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EQUITABLE TOURISM OPTIONS

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 Study on Institution of
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Equitable Tourism 0 ptions

23-25, 8th Cross, Vignan Nagar,
New Thippasandra P.O. Bangalore
560 075, INDIA
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Tel +91-80-25244988,25344149, Fax: 91-80-25344597

E-mail : info@equitabletourism.org,www.equitabletourism.org
In, 1985, EQUATIONS was founded in response to an urge to
understand the impact of development particularly in the context
of liberalized trade regimes, the opening up of the national
economy, the beginning of the reforms and concomitant
structural adjustment programmes.

Campaigning and advocacy on tourism and development issues

in India and the developing world, in recent years our work has
focused on women and tourism, child and tourism, ecosystems
and communities and tourism and globalisation.

We envision tourism that is non-exploitative, where decision

making is democratized and access to and benefits of tourism
are equitably distributed. We endorse justice, equity, people
centered and movement centered activism, democratization and
dialogues as our core values.

To k n o w m o r e a b o u t E Q U A TIO N S , w r i t e t o
info@equitabletourism.org. All comments can be provided to
info@equitabletourism.org.

This research has been carried out by the Ms. Alice Mathew,
reviewed and updated by Ms. Kavita Kannan, S. Vidya and Vidya
Rangan.
BackgrounC: and Context:

T h e pass ing c..f ?J'd a n d 74'h A m e n d m e n t to I n d i a n C o n::titutor, is

co n s i d e red as l a n d m a rk i n t h e h isto ry of p a rti cipatory d e m ocra cy,
w h i ch ca m e i n to effect on A p r i l 24'h 1993 . A struct u ra l s h ift h a s been
.

ta k i n g p l a ce f ro m m e re re p re s e n tative d e mocracy to p a rtici patory

d e mo c ra cy a n d th u s g o o d g overn a n ce p rece pts has beer, p u t i n to
o p e ra t i o n a l s p a ce. The pa n c h ayats p rev i o u s l y were a m e re
s u g g es t i o n i n the D i rective P r i nci p l e s of State P o l i cy w h e re a s t h e 7 3'd
and 74'h A m e n d m e n t res u lted i n t h e P a n c h ayati R a j I n stituti o n s
(PRls) a n d U rb a n Loca l B o d i e s ( U L B s ) s u ch as m u n icipa lities a n d
m u n ic i p a l corpo ra t i o n b e i n g confe rred constituti o n a l sa n cti o n . T h i s
mea n s t h a t a l l a ctiv ities of P R l s a n d U L B s a s sti p u l a ted b y t h e Act
h ave n ow l e g a l a n d c o n stituti o n a l sta t u s a n d any v i o la t i o n of t h i s by
a ny body a n d at a n y t i m e wil l be p u n i s h a b l e by l aw. T h e rea s o n s
be h i n d t h i s a m e n d m e n t i s that i n m a n y states, i n stit u t i o n s of loca l
g ov e rn a n ce h a v e become wea k a n d i n effective o n acco u n t of a
v a r iety of rea s ons , i n cl u d i n g t h e fa i l u re to h o l d reg u l a r e lecti o n s ,
p ro l o n g ed s u p p re ss i o n s a n d i n a d eq u a te d evo l u ti o n o f p owe rs a n d
f u n cti o n s .

To u ri s m i s co n s i d e re d a s g rowth e n g i n e fo r e co n o m i c d eve l o p m e n t
a n d soci a l d ev e l o p m e n t . Howeve r rea l ity i s d iffe ren t a n d to u ri s m
i n d ustry i s perha p s t h e b e s t exa m ple o f t h e set.t o rs, i n w h i c h n e e d s
a n d a s p i ra t i o n s of t h e l ocal com m u n ities h ave b e e n m a rg i n a lized,
i n cl u d i n g t h a t of l o ca l b o d i e s . A clo s e r look to t h e res o u rce s req u i red
by the to u ri s m i n d u stry reve a l s t h e fact that to u ri s m i n d u stry u se s the
re�ou rces, which fa l l u n d el j u risd i ct i o n of i n stituticns of l oca l se lf­
g ovE.:rn a n c e . He n ce, it becomes o b l i ga to ry for the ind u stry to take thE)
p e rm i s s i o n a n d c o n s e n t of t h e l oca l i n stituti o n s , p r i o r to m a k i n g the
use of loca l res o u rces . Howev e r the l a st twelve y e a rs of expe ri e n ce
refl ects t h a t t h e s e i n stituti o n s a re n ot a ble to p e rform the roles a n d
res p o n s i b i l it i e s a s p e r t h e i r c o nstituti o n a l m a n datE:. A t t i m es lack Of
p o l itica l w i l l of state and ce ntra l g overn m e n t a re respo n s i b l e fer n o n ­
p e rforma n ce of t h e s e i n st i tuti o n s , w h i l e a t o pE)rati o n a l l e v e l d ive rsE;
p o l i t i ca l a g e n d a of t h ese bud i e s , c re a t i o n of pa ra l l e l i n stitutic n s , l a c k
of s u p po rt f r o m t h e l i n e d e pa rtmen ts a n d a m b i g u i ty of p owers a n d
fu n cti o n s across various l eve l s of loca l g ove rnance put constra i nts i n
fu n ctio n i n g of these loca l i n stitutions.

In the l i g h t of 73'd and 74th C o n stitutio n a l Ame n d me nts a n d tourism

d evelopments it is i m p e rative to d raw a correlatio n between the
Constituti o n a l P rovisions and d evelopment of to u rism i n d u stry a n d
th e prese nt paper a tte m pts towa rds the s i m i l a r a nalysis.

The pape r is d ivided i nto t h ree secti o n s:

The first section looks i nto the i m po rta nce of tou rism i n d u stry a n d i ts
contri b ution to the world eco n o my a nd I n d i a n e co n o my. The section
a l so looks i nto the va rious five-year plans i n I n d i a a n d its effo rt in
boosti ng to u ri s m .

The Second Section looks i n to the h isto ry of pa nchayati raj i n o u r

cou ntry. I t looks i nto the 73'd a n d 74th A m e n d m e n t Acts a n d the rig hts
given to the P a n ch ayats a n d M u n ic i pa l ities u n d e r the Sched u l e I X
a n d Sched u le I X A . I t a lso d e a l s with the Bh u ri a Committee
recommendation fo r self-ru le to the tri b a l p o p u lation on the basis of
which certa i n p rovisions u n d e r the 73'd Amendment Acts were
exte nded to the Sched u led Areas.

The Third Section, tries to a n a lyze, h ow i n spite of t h e constitutional

powers gra nted to the pa n ch ayats, the present to u ri s m pol icy a n d the
i n te r n a t i o n a l t rad e agre e m e n ts, n a m ely G ATS n ega tes t h e
panchayats powers a n d a re not favora ble t o t h e local co m m u n ities.

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SECTION I

Role of Tourism in Economic Development

Tourism being heterogeneous, it is seen te have many direct and

indirect benefits for the wider sector of the economy. Employment is
generated not only in the wide range of service sectors directly linked
to tourism but also in retail, construction, manufacturing, and
telecommunications . High percentage of women and young people
are employed by the small and medium sized enterprises that
comprise much of the industry. Technological advances are ma king
travel easier than ever before and increasing numbers of people are
traveling annually to consume ever more varied tourism 'products' in
ever more far-flung destinations .

Tourism has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors since
the 1 9 6 0s . In recent decades, the share of international tourism in
global economic activity has risen steadily. It is one of the top five
export categories for 83 per cent of countries in the world The
Tourism Satellite Account (TS A ), a strategic project for the World
Tourism Organisation has analysed that world over, travel and
tourism economy has generated 1 0 .4% of the GOP, 8. 1 % of
employment and 1 2. 2% of the exports in the year 2 0(14 . In South
Asian countries, travel and tourism economy directly and indirectly
accounts for 5% of the GOP and 5 . 2% of the total employment .
Forecasts indicate that the number of people traveling internationally
is likely to increase from 457 million in 1 9 9 0 to about 1 ,of 4 million by
2020, and that earnings from international tourism is li kely II) rise
from $47 6 billion (year 2 0 0 0 ) to more than $2 trillion by 2 02 0 . In
world over, the projected growth rate per annum (from 2C'Oe,- 2 0 1 4 ) is
4.5%, while South Asia will experience growth rate of 8. 3% per
annum in the same period . The prejected growth rates reflect t:,at in
South Asia the tourism will grow twice to the growth in oHter purts of
world .

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The Indian Scenario

In kee p i n g with the g e ne ra l tre n d the world over i n economic

d evelopme nt, the co ntri bution of the services sector ( l i ke i n formation
tech nol ogy, tra n sportation, to u ri s m, fi n a n c i a l services etc) to Ind ia's
G ross Nati o n a l P ro d u ct ( G N P ), exceeds the con tri bution made by the
ag ricu ltu re or the m a n u factu ri ng i n d u stry secto rs . It h a s bee n
esti mated t h a t India's trave l a n d tou rism eco n o my d i rectly o r
i n d i rectly accou n ts fo r 4.9% o f the cou ntry's G O P ( T h e 2004 Travel
and To u rism Economic Resea rch, WTTC) . Acco rd i n g to a stu dy
co n d u cted by the Cen tre fo r M o n itori n g I n d i a n Eco n o my ( C M I E ), the
n u mber of to u ri sts a rriving i n Ind i a has g o n e up fro m 2 0,26,743 lakhs
i n April- Ja n, 1 999-2 000 to 2 1 , 52,848 lakhs i n the correspo n d i n g
pe riod o f 2000-2 0 0 1 F ro m 2 0 02 o nwa rds, there has b e e n expone ntial
i n crease i n fo re i g n to u ri st a rriva l s and fro m 23.84 lakhs i n 2002 it
i n creased to 33.67 l a k h s i n 20 04. T h e re is 43% i n crease i n fo re i g n
to u rist a rriva l s, compa red t o 2 0 0 2 a rriva l s .

The expo nential g rowth of fore i g n tou rist a rriva ls i n 2 0 02 20 04, a l s o

correspo n d s t o the foreig n exc h a n g e e a rn i n gs. In 2 0 03-04, th e re has
been 48% i n crease i n fo re i g n exch a n g e earn i n g s from 2 0 0 1 -02
( M i n istry of To u rism, Gove rn ment of I n d i a ) The h i g h e r earn i ng s a re a
res u l t of i n crease i n a rriva l s co m b i ned with h i g h per ca pita spe n d i n g
o f to u rist i n g e n e ra l Tou rism is e m e rg i n g as o n e of I n d ia's largest
export i n d ustries i n I n d i a offering n u m e ro u s op portu n ities.. For
e ntre p re n e u rs l a rg e and s ma l l, and those loo k i n g fo r e m p l oyme nt,
to u ri s m i s a re latively easy i n d u stry to e nter.

Indian approach to tourism development

The fi rst con scious a n d o rg a n ized efforts to promote to u rism i n I nd ia

wa s made i n the year 1 945 , when a comm ittee wa s set u p by the
Gove rn ment of India u n d e r the cha i rma n s h i p of Sir Jo h n Sa rg e nt,
The m a i n o bjective of the co m m i ttee was to e n co u rage a n d devel o p
to u rist traffic both i nte rn a l a n d exte r n a l b y a l l possi ble m e a n s . . Since,
Independence, India has made si ncere effo rt to boost to u rism as

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seen i n its various F ive-Yea r p l a n s .. D u ri n g fi rst five year p l a n period
( 1 95 1 - 1 956) , m i n i stry of tra n s p o rt looked after the s u bject of To u ri s m .
T h e secon d five-year p l a n of 1 957-62 ea rma rked fu n d s exc l u sively
fo r the d evelopment of tou ri s m i n both centre and state secto r.

I n the fou rth P l a n ( 1 967-72) , u n d e r the new a rra n g e ment the Centra l
Depa rtment o f to u ri s m too k over p la n n i ng a n d d evelopment of
fa c i l ities su ita b l e fo r overseas tou rists, th us e n a b l i n g i t to expa n d its
tou rist promotion overseas by maki ng ava i lable a dequ ate qua ntity of
bette r qu a l ity a n d vari ety of l ite rature in a n u mber of fo reig n
l a n g u ages. During the fifth p l a n ( 1 972- 1 977) the m a i n o bjective
strategy was to p romote 'desti natio n a l tou rists traffic' that is, t h ose
who come pri mari ly to h o l i d ay in I n d i a and not on tra n sit th roug h
I nd i a . The fifth P l a n a l so l a i d d own criteria fo r selecti ng centers for
to u rism d eve lopment. The crite ria were a ) to u rism p refe re n ces to be
d ete rm i n ed by the existi n g patterns of travel with i n the cou ntry. b)
The actu a l o r potential attraction of a p lace fo r tou ri s m beca use of its
h i sto rica l or a rchaeolog ical sig n ifi ca n ce or sce n i c bea uty. c) I ts
a ccessibil ity d) its d eve l o pment i n relation to the existi ng or fut u re
trave l patte rns of tou rists to with i n the country. e ) Its relation to the
overa l l p ro moti o n a l strategy a n d the d evelo ped p ro g ra mme of the
Depa rtment. f) The i nvestment that the State Governme nt concerned
wou l d m a ke at the place fo r d eveloping the infra structu re such as
roads, wate r and e lectricity s u p p ly, transport fac i l ities, etc.

The 6th P l a n ( 1 977-82) saw the emerg e nce of fi rst to u rism pol icy a n d
fo r t h e fi rst t i m e , P l a n n i ng C o mmission recog n ized t h e i mporta n ce of
both d o mestic a n d i n ternatio n a l tou ri s m , a n d its capacity i n
g e n erati ng soc i a l a n d eco n o m i c ben efits l i ke p romotion o f national
i nteg ration a n d i nte rnational u nd e rsta n d i n g , creation of e m p l oyment
o p p o rt u n ities, remova l of reg i o n a l imbala nces , i n creaSing fo reig n
exch a n g e e a rn i n g s , th u s red ressi n g the ba l a n ce of pay ments
situatio n , etc.

The 7th P l a n ( 1 985-1 990) g ave tourism an i n d ustry status (exception

being Goa which is yet to consider i t a s a n i n d u stry ) , which i m p l ied
that such b u s i ness activities wo u l d i n fut u re be entitled to the same
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i n centives a n d concess ions as we re a pplica ble to a n export i n d u stry.
I n the Eig hth Plan, th rust was on i nvolv i n g private sector by provid i n g
better incentives a n d equ ity s u p port towa rd s t h e p roj ect costs.
Another scheme for strength e n i n g to u rism i nfrastructu re wa s the
special to u rism a reas (STA) sche me, under which the pa rtici pation of
centra l, state govern me nts and p rivate secto r was envisaged . D u ri n g
this period Govern ment a n n o u nced a number of mea s u res i n t h e
a reas o f i n d ustri a l policy, fi n a n c i a l secto r reforms a nd overa l l macro­
economic managemen t. T h e i n itiative ta ken by the g ove rnment
a l lowed d i rect fo re i g n i nvestment up to 5 1 % i n high p riority i n d u stries,
a n d h ote ls a n d to u rism a n d related i n d u stries . . Above mea s u res were
the i n g redie nts of the Nation a l Action P l a n 1 992 to p ractically
imp lement those various concerns tuned towa rd s g l o ba l izati o n . T h e
N i nth Five Yea r P l a n ( 1 997-2 0 0 2 ) rea l ized that n umbe r of m i d d l e a n d
l owe r m i d d l e class tou rists visitin g d i sta n t places i n the co u n try is o n
the i n c rease.

T h e a p p roach to to u ri s m d eve l o p ment i n the N i nth Plan was on

coord i n ated effo rts by the p u b l ic and p rivate secto r . T h e major th rust
a reas i n the N i nth P l a n we re: a) I n d igenous· and Natu ra l Hea lth
To u rism b) R u ra l a n d V i l l a g e To u ri s m c) P i l g r i m Touris m d ) Adventu re
Tou rism e) Heritage To u rism f) Yo uth a n d Senior C itize ns Packagers .
T h e N i nth P l a n a lso sugg ested g iv i n g U export hou se" status to
to u rism secto r. Specia l e m p h a sis was laid on to u rism p romotion i n
N o rth East India, i nter secto ra l coo rd i nation a n d h u ma n resou rce
d evelo pment fo r to u ri s m .

T he Tenth Five-Ye a r P l a n (2002-07)) recogn ized the factors

res pon s i b l e fo r the i n a d eq uate g rowth of to u ri s m secto r in I n d i a which
a re l ow levels of i nvestments lack of p riority g iven to the develop ment
of sector a n d lack of inte rest on the part of state govern me nts One of
the key o bjectives of the Te nth Plan i s to faci l itate the i m p l e me ntati on
of To u ri s m Pol icy 2002. T h e P l a n has sugg ested five key strategies to
ach ieve vision of tourism policy, these a re: positi o n i n g to u rism as a
national prio rity, e n h a n cing India's com petitive n ess as to u rism
d esti n ation, i m p rovi n g a n d expa n d i n g p rod u ct developme nt, creation

6
of worl d class infrastructure, an d effective marketing plans an d
programmes. Some of the thrust areas of tenth Plan are' cultural an d
heritage tourism, beach an d coastal tourism, promotion of In dian
cuisine, village tourism, a dventure tourism, fairs an d festivals,
development of shopping centers and promoting to aurve dic centers .

