Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Pachayathi Raj System


In India, village has been given emphasis from the pre-independent era. It is widely believed that local problems should be tackled by the local people. With the emergence of Gandhiji, more attention was given to the villages [Grama Swaraj concept]. To him development meant a fuller partcipation of the people. Gandhiji emphasized local self government, decentralization of power and building up of self reliant village communities.

In India democratic decentralization is popularly known as Panchayathi Raj. It is interlinked with community development programme. The two reports submitted by the Balwant Rai Committee and Ashok Mehta Committee have shown faith in Panchayathi Raj institutions as units of rural development. While Balwant Rai Committee gives more importance to the block level as the basic unit of decentralization, Ashok Mehta Cmmittee attaches more importance to the district level. Moreover the Balwant Rai Committee recommended a three-tier system while Ashok Mehta Committee preferred a two-tier system.

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