INTRODUCTION
In the world of today,local government may be said to be a part of the five-tier system of government.The concept of local government is as old kings and kingdoms. There were many kingdoms with excellent local governmentswith the emergence of sovereign states,local governments at the bottom of administrative hierarchy attained significance.Modern states are huge in size. As a result it created a wide gap between state and the masses.The local governments have provided people at the local level to express their grievances and settle it the local level itself.Inbrief,the sole purpose of local government is to solve local level.The following are the definitions of the local self government: Encyclopedia Britanica: “Local government is one where in fixed territory decisions are taken and implemented”, J.J. Clarke: “Local government is a part of national government which looks after the administrative needs of the people of a particular area” Harris: “Local government is a system of government in which living in a particular locality have a responsibility and raise money for their expenditure”
The Panchayat Raj System in India dates back to times of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Kautilya’s “Arthashatrs”and the Megasthanese “Indica” makes areference to panchayat system in India. Ancient India the Gupta village administration was on the whole organized, both at the Centre and the provinces. Gramika was the head of the village but in addition to him there were other officials known as Dutas or messenger,s imakaras or boundary-makers,herds-men, kartri, Lekhaka(scribes), Dandika (Chastiser). Reference is also made to the Parishad or the village assembly, V.D.Mahajan, History of India (from beginning to 1526AD,Pp 271). The Cholas village administration set up highly efficient system of administration. The development of village autonomy was the most unique feature of the Chola administrative system. The two records of Parantaka I (800AD inscription Manur, Uttiramerur, refers to village kudavolai system) contained resolution passed by the local mahasabha on the constitution Variyam or Executive Committes.Each of the 30 wards of the village was to nominate selectioned persons possessing certain qualifications.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT-A BRITISH CREATION
Although local government existed in India in ancient times, in its present structure and style of functioning, it owes existence to the British rule in India. Neither the system of village self-government that prevailed in earlier times,nor the methord of town government which was then in existencevisualized the type of periodically elected representative government responsible to the electorate that had evolved in the west and was planted in India by the British government. “Local self government in India, in the sense of a representative organization, responsible to a body electors, enjoying wide powers of administration and taxation, and funtionning both as a school of training in responsibility and as a vital link in the chain of organisms that make up the government of the country, is British creation.
REGULATING ACT OF 1773
The earlist efforts in municipal Government in India were made in the Presidency towns of Madras,Calcutta and Bombay. In 1687, an order of the Courtof Directors directed the formation of a Corporation of European and Indian members of the city of Madras. However, the Corporation did not survie.Under the Regulating Act of 1773 the Gorvernor-General nominated the servants of the Company and other British inhabitants, to be the Justice of Peace, to appoints for the cleaning and repairing of the street of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
In the year 1817 and 1830,spasmodic attempts were made in Madras and Calcutta to undertake works paid out of the lottery funds and much was done with this money in laying out these towns. In1840, an Act widened and in 1841 an Act was passed for Madras. These Act widened the purpose for which the municipalassessment was to be utilized. The inhabitants of the towns were given control over the assessment and collection of taxes. There was no response from the public. In 1845 an Act was passerine for Bombay. This Act concentrated the administrative powers in the hands of a conservancy Board on which were two European an three Indian Justice,with the senior Magistrate of Police as Chairman. The first Act deals with the conservancy and improvement of the Presidency towns. The second act provided for the better assessment and collection of rats. Special Acts were passed for the appointment of the commissioners in each town. In the CalcuttaAct 1856,special provisions were made for gas lighting and the construction of sewers.In the Bombay Act of 1858,power was given to levydues.
NON-PRESIDENCY TOWNS
Outside the Presidency towns there was practically no attempt at municipal legislation before 1842. An Act was passed in that year in Bengal, but it practically remaned a dead lefter another Act was passed in 1850 which applied to the whole of British India . Under this Act and subsequent provincial Act, large number of municipalities were set up in allprovinces. In most provinces, the commissioners were nominated and from the point of view of self-government,these Acts did not go far enough.
MAYO’S RESOLUTION OF 1870
It was only after 1870 that real progress was made in direction of local-self government. Lord Mayo’s government in their Resolution of 1870 dealing with decentralization of finance, referred to the necessity of talking further steps to bring local interests and supervision to bear on the management of funds devoted to educatin, sanitation, public works, etc. New municipal Acts were passed in the various provinces between 1871 and 1874. The Acts extended the elective priniciple. The results of the policy of 1870 were described in the Resolution of the Local self-government,1882,thus considerable progress haad been made since 1870. A large income from local rates and cesses had been secured, and some provinces the management of the income had been freely entrusted to local bodies.
RIPON’S RESOLUTION OF 1881
The next step was taken during the viceroyality of Lord Ripon who has been rightly called the father of Local Self-government in India. His resolution on Local Self-government is a great landmark in the growth of Local Self-government in the country. After pointing out the beneficial effects on the local finance of the resolution of 1870,the resolution of 1881 stated that the Governor-General of India thought time had come when further steps should be taken todevelop the idea of Lord Mayo’s Government. It was asserted that agreements with the provincial Government regarding finance should not ignore the question of Local Self-revenues to the local bodies.