An Overview to Tourism Policies and Plans

In the last two decades, tourism sector in In dia has witnesse d policy
an d plan formulations for the development of tourism sector The first
National Tourism Policy was formulated in the year 1 9 82.The general
tone of the policy was to project In dia as a world-class tourist
destination, with the objectives of developing tourism in In dia on
original lines while using it to preserve the heritage an d strengthen
our values an d culture an d bringing its socio-economic benefits to the
community by generating higher levels of employment, income,
foreign exchange, and revenue for states an d by improving habita ts.
The national tourism policy of 1 9 82 can only be seen as an
aggressive marketing strategy a dopte d by the government to place
In dia favourab ly on the global tourism map . It cannot be seen as a
comprehensive development programme as it fails to a d dress vital
social and cultural issues that the bogie of tourism brings along with
it.
The National Committee on Tourism was set up in 1 9 86 to evolve a
perspective plan for tourism development in the country an d
submitte d its report in 1 9 8 8. It elaborate d upon most aspects of
tourism an d other relate d issues inclu ding Civil Aviation,
Organizational Structure, Human Resource Development, etc. It
emphasize d the nee d for India to improve its share in the global
tourist traffic an d thereby attract more foreign exchange into the
economy. The report clearly stresses upon the fact that if tourism
continue d to grow in such a haphazar d manner it woul d certainly
cause irreversible environmental damage To remedy the situation it
suggeste d that an assessment be ma de of the carrying capacity (of
each region including the anticipate d environmental impacts that a

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to u ri s m p roject may h a v e .
T h e n a ti o n a l p l a n f o r to u ri s m was evo lved i n t h e yea r 1992. T h e 1992
acti o n p l a n was the ce n t ra l g overn m e n t' s a tte m p t to p l ace to u ri s m
with i n t h e ove ra l l l i b e ra l ized a n d p rivatized f ra m ework t h a t t h e N ew
Eco n o m ic P o l icy p rescribed for t h e co u ntry. I t e l a bo rated u po n the
n e e d to e n cou ra g e p rivate e n tre p re n e u rs h i p, i d e n ti fy locatio n s fo r
c o n c e ntrated d eve l o p m e n t of to u ri s m , restru ctu ri n g i n stitutio n s fo r
m a n p owe r d ev e l o p m e n t and u n d e rta ki n g m a s s i ve ma rketi ng
ca m pa i g n s

T h e p o l i cy a d o pts a fo u r p ro n g ed d eve l o p m e n t strategy fo r t o u r i s m

d eve l o p m e n t - of i m p rov i n g i nf ra structu re, d eve l o p i n g a re a s o n a
s e l ective basis fo r i n teg ra ted d ev e l o p m e n t, restructu ri n g and
stre n g t h e n i n g t h e i n stitu t io n a l fra m ework a n d evo l v i n g a p o l i cy to
i n crease fore i g n to u rist a rriva l s a n d fo reig n exch a n g e . T h e p l a n a l so
i d e n tified 15 c i rcu its a n d d esti n a ti o n s for i n te n s ive d ev e l o p m e n t .
Alth o u g h t h e N atio n a l C o m m i ttee o n To u ri s m was set u p w i t h t h e
o bjective o f prov i d i n g a h o l istic v i ew o n how to u ri s m o u g h t t o d eve l o p
in the co u ntry, most of i ts reco m m e n d at i o n s have not been
i n co r p o ra te d in the national a ct i o n pla n . In pa rt i c u l a r i ts
reco m m e n d a t i o n requ i r i n g a n a ssess m e n t of the ca rry i n g ca pacity of
reg i o n s a n d s u b m i s s i o n of i m pact assess m e n t re p o rts h ave b e e n
co m p l etely i g n o red .

The N a t io n a l To u ri s m P o l icy 2002 is c o nsid e re d t h e res u lt of l o n g

d e li b e ra t i o n s a nd discu s sio n s a m o n g a l l g roups re l a ted t o to u ri s m .
T h e Gove rn m e n t, t h ro u g h t h e N a ti o n a l To u ri s m P o l i cy (NT P ) , h a s
tried to p l a ce the Tou ris m I n d u st ry with i n the l i be r a l ized and
p rivatized fra m ewo rk t h a t t h e I n d i a n Eco n o m y h a s a d o pted today.
With the N ew I n d u stria l P o l i cy in the backg ro u n d , the NTP h a s
e m p h a s ized t h a t i t i s t h e private secto r a nd fore i g n I n vestm e n t w h ich
w i l l a l o n e p rov i d e the i m pe t u s for p u s h i n g the tou r i s m sector, a n d
t h e re by t h e eco n o m y a h e a d . T h e p o l i cy d ocu m e n t a ls o see ks to
e n h a nce e m p l oy m e n t pote n t i a l w i th i n t h e secto r as we l l as to foste r
e co n o m i c i n te g ra t i o n . The p o l i cy has a lso made defi n ite
i m p rove m e n ts ove r t h e p rev i o u s o n es a s t h e p ri n ci p l e of s u sta i n a b l e

8
d eve l o p m e n t h a s been h i g hlig hted .
I n c reasing I n d ia ' s s h are i n worl d to u rism, to deve l o p to u rism as a n
e n terprise t h a t i s g o ve r n m e n t led private sectcr d rive n and
c o m m u n i ty we lfare ori e n te d , t o d eve l o p effective l i nka g e s a n d close
coord i n a t i o n amo n g vario u s d e part m e n ts, and deve l o p i n g ecoto u r i s m
m o re t h a n just n a tu re to u r i s m a r e p r i m e c o n c e r n s of t h e NTP 2002.
T h e N TP a ls o recognized t h e i m porta nce to for m u lating 8 C o d e of
Et h ics to g u i d e to u ri s m d eve l o p m e n t .

The 2002 p o l icy realizes t h a t t h e touris m i n d u stry fu n ct i o n s i n a

h i g h ly c o m p lex fa sh i o n a n d to r u n it s m oothly wo u l d requ i re h i g h
leve l s o f coo rdin a t i o n a mo n g a l l t h e i nvolved sectors . T h e NTP
proposes t h e incl u s i o n of to u r i s m i n t h e C o n curre nt list of t h e
C o n stit u t i o n i n o rd e r to a l l ow both the ce n tra l a n d state g overn m e n ts
to p l ay a n effective a n d coo rd i n ated role i n to u ri s m d eve l o p m e n t. T h e
efforts o f t h e NTP at realizing s u sta i nability a s a n i m po rta n t o bjective
are c o m m e n d a b l e . H owever t h e p o l i cy d oe s n o t go far bey o n d stating
it a s an o bjective a n d th erefo re in terms of actu a l p o l i cy mea s u res,
l e aves m u c h to b e d es ired T h e re h a s b e e n s i g n ificant d e bate a n d
d i s c u s s i o n over t h e move t o p l a ce to u r i s m i n t h e C o n curre n t l i st.
A l th o u g h most states h ave g iven t h eir co n s e n t, t h e re a re few oth ers
w h o h ave vo iced t h e i r d is a p prova l on vario u s g ro u nd �. Wh i le Kera l a
h a s o bjected t o t h e pro posa l o n t h e grou n d s that i t wi l l take away t h e
state g overn m e n t ' s r i g h t to leg i s l a te o n a l a rg e n u m ber of s u bjects i n
t h e state l i st, M a d hy a Pra d e s h h a s c i t e d its reason a s t h e l ike l i hood
of l o s i n g rig hts to leg i s late o n taxa t i o n , h o s p i ta l ity a n d to uri s m
i n d u stry i s s u e s . O n a more g e n e r a l ized n ote, state g over n m e nts t h a t
h ave o bjected to t h e pro po s i t i o n h a ve d o n e so i n a p pre h e n s i o n t h a t i f
to u ri s m i s p l a ced i n the C o n c u rre nt list, majority of the l e g i s l ative
powe rs w i l l be vested with t h e ce n tral g ove r n m e n t, leavi n g very l ittle
for state i n itia tive T h e tou rism i n d u stry has h owever taken a d iffe ren t
sta n ce i n s isti n g t h a t co n ce rned state g overn m e n ts m u st g ive t h e i r
ap p rova l i m med iately.The pol i cy seeks to ' po s i t i o n to u ri s m as a major
e n g i n e of eco n o m i c g rowth' The foc u s o n ly on the eco n omic side of
to uris m is d i s h earte ning. A l o n g with its v i s i b le eco n o m i c i m pacts,
to u ri s m h as s i g n ifica n t socia l, c u ltural a n d e nviro n m e n ta l i m pacts,

9
whic h n e ed to be g iv e n as m u ch, if not more atte ntion . .
The poli cy h a s stressed t h e v i t a l role that foreig n i nvestm e n t w i l l have
to p l a y to promote tou ri s m in t h e cou n trf. H avin g said t h is , i t s hou l d
d u ly acknow l e d g e t h e specific c l a u ses o f t h e GATS a g re e m e n t that
require t h e d eveloped co u n tries to extend b e n ef i ts to the d eveloping
cou n t r i e s w i t h re spect to i n formation and serv ice tec h n ology.

One of the key a reas of focu s of the NTP has outl i n ed i s ' S u raks h a ' -
to e n s u re t h e safety a nd secu rity of touri sts by esta b l i s h i n g speci a l
train e d police. T h e pol i cy make rs a re h owever obl ivious t o t h e fa ct
t h a t in more ca ses t h a n one it is t h e safety of the loca l people t h a t i s
jeopa rd ized t h ro u g h tou r i s m. I t i s hig h t i m e t h e N T P took note of
i s s u e s l ike prostitution, child a b u se a n d child trafficki n g t h a t have
g rown in t h e s h a d ow of tou rism and took steps to c heck t h e m

Five-Yea r Pla ns Total Outlay

195 1-56 0
1957 -62 Rs. 336.38 l a k h s
1962-67 R s . 800 lakhs
1967-72 R s . 25 C rores
1972-77 Rs. 23.62 C rores
1980-85 Rs. 187 C rores
1985-90 Rs. 210 C rores
1992-97 Rs. 990 C rores
1997-2002 Rs. 1000 C rores
2002-2007 R s . 2900 C rores

Th u s a look at the a bove ta b l e s h ows t h a t importa nce of tou r i s m

p l a n ning i n I n d i a h a s i n c reased. T h i s cou l d be t r a c e d from the
b u d g eta ry a llocat i o n s, whi c h i n c reased fro m R s 3 36. 38 l a k h s to
RS.1000 crores i n t h e c u rre n t y e a r. T h u s one ca n not ig nore t h i s
sector a s i t h a s d i rect a n d i n d i rect b e n efits i n adva n c i n g t h e ove ra l l
eco n o m i c d evelo p m e n t , i mp rovin g t h e sta n d a rd o f l i v i n g a n d creati n g
e m p l oy m e n t .

Apa rt from t h e a l loca t i o n s o f the five-yea r p l a n s, the expen d it u re of

t h e Tou ri s m M i nistry of t h e Gove r n m e n t of I n dia ove r t h e yea rs a l so
s hows a s i m i l a r t re n d.

'Gil tourism meet from Oct 17'"', The Business Line. 13/08,2002

10
 EXPENDITURES ON INFRASTRUCTURE
(Rs in Crores)
.-

Civil
Year Tourism Information Transport, shipping
aviation & water sources
1 990-9 1 74. 84 76.64 50 1 . 1 7 191 0.64
1 994-95 1 0 8.96 1 36 . 7 0 484.51 223 8.84
1 995-96 1 1 9. 1 4 1 45 . 05 576.95 2287.85
1 996-97 1 06.44 86. 7 1 604 . 1 9 3 1 8 7 . 43
1 997-98 1 1 7 . 75 1 36.64 908.51 3783 .6 1
1 998-99 1 32 . 62 1 99 .92 1 05 1 . 99 4453 . 3 0
1 999-00 1 32 . 34 1 95 . 76 1 1 82.89 6306.66
2 0 0 0-0 1 54 . 44 238.82 1 354 . 7 8 84 1 6.28
2 0 0 1 -02 1 81.19 277.93 1 472.00 8376. 80

Tourism and global regimes

M i d 80s saw the g rowi n g i mpo rta nce of services secto r i n the wo rld
tra d e . With the comp letion of the U rug uay R o u n d of tra d e
negoti ations a n d the formation of the Wo rld Trad e O rg a n isation
(WTO) , the ru l es of m u lti latera l trad i n g p rocess (wh ich so fa r
perta i ned o n ly to the trade i n goods) were extended to trade i n
services t h ro u g h the Genera l Agreement o n Trade i n S erv ices
(GATS), wh ich b ro u g ht a l l services, i n c l u d i n g to u rism with i n the WTO
net. I n d ia beca me a s i g n atory to the mu lti-l atera l ag reement a l o n g
w i t h the oth e r 1 48 cou ntries i n t h e WTO, as it d id not wa nt t o be left
beh i n d i n the o n g o i n g l i beral ization process. In i m plementing the
Ag reement, In d i a has already sta rted, open i n g its ma rkets to fo reig n
mu lti-nati o n a l s i n various serv ice sectors l i ke co m p u te r services,
tou ri s m a n d tra n s p o rt sectors .

With i n the GATS, to u rism has been classified a s the Tou ri s m and
Travel-Re lated Services', which i n c l u des h ote ls, resta u ra n ts, travel
agents, a n d tou r g u ide serv ices . U nder GATS ru les, the trade i n a ny
service sector is d efi ned t h ro u g h four modes of s u p p ly, wh ich cove rs
a ra n g e of poss i b i l ities reg a rd i ng to u ri s m . These i n c l u d e:

11
a) C ross-bord e r s u p p ly of the service ( i . e. boo k i n g tickets th ro u g h
t h e i nternet, )
b) C o n s u m ption A b road ( i . e . t h e move m e n t of the se rv i ce
cons u m e r i.e. the to u rist fro m the g e n e rating to the h ost
co u n try) .
c) Commerci a l p rese nce ( i . e a m u lti latera l co rporation setting a
h otel/resta u ra nt/travel a g e n cy i n the territory of another cou ntry).
d) C ross- bord e r movement of person nel/l a bo u r (e. g. move ment of
fo re i g n m a n a g e rs/g u i d es/to u rism p rofess i o n a l s fro m t h e
g e n e rati n g t o h ost co u n try.)

Anot h e r i nteg ra l part of GATS sch ed u les, is the remova l of l i m itations

o n to u rism se rv i ce p roviders , reg a rd i n g esta b l ish ment, own e rsh i p ,
em p l oy m e n t o f perso n n e l a n d re mitta n ces' . I n other words fo re i g n
compa n i es wi l l h ave free ma rket a ccess to domestic markets u n d e r
t h e same tra d i n g cond itions, wh ich exist fo r loca l co mpan i es of t h e
host co u n try ( i. e the principle of N atio n a l treatment) .
It i s i m porta nt t o note that, kee p i n g t h e priorities a n d sensitivities of
deve l o p i n g co u ntries i n m i n d , a section of the GATS add resss the
need to secu re 'the i n creasi ng pa rticipation of d eve l o p i n g cou ntries i n
wo rl d t rade'. Accord i n g ly, M e m be r g ove rnme nts h ave been advised
to a c h i eve t h is t h ro u g h the n egotiation of 'specific ma rket o p e n i n g
co m m itments' i n the fol l ow i n g a reas, n a m e ly: a) Strengthen i ng t h e
d o mestic se rvices ca pa b i l i ti es of deve l o p i n g cou ntries th ro u g h
access t o tec h n ology resou rces o f the developed co u ntry on a
commerc i a l basis; b) i m p rov i n g access of deve l o p i n g co u ntries to
d istri bution c h a n nels a n d i nformation n etworks; c) freedom fo r
deve l o p i n g cou ntries to d e p l oy key a n d re g u l a r perso n n e l i n places
where they a re s u p p l y i n g to u rism services.

GATS KEY CONCEPTS

• Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Treatment (Article II) - Each member

shall accord services and service suppliers of any other Member
treatment no less favourable than that it accords to like services and
service suppliers of any other country. That is, a govemment must not
discriminate between services or services suppliers of other members

12
 • ·Market Access (Article XVI) - GATS requires members not to put
restrictions on the ability of foreign investors to enter the market if they
have made bound commitments in the respective sector .

• National Treatmen: (Article XVII) - Under the National Treatment

obligation WTO members commit themselves to treat foreign investors
'no less favourably' than domestic investors. This obligation applies to
any measure which may have the intended or unintended effect of
discriminating against a foreign investor.

The Current Domestic and International Scenario:

.At g ro u n d level severa l fo rms of exploitation i n t h e field of to u rism is

ta king place as a result of the d o mestic a n d i nternation a l policies of
the g overn ment. For e. g . I n the a rea ma rked fo r to u rism a n d
development i n t h e Southern states o f Tam i l N ad u , t h e Land
Acq uisition Act is widely used to a p p ro p riate land fro m t h e poor a n d
m a rgina lized fa rmers i n t h e n a m e o f d u b i o us ' p u b l i c inte rest'. Th us
l a n d is fo rcefu lly ta ken away a n d is h a n d ed ove r to h ote l c h a i ns a n d
oth e r to u rism service s u p p l i e rs at t h rowaway prices. I n G o a shacks
a n d s m a l l resta u ra n ts , which p rov i d ed a so u rce of live l i hood fo r t h e
loca l people of the reg ion , i s b e i n g taken away b y big hotels. Both
these insta n ces show that the gove rn ment ca rries fo rward its
p ro g ra m me without consu lti n g the peo p l e who l ive i n that reg ion.
Even at internatio n a l l eve l , the g overn m e nts ongoing p rog ra m me of
l i be ra lizatio n especia l ly sig ning the m u lti-latera l t ra d e a g reement
GATS , wi l l have negative impact on the tou rism secto r. An E'.x port-Ied
trade such as tou rism does have the potential fo r eco n o m i c g rowt h ,
b u t h ow fa r i t w i l l benefit t h e h ost n a tions w i l l d e p e n d o n where the
p rofits actu a l ly g o , who controls tou rism i n d ustry, and what is
perceived by th ose in powe r as the fu nda menta l i n d i cator o f
eco n o m i c g rowth: e it h e r a n a d d i tiorla l casi no hotel fo r to u rists o r a
clean a n d efficient wate r s u pply fo r local resid e n ts. If those p rofits ,
wh ie;h d o re m a i n i n the h ost co u n try, a re used t o c l e a r h u ge fo reig n
debts rather t h a n to benefit local popu lations, then l i be ra l ization wi l l
b ri n g few, i f a n y" advanta g es t o t h e vast m ajo rity of local
co m m u n ities.
13
In theory and on paper, free access for the developing countries to
the resources of the rich (namely technology like the global
reservations system) may seem attractive, but in practice as has
happened in the past, rich and the powerfu l tourist nations will enjoy
the full economic hegemony and the poor nations like India wi ll be
mere ly servicing the needs and priorities of the dominant
transnational corporations, as has always been the case . Another
reason for this is that the nations with well-developed tourism
sectors, enjoy greater lobbyin g power with International institutions
like the World Bank and INTO .

