (Sarpanchas) SC 305 91 29.84 ST 5468 1830 33.47 General 3488 1164 33 Total 9261 3085 33.31 Janpad Panchayat SC 306 91 29.74 ST 1164 401 34.45 General 1362 462 33.92 Total 2832 954 33.68 Zilla Panchayat SC 35 12 34.28 ST 117 41 35.04 General 153 50 35.04 Total 305 103 33.77 The seats are decided by lottery in the first election and then by rotation in such manner that women leaders occupy all the seats in a cycle of three elections. Delimitation of the constituency and the rotation of reserved constituencies are carried out by the Collector. Two-child norm as a disqualification for occupying Panchayat elected seats is still applicable. A literacy qualification has also been put in the law under Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act, 2004 for candidates below 30 years for election to Panchayats. (Section 36 (1) ) 7 Statistical Data of Chhattisgarh Government, 2006-07 93

Dimension 10: Reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 17. There is a provision for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in a Gram Panchayat in proportion to their population vis-à-vis the total population of the Gram Panchayat. In case less than 25% seats have been reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in a Gram Panchayat, 25% of the total seats can be reserved for other backward classes. One third of these reserved seats are to be filled up by women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes. In addition, in every Gram Panchayat, one-third of the total seats which includes those reserved for women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes, must be filled by women. (Section 13(4), (5) and (6) of Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Act 1993). In Scheduled Areas seats will be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population in a Panchayat. However, the number of seats for Scheduled Tribes will not be less than 50% of the total number of seats. In Scheduled areas there is also a provision for reservation of seats for every backward class in a manner that the total number of reserved seats does not exceed three-fourth of the total number of seats. Dimension 12: Panchayati Raj Jurisprudence 18. Information is awaited on whether Chhattisgarh has undertaken a harmonization exercise in respect of other legislations. Dimension 13: Annual Reports on the State of the Panchayats (including preparation of a Devolution Index) 19. The Chhatisgarh Panchayati Raj Adhiniyam provides that the Gram Panchayat must place the Annual Statement of Accounts and the Administration Report before the Gram Sabha. The Administration Report must contain at least the following information : Statement of vacancies of members of the Gram Panchayat; Statement of meetings of the Gram Sabha, the Gram Panchayat and its Standing Committees; Statement showing the position of staff; Statement showing targets achieved under the Annual Plan; Statement showing peoples co-partnership. The Chief Executive Officers of the Janpad and Zila Panchayat is enjoined to prepare an Annual Accounts and Administration Report for the relevant Panchayat immediately after end of every financial year. These reports must be submitted in the meetings of the Janpad and Zila Panchayat by 15 th June each year. The State prepares an annual report of the department, but does not prepare a State of the Panchayats report. 94

Dimension 14: Elections 20. The Chhattisgarh State Election Commission is responsible for superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Panchayats. After its separation from Madhya Pradesh in 2001, the first Panchayat elections at all the three tiers were held in Chhattisgarh in January 2005. The next elections are due in January 2010. Every Gram Panchayat is divided into less than 10 wards on the basis of the decision of the Collector. Every member represents one ward. If a Gram Panchayat has a population of more than 1,000 people, it will be so divided into wards that the number of wards does not exceed 20. It is the responsibility of the State Election Commission to notify Panchayat elections. The District Election Officer is also required to display a notice regarding the reservation of seats in a Panchayat for which election is being held. The Returning Officer must prepare a list of contesting candidates whose nomination papers have been accepted. After the preparation of the voters list, the Registration Officer must publish a notice inviting claim for inclusion of names in the list and / or objections to any entry. The District Election Officer is responsible for providing a sufficient number of polling stations and publishing a list showing the polling stations and the polling areas. Dimension 15: Audit 21. Each Panchayat is to prepare an Annual Statement of Accounts. At the Gram Panchayat level, this is to show the receipt of the Gram Panchayat, expenditure, budget estimates and reasons for variation. The Annual Statement of Accounts should be accompanied with statements showing : Demand, collection, remission and balance of the revenue of the Gram Panchayat; Grants-in-aid received and spent; Amounts received and spent, plus physical targets and achievements in relation to Central and / or State Government sponsored schemes; Loans received from the State Government, Zilla Panchayat, Janpad Panchayat or other institutions; Floating assets and liabilities of the Gram Panchayat during the period of financial year ending on 31 March. The Panchayat Secretary is responsible for the maintenance of accounts of the Gram Panchayat. Every Panchayat is also required to prepare its Budget for the next financial year and present its annual accounts for approval. The Chhattisgarh Gram Panchayat Accounts Rule 1999, Janpad Panchayat Accounts Rule 1999 and Zila Panchayat Rules 1999 lay down the procedure for maintenance of the accounts. The Annual Accounts and Administrative Report must be endorsed by the Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha on 15 th May every year. Similarly, these accounts must be placed in the General Body Meeting (GBM) of the Zilla Panchayat by 15 th June every year. The Administrative Report duly endorsed by the Zilla Panchayat and the Annual Accounts are thereafter sent to the State Government. 95

There is a provision in Section 129 in Chapter 14 of the Panchayati Raj Adhiniyam, for constitution of an independent audit body under the State Government for audit of Panchayat accounts. Maintenance of accounts of Panchayats in proformae prescribed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India is being implemented and the new formats prescribed for accounts have been made available to the PRIs. Accounts of the Gram Panchayats are being audited by the Director Local Fund Audit, Chhattisgarh and the Accountant General of Chhattisgarh has been authorized to conduct Test Audit of the accounts of PRIs. Training to the officers/officials of all the three tiers of the Panchayats is to be imparted with regard to the entries to be made in the new proformae. Dimension 16: Social Audit 22. There is no provision for Social Audit under the Panchayati Raj Adhiniyam. However, separate guidelines have been issued for Social Audit under the State Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Dimension 17: IT enabled e-governance 23. Chhattisgarh had undertaken very good work in computerization of District and Janpad Panchayats. All 16 districts and 146 blocks of the State are connected through V-SAT. Data entry is taking place in all 146 Janpad Panchayats and 16 Districts, through trained data entry operators. The NIC s software, PRIASOFT is being used for Panchayat level data entry and computerization. A project report has been prepared for Gram Panchayat level computerization, on the basis of one computer to be provided for every 10 Panchayats, at a central cluster point. An interesting experiment is that computers have been provided to the Sarpanchas in 10 Blocks of 3 Districts on pilot basis. Dimension 18: Capacity Building & Training 24. CSIRD (Chhattisgarh State Rural Institute of Rural Development) carry out two days training for Gram Panchayat members and three days training for Zilla and Panchayat Samiti members. Training material has been prepared with the help of NGOs. Sectoral trainings have been provided mostly to standing committee members at Gram Panchayat level. More details are awaited. Backward Districts Initiative Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana Central Assistance to the Districts under Backward Regions Initiatives (Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana) through the State Governments 8 Districts are under Backward Regions Initiatives Total allocation of fund Rs. 360 Crores Total Fund released Rs. 322.50 Crores 96