RESOLUTION OF 1882
In this Resolution of Lord Ripon took special pains to make it clear that the expansion of the system of Local Self-government. Would not bring about a change for the better from the point of view of efficiency in municipal administration.
Lord Ripon’s resolution enunciated the following principles which were henceforth to inform and guide local government in India:
1. Loacl bodies should have mostly elected non-governmental members and chairman.
2. The state control over local bodies should be indirect rather than direct.
3. These bodies must be endowed with adequate financial resources to carry out their functions.To thi end,certain sources of local revenue should be made available to the local bodies which should also receive suitable grants from the provincial budget.
4. Local government personnel should operate under the administrative control of the local bodies. The government personnel who are deputed to the local government must be treated as employees of the localg government and subject to government its control.
5. The resolution of 1882 should be interpreted by the provincial government according to the local conditions prevalent in provinces.
Another significant stage in the history 0f local government was the publication in 1909 of the report of Royal commission upon Decentralization, set up in 1906. It made the following principal recommendations:
1. The village should be regarded as the basic unit of local self-government institutions and every village should be constituted in urban areas.
2. There should be a subatantial majority of elected members in the local bodies.
3. The municipality should elect its own president,but the district collecter should continue to be the president of the district local board.
4. Municipalities should be given the necessary authority to determine the taxes and to prepare their budgets after keeping a minimum reserve fund.Thegovernment shouldgive grants for public works like water-supply,drainagescheme,etc.
5. The bigger cities should have the services of full-time nominated officer.Local bodies should enjoys full control over their employees subject,of course to certain safe-guards for the security of services.
INDIA ISSUED THE RESOLUTION RE-AFFMING 1918
In 1918 the object of self government is to train the people in the managementof their own local affairs and the political education of this sort must in the main take precedence over consideration of departmental efficiency. It follows from this that local bodies should be as representative as possible of the people whose affairs they are called upon to administer, that their authority in the matter entrusted should be real and not nominal and that they should not be subjected to un-nessarycontrol, should learn mistakes and profiting bt them.
The resolution contained the following:
1. Panchayats should be vevied in the villages.
2. local bodies should contain a large elective msjority.
3. local government should be made broad-based by suitably extending the franchise.
4. The president of the local body should be a member of the public and elected,rather than nominated.
5. Local should be allowed freedom in the preparation of the budget,theimposion of taxes and sanction of works.
THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT OF 1935
The diarchic system of government at the provincial level was replaced by provincial autonomy. The national movement for independence was also reaching new proportions. With the growing strength of the national movement in India ceased to be a mere experimental station of self-government The central provinces set up on enquiry committee in 1935, the united provinces in 1938, and Bombay in 1939. Although the recommendations of the municipal enquiry committees were unevently carried out in various provinces, there was a definite trend towards democratization of local government by further lowering of the franchise and abolition of system of nominations, and secondly by the separation of deliberative functions from excutive ones.
CENTRAL PROVINCES SHEME OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
An account of local government of this period should contain a description of the scheme of local government formulated originally in 1937 and implemented, in a modified form, in 1948, the central provinces. The architect of this scheme was D.P. Mishra who was the minister of local self-government at time. This scheme was a bold,even revolutionary attempt at the reconstraction of local government in the provinces. It to do away with one stroke the duality of the administrative system-one district administration and another, local government with its two independent entities of rural government and urban local government.
After independent India the janapada scheme was impliemented in 1948. Despite its shortcoming it had a historical role play in the evolution of local government in the Central Provinces. The local government committee, set up in 1957, by Madya Pradesh, observed in its report submitted in 1958. We have, asresult, people available with experience of work of local bodies to man new bodies. We have also a body of people who are accustomed to pay taxes,organize special development or welfare activities and carry out generally other works of public utility: forinstance, it is through their agency that wells are constructed in each district on public participation basis. In the new setup of the three-tier system that we are now proposing, use could be made with great benefit of the people so experienced particularly at the block level institutions.
CONCLUSION
Provides that village panchayats should be recorganiesed and more powers should be India became independent in 1947. Article 40 of the constitution of India given to them so that they can function successfully as units of self-government. Panchayat Raj were passed in many States with a view to give ms core power to village Panchayats. The panchayat is subjected to a wide-ranging system of direction,control and regulation by the state government.The state government has the power to delimit and alter its jurisdiction, to effect mergemenr, and even to extonguishit. It is control over the panchayat extends to almost every aspect of its work, suchas, appointment of staff, records management,financial administration, election etc,
– P. Murugesan, M.A., M.Phil., B.Ed.,
Part-Time Research Scholar, PG & Research Department of History, Arignar Anna Govt. Arts College, Musiri, Tiruchirappalli (Dt), Tamil Nadu.
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