Conclusion
Tourism in the present scenario is gaining high priority in the
deve lopment of the country. Both nationa l and international agencies
and systems are involved in it . At the same time, the most affected
section is the local community who are not consulted and are not a
part of this development . The entire decision making process from
the formulation of the structure, functions and the utilization of human
resources, to the financial administration of tourism development is
determined by the political parties at the centre, bureaucracy and the
private sector rather than by the local communities
Explorations need to be conducted on the possibilities of peoples'
interventions and throu gh systems on which the people express their
voice . One such possibility would be to look into the Panchayati Raj
systems in the country. What roles can panchayats play to operate
tourism in a just and e quitable way? Whether panchayats can get into
the planning process or whether they can regulate tourism?

In this context, the next section of this paper will look into the power
and functions of the Panchayat System, with special emphasis on
73rd and 74th Amendments . The paper wi ll also try to see whether
there a·re lacunae in the system and whether given guide lines are
capable of addressing the new economic challenges and therefore,
the political cha llenges

14
 SECTION II:
Evolution of Local Self Governing Institutions in Country

It is widely recognized that self governing village communities

characterized by agrarian economies had existed in India from the
earliest times. Not only are they mentioned in Rig Veda , which dates
from approximately 1200 B. C., there is also definite evidence
available of the existence of village sabhas ( councils or assemblies)
and gramins ( senior persons of the village) until about 600 BC.

Prior to the colonial period, these village bodies took the form of
Panchayats, ( an assembly of five persons) which looked after the
affairs of the village. Besides Village Panchayats there were also
caste panchayats to ensure the persons belonging to a particular
caste adhered to its code of social conduct and ethics. If this was the
general pattern in indo Gangetic plains, in the Southern India, village
panchayats generally had a village assembly whose executive body
consisted of representatives of variobs groups and cas+�s.

During the British rule, the major unit of local government was the
district. A single district officer, referred to as the collector, who
represented the highest status of Indian Civil Service was made
responsible for maintaining peace, collecting revenue, and
administration of justice. . In 1882, attempts were made by Lord
Ripon to involve local people in the rural areas with the
administrative processes, through creation of nominated District
Boards.

In the post independence period it was Mahatma Gandhi who wished

to give the PRls a democratic basis of their own by investing them
with such powers so that the villages could have a rcal sense of
"Swaraj". According to him "greater the power of the Panr.hayat, the
better for the people" as true democracy "has to be wmked from
below by the people of every village". His vision resulted in the
introduction of Article 40 in the constitution of India (under the
Directive Principles of State Policy), which states that "the state
shall take steps to organize vii/age Panchayats and enr:ow them with
15
 such powers and authority as may be necessary to function as units
of self-government". This constitutio n a l d i rective tended to i ns p i re the
U n io n Gove rnme nt and State ·Gove rnme nts, to a d o pt measu res for
deve l o p ment of the panch ayats i n the country.

D u ri n g the 1 950s seve ra l states ma d e leg i slations to d emocratize the

structu re and devolve more powe rs and fu n ctions to the pa nchayats.
The F ive-yea r plans i nc l u d ed i n their p rog ra mme mea s u res to
strengthen loca l self-g ove rnme nt to play a role in loca l d evelopme nt
p rocesses and to m a ke them more responsive to people's needs a n d
expectatio n s . I n s pite of efforts ta ken b y the p l a n n i n g p rocess,
fo rmation of panch ayats and devolving a p p ro priate powe rs a n d
fu n cti o n s t o them were left t o the res pective state g overnments.
Some states l i ke West Benga l , M a d hya P ra d es h , a n d Kera l a put
a p p ro p ri ate meas u res to strengthen the loca l bod ies, while many
states did not show thei r wi l l i n g ness fo r decentra l ization p rocess.

Va rious committees were a lso set u p by the U n ion Government to

make s u g g esti o n s a n d recomme n d at i o n s o n revi ta l i z i n g the
Pan chayat Raj Institutions. One such committee was Ashoka Mehta
Committee whose ma i n recomme ndations were fo r mo re g e n u i n e
a n d effective devo l ution o f powers t o t h e Pa nch ayats. T h e most
s i g n ifica nt recommendation of the committee was for the creation of
a two-tiered system of Panchayati raj namely, Zilla Parishad and
Mandai Panchayat (wh ich is a c l u ster of v i llages a n d is sma l l e r than
the p resent block pa nchayats ) . The committee fe lt that the Zil la
P a rishad a n d not the P a n chayat Samiti s h o u ld be mad e the prima ry
_. u n it in the Panchayati Raj system as the Z i l l a Pa rishad e njoys g reater
reso u rces and leaders h i p to play a s u bsta ntia l d eve lopment ro l e .

F o r a n effective coord i nation betwee n d evel o pme nt a n d u rb a n

development t h e committee sugg ested t h a t the M u n i c i p a l bodies
should be g iven more rep rese ntation in Zi l l a P a rishad and M a n d ai
Pa nchayat. As reg a rd s taxatio n , the committee reco mmend ed the
Panchayati Raj Instituti o n s to have co m p u lsory powers of taxation to
mo b i l ize the necessa ry resou rces on t h e i r own there by red u c i n g t h e i r
dependence o n d evolution of fu nds from the State Gove rnme nt. A
16
re ma rkabl e featu re of the r":,Lht8 Report i s its recornme ndation
favo u r i n g '( pen parti c i pation' rf pol itica l parties in Pan cr.laya i raj
affdirs. Due to c h a n g e i n thc govern ment, the recommendations of
the com m i ttee were not accepted However some states l i ke West
B e n g a l , . re m o d e l e d its e P a n c h a y a t R aj s y s t e m on t he
recom m e n d ations of Ashoka Me hta co m m ittee report.

Another com mittee a p pointed by the Govern ment was the G. V. Roa
Committee i n 1 985. The co m m i ttee's m a i n thrust was on improving
the representative character and strengthening the capability of
both the people's representative and the administrative
personnel in the Panchayati Raj i n stitutions so as to eq u i p t h e m to
p l ay a major rol e in promoti ng a n d m a n a g i n g rura l development a n d
loca l affa i rs.

The oth er co m m i ttee a p po i nted i n 1 986 u n d e r the noted j u rist, L. M .

Singhvi advocated g iv i n g constitutional status t o the Pa n c h ay ats
to stre!1gthen their position. The P. K. Thungon Committee l i ke th e
p rev i o u s co m m i ttee reco m m e n d ed fo r the co n stitu tio n a l recog n itio n
,
of p a n c h ay ati raj i n 1 988. I t reco m me n d ed that the Z i l l a Parish a d be
made the p ivota l body to carry out p l a n n i ng and deve l o p m e nt activity
i n the district. The most n otable reco m me n d ation of the T h u n g o n
com m i ttee w a s a bo u t district collector being made Jf::e chief executive
officer of the Zilla Parishad and the state government to appoint
officers of the rank of additional collectors to assist the collector in
d eve lo pm e n t a n d r e gula t o ry a dm i n iiit r ati o n. I t s o t h e r
reco m me n d at i o n s were abou t a d etai led l ist 01 su\.;ject� fOi"
pan c h ayati raj to be i ncorporated i n the con stitution Clild settin g up 'f
the state fi n a nce co m missions to lay d own the crite ria and g u id e l i nes
fr>r devo l ution of fi n a nc i a l resou rces to the P Rls. .

I t was i n this bar.kd rop that o n 1 5 May 1989 the Constitution 64th
Amendment hill was d rafted a n d i ntrod u ced i n th!': pml ic:lment There
were two seriou s o p positions to t h e b i l l : d u e to its pol itica l
()ve rtonesa) the b i l l ove rlooked the states a nd was seen a s an
i n stru ment of the ce ntre to dea l d i rectly with the PHis a n d b) that it
was i m posing a u n iform pattern t h ro u g h o u t the cou n try i n stead of
17
permitting individual states to legislate the details, keeping in mind
the local circumstances.

In September 1991, the Congress government under Narasimha Roa

introduced the 72nd (Panchayats) and 73'd (Municipalities)
constitutional bills. The Lok Sabha passed the bills on 22 December
1992 after which the Rajya Sabha passed the two bills, their
sequence changed to 73'd and 74'h respectively. Following the
ratification by both the houses the President gave his assent on 20
April 1993. This culminated in the passing of the Constitution 73'd and
74'h Amendment Acts in 1992, which inserted Part IX and IXA in the
Constitution. While Part IX relates to "Panchayats", Part IXA relates
to "Municipalities". The provisions in Part IX and IX A are more or less
parallel and analogous in nature.

Since 1993, institutions of local self governance , both rural and are
enshrined in the Constitution of India like the two upper levels of
Government, namely the centre and the states. Thus making India
the fifth country to enshrine the local government in the constitution
after Germany, Japan, Brazil, and Nigeria.

73rd Amendment Act: Salient Features

Many State governments attempted to translate this Directive Principle
into practice by enacting necessary legislation and creating Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRls) but with limited success; such efforts were
confined to selected States. Against this background the need for
providing a firm Constitutional status for PRls became necessary. And
after a great deal of efforts the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the
Constitution have been passed which provide Constitutional status to
the PRls and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). As per the 73rd Amendment,
the PRls are the local level institutions comprising of elected
representatives entrusted with the responsibility of identifying,
formulating, implementing and monitoring the local level developmental
and welfare programmes.
3 apex body in the panchayati raj system of local government in India. It is a body at the district
level in all states except Assam and Tamil Nadu. Lately states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh,
Karnataka and Orissa have abolished Zilla Parishad thereby converting the three tiered panchayati
raj into a two layered one.
II is the intermediate tier in the panchayali raj system of rural local government in India. The
Panchayat Samiti's term is generally co-terminous with that of a Panchayal.

18
73'd Constitutional Amendment: Some definitions

"District"a portion of territory, region or locality notified under the statutes of

the state.
"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.
"Intermediate level" means a level between the village and district levels
specified by the Governor of a State by public notification to be the
intermediate level for the purposes of this Pali;
"Panchayat" means an institution of self-government for the rural areas .
"Panchayat area" means the territorial area of a Panchayat;
"Population" means the population as ascertained at the last preceding
census of which the relevant figures have been published;
"Village" means a village specified by the Governor by public notification to
be a village for the purposes of this Part and includes a group of villages
so specified .

This mea ns that a l l activities of P R l s as stip ulated by the Act h a ve

n ow leg a l a n d constituti o n a l status a nd a ny violation of this by
a ny body a n d at a ny time, wou ld be p u n i s h a b l e by law. Constitutio n a l
status v i d e Article 243 of P a rt IX of the Con stitution w h i c h ca me i nto
effect fro m April 24, 1 993 made it m a n d a to ry fo r a l l States to
p ro m u l g ate their own n ew a cts co nseq u e n t to the 73 rd Constituti o n a l
A m e n d m e n t Act o r a m e n d th e i r old ones b y April 1 994.

By v i rt u e of the Co nstitutional Status bestowed u po n the P R l s , it now

has the pote ntia l to revo l u tio n a l ize the way we have been see i n g
l o c a l self-g overna n ce. I t is not o n ly a syste m of pa rtici pative self
gove r n a n ce b u t .it e n s u res politica l e m powerment to the poor,
m a rg i n alized , a n d the o p p ressed , wh i ch trad itiona lly i n o u r cou ntry
have been the Sched u led Castes, the Sched u led Tri bes, a nd the
wom e n .

1) Constitutional Status t o peoples' participation: T h e Act

i n co rporated the concept of Gra m S a b h a (th e asse m bly of a l l
a d u lts i n t h e villag e/s) . It was t o com p rise of a l l persons
reg i stered a s vote rs i n the Pa nchayat a rea a t the v i l l ag e leve l .
T h e state leg islatu re w a s t o statutorily e ntrust the Gra m S a b h a
with powe rs of g e n e ra l su p e rvision ove r the e lected g ra m

19
Panchayat and authorize it to approve the annual plan for the village
and income-expenditure statement of the village panchayat. The
' Gram Sabha', consisting of all eligible voters, has been made the
soul of the Panchayat institutions to discuss and decide their own
problems, and to further people's participation in various
development programmes in a democratic way. This will foster
maximum accountability and transparency of administration and
public awareness.

2. Uniform institutional structure: Keeping in view the provisions

of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, State panchayat Raj acts
have been constituted which incorporate a three-tier system of
Panchayat Raj, consisting of Zilla Panchayats at the District level,
Panchayat Samitis or Kshetra Panchayats at the intermediate
level & Gram Panchayats at the village level However, the
Panchayat at the intermediate level can be constituted in a state
having a population not exceeding 2 0 lakhs.

3. Direct Election: The Act provides for direct elections of all the
members in the Panchayats at all levels; whereas indirect
elections of the chairperson at the intermediate and district
levels. The mode of elections of chairpersons at the village level
has been left to the state government to decide. Thus will boost
local people's initiative and enhance their involvement in the
system, through the electoral process.

4) Representation for Women and socially marginalised

communities in governance : The legislature provides for the
reservation of seat in every Panchayat for the SCI S1's in
proportion to their population at each level. Likewise, seats have
been reserved for women. Not less than one-third of the total
number of seats to be filled by direct election are reserved for
women and these seats are to be allotted by rotation to different
constituencies in a Panchayat. In respect of backward classes an
enabling provision has been made in the Act. Posts of
chairpersons in panchayati raj institutions at all levels have been
reserved for the scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribes in

20
proportion to their percentage in the total population of the area.
Similarly, not less than one-third of the offices of chairman are to
be reserved for women. These too are to be on rotation basis.

Opportunity for the emergence of a new leadership: Allowing

persons who have attained the age of 21 years to be eligible for
contesting elections in Panchayat bodies will provide opportunities
for the younger generation to participate actively in the
development process and share power

5) Regular Elections: The Act provides for a normal term of five­

Years for a Panchayat. The act also lays down that a Panchayat
cannot be dissolved before its normal term by resorting to
amendment of any law in force. In case of any dissolution, a new
panchayat is to be re-constituted before the expiry of the five
Years term or within six months from the date of dissolution.

6) Provisions of a State Election Commission and bar to

interference of courts in electoral matters : The Act provides
for conduct of elections under the overall supervision of the State
Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner
to be appointed by the governor. The State Election
Commissioner is responsible for the superintendence, direction
and control of election to the panchayats including preparation of
electoral rolls. To ensure the independence of the commission,
the State Election Commissioner can be removed only in the
same manner and on the same ground as a judge of a High
Court. The state legislatures have the power to make provisions
with respect to all other matters relating to or in connection with,
elections to the Panchayats.

7) Powers and Functions: The Panchayats have been empowered

with such powers and authorities as are necessary to enable them
to function f'lS institutions of self-governance. Under the Act the
states legislature has the legislative powers to confer in the
Panchayat such powers and authority so as to enable them to
prepare plan� and implement schemes for economic development
and social justice on various subjects including those mentioned

21
in the Schedule X I. The decision-making powers of panchayati raj
bodies are extensive and contain 29 items all concerning their
day-to-day lives. The functions conferred on the panchayati raj
institutions are the following:
1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension.
2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land
consolidation and soil conservation.
3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development.
4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry.
5. Fisheries
6. Social forestry and farm forestry.
7. Minor forest produce.
8. Small-scale industries, including food-processing industries.
9. Khadi, village and cottage industries.
10. Rural housing
11. Drinking water
12. Fuel and fodder
13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of
communication.
14. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.
15. Non-conventional energy sources.
16. Poverty alleviation programme.
17. Education including primary and secondary schools.
18. Technical training and vocational education.
19. Adult and non-formal education.
20. Libraries
21. Cultural activities.
22. Market and fairs.
23. Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres
and dispensaries.
24. Family welfare.
25. Women and child development.
26. Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and
mentally retarded.
27. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the schedule
Castes and Schedule Tribes.
28. Public distribution system.
29. Maintenance of community assets.

8) As far as the financial powers enjoyed by the Panchayats are

concerned, the state legislature has been given the power to:

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1. a uthorize the panchayats to l evy, col l ect a n d a p p ro p riate s u itable
local taxes, d uties, tol ls and fees in a ccord a n ce with such
proced u re a n d subject to such l i m its;
2. assi g n to a pa nchayat such taxes , d uties, to l l s a n d fees levied
and co l lected by the State Govern ment fo r such p u rposes a n d
subje ct t o such co nd itio ns a n d l i m its ,
3 p rovide for m a k i n g such g ra n ts-i n-a id to the panch ayats fro m the
Consolid ated Fund of the State: a n d
4. p rovide for constitution o f such F u n d s for c rediting a l l moneys
received res pectively by o r on b e h a l f of the panch ayats and a lso
fo r the with d rawa l of s u ch m o n ey therefro m , a s may be s pecified
in the l aw.

9) With reg a rds to the fi n a n c i a l powe rs , the Gove rno r of the state is
entru sted with the power to con stitute a Fina nce C o m mission to
review p e riod i ca l ly the fi n a ncial position of the panchayats a n d
ma ke reco m me n d atio n s reg a rd i n g t h e d i strib u ti o n of n e t
proceeds o f d uties, taxes , to l ls , fees etc. betwee n the states a n d
t h e pa nch ayats a nd betwee n t h e panch ayats a t d i ffe re nt level
and assig n m e n t and a p p ropriation of the taxes, d u ties, tol ls ,
fees, etc. , what taxes , d uties, to l l s a n d fees m a y b e assig ned to
the Panch ayats , g ra nts-i n-a i d to the panch ayats from the
co nsolidated fu nd of the state .

10) T h e state legislatu res may by law make p rovisions with res pect
to the m a i n te n a n ce of acco u n ts a n d the a u d iting of such
acco u n ts.

Ground Realities

Exce pt fo r th ree North Easte rn states ( having tri b a l co u n ci l s) a n d two

u rba n U n io n Territo ries ( UTs) , a l l the states/ UTs co m i n g u n der
p u rview of th i s Act h ave a me n d ed their respective pa nchayat Acts in
co nform ity with the Centra l Act. Fo l l owed by a mend ments i n
C o n stitution a nd State Acts, the d ece ntra l ized i n stitutions h ave come
i n to be i n g . Even afte r 1 3 yea rs of e na ctm ent of 73rd Amend merlt Act,
the rea l i ty of decentra lized i n stitutio n s of self governance remeJi n
critica l . Some of the key co ncerns a re a s:

23
• T h o u g h the provision ta l ks about re seNation fo r wo men it fa i l s to
i n cl ude provision fo r co n d u cting tra i n i n g prog ra m mes a n d such
other prog ra m mes to b ri n g them at pa r with their male
cou nterpa rts . I t is genera l ly see n that women do not have any
clear idea about t h e i r powers u n d er the Act. They also d o not
attend meeti ngs. B e i n g i l l ite rate they genera l ly affix their th u m b
i mpress ions t o pa pe rs on major decisions ta ken at t h e meetings,
which they h ave not attended.

• In spite of a provision fo r co m p u l sorily cond u ctin g of el ections to

the Panch ayats afte r every five yea rs, in many sta tes el ections a re
due and w h e rever e l ecti o n s h ave ta ken place it was
cha racterized by caste a n d social cleavages making it very d ifficu lt
to esta b lish effective loca l govern ments. In Ga rhwa l a n d Kumaon,
Panch ayat electi ons were last held i n 1 988. The next elections
should h ave been held in 1 993. In B i h a r, el ections were last h e ld
as l o n g back as i n 1 978-79. Orissa th o u g h not i n the same leag ue,
fo l lowed close ly. H e re t h e G overn ment s h owed s u rpri s i n g
dexte rity i n d isso lving t h e local bod ies i n A u g u st 1 995, b u t fa i led to
exh i b it s i m i l a r promptness i n reconstituti ng them a l lowi ng in effect,
the b u reaucra cy to ru n them. Electi o n s, wh ich were to be held in
Fe bruary 1 996, were postponed twice - first in N ovem b e r 1 994 , on
th e pretext that bal lot boxes we re not ava i l a b l e and a g a i n in M ay
1 996 at the joint req u est of the po l itical pa rties.

• The rece ntly h eld pa nchayat el ections in B i h a r after a g ap of 23

years were ma rred by violent clashes betwee n ca ste g roups which
goes on to prove that pol itical pa rties view pa nchayat e lection a s
the equ ivalent o f exit po l l s a n d a ba rometer t o measu re t h e i r
popu l a rity Pa nchayats electi o n s thus becomes a m i n i version o f
t h e assembly a nd L o k Sa b h a pol l s with pol i ti ca l pa rties exploiting
caste affil iations by exte n d i n g support to i n d iv i d u a ls. The pol itica l
pa rti es a re to a l a rg e exte nt bla med fo r postpo n i n g pa nchayat
electi on beca use fo r the fea r of fac i n g the pa nchayat electo rate .
They do not wa nt to con d u ct pa nchayat election d u ri n g the
midway o r towa rds the fa g e n d of their of their term. N o pa rty who
is aspi ri ng to come to powe r wo u l d l i ke to be d is h o n o red by losing
seats a t vario u s leve l s of the pa nchayats. Therefore the pol itica l
24
 part i e s , both ru l i n g a s we l l as t h e o p positio n jo i n h a n d s in
p o st p o n i n g e l ect i o n. The State El ecti o n Commission a l so
someti m e s succu m b s to the p ress u re tactics of the State
g overn m e n t s . T h e refore if the l ocal g ov e rn m e n t h a s to be
s u ccessfu l , f u n d a m e n ta l refo rms will have to take p l ace. T h e state
El ectio n C o m missio n e r who is e ntru sted with t h e res p o n s i b i lity of
co n d u ct i n g P a n c h ay a ts e l e ctio n s s h o uld be c o n stit u t i o n a l ly
e m powered to take act i o n ag a i n s t t h ose t h at atte m pt to p o liticize
local g overn m e n t bod ies a n d state g overn ments that d o n o t
co n d u ct e lecti o n s o n t i m e .

• T h e refe re nce to t h e Eleve n t h Sched u l e in the 7 3 rd Ame n d m e n t

say s "th e state g overn m e n ts may e n trust s c h e m e s u n d e r s u bjects ,
w h i c h are listed i n t h e e l eventh sched u l e , to the Panchayats . " That
i s , it d o e s n ' t c o n fe r any e n t i t l e m e n t or rig hts o n t h e Panchayats
ove r t h e s u bjects But rat h e r, that the Pan c h a yats ca n be
a p po i n ted as med i ators of vario u s d e part m e n ts of t h e C e n tre/state
gove r n m e n t at t h e l atte r's swee t wil l , to run some s c h e m e w h i c h
they h ave devised o n t h e i r b e h a lf.

• Alth o u g h the G ram Sabha has become the so u l of any

d ec e n t ra l izati o n d e bate s i n ce 1995 , it has not achieved the
sta t u s and positio n it o u g h t to h a v e . Th o u g h t h e g ram s a b h a
h ave the power to id e n tify b e n eficiaries fo r vari o u s poverty
a l l eviat i o n p rog ram m e s , p ropose an an n ual plan , d i sc u s s t h e
b u d g et a n d a u d it re po rts and review p ro g re s s , i n m o s t of t h e
states , t h e i r d ecis i o n s a re n ot b i n d i n g a s i t o n ly e njoy s a n
ad vis o ry ro l e . O n ly f e w states l ike , H a rya n a , P u nj a b , Orissa a n d
Ta m i l Nad u h ave g iv e n t h e sab h a t h e p owe r to ap p rove t h e
b u d g et . T h e s u ccess w i t h regard to h o lding meeti n g of the g ram
sabha i s mixe d . West B e n g a l had a better reco rd. I n 1995 , 63 per
ce n t of t h e stat utory meeti n g was h e l d . In M a d hya P ra d e s h a n d
Rajasthan , fie l d re p o rts s h owed that m a n y p e o p l e d i d n ot k n ow
about the dates of the g ra m s a b h a meeti n g s. M o reover, as t h e
meet i n g s a re h e l d a t pa n c h ayat h eadqu a rte rs , p e o p l e fro m d i sta , l t
v i l lage f i n d it d iff i c u l t to atte n d t h e m . Atte n d ance i s h i g h wherl a
b e n eficia ry l i st is to be discussed . G e n e ra l ly l o s e rs in the

25
 p a n ch ayat elections m o b i lize s u pport to o p pose the d evelopment
plans in the Sabhas. To rev ive the g ra m s a b h a a n d to make it a n
effective i n stru ment of g rassroots d e mocracy, effective meas u res
n eed to be ta ken l i ke l a n d refo rms etc.

• U n der the 7 3 rd Ame n d m e nt, the states l e g i slature has the

l e g i s lative powers to confe r to the Pa nchayat such powe rs a n d
a u thori ty s o a s t o e n a ble them t o prepa re p l a n s a n d i m p l e ment
sche mes fo r eco n o m i c deve lopment a nd socia l j u stice on va rio us
s u bjects mentioned i n the Sched u l e I X . B u t t h i s ca n be p u t i n
p ractice o n ly if some k i n d o f profess i o n a l a n d tec h n ica l expertise
( from the state and the ce ntre) is acco m p a n ied by it With out such
g u id a n ce , d evelopme nta l a ctivities ca n go i n a h a p h az a rd
man ner.

74th Constituti o n a l A m e n d ment Act: S a l i e n t Featu res :

S i m i l a r to the provisions u nd e r 7 3 rd Ame nd ment, provisions exist i n
t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n S e v e n ty - F o u rt h A m e n d m e n t Act, 19 9 3 o n
" M u n ic i p a l ities" a p p l icable t o u rban a rea s . P rovi sion i n Sched u l e I X A
a re very m u c h s i m i l a r to provisions i n Sched u l e IX especi a l ly with
reg a rd s to reservation of seats, F i n a n ce co m m i ssion , Electi o n
C o m m i ssi o n , etc.

Ta k i n g i n a c co u n t , t h e n e c e ss a ry p rov I s i o n s req u i re d fo r
stre n g th e n i n g the i n stituti o n s of u rb a n loca l se lf-g overn a nce, the 74th
Constitu tio n a l Ame nd ment has fo l lowi n g salient featu res.

I) Defi n itions a n d form ati o n of U rb a n Local Bod i es of various

u rba n a reas : (243 Q.) Th e re i s p rovision fo r " Nagar P a n c h ayat"
for a n a rea i n tra n sition from a ru ra l a rea to a n u rb a n a rea .
S i m i l a rly M u n icipal co u n ci l s a re fo r s m a l l e r u rba n a re a , wh i l e
M u n icipal Corporations a re fo r l a rger u rba n a rea . A N a g a r
Pa nch ayat i s ma i n ly a tra n siti o n a l a re a , a n a rea t h a t i s
tra n sfo rmed fro m a ru ra l t o a n u rba n a rea . S u c h a n a rea is
basica l ly ru ra l i n cha racter, which over a period of time d evel o p
u rb a n cha racteristics. S u ch a n u rb a n l oca l body wo u ld h a v e to

5The powers a n d fu n ct i o n s of t h e P a n c h ayats a re d e scribed in the e l eve nth sched u l e

co n cern i n g t h e 29 I t e m s w h i c h p r i m a r i ly d e a l with t h e i r d a y t o d a y fu n cti o n s .

26
 p e rfo rm both r u r a l a n d u rb a n fu n ction s . N a g a r P a n c h ayats even
n ow e x i st in some state s . M u n i c i p a l C o u n c i l s a re co n stituted in a
s ma l l e r u rb a n a rea while fo r l a rg e r u rb a n a reas municipal
corpora t i o n s a re co n stituted . Demog ra p h i c a n d oth e r co n d i t i o n s ,
w h i c h a re d eterm i n i n g fa cto rs fo r constitu t i n g a p a rticu l a r ty p e of
M u n i c i p a l ity, d iffe r fro m state to state . It i s l eft to the state to
d eterm i n e w h i c h ty p e of m u n i c i p a l ity w i l l b e con stituted fo r e a c h
u rb a n a re a . T h e a re a s fo r d i ffe re n t ty pes of u rb a n bod ies wo u l d
be specified b y t h e Gove r n o r ta k i n g i n to a cco u n t : p o p u l a t i o n of
t h e a re a ; d e n s i ty of p o p u l a t i o n ; reve n u e g e n e rated by the loca l
body; and p e rce n ta g e of e m p l oy m e n t in n o n -a g r i c u l t u ra l
a cti v i t i e s ; t h e eco n o m i c i m p o rta n ce a n d oth e r fa cto rs .

2) T h e Act ma kes it o b l i g atory fo r every state to constitute s u c h

u n its. B u t i f t h e re i s a n u rb a n a re a o r p a rt of i t w h e re m u n i c i p a l
serv i ces a re p rov i d e d o r p ro posed t o be p rov i d e d by a n i n d u stri a l
esta b l i s h m e n t i n t h a t a rea t h e n co n s i d e ri n g a lso t h e s i z e o f t h e
a rea a n d oth e r facto rs t h e g ov e r n o r m a y specify it t o be a n
i n d ustrial town s h i p (fo r e . g . B o k a ro Ste e l C ity ) . For s u c h a n a re a
i t i s n ot m a n d atory to constitute a M u n c i p a l i ty.

II) Com pos ition of M u n i c i pa l ities.( 243 R): A l a rg e r p ro p o rt i o n of

m e m b e rs in the M u n i c i p a l ity a re e l e cted m e m b e rs chosen by
d i re ct e l e ct i o n fro m the t e r r i to r i a l co n st i tu e n c i es in the
M u n i c i pa l a re a and fo r th i s p u rpose each M u n icipal a re
is d iv i d e d i n to territo ria l con stitu e n cies a lso k n ow n as w a rd s . I n
a d d i t i o n to t h e e l ected m e m be rs , t h e re a re some n o m i n ated
m e m be rs . 3) All t h e seats in a m u n i c i pa l i ty a re fi l l ed t h ro u g h d i rect
e l ecti o n of m e m b e rs c h o s e n fro m territo r i a l co n stitu e n cies in t h e
m u n i c i p a l a rea a n d fo r t h i s p u rpose eac h m u n i c i p a l a rea a re
d iv i d e d i n to territo ri a l constit u e n ci e s k n own as w a rd s . Each seat
re pres e n ts a wa rd in the M u n i c i pa l ity. Besides t h e seats fi l l e d by
d i rect e l ectio n s , s o m e seats may be fi l led by nomi nation of
p e rso n s , h a v i n g a pt i t u d e in m u n i c i p a l a d m i n i stra t i o n . For t h i s
p u rpose t h e state l e g i s l a t u re m a y specify t h e co n d i t i o n s a n d
p roced u re fo r n o m i n a t i o n of s u c h p e rso n s . B u t t h e p e rson s o
a p po i nted d o e s n o t e njoy a n y voti n g rig h t i n t h e meet i n g s o f t h e
M u n i c i p a l ity.
27
III) Constitution and composition of Wards Committees, etc
(2435) : The 74th Amend ment Act a l so g ives p rovision for the
fo rmatio n of Wa rd s C o m mittees, consisti n g of o n e o r more wa rd s,
with i n the territoria l a rea of a M u n i ci pa l ity havi n g a popu lation of
th ree l a k h s o r more . The Leg islatu re of a State may, by l aw, make
p rovision with res pect to (a) the composition a n d the territo ri a l
a rea o f a Wa rds C o m mittee ; ( b) t h e m a n n e r i n w h i c h the seats i n a
Wa rds Committee sha l l be fi l l e d .

IV) Powers and Functions o f Urban Local Bodies (243 X) : T h e

74th Amend ment Act, g ives the those powe rs a n d a u t h o rities to
the M u n icipal ities wh ich a re n ecessa ry to e n a b l e t h e m to
fu n ction as i n stitutions of self-g overn me nt. The powe rs and
fu ncti o n s d evolved to the m u n i ci p a l ities can be g rou ped i nto
fol lowi n g major h ea d s :

( i ) The preparation o f p l a n s for eco n o m i c d evel o p m e n t a n d soc i a l

j u stice ;

( i i ) T h e performa n ce o f fu n cti o n s a n d t h e i m plementation o f sch emes

as may b e entru sted to t h e m i n c l u d i n g those in re lation to the
matte rs l isted in the Twe l fth Sched u l e ;

The Comm ittees with s u c h powers a n d a uthority as m a y b e

n ecessa ry t o e n a b l e t h e m t o ca rry o u t the respo n s i b i l ities co nferred
u pon t h e m i n c l u d i n g those in re lation to the matters l isted in the
Twe lfth Sched u le .

T h e 1 2th Sched u le o f t h e 74th Constitutio n a l Ame n d m e n t Act of

I n d i a , defi n e s 1 8 n ew ta sks in the fu n ctio n a l d o m a i n of the U rban
Local Bod ies, a s fo l lows:

•
U rb a n P l a n n ing i n c l u d i n g town pla n n i n g .
•
Regu lation of l a n d use a n d constru ction of b u i l d i n g .
•
P l a n n i ng fo r eco n o m i c a n d socia l d evelopment.
•
Roads and bridges.
•
Wate r su pply for d o m estic, i n d ustria l a n d commerci a l p u rposes
•
P u b l i c hea lth , san itation conse rva n cy a n d so l i d
waste m a n a g e ment.
• F i re services.
28
•
U rb a n fo restry, p rotection of the e n v i ron ment a n d promotion of
ecologica l aspects
Safeg u a rd i n g the i n terests of wea ker sectio n s of society,
i n c l u d i n g the h a n d icapped a n d menta l ly reta rd ed
S l u m i m p rove m e n t a n d u p g radati o n .
U rb a n pove rty a l l eviatio n .
P ro motio n o f cu ltu ra l , e d u catio n a l a n d a esthetic aspects .

Financial Status : I n a d d ition to the basic powe rs a n d fu nctio n s ,

the 74th Ame n d m e n t Act a lso outl i n es the p rovision t o i m pose
taxes by, and fu nds of, the M u n icipa l ities. As per the Article 243
X-, the leg islatu re of a state may, by law, -

( a ) Authorize a M u n icipal i ty t o levy, co l lect a nd a p p ro p riate such

taxes, d uties, to l l s a n d fees i n a ccord a nce with such p roced u re
a n d s u bject to such l i m its ;

( b ) Assig n to a M u n i c i pa l ity such taxes, d uties, tol l s a nd fees levied

and co l l ected by the State Gove rnment for such p u rposes and
s u bject to such co nd itions and l i m its ;

( c) P rovide for m a k i n g such g ra nts-i n-a i d to the M u n icipal ities fro m

the C o n so l i d ated F u n d of the State; a n d

( d ) P rovi d e fo r co n stitutio n of s u c h F u n d s fo r cred iting a l l m o n eys

rece ived , respectively, by o r o n be h a lf of the M u n i ci p a l ities a n d
a l so fo r the withd rawa l o f s u c h moneys there fro m . As m a y b e
s pecified i n t h e law.

V) State Finance Commission: (243Y) The F i n a n ce C o m missio n

constituted u n d e r a rticle 243-1 i s a l so a uthorized to revi ew the
f i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n o f t h e M u n i c i p a l i. t i e s a n d m a k e
reco m m e n d atio n s to the Governor o n -

The p ri nc i p les which s h o u l d g overn- the d istribution betwee n

t h e State a n d t h e M u n ic i pa l ities o f th e n e t proceeds o f the
taxes, d uties, tp l l s and fees lev i a b l e by the State , wh ich may
be d ivided betwee n t h e m u nd e r this Pa rt a nd the a l location
between the M u n icipal ities at all level s of t he i r respective
29
shares of such proceeds;

• The determination of the taxes, duties, to lls and fees which may
be assigned to , or appropriated by, the Mu nicipalities

• The grants-in-aid to the Municipalities from the Consolidated

Fund of the State

• The measures needed to improve the financial position of the

Municipalities

• Any other matter referred to the Finance Commission by the

Governo r in the interests of sound finance of the Municipalities.

The actions to be taken on the recommendations are laid before the

Legislature of the State.

VI) District P lanning Com m itte e : ( 243Z D): As per 74th

Constitutional Amendment, in every State at the district level a
DistrictPlanning Committee will be constituted to consolidate the
plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities in the
district and to prepare a draft developmentplan for the district as
a whole. The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provision
with respect to

(a) The composition of the District Planning Committees; ( DPCs)

(b) The manner in which the seats In such Committees shall be

filled

However it is clearly mentioned in the act that not less than four-fifths
of the total number of members of such Committee will be elected
members of Panchayats at the district level and elected members
of the Municipalities in the district. The composition of the DPC will be
in proportion to the ratio between the population of the rural areas
and of the urban areas in the district.

The State Legislature also has the authority to assign the functions to
District Planning Committee and the manner in which the
Chairpersons of such Committees shall be chosen. Every District
30
Planning Committee while preparing the draf t development plan has
to consider :

(i ) Matters of common interest between the Panchayats and the

Municipalities including spatial planning, sharing of water and
other physical and natural resources , the integrated deve lopment
of infrastructure an d envir onmental conservat ion ;

• The extent and ty pe of available resources whether financial or

othe rwi se ;

• Consult such institut ions and organ isa tions as the Governor may,
by order, specify.

The Chairperson of every District Planning Committee shall fo rward

the development plan , as recommended by such Committee , to the
respective State Gove rnment .

VII) Committee for Metropolitan p/anning. ( 243 ZE)-

There is also a prov ision for the formation of Metropolitan Planning
Committee in every metropolitan area to prepare a draft development
plan for the Metropolitan area as a whole.

The Legislature of a State may, by law , ma ke provision with respect

to the composit ion of the Metropolitan Planning Committees and the
manner in wh ich the seats in such Committees shall be filled .
However the act also says that not less than two -thirds of the
mem bers of such Commi ttee will be elected mem bers of the
Municipalities and Chair persons of the Panchayats in the
Metropolitan area in proportion to the ratio between the population of
the Municipalities and of the Panchayats in that area . The functions
relating to planning and coordination for the Metropolitan area are
assigned to such Committees .

Every Metropolitan Planning Committee w i l l p r e p a re the draft

development plan an d has to cons ider :

6 Status of the Panchayatl Raj in the States and the U n ion territories of I ndia 2000,
I nstitute of Social Sciences. p 1 4

31
( i ) The p l a n s prepared by the M u n i c i p a l ities a n d the P a n c h ayats i n
t h e M etropol ita n a rea ;

( i i ) Matte rs of co mmon i n te rest between the M u n icipal ities a n d the

P a n c h ayats , i n c l u d i n g co-ord i n a ted spatia l p l a n n i n g of the a rea,
s h a r i n g of wate r and oth e r p hysica l a n d natura l resou rces, the
i n te g rated d evelo pment of infrastructu re and e n v i ron menta l
co nservati o n ;

( i i i) The overa l l o bjectives a n d prio rities set by the Gove rnment of

I n d i a a n d the Government of the State ;

( iv) The exte nt a n d natu re of i nvestments l i kely to be made i n the

M etropol ita n a rea by a g e ncies of the Govern m e n t of I n d i a and of
the Gove rnment of the State and oth e r ava i l a b le resources
wh eth e r fi n a n c i a l o r otherwise;

The Metropol ita n P la n n i n g Comm ittee s h o u l d a lso con s u lt such

i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d o rg a n i s a t i o n s as t h e G o v e r n o r m a y ,
b y o rd e r, specify. T h e C h a i rperson o f every M etropolita n P l a n n i n g
C o m mittee s h a l l forwa rd t h e development p la n , as reco m m e n d e d
by such C o m mittee , t o the Govern ment of the State.

X) Bar to interference by courts in electoral ma tters (243ZG) -

T h e va l i d i ty of a n y l a w re l a t i n g to t h e d e l i m i ta t i o n of
co nstituencies o r the a l lotme nt of seats to such con stitu encies
s h a l l not be ca lled in q u estion in any cou rt. No electi o n to a ny
M u n icipal ity s h a l l be c� l Ied i n q u estion except by a n e lectio n
petition p resented to s u c h autho rity a n d i n such m a n n e r as is
p rov ided fo r by o r under any law made by the Leg isl atu re of a
State .

M e m b e rs of the Lo k S a b h a , R ajya S a b h a M P 's a n d M e m bers of

State Leg islative Asse m blies re p rese nti n g constitu e n cies, which
com p rise w h o l ly o r pa rtly the m u n icipal a rea concerned a re also
voti n g members of the M u n ici pa l i ty. The C h a i rperson of the
C o m m i tt e e s ( a p a rt fro m Wa rd C o m m i t t e e s ) w i l l h a v e
re p resentation i n a M u n icipal ity with voti ng rig hts.

32
v i i i ) To p rov ide a d e q u ate re p resentation of Sched i l l e Ca ste a n d
Sched u le Tri bes a n d o f wo men i n t h e M u n icipal bod ies, p rov ision
has been made fo r reserving seats for t h e m . But the n u mber of
seats so reseNed fo r SC/ST is to be in p roportion to th e i r tota l
p o p u lation i n the m u n ic i p a l a rea a n d such seats a re a l l otted by
rotation to d iffe re nt constitu e n cies i n a m u n icipa l ity. Out of the tota l
seats to be fi l l ed by d i rect e lecti o n , n ot less t h a n on e-th i rd seats
a re to be reseNed fo r women belon g i n g to S C/ST. N ot less t h a n
o n e-th i rd ( i n c l u d i n g seats re seNed fo r S C/ST's ) o f the tota l seats
to be fi l led by d i rect e lecti on i n every e lection i n every m u n i c i p a l ity
a re reseNed fo r wo men a n d such seats may be a l l otted by
rotation to d i ffere nt co nst ituencies i n a m u n ic i p a l ity. This is a
m a n d atory prov i s i o n .

The state legis lature b y l a w p rescri bes the m a n n e r i n w h i c h th e

office of cha i rperson s is to be rese Ned fo r S C/ST's a n d
wom e n . The state leg islature i n a s i m i l a r m a n n e r p rescri bes by
law the m a n n e r of rese Nation of the offi ces of the c h a i rperso ns
of M u n i c i pa l ity. T h e state by law a l so reseNes seats o r offices
of the cha i rp e rso ns of M u n c i p a l ities in favo u r of ba ckward
class, wh ich is an opti o n a l p rovision .

4) The term of office of eve ry m u n i ci p a l i ty is five years fro m the

d ate of a p poi ntment. I f d issolved before its term (a cco rd i n g to
law in force) , e lections a re to be h e l d wit h i n six months. N o
a m e n d ment of th e l a w i n fo rce ca n d i ssolve the m u n ic i p a l ity
befo re the expiry of its normal te rm. The State Gove rnme nt o r
its a g e n cies have d o n e t h i s t o ta ke away the poss i b i l ity of
a rb itra ry suspension or s u pe rsess ion of M u n icipal ities. If t h e
State Gove rnment d e c i d e s t o d issolve a M u n ic i p a l ity befo re the
expi ratio n of its n o rmal term i t has to g ive the M u n icipal i ty a
rea so n a b l e o p p ortu n ity fo r b e i n g h e a rd .

5) The qualification fo r b e i n g a m e m b e r of state leg iSlature a n d

fo r b e i n g a m e m be r o f m u n icipal ity a re s a m e , t h e o n ly
d iffe re nce b e i n g that a perso n s who have atta i n ed the age of 2 1
years a re e l i g i b l e to be a m e m b e r o f a m u n i c i pa l ity, w h i le the
co n stitutio n a l req u i re m e n t is that fo r the e lection to the State
Leg islature of a state , a perso n m u st h ave atta i n e d the age of

33
 25 y rs . A m e m b e r of the M u n i c i p a l ity ca n be d isqu a lified o n the
s a m e g ro u n d a s t h e member of t h e state l e g is l atu re .

6) The S ta t e E le c t i o n Commiss ion e nj o y s the powe r of

s u p e ri n te n d e n ce , d i re ct i o n and co ntrol o f the p re p a ra t i o n of
e l ecto ra l ro l l s fo r, and the co n d u ct of all e l ecti o n s to the
m u n i c i p a l ities As per the p rov i s i o n s in the C o n st i t u t i o n the state
leg i s l at u re of a state may, by l aw, m a ke p rov i s i o n s with res pect to
all m a tte rs re l a t i n g to or in co n n ecti o n with , e lecti o n s to
m u n i ci p a l i t i e s . A sta te e l ecti o n co m m i ss i o n e r a p p o i n ted by t h e
Gove r n o r i s to h e a d t h e co m m is s i o n . T h e Gove rn o r of a state ca n
p rov i d e staff to a s s ist the co m m i ssio n to ca rry o u t t h e e l ecti o n
p rocesses.

Some state g overn m e n ts did n ot a d h ere to t h e s p i ri t of the

co n stit u t i o n and v i o lated t h e p r i n ci p l es of d ec e n t ra l ization by
m a k i n g col le cto rs c h a i rp e rs o n s and i n some o t h e rs m i n i sters
(wh o a re t h e i r n o m i nee) of the O P C . H owev e r the d o m i n a n t t re n d
h a s b e e n t o a s s i g n t h i s p o s t to d e mocratica l ly e lected h e a d of
t h e d i strict leve l p a n c h a y a t

T h o u g h co nstituti n g a O P C i s a ma n d atory f u n c t i o n o f eve ry

State, i n p ra ctice o n ly few states l i ke Ke ra l a a n d West B e n g a l
h a ve ta k e n d ecentra l ized p l a n n i n g s e r i o u s l y o t h e rs h a v e s h ow n a
very s l ow a p p ro a c h .

I n s i g hts from G ro u n d Real i t i es :

T h e a bove p rov i s i o n s , have tried to g ive a u to n o m o u s statu s to
the P a n c h ayats a n d the M u n c i pa l it i e s . Yet t h e re a re certain
d i stu r b i n g fa cto rs , w h i ch h ave cre e p e d i n to the effective
f u nct i o n i n g of the P a n c h ay a t i raj i n st i t u ti o n . M i n iste rs a t t h e ce n t re
a n d t h e v a r i o u s d e p a rt m e n ts i n t h e states co n c e r n e d with v a r i o u s
d ev e l o p m e n t s c h e m e s a n d p rog ra m m e s s u c h a s a g ricu ltu re ,
h e a l t h , ed u ca ti o n , wo m e n a n d c h i l d d eve l o p m e n t a n d we lfa re a re
sett i n g u p pa ra l l e l structu res (creat i n g reg i stered societies) , at the
d i strict leve l , t h u s try i n g to bypass t h e ro l e of p a n c h a y a ts.

D istrict R u ra l Deve l o p m e n t A g e n cy ( D RDA ) : Alth o u g h Ke ra l a ,

M a d h y a P ra d e s h a n d Ka r n a ta ka h a v e a b o l i s h e d O R OAs a n d
34
merged them with Z i l l a P a n c h ayats n ow there i� a move to revive
D R DAs. The latest move in the M i n istry of R u ra l Development is to
m a ke a M e m b e r of P a r l i a l m e n t the head of D R DA with the D i strict
C o l l ecto r a s its secreta ry.

Wate rs h e d Deve l o p m e n t P ro g ra m m e (WO P ) : the M i n istry of

Agricu ltu re a n d M i n i stry of R u ra l Deve lopment i m plement these
p rog ra m mes. Th o u g h there is no d ifficu lty i n a l locati n g fu n d s i n the
d i stricts to t h e Z i l l a pa n c h ayats it i s not b e i n g d o n e . The
i m p lementing a g e n cy the refo re should receive fu n d s from Zilla
pa n c h ayat and th u s e n s u re t h a t the res p o n s i b i l i ty of these
p rog ra m mes re ma i n with Zilla panchayat, w h i c h is a democratica l ly
elected body.

J o i n t Forest M a n a g e m e n t C o m m ittee (J F M C ) : t h i s co m m i ttee

works u n d e r the M i n i stry of E n v i ro n ment a n d Forests a n d excl udes
the i nvolve ment of loca l bod ies. Th o u g h there i s a g reater rol e fo r the
P a n chayati R aj I n stitutions in the a rea of affo restation a n d socia l
forestry a n d m i n o r fo rest p rod u ce i n sched u l ed a reas, J F M C
opera tes i n d e pe n d e ntly o f loca l e l ected bod i e s .

Anoth er lacu nae i n the act i s t h a t , the D i strict P l a n n i ng co m m ittees

has been i m p l a nted stra n g e ly in the 74th A m e n d m e n t act, beca use
without execu tive fu nctio ns they will not i n a n y sense be i n stituti o n s
o f self-gov e rn m e n t

Despi te l a c u n a s , n ew pro g ra mmes ca me i nto bei n g . P a rtici patory

a nd s u sta i n a b l e Loca l Level Deve lopment P l a n n i n g with the s l og a n :
' P l a n n i n g b y t h e peo ple a n d for t h e people' ta k i n g place i n Kera la
panch ayats a n d m u n ici pa l ities. About 40 percent of State fu nds has
been a l l ocated fo r the pa nch ayats and Nagar P a l i kas i nstituti ons to
be u sed excl u s ively by it fo r prod u ctive service, socia l service sectors
a n d i n frastructu re i n the ratio 40: 30: 30 i n r u r a l a reas i s someth i n g
w h i c h other states cou l d fo llow.

I n o rd e r to p re v e n t a n y k i n d of m i sa p p ro p r i a t i o n by t h e
re prese ntatives (wh ere t h e re presen tatives u sed the i r position to get
officia l sa n ctions by s u b m itti n g fa lse vouchers and b i ll s) , the right to
I nfo rmati on was i n trod uced . Th is h a s led to tra n s p a rency where
35
 eve ry state is to open th e i r record s to p u b l ic . The rig ht to i n formation
. is getting momentu m , w h e re eve ry citize n has the rig ht to i nformation
and on payment he o r she co u l d d e m a n d a n d receive d eta i l s of the
expe n d iture o n the work d o n e ove r the last five yea rs i n his o r her
v i l lage a n d all the docu ments cou ld be p h otoco p i ed as evidence, to
u se it in fu tu re . Ta m i l N a d u , Goa , a n d Ke ra l a have a l ready fo l l owed it.
States l i ke M P a n d U . P. has opened m a n y depa rtme nts of
P a n c h ayati Raj to p u b l ic eye .

The new panchayati raj h a s opened u p v i stas fo r bette r flow of

i n formatio n . I n fo rmatio n , w h i c h was e a r l i e r, con s i d e red the d o ma i n of
o n ly the d o m i n a n t cla sses has p e rcolated to the pa nchayats , th u s
b ri n g i n g i n tra n s p a re ncy.

S e lf-g ov e r n a n c e fo r the Sched u l ed A re a s :

As per t h e 200 1 ce n s u s tri b a l popu lation constitutes a bout 8 . per
cent of the tota l po p u l ation of I nd i a and majority of t h e m a re
positioned i n ru ra l a reas. M ost of the tri bal societies have t h e i r own
customary laws, th e i r own mode of livi n g , o rg a n ization , tra d itions,
c u l t u ra l mores, etc. a n d a re tota l cut off fro m the rest of the society.
The tri bal peo p le have a strong co m m u n ity o rga n ization t h u s
fo r m a t i o n of fo rma l i n st i t u t i o n s l i ke P a n c h a y a ts c reated a n
a n o m a l o u s situatio n . These formal i n stitutio n s ofte n c a m e i n confl i ct
with the tri ba l c u stoma ry l aws a n d tra d iti o n s . Wh e n ever th ese fo rma l
i n stituti o n s tried asserti n g its a utho rity, confro ntation took place. The
fo rma l i n stitution fa i l ed to recog n ize t h e v i b ra n t tri b a l co m m u n ity
wh ich h a s been m a n a g i n g its affa i rs i n acco rd a nce with its trad ition
th ro u g h ages, meet i n g effectively the c h a l l e n g e s , which have been
co m i n g in i ts way. The ongoing confrontation between tri ba l people
and the forma l system was i g n o red a nd ofte n treated a s law a n d
o rd e r p ro b l e m . T h u s it was felt to bring a system whereby t h e tri b a l
cou l d exercise th e i r freed o m without a ny i n tervention from o u tside
fo rces a n d to c reate a structu re , which wo u l d be i n conso n a n ce with
the trad itio n a l syste m and yet e ncompass the modern elements a s
envisaged i n vario u s pa rts a n d Sched u les of the Con stitution .

A com m ittee co n Sistin g o f M e m be rs o f P a r l i a m e n t a n d Experts u n d e r

t h e c h a i rm a n s � i p 9 f S h ri D i l i p S i n g h B h u ri a , was created to s u g g est a n
., '; "

36
a l ternative syste m to be b u i l t on t h e fo u n d a t i o n of tra d i ti o n a l i n sti t u t i o n s
t h a t existed i n tri b a l area s. T h e com m i ttee w a '2 t o s u g gest steps
toward s :

a ) H a r m o n i z a t i o n o f F i fth, S ixth, E l ev e n t h a n d Twe l fth S c h e d u le o f t h e

C o n st i t u t i o n a s t h ey i n tru d e u p o n the P a n c h a y a t R a j i n stitution s ; b ) to
form u l ate t h e s a l i e n t features of the law t h a t may be ta ken up for
e n actme n t by Parl i a m e n t for exte n d i n g the prov i s i o n s of t h e P a rt I X
o f t h e C o n st i t u t i o n t o t h e S c h e d u led Are a s referred i n C l a u se 1 of
Art i c l e 244 o f the C o n st i t u t i o n s u bject to exce pti o n s a n d
mod ifica t i o n s a s may b e n ecessary u n der Art i c l e 243 M ( b ) ; c)
varia t i o n s a n d mod i f i ca t i o n s in other a rt i c l e s re l eva n t to t h e F i ft h
S c h e d u l e Area s.

The rec o m m e n d at i o n s were as fo l l ows :

•
T h e co m m i ttee fel t t h a t w h i l e s h a p i ng t h e n ew P a n ch ayati Raj law i n
tri b a l areas, t h e tra d i t i o n a l str u cture s h o u l d b e b l e n d ed w i t h t h e
modern str u ct u re a n d d u e a tte n t i o n s h o u l d be pa i d to t h e
u n i q u e n e s s o f tri ba l societies a n d tri b a l area s s i n ce most of th e m
h a v e t h e i r own cu sto mary laws , cu l tura l tra d i ti o n s , m o d e of l i v i n g
etc. S i n ce t h e tri ba l co m m u n i t i e s h ave b e e n l i v i n g i n d e p e n d e ntly for
years t h ey have exerc i sed c o n tro l over a nd a ccess to n a t u r a l
res o u rces. T h e Gra m S a b h a a n d v i l la g e co u nc i l s h a v e been t h e i r
v i bra n t i n st i t u t io n s i n t h e f i e l d of a d m i n i stra t io n , re l i g i o n , p o l itics,
eco n o m i c , justice etc.

• W h i l e d rafti n g t h e law, t h e co m m i ttee felt t h a t t h e a d v a n ta g e s of both

t h e fifth a n d the s ixth s c h e d u l e s s h o u l d be kept i n m i n d. T h e fifth
sched u l e s h o u l d be the treated a s t h e fo u n d a t i o n a n d the d e s i g n
a n d contents of t h e s ixth s c h e d u l e s h o u l d serve a s a refere nce
fra me for a d i stri ct with i n the bro a d ca nvas of t h e fifth s c h e d u l e.
H owever, eth n i c, reg i o n a l a n d other re lated variat i o n s s h o u l d be
g iv e n d u e co n s i d erat i o n .

• At t h e state l eve l t h e t r i b e 's a d v i s o ry c o u n c i l , e n v i s a g e d i n the fifth

sched u l e as a co n s u ltative body, n ee d s to b e reformed tc r;1z:, kc it
more effectiv(. a n d f u n ct io n a l. The c h ief m i n i ster of the state s h o u l d
be i t s c h a i rm a n a n d i ts meeti n g s s h o u l d be h e l d o nce i n every thre e
m o n t h s.

• At t h e ce n tra l l evel, t h e c e n tra l a d v i s o ry c o u n c i l to be rev i ta l i=eG ,

to s e rv e t h e p urrose of tri ba l p o l i c i e s a n d progra m mes a n d rp r , r ' c ;
37
 advice i n d i sputes between a state govern ment a n d the Tri bes
advisory co u nc i l o r betwee n the D i strict C o u n c i l and the tribes
advisory cou n c i l wh ich s h o u l d be b i n d i n g . The prime m i n i ster co u ld
c h a i r its meeti n g s a n d its members may be the m i n isters fo r welfa re ,
h o m e , a n d ru ra l d evelopment a n d t h e d e p uty c h a i rperson o f the
P l a n n i n g C o m missio n .

• M a n y of the existi n g a d m i n istrative bou n d a ries we re created d u ri n g

the co l o n i a l times. After i n d e pe n d e nce, the bou n d a ries exist i n t h e
s a m e s h a pe a n d s i z e . The co mmittee therefo re reco m mended that
bou n d a ries shou ld be reo rg a n ized o n the basis of its geog ra p hy,
eth n icity a n d d e mog ra p hy. The whole p rocess the co mmittee felt
should be co m p l eted a n d fi n a l ized with i n a cou p l e of yea rs.

• The o ra l tra d itio n s a n d m i l i e u is to be kept i n m i n d w h i l e fo rm i n g

cooperative organizations a m o n g the tri ba ls. ( T h e tri ba l societies
a re c h a racterized by com m u n itarian and cooperative s p i rit, v i s i b l e
i n many o f th e i r activities l i ke s h i fti n g cu ltivati o n , house con struction
etc) .

• To assig n Minimal role to the lowe r fu n ctiona ries l i ke the police,

excise, forest and revenue that have shown least i n te rest i n the
tri bal soci ety and h ave a cted i n a n authorita ri a n m a n n e r. Th e refo re
the co m m ittee fe lt they s h o u l d be made to work u n d e r the control of
concerned panchayats to p revent fu rth e r explo itation of the tri bal
co m m u n ity.

• T h e co m mittee fe lt that there s h o u l d be no barrie r fo r the gram

Sabha to ca rry fo rwa rd its tra d itio n a l ro le. F u rt h e r, a g ra m Sabha
may d e l eg ate fu nctions l i ke execution of d evelopment works to its
trad itio n a l body.

• A n u mber of s ma l l v i l lages o r h a m lets to h ave a v i l lage Pa nchayat,

known by d i fferent n a mes such as g ra m panchayat, a n chal o r parha
o r p a rg a n a pa nchayat. Th i s tier is to rese m b l e the lowest tier i n the
1 992 act a n d its mem bers may be e lected d i rectly.

• Co nstitu e n cies co u l d be d e l i mited fo r e lectio n of members to the

i n te rmed iate and d i strict P a n c h ayats. The d i strict leve l panchayat
may be ca l led autonomous district council (ADC).

• I n certa i n d i stricts, the p o p u lation of the sched u l ed tribes is less t h a n

5 0 p e rcent o f its tota l popu lation , but it m a y be co ncentrated i n a p a rt
38
 or pa rts of the d i strict, say i n some b l ocks or a s u b-d ivision or s u b­
d ivisions. Therefore SU b-d i strict Cou ncil may be constituted fo r
such a reas ca lled the autonomous sub -d istrict councils
(AS D Cs) . H oweve r th i s recommen dation s h o u l d be reg a rded as a n
i nte rim arra n g e ment, awa iti ng reo rg a n ization o f ad m i n istrative
bou n d a ries.

• For the o rg a n izatio n a l structu re of the a uto nomous d istrict cou nc i l ,

t h e co m mittee reco m me n d e d t h e adoption o f a b road fra me-d e s i g n
of A D C's conta i n ed i n the sixth sched u l ed a reas n a me l y ; Assa m ,
M e g h a laya, M izora m a n d Tri p u ra There s h o u l d a l s o b e sco pe fo r
sett i n g a p a rt seats (not more t h a n five) i n the D i strict Co u n c i l fo r
m i n o rity tri ba l co m m u n ities, who ca n n ot fi n d re p resentation t h ro u g h
t h e e l ection process . S uch n o m i nations s h o u l d b e made i n
consu ltation with t h e governor.

• Lok S a b h a Schedu led Tri be M P 's s h o u l d be associated with

i n te rmed i ate level of Panchayat and with th e d istrict cou n ci l . But the
re p resentation s h o u l d not be restricted to Sched u led Tri be M LAs ,
eve n n o n-ST M LAs s h o u l d be associated with both tiers.

• S i nce the Sched u l e d a n d th e Tri b a l a rea co n s ist mostly of tri b a l s , the

d iffe re nt tier of panch ayats t h e refore should h ave more of
sched u led tri be m e m be rs . F u rt h e r the c h a i rm a n and the vice­
c h a i rm a n should be sched u led tribe.

• The sixth sched u l e confe rs leg islative , executive , j u d icia l , fi na n c i a l

a n d d evelopmenta l respo n s i b i l ities t o the d i strict co u n c i l . Th e
d istricts i n the Sched u l ed Areas s h o u l d adopt the s ixth sched u l e
fo rmat, a n d expa n d it t o i n c l u d e s u bjects t h a t a re i n d icated i n t h e
E l eventh Sched u le o f the constitutio n .

• The l e g i s lative powers of the ADCs i n the fifth sched u l ed a reas a re

more or less s i m i l a r to th e sixth sched u l e d with some a m e n d m e nts .
For the a d m i n istrati o n of justice the co m m i ttee reco m m e n d ed
fo rmation of a tra d it io n a l J u ry-based l e g a l syste m . It reco m m e n d ed
n o n - i nterfe rence of pol ice i n cases not i nvolv i n g n o n - h e i n o u s
offe n ces. T h e g ra m S a b h a s h o u l d h a n d le such cases.
The sou rces of fu· nds fo r the panchayats i n the sch e d u led a reas
s h o u l d be sa me as the sou rces of fi n a nce mentioned in the 73'd
A m e n d m e n t for the Pa nchayats.

• Fu n d s received fro m so u rces oth e r tha n panch ayats s h o u l d be kept

39
 as " c h a rg e d " categ o ry as o p posed to "Vote d " categ o ry to avoid
m i s u t i l izat i o n o r d iv e rs i o n of fu n d s .

• To p rev e n t m i s m a n a g e m e n t of fu n d s occ u rr i n g i n t h e tri b a l s u b- p l a n

fi e l d s , t h e tri b a l s u b- p l a n fu n d s (wh eth e r p e rta i n i n g to State P l a n o r
s p ecific c e n t ra l assista nce o r a n y oth e r) p e rta i n i n g to d iffe re n t
sectors of d ev e l o p m e n t s h o u l d be p l aced u n d e r A D C ' s fo r
d i stri b u t i o n a mo n g p a n c h ay ats i n t h e d i stricts . M o reover t h e state
a n d the ce ntre s h o u l d d ev i s e method fo r d i rect a l loca t i o n of fu n d s to
theADCs.

• All g ov e r n m e n t s e rv a n ts and offi c i a l s concerned with the

P a n ch a y ats i n t h e sched u led a reas and l ocated with i n its
j u risd i c t i o n s h o u l d be u n d e r i ts co n t ro l .

• As p e r t h e p rov i s i o n s u n d e r t h e s ixth sched u l e a co m m i s s i o n m u st

be a p po i nted by t h e g ove r n o r to exa m i n e a n d re p o rt on matte rs
rel a t i n g to t h e fu ncti o n i n g of A D C s . T h e co m m ittee reco m m e n d e d
t ha t i n s u c h a com mi ss i o n re presentati o n o f sched u l e d tri bes
s h o u l d be t h e re .

• T h e tribes a d v i s o ry co u n c i l s a n d a u to n o m o u s d i strict co u n c i l s i n t h e
Sched u l ed Areas s h o u l d be g iv e n t h e powe r to rev iew t h e re leva n ce
of t h e existi n g laws a n d t h e i r a p p l ica b i l ity a n d to exc l u d e a ny
i rrel eva n t l aws if a n y a n d to i n c l u d e a n y l a w that may be u sefu l .

• T h e law passed by t h e pa r l i a m e n t wi l l s u p e rcede s u c h a n d a ny

d 4th
laws, w h i c h h a v e been e n a cted i n p u rs u a nce of t h e 73' a n d 7
Co n stitu t i o n A m e n d m e n t Acts .

• I n s p ite of a n atte m pt to sched u l e o u t t h e sched u le d a reas sta rte d

e a rl i e r, t h e p rocess sti l l rema i n s i n c o m p l ete . T h e co m mittee
t h e refore reco m m e n d e d the i n c l u s i o n of the left out tri ba l pockets i n
t h e sched u l e d a re a s .

• T h e fra mework of t h e S ixth S c h e d u l e to be looked afresh in t h e

n o rth-eastern reg i o n i n t h e l ig h t o f t h e s u g g esti o n s m a d e b y t h e
com m ittee .

T h e a bove reco m m e n d a t i o n o f t h e c o m m i ttee ta kes i nto acco u n t

p rov i s i o n s o f t h e fifth a n d sixth sched u l es a n d t h e 73'd C o n stit u t i o n
a m e n d m e n t . I t h a s g iven d u e i m po rta n c e t o t h e soci a l , eco n o m i c ,
p o l itica l , a n d c u l t u ra l a s p ect o f t h e tri b a l society. I t h a s a l so ta ken n ote of
40
the tri b a l a reas n ot i n c l u d ed i n the fifth a n d s ixth sche d u les of t h e
Constitutio n .

Based o n the B h u ria co m m i ttees recommen dations fo r self ru l e to t h e

tri b a l po p u l atio n , Pa rl i a me n t extended certa i n p rovisions i n the 73'd
A m e n d m e n t a ct mea nt fo r the Pa nch ayats to the Sch e d u led A reas.
Acco rd i n g ly, a bill was i ntrod u ced i n the Parlia ment on 1 9 Dece m b e r
1 9 96 a n d s u bseq u e ntly, the P resident's g ave h i s a s s e n t o n 24
Dece m b e r 1 9 96 afte r w h i ch it beca me a pa rt of the Constitutio n .
Sched u led Areas u n d e r t h e fifth Sched u l e i n c l u des d h ra P ra d es h ,
J h a rk h a n d , G uj a rat, H i m a c h a l P ra d es h , M a d hy a P ra d es h ,
Chattisgarh, M a h a rashtra, O rissa a n d Rajasth a n . The tri ba l a reas
u nd e r the s ixth S c h ed u l e i n c l u d e Meg h a laya, M izora m , N a g a l a n d
a n d Tri p u ra i n the N o rth Eastern reg i o n .

T h e o u tsta n d i n g featu res o f t h e A c t (exte n s i o n o f S c h e d u led

A reas) i n c l u des the fol l owi n g :

The most nota b l e feature of this act i s that the G ra m S a b h a h a s been

made the n u cl e u s and the so u l of all a ctivities. Th o u g h 73'd Amend ment
has a p rovision fo r the constitution of the g ra m sa bha but it is the State
legisl atu res, which h a s been endowed by l aw to d efi n e the powe rs a n d
fu nction s o f t h e G r a m S a b h a . T h e exten d ed act h owever, h a s m a d e t h e
G ra m S a b h a t h e s o u l o f t h e d e m o c ratica l ly dece ntra l ized
a d m i n istrative structure, the sym bo l of tri ba l identity, tra d it i o n a l
c usto ms a n d pra ctices , a n d c o m m u n ity ass ets . A n y of t h e state
legislation on the P a n c h ayats fo r the tri bal a reas h a s to be i n
a g reement with the customa ry law, soc i a l a n d re l i g ious p ractices , a n d
trad itio n a l p ractices o f co m m u n ity reso u rces.

A v i l l a g e has been recog n ized a s a h a bitation or a g rou p of h a bitatio n s

o r h a m let o r a g ro u p o f h a m lets co m prisi n g o f co m m u n ity a n d m a n a g i n g
its affa i rs i n accord a nce w i t h the t ra d itions a n d custo ms. S i nce the tri b a l
settlements a re scatte red a n d they l ive i n s m a l l u n i ts, each u n it ca n b e
decl a red a s a v i l la g e .

T h e m a n d ato ry p rovis ions of the exte n d e d A ct a re :

1 ) Every v i l l age i s t o have a G ra m S a b h a co nsist i ng o f pe rso ns whose

n a mes a re i n c l u d ed in the e l ecto ra l ro l l s fo r t h e P a n ch ay ats a t th e
v i l l a g e l eve l . Every G ra m S a b h a i s e m powe red to safeg u a rd a n d
p reserve t h e tra d itions, c u stoms a n d c u ltu ra l i d e n tity o f the
people, c om m u n ity reso u rces a n d s ettl i n g local d i s p utes
41
 through customary methods. The Gram Sabha under the
exte nded act is to a p prove plans, prog ram mes a n d projects
mea n t for social a n d eco nomic development of the village
pan chayat prior t o its im plementation by P a n chayats at the
village level. The gram Sabha h as been empowered to identify and
select benefici a ries for povert y alleviation a n d other
program m es . This provision reduces th e cha nce of misuse of
powers by the bureaucracy a nd the politicia ns.

2) Every village panchayat has to get a certificate from the Gram

Sabha for the utilization of funds meant for projects and
p rogrammes for social and economic devel opment, poverty
alleviation and oth er programmes.

3) Acq uiring l and for devel o pment proj ects and rehabilitatio n a nd
resettlement of perso ns affected as a result of any proj ect
underta ke n in the sch eduled areas has to be do n e in consultation
with either gram Sabh a or t h e Pa nchayat at the a p pro p riate level.
Planning and implementation of t h e project has to be coordinated at
the state l evel.

3) P lanning and ma nagement of min or water bodies in the sch eduled

areas h ave to be managed by the P a nchayats at the a p propriate
level.

4) For grant of license or lease of land for t h e purpose of mining min or

min erals, the recommendatio n of the gram Sabha or the panchayat
at the ap pro priate level is mandato ry. Grant of concessio ns fo r the
exploitation of min or min erals by auctio n has to be given on the
recommendations of the Gram Sabha or the panch ayat at the
a p propriate level. This is a measure ta ken to prevent illegal mining
a n d overexploitatio n of natural and eco nomic resources.

5) Besides the above mandatory powe rs the gram sabha or the

panchayat at the a p pro priate l evel enjoy oth er mandatory powers
such as: i) to enforce prohibition or to regulate and restrict the sa l e
and consumption o f any intoxica nt; ii) the own ership o f minor forest
produce and man agement of all types of village markets; iii) to
preve nt a lie nation of land and to take a p pro p riate action to restore
any unlawfully a lienated la nd of a scheduled land of a sch edul ed
tribe in t h e scheduled areas; iv) to exercise contro l over local plans
and its resources including tribal sub- pla ns.

42
6) As per the exte nded Act, Reservation of seats i n t h e sch e d u led
a reas at eve ry pa nchayat has to be i n p rooortio n to the popu lation of
the co m m u n ities in that panchayat fo r vv h o m reservati o n is to be
g iven u n d e r part I X of the constituti o n . Reservation of seats at a l l
tiers o f panchayats for t h e sch ed u l ed tribes s h a l l not b e less o n e-half
of the tota l n u mber of seats ; the act p rovided fu rther that all seats of
c h a i rperso n s of pa nch ayat at all l evel s shall be reserved for the
sched u l e d tri bes.

7) In case there is no re prese ntation of sched u led tri bes at the

i n te rmed i ate o r d i strict level then the state g ove rnment ca n
n o m i nate a person to re p rese n t such tribes b u t the n u mber of
pe rsons to be n o m i nated ca n not exceed o n e-tenth of the tota l
m e m b e rs to be elected i n the pa nchayat.

8 ) The state leg islatu re w h i le e n d owing powe rs to the P a n c h ayats has

to e n s u re that P a n c h ayats at the lowe r leve l do no ass u m e the
powe rs and a u t h o rity of any lowe r level panchayat or the g ra m
sa b h a .

9 ) T h u s w e see t h a t the extended Act g ives the G ra m S a b h a i m me n se

m a n dato ry powe rs . I t g ives t h e m i n depende nce, freedom a n d
a u to n o my t o ta ke th e i r own d ecisions a n d m a n ages their own affa i rs.
The provisio n s a re designed to p rotect the tri b a l s fro m exploitation
and help in th e i r g e n u i n e deve l o p m e n t a n d self-re l i a nce. By
assig n i n g t h e g ra m P a n c h ayats power to a p p rove p l a n s ,
p rog ra mmes a n d projects for the socia l a n d eco n o m i c deve lopment.
I t has tried to re d uce the cha nces of m i s u se of powe r ma i n ly by
p o l itici a n s and b u re a u c ra cy in the management a n d i m plementation
of d eve l o p m e n t p rog ram mes. I t b ri n g s i n tra n s parency a n d
acco u n ta b i l ity i n t h e syste m a n d l e a d s t o closer mon itori n g b y the
local people. I t wou l d h ave been bette r if p rovis i o n s h a d bee n made
w h e re G ra m Sabha cou ld i d e ntify schemes a n d locations for any
p rojects .

1 0) The exte n d e d act has ta ke n cog n izance of the longsta n d i n g

p roblems of the tri bal peo ple i n matters of i n d e btness, l a n d
a l i e n atio n , d i s p l acement, a lcoh o l i s m , rig ht o n wate r, fo rests a n d
other natu ra l resou rces. T h e permission o f the Gram S a b h a o r t h e
a p p ro p riate P a n c h ayat h a s been made m a n d atory w i t h reg a rd to
acq u isitio n , resettlement a n d re h a b i li tation of a ny tri b a l l a n d s .

1 1 ) The exte n d e d p rov i s i o n has tried t o l o o k i nto the pere n n i a l p roblems

43
 of t h e l o ca l s l i ke e n fo rc i n g p ro h i b i ti o n , own e rs h i p of m i n o r fo rest
p ro d u ce , p reve n t i n g a l i e n ati o n of l a n d , m a n a g i n g v i l l a g e m a rkets ,
control ove r m o n ey l e n d i n g , c o ntrol o v e r i n stitutio n s d e a l i n g with
soci a l sectors and their fu n ctio n a ri e s and c o n trol over local p l a n s
and reso u rces i n c l u d i n g tri b a l s u b - p l a n s . T h i s p rov i s i o n th u s
p rotects tri b a l s fro m e x p l o itatio n and help in their genuine
d eve l o p m e n t .

S hortc o m i n g s
T h e rea re Lac u n a e with i n t h e a c t , i t a p p l i e s to o n ly t h e fifth
s c h e d u l ed a re a s ; i t d o e s n o t i n c l u d e t h e sixth sched u l e a re a s .
M o reover t h e re a re m a n y tri b a l a re a s t h a t h a v e b e e n exc l u d ed fro m
both the sched u les, th u s p r ev e n t i n g them fro m re a p i n g the
adva ntages m e n t i o n e d i n t h e s p e c i a l co nstituti o n a l p rovi s i o n s .

1) T h e Act d o e s n ot m e n t i o n a nyth i n g a bo u t ta k i n g away land

b e l o n g i n g t o t h e l oca l p o p u l at i o n by t h e c e n tra l govern m e n t i n t h e
n a m e of n a ti o n a l i n terest. F o r e . g . i n o rd e r to c a r ry o u t a ny
defe n se p ro g ra m me l i ke testi n g of m i s s i l e s , o r co n d u ct i n g n u clea r
tests , t h e gove r n m e n t can act a rbitra ri ly a n d ca n co n d u ct tests o n
t h e l a n d b e l o n g i n g t o th e tri b a l s . T h o u g h a s p e r t h e constituti o n a l
act, t h i s is a c l e a r v i o l a t i o n o r m i s u s e o f tri b a l p ro p e rty. T h e
g ov e r n m e n t i n s u c h cases ofte n g ets away by say i n g t h a t i t i s
c a r ry i n g o n t h e p ro g ra m m e s i n t h e n a m e of n at i o n a l i n t e rests.
S e c u rity of t h e n at i o n i s g ive n p reced e n ce in such cases.

2) T h e rig h ts over land and res o u rces in t h e fo rest reg i o n s w h e re the

tri b a l p o p u l a t i o n s had h i storica l l y l ived h a d b e e n ta ken away by
t h e I n d i a n F o rest Act 1 927 and t h e s u b se q u e n t land a cq u i s it i o n
a cts ( both co l o n i a l a cts) . The s h ed u l e five a re a s and the
P a n ch ayati raj h a d n o t re i n stated t h i s rig h t back to t h e t ri b a l
p eo p l e .

Conc l u s i o n : T h e 73'd a n d 74th a me n d m e n ts a re a m i l e sto n e i n t h e

h i story of t h e r u r a l loca l g ove r n m e n t . It is a n a ct o f P o l itica l a n d
a d m i n i st.ative d ece ntra l izati o n , t h u s rel e a s i n g t h e l o ca l p o p u l a t i o n
from c o n t r o l b y p o l itici a n s a n d b u re a u c ra cy. T h e a m e n d me n t h a s
m a d e a n a tte m pt t o ma ke t h e l o c a l b o d i e s m o re broad b a s e d t o
res c u e them fro m p o ss i b l e domination by the s o c i a l ly and
eco n o m i ca l ly d o m i n a n t fe u d a l l o rd s .
44
B u t t h e quest i o n t h a t re m a i ns to be a n swered is whe ther a mere
constitutional provision is an adequate substitute for political
will to decen tralize and devolve powers to the local bodies ?
Added to th i s , i nte rnati o n a l com mit m e n ts i n t h e form of GATS f u rt h e r
neg ates t h e g ro u n d pri n c i p l es a nd m a k e mocke ry o f t h e system.

D e s p i te all t h i s i nternal and exte rna l i n h e re n t weakn esses sti l l

Pa n c h ayats a re t h e o n l y s pace ava i l a b l e fo r t h e l oca l p o p u l a t i o n to
effectively i n terve n e , expa n d a n d t i l t the ba l a n ce of power in favor of
the m .

Touri s m i s o n e secto r w h e re Pa n c h ayats ca n effectively i n te rve n e i n

se rvices secto r, es pecia l ly w h e n to u ri s m p rojects a re a p p ro p ri a t i n g
s pace a n d res o u rces , i n clud i n g l a n d , water, n a t u ra l re sources etc.
t h a t is mea n t fo r l o c a l i n d i g e n o u s co m m u n i ty u n d e r t h e c u s to m a ry
laws. Proa ctive ly, Pa n c h ay a ts cou ld a l so ra ise voices a g a i nst no n ­
i n cl u si o n o f loca l c o n c e r n s i n p l a n n i n g i m p le m e n ti n g a n d m o n itori n g
o f to u ri s m p roje cts. I t i s i n t h i s backd ro p w e tu rn o u r attentio n t o , t h e
n ext sect io n , w h i c h w i l l a l so t ry t o exp l o re w h e t h e r Pa n c h ayats ca n
ove rri d e t h e p o l i c i e s purs u e d at t h e n a t i o n a l a n d i nt e r n a tio n a l level

S E CT I O N I I I

A n a ly s i s :
Prese n t d a y tour i s m p ro m o t i o n by a n y Gove rn m e n t is p u re ly fo r
eco n o m i c rea so n s beca u s e it assumes t h a t to u ri s m g e n e rates h u g e
fo re i g n exch a n g e and c reates d i rect and i n d i rect employment
o pp o rtun i t i e s i n s e rv i ce s associated with it. I t ra re ly b ri n g s i nto foc u s
t h e i l l a ffects a s s o c i a te d with t h e to u ri s m i n d ustry. I t fa i l s t o a d d ress
the p ro b l e m s of the peo p l e who g ets a ctu a l ly a ffected a n d d is p l aced
a s a res u lt of touri s m i n d u st ry Both n a t io n a l a n d i nte rnat i o n a l p o l i c i e s
d o not g ive e n oug h s p a c e i n t h e i r p o l i c i e s to a d d ress t h e p ro b l e m s o f
the i n d i g e n o u s co m mun ity a t p l a ces w h e re to u ri s m i s p ro moted .

H owever t h e g ov e rn m e n t m a d e s o m e effo rt to b r i n g i n g reater

d ece ntra l ization of powe r to t h e Pa n c h ayats and t h e re by to t h e loca l
peo p l e t h ro u g h 73,d a n d 74'h C o n st i t u ti o n a l A m e n d m e n t Acts. I t
e n d owed t h e Pa n c h ayats with power a n d a u t h o rity a s to e n a b l e t h e m

45
to fu nctio n as u n its of self-g overn ment. They were g iven power to
i m p lement p l a n s for th e socio-eco n o m i c development of their reg ion i n
l etter, b u t i n s p i rit i t i s not s o . B u t as this section reflects that i n sp ite of
these measures, whe never a tourism project comes up in a local a rea,
the Panchayats d o not enjoy e n o u g h power beca use the nati o n a l a n d
i nternational pol icies contravene t h e m and a c t as a stu m b l i n g b l ock i n
exe rcisi n g those m i n i m a l powers T h u s negati ng t h e true spirit of
d ecentra l ization.
The focus of th is section therefore, will be to a n a lyze, how i n spite of
the g ranting Co nstitutio n a l status to the Panch ayats, the present
tou rism policy and the g lobal isation processes and i nternatio n a l trade
agreeme nts namely GATS negates the Panchayats ' powers and are
not favo rable to the local i n h a b ita nts.

The m ethodo logy fo r a n a lysis

Ta b l es have been created so as to focus the rig h ts a n d respo nsib i l ities
of the Panchay ats as per the 73'd and 74'" a m e n d m ent. This is fol lowed
by the req u i rem ents of tourism development, to u rism pol icies and the
i nternational a g reement GATS . Possible a n o m a lies between these are
a lso marked as rem a rks i n the adjacent co l u m n
Ta ble 1 P a n c h ayat Rights a n d to u rism expectations
Rig hts a n d powers Requirements
Remarks
of the Panchayats of the Tourism Ind ustry
L a n d i m p ro v e m e n t , R e q u i re s land to bu ild For acquisition of any land
i m p leme ntation of la nd h o te l s , lodges. res o rts , within the territorial a rea of
refo r m s . R e g u l a t i o n o f l a n d sw i m m i n g pool, casinos, a Panchayat, tourism
u s e a n d c o n s t r u ct i o n o f
g o l f co u rse etc ind ustry needs permission
buildings.
o f the panchayats
A cq u i r i n g I a n d fo r
d e v e l o p m e n t p r oj e c t s a n d R e q u i re s l a nd to bu ild Requires t h e permission of
re h a b i l itat i o n a n d resettl e m e n t hote ls, lodges, re s o rt s , t h e Panchayats.
of p e r s o n s a ffected a s a res u lt sw i m m i n g pool, casinos,
of a n y p roj e cts u n d e rta ken i n golf cou rse etc. and to
S c h e d u led a re a s has to be
c a r ry out other p roje cts
d o n e i n c o n s u l ta t i o n w i t h
r e l a t e d to t o u r i s m
e it h e r G r a m S a b h a o r t h e
Pa n ch a y a t a t the a p p ro p riate
leve l . (t h u s t h e t ri b a l p e o p l e
d o e s n o t h a v e to wa it fo r t h e
concerned a u t h o rities to a ct i n
t h e v i ta l m a t t e r o f l a n d
e x p l o i ta t io n ) .

M i n o r i rrigatio n , water
m a n a g e me nt a n d wate rshed
d e v e l op m e n t .
46
 Panch ayat at the
a p p ro p ri ate l eve l . (th u s
t h e tri ba l peo p l e does
not h ave to wait fo r the
co ncerned a uthorities t o
a ct i n the vita l matte r of
l a n d exploitation).
M i n o r i rrigatio n , wate r R eq u i res water fo r
m a n a g e m e n t a n d the p u rposes rel ated
w a t e r s h e d to the h otel i n d ustry
d evelopment.
P l a n n i n g a n d
m a n a g e m e n t of m i n o r
water bod ies i n
S c h ed u led A reas.
Wa t e r s u p p l y fo r
d o mestic , i n d u stri a l a n d
co m me rc i a l p u rposes .
Roads, c u lverts , bridges,
ferries, waterways a n d
other mean s of
co m m u n ication .
Planning fo r Soci al and
eco n o m i c development.
R e q u i re s l a n d to
b u i l d hote l s , lodges,
r e s o rt s , s w i m m i n g
po o l , c a s i n o s , g o l f Req u i res the permit
cou rse etc . a n d to of the Panch ayats
ca r ry o u t o t h e r
p roj ects re l a ted to
to u rism
Req u i res the permit
of the Panch ayats
For reg u l a r s u p ply of
water i t depends on Req u i res the permit
t h e r i v e rs , p o n d s , of the Panch ayats
l a kes, stre a m s
Req u i res water for various
p urposes rel ated to the Req u i res the permit
h otel i n d u stry. ( b a th i n g of the Panch ayats
washing, d ri n k i n g ,
swi m m i n g , clea n i n g etc
Basic i n fr a s t r u c t u r e
req u i red to fa c i l i tate Req u i res the permit
tourism. For the smooth of the Panch ayats
movement of the tou rists
R eq u i re s proper health
fac i l i ties, sanitation,
g a rbage disposal syste m , Req u i res the permit
reg u l a r water s u p ply, fuel, of the Panch ayats
drainage system, m a rkets,
fa i rs etc
47
Minor fo r e s t s produce ope n i n g the forests to Req u i res the
(community resou rces) tou rists. B i i l d i n g resorts permission of t h e
inside t h e forest. Providing P anch ayats.
Safari to h ave a close look
at the a n i m als. Bonfire etc.

Minor fo r e s t s prod u ce open i n g the forests to Re q u i res t h e

(co m m u n i ty resou rces) tou ri s ts . Biilding resorts p e rm i s s i o n of t h e
i n s i d e t h e forest. Providing P a n c h a y a t s
Safari to have a close look
at the animals. Bonfi re etc

Recommendation of the Gram req u i re s lime, granite, R eq u i res t h e

Sabha or Panchayat is marbles, stones, blue metal p e rm i s s i o n of t h e
mandatory for grant of license for l a y i n g roads, sto n e P a n c h a y a t s .
or lease of land for the purpose slabs for constructio n , sand
of m i n i n g m i n o r m i nerals. etc.

Though generation of
electricity comes
Rural electrificatio n , including Requires street lights.
under the purview of
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f e l e c t r i c i ty.
the state, since it's a
state s u bject. But,
permit of the
P a n ch a yat is
req u ired for street
l i g h t i n g .

Sol i d waste management Req u i res proper and safe e x p e c t s t h e

garbage d isposal system. panchayats to
provi d e.

H e a l th a n d s a n i ta t i o n , Requires proper drainage, e x P e c t s t h e

including h ospitals, primary preca u ti o n a ry h e a l th panchayats to
health centres and measures to cu rb p r o v i d e
d i s p e n s a r i e s . con tag i o u s d i se a s e s .
S p r a y i n g d i s i n fe c t i v e
liquids. and sprays .

48
C u ltural Activities Org a n i zi n g fest i v a l s of expects the
local and i ndigenous panchayats to
deities, e n te r t a i n m e n t provide
acti v i t i e s , circus, fa i rs ,
bullock ral lies etc.

U rban forestry, protection of C o n s u m ption of natural permit of the

the e n v i ro n m e n t and reSOl,liCes . panch ayat is needed
promotion of ecological a s i t belongs t o them
aspects . and they have
acq u i red n atural right
over i t a s a resu l t of
staying t h e re fo r
years .

Welfa re of the weaker section H ave no inte rest in it, on expects the
and in p a rticu l a r Sch ed u le the othe r h a n d they are panchayats to
C aste a n d Schedule Tribes. exploite rs of women and provide
c h i l d re n .

W o m e n a n d c h i I d h ave no interest i n it, on expects the

development. the other hand they a re panchayats to
exploite rs of women a n d provide
childre n .

M a i n te n ance o f com m u n i ty roads, street l i g h ts a n d expects the

assets roadside trees and parks. panchayats to
p rovide

M arket a n d fairs. Local public m a rket

(Sunday m a r k e ts and
weekly m a rk e ts ) , fi s h
market, vegetable market,
local h a n dicraft, jewellery,
shells a n d pearls etc.
May or may not
Labou r
depend on the l a bour
of the locals as they
have their own set of
professional staff and
caterers.
49
Cu ltural Acti vities Food May or may not
depend on them.

Travel C u lture (to see the Req u i res the

culture of the indigenous con sent of the
g ro u ps i n h a b i t i ng there . Panch ayats.

Ta ble 1 F i rst a n d the secon d C o l u m n l i sts out the mandato ry powe r

a n d fu n ctions of the Panchayats g iven u nd e r the Constituti o n a l
Amendment Act n a mely 73'd a n d 74th a n d t h e req u i reme n ts of the
tou rism i n d ustry respectively. A compa rative study has been made
between the a bove ta bles. The ta ble ma kes it very clea r that tou ri s m
i n d ustry is very much dependent o n the P a n c h ayats beca use they
use the resources , which fa l l , with i n the P a n c h ayats territo ria l a re a .
H e n ce i t becomes o b l i gatory o n t h e m t o ta ke the permission a n d
co nsent p r i o r t o m a k i n g u s e o f them. P a n chay ats reve n u e sou rces
ma i n ly comprises of house tax , p roperty tax, veh icle ta x, a n d
enterta i n me n t s u rc h a rg e a n d fee fo r l i ce n s i n g t h e i n d ustries i nc l u d i n g
to u rism i n d u stry. Whe n oth er sou rces of reven u es a re l i m ited they
look for these so u rces to acco m p l i s h m a n d atory a n d d evelopmenta l
fu n ctio n s ass i g n ed t o t h e m . T h i s h a s i nv a ri a b ly fo rced t h e
Panchayats t o i s s u e l icenses fo r s o m e u nwa nted a n d haza rd o u s
i n d ustries t o t i d e ove r t h e fi n a n c i a l crisis i n the a bsence of reven u e
s u p p o rt i n the form of su b s i d i es fro m t h e state excheq u e r a n d
co nsolid ated fu n d .

P u rely fo r mon eta ry ben efits P a n chayats a l lows i n d u stries l i ke

to u rism, to come u p in their reg ion . Wh i l e g ra n t i n g permissio n , the
P a n c hayats too has certa i n expectatio n s .

• T h e Panchayats expects the to u ri s m i n d ustry t o pay tax w h e n

they occu py th e i r l a n d . Thou g h t h e a m o u n t is very m e a g e r t o ta ke
ca re of the socio-eco n o m i c deve l o pment, the P a n c h ayats fu rther
expects a g reater ro le in the i n d u stry itse lf a s it leads to
d isplacement of people a n d p rivatize the i r maj o r so u rce of
l ive l i h ood a n d other natura l ly acq u i red sce n i c bea u ty.
50
• T h e P a n c h ayats a l so expects p ro p e r m a n a g e m e n t a n d l a n d u s e ,
wh ich i s not detri m e n ta l to t h e e n v i ron m e n t a n d ma i n ly a i m i n g
towa rd s the p re s e rvat i o n and co n s e rvati o n of their n a t u ra l
reso u rces a n d h e ri ta g e .

• S i nce t h e h o t e l i n d u stry d e p e n d s o n th e s a m e sou rce fo r wate r,

wh i ch the P a n ch ay ats depend on, the P a n c h ay a ts expects
befo re h a n d to be i n formed a b o u t t h e so u rc e , t h e vol u m e of
req u i re m e n t, as t h ey do not want to be d e p rived of the b a s i c
s o u rce a n d fa c i l i t i e s , w h i ch b e l o n g to t h e m .

• As fa r a s fo rests a n d u s a g e of m i n e ra l res o u rces a re c o n cern ed ,

t h e state acce pts t h e co m m u n ity ' s rig h t over m i n o r forest p rod uce
and m i n o r m i n e ra l s . Wh e n opening the M i n o r fo rests to t h e
to u ri s m i n d u stry, t h e loca l s expects t h e fu l l own e rsh i p of t h e
n a t u ra l p ro d u cts s u c h a s b a m b o o , g u m , h o n ey, co i r, fru its , h e rb a l
med i ci n es b e lo n g i n g t o t h e fo rest a s t h ey e njoy custo m a ry rig h ts
ove r it. B u t it is w i d e l y s e e n t h at t h e loca l s d o not h ave access to
t h e fo rests a n d i ts p rod u cts , o n ce a n i n d u stry is set u p .

A p a rt fro m t h e a bove expectatio n s , t h e ri g h t t o i nfo rmati o n , w h i c h i s

g a i n i n g s u p po rt i n m a n y state s , m a kes it o b l i g atory fo r a ny i n d u stry
l i ke tou ri s m to i n fo r m befo re h a n d to t h e P a n c h ayats a bo u t a n y
p roject fro m its i n it i a l stag e t o i ts co m p l etio n .

• T h e P a n ch ay a ts have t h e rig ht to k n ow a b o u t t h e master p l a n ,

b u d g et a n d p l a n o u tlay of a p roject. T h e P a n c h ayats a l so o u g h t to
k n ow w h a t ro le t h ey a re g o i n g to p l ay fro m i ts p l a n n i n g sta g e to
the i m p l e me n tati o n a n d m o n i t o ri n g .

• The P a n c h ay a ts a l so expects eco n o m i c b e n efit, e m p l oy m e n t

o p p o rt u n ities a n d s o m e voca ti o n a l tra i n i n g a n d e d u ca t i o n fo r i ts
people to g et fa m i l i a rized with the l a test tech n o l o g y and
d e ve l o p m e n t .

• Oth e r exp ectatio n s , w h i ch the P a n ch ayats expects fro m the

51
to u ri s m secto r, a re to keep i n m i n d t h e u n i q u e n ess of t h e l o ca l
t ra d i t i o n a n d c u l t u re

Thou g h the a bove a re the expecta t i o n s of t h e Pa n c hayats , it

becomes t h e d u ty of the tou ri s m i n d ustry to fo l l ow these g u i d e l i nes
when sett i n g up a project. B u t i t i s wid e ly s e e n t h a t w h e n ever to urism
projects comes up in a loca l area, t h e loca l s a re n o t i nvo lved or
co n s u lted ma i n ly o n t h e p re m ise t h a t t h ey are u n e d u cated and l a c k
t h e exp e rtise a n d k n ow-h ow. S o m e me n i a l jobs a re g iv e n to t h e m
a n d o u ts i d e rs occu py a l l h i g h p rofi l e , prestig io u s a n d so p h i sticated
jo b s . In most cases i t i s a l so s e e n that l a n d i s forci b l y taken away by
the states in the n a me of d u b i o u s p u b l i c i nterests a n d g iv e n away to
big h otel c h a i n s , e . g . Goa , wh ere s hacks were re moved and b i g
hote l s were s e t u p i n i t s p l ace . Ta b l e 2 w i l l fu rther make i t clea r t h a t
t h e to u ri s m p o l i cy of t h e g overn m e n t t o o does not acco m mod ate t h e
ri g h ts of Pa n c h a y a ts.

Ta b l e 2 Rig h ts of P a n c h ayats and to u ri s m p o l i cy

R i g hts a n d powe rs P resent To u ri s m p o l i cy

of the P a n c h ayats ( to be rev iewe d )

L a n d i m p rovement, implementation of It is highly capital i n te n s i v e .

land reforms. I n vestments ru ns i n to crores.

Reg u lation of land use and construction Tech nological and efficiency intensive
of b u i l d i ngs. (absence of labour). I n t ro d u c e
p rofess i o n a l ism exce l l e n ce th ro u g h
tra i n i n g and re-tra i n i n g of h u ma n
resou rces. Opti m u m use of e-
com merce a n d e-mails, use o f i n ternet,
settin g of tou rists information Kiosks,
keeping abreast with the latest g lobal
tech n o l og ies to help fac i l itate a n d
p romote tou rism.

Acq u i ri n g l a n d for development p rojects

and reha b i litation a n d resettlement of
persons affected as a res u l t of a n y
proj ects u n d e rtaken in Sch e d u l ed
a reas has to be done i n consu ltation
52
.------ - - -------r-- - -

with either Gram Sabha o r the Big Highways (which a re generally

Panch ayat at t h e appropri ate leve l . fu n d e d by Wo r l d Bank, Asian
( t h u s t h e tri b a l people does n o t h ave to Development Bank etc.)
wait for the concerned authorities to act
i n the vital matter of l a n d exploitation ) .

Minor i rrigati o n , water m a n agement Expand foreign tou rists arrival s , m a i n l y

and watershed development. h i g h s p e n d i n g tou rists w h o needs five­
star accomodati o n , swi m m i n g poo l , golf
course, casinos etc.

Planning and m a n agement of minor Focus on Sooch n a ( i n fo r m atio n ) ,

water bodies i n Sched u led Areas. Swagat (welcome), Suraksha (security)
of the tou rists .
Water su pply for domestic, industri a l Adoption o f n e w tech nology (kiosks, IT
and commercial pu rposes. etc.)

R o a d s , c u l v e rt s , b r i d g e s , fe r r i e s , To ach ieve n ecessary l i n kages and

w a t e rw a y s a n d o t h e r m e a n s o f synergies i n the policies and
com m u n ication . prog rammes of all co n c e r n e d
Departments/agencies by establishing
effective co-ord i n ation mechan isms at
Centra l , State and D i strict leve l . The
focus will therefore be to develop
tou rism as a common endeavor of a l l
agencies vitally concerned with i t at the
Central and State levels, p u b l i c sector
u ndertakings and the private sector.

P l a n n i n g for Social and economic To encou rage Peoples participation i n

development. to u ri s m development including
P a n ch a y a t i R aj i n s t i t u ti o n s , non­
govern mental o rg a n i z a t i o n s and
e n terprising local youths t o create
public awareness and to achieve a
wider spread of tou rists facilities.

M i n o r forests p ro d u ce (co m m u n i ty Steps will be taken to work towards the

resou rces ) . integ rated development of all the tou rist
c i rc u i ts of the c o u n try with the
involvement of all the infrastructu ral
departments, state g overn ments and
the private sector and to facil i tate direct
and easy access to those places from
i n ternational desti n ation s .
53
Reco m m e n d ation of the Gram S a b h a Diversify To u rism pro d ucts i n such a
or P a n c h ayat is m a n datory for grant of way th at i t s u pplements the m a i n stream
license or lease of l a n d for the pu rpose tou r i s m .
o f m i n i n g m inor m i n erals.
R u ra l e l e c t r i fi c a ti o n , i n cl u d i n g The principle of sustainable
d i stri bution of electricity. deve l o p m e n t stip u l ates that the level of
development does not exceed t h e
carry i n g capacity of the a re a . It w i l l be
the Govern m e n t's pol icy to e n s u re
a d h e re n ce to s u c h l i m i ts t h ro u g h
a p p ro p ri a te p l a n n i n g i n st r u m e n ts ,
g u i d e l i n es a n d e n a b l i n g reg u lations
and their enfo rcement.
Solid waste m a n agement Fore i g n i n vestme n ts a n d i n c e n tives to
mai ntain the h i g h q u a l ity stand ards in
services, hotels a n d tou rism rel ated
i n d u stries.

Health and san itation, including Being a global i n d ustry it requ i res th e
hospitals, pri m a ry h e a lth cen tres a n d partici pation of vari o u s i n ternati o n a l
dispensaries. agencies a n d col laborators with other
cou n tries.

C u ltu ral Activities G o v e r n m e n t s u p p o rt fo r s p e c i a l

programmes a n d schemes for the
deve l o p m e n t of North-Eastern States,
H i m a l ayan region a n d island States!
u n i o n territories with a v i ew to ach ieve
overal l eco n o m i c development of the
r eg i o n , a m e a s u re c o n s i d e re d
n ecessa ry to re move reg i o n a l
i m b a l a nces .

U rb a n fo restry, p rotection o f the It seeks to stre a m l i n e the to urism pol icy

e n v i ro n m e n t a n d p r o m o t i o n o f i n such way so a s to avoid adverse
eco l o g i c a l a s pects . U rb a n fo restry, i m pact on the n atural enviro n m e n t a n d
protection of the enviro n m ent a n d cultura l heritag e.
promotion of ecological aspects.

Welfare of the weaker section a n d in

p a r ti c u l a r S c h ed u l e C a ste a n d
Sched u l e Tri bes.
Wom e n and child development.
Mai nte n ance of com m u n ity_ assets .
M a rket and fairs.

54
A look at Ta ble 2 sepa rate ly shows that R i g h ts a n d powe rs of the
P a n c h ayats and present tou rism policy ru n s co n t r a ry to the P a n ch ayats
expectatio n s , t h u s bely i n g t h e rig hts g ra n ted to th e m . Eve n t h o u g h it
ta l ks a bout e n co u ra g i n g peo ples pa rtic i patio n , a n d d eve l o p i n g
n ecess a ry sy nergies a n d co-ord i nation at Centra l , State a n d D i strict
level i n o rd e r to deve l o p to u r i s m , it has left no space fo r it. I t i s h i g h ly
ca pita l i nte n s ive , tec h n o logy a nd efficiency i nte nsive, cate rs to h i g h
spen d i n g tou ri sts w h o wa nts five-star acco m modatio n , ta lks about
adopting new sop h isti cated tech nologies, ta l ks a bout e n co u rag i n g
fo re i g n investme nts t o m a i n ta i n i n g h i g h q u a lity sta n d a rds i n services,
re lated to hotel and to u rism i n d u stries a n d encou rages big h i g hways
each of these in no way i nvolves the parti ci pation of the loca l
co m m u n ity. The a m b i loquy pol i cies of the g overn ment a re more or
less cate rs to the expectation of the hotel i n d u stry. I t i s more i n tu ne with
the o n g o i n g eco n o m i c l i beralization p rocess . It favo rs easy access to
m u lti natio n a l corporations t h u s fu rth e r red u c i n g the ch a n ces of the
P a n c h ayats to i ntervene i n the to u rism secto r. I t fa i l s to a d d ress the
issue of re mov i n g reg i o n a l i m b a l a nces

Ta ble 3 Rig hts of the P a n c h ayats a n d GATS

R i g h ts a nd P owe rs
GATS
of the P a n c h ayats
Land i m p rovement, i m plementation of GATS a l lows foreign service s u p p l iers
l a n d reforms. fu l l access to domestic m a rkets
provided a co u n try commits to o p e n i n g
u p its secto rs .
Reg u lation of land use a n d construction Tou r operators, hotel e n terprises a n d
of b u i l d i n g s . other to u ri s m - a n d travel - rel ated
c o m p a n i e s from o n e co u n try will be
a b l e t o s e t u p operations i n oth e r
cou ntries.

Acq u i ri n g l a n d for deve l o p m e n t p roj ects I n the hotel sector, GATS will fac i l itate
and re h a b i litation a n d resettl ement of fra n c h i s i n g , m a n ag e m e n t contracts ,
perso n s affected as a resu I t of a n y tech nical service agreements, licensing
p roj ects u n dertaken i n Sch e d u l e d a n d patents.
a reas h a s to be d o n e i n consu ltation
w i t h e i t h e r G r a m S a b h a or t h e
Panch ayat at the a p p ropri ate leve l .

55
M i n o r i rrigation , water management
and watershed development.
Plan n i n g for Socia l and
development
M i n o r forest prod uce (co m m u n ity
resou rces)
Recommendation of the Gram Sabha
or Panch ayats i s mandatory for grant of
l icen se o r lease of land for the pu rposes
of m i n i n g m i nor minerals.
Solid Waste M a nagement
I f N a tio n a l Treatment is granted fu l l y,
foreig n compan ies w i l l be able to sell
their services u nder the same terms
and conditions a s d omestic compan ies
and s u p p liers .
Economic Subsidies a n d tax benefits, which a re
major i n ce ntives for development of
d o mestic i n d u stries, will have to be
s h a red with the foreign s u p p l iers . I n
other words it takes away t h e right o f
selective promotion enjoyed by the
domestic i n d u stries.
Redu ction of local equ ity s h a re will
promote fu rth e r concentration and
i n tegrati o n . Relaxin g the terms and
cond itions for t h e foreign s u p p liers and
treati n g them at equal footi n g wi ll pl ace
the local providers at a disadvantage.
Services sectors under GATS include:
Business a n d professional services,
c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e r v i c e s ( p o s ta l ,
te leco m m u n icati o n s , a u d i o v i s u a l ) ,
construction a n d related e n g i n eer
s e r v i c e s , d i st r i b u t i o n , e d u c a t i o n ,
enviro n mental services (water delive ry,
e n e r g y, refu se d i s posa l ) , fi n a n c i a l
services, i n c l u d i n g b a n k i n g a n d
i n s u rance, Health related a n d social
services, tourism and travel related
services, recreatio n a l , cu ltural a n d
sporti n g services, tran sport services.
Sectors in which I n d i a h a s com mitted
o n e c a n e x p e c t fo r e i g n d i re c t
i n vestment.
GATS mainly talks about efficiency in
services and professional management.
Availability of outd ated and depleted
technology and l ack of tec h n ical Know­
h ow, puts the locals at a d isadvantage.
I mport of technology is expensive and
closing the gap between the local
providers and the foreign providers will
be a d ifficult task.
56
 -

H e alth and S a n i t a ti o n , including Will b e a b l e t o move staff t o a foreign

hospitals, pri mary h e alth ren tres and c o u n try and base them without
d i spensaries. restricti o n s .

C u l tu r a l Activiti es. Will be a l lowed to effect i n ternatio n a l

transfers and payments for cu rrent
tran sactio n s without restri ctions

Welfa re of the weaker section a n d i n

p a rticul a r Schedule Caste and
Sched u l e Tribes .

Women a n d C h i l d development.

M a i n te n a n ce of com m u n ity assets.

Markets a n d fairs.

A look at the Table 3 separately further shows that the international

trade agreement, namely GATS does not accommodate local
aspirations and overrides the powers enjoyed by them. Under GATS
providers of travel and tour related services try to expand their business
in destination countries and thus compete with the local providers who
is in no way able to put up a fight with the foreign providers. Technology
transfer is expensive and Involves crores of money, putting the
developing countries at a disadvantage. Availability of outdated and
depleted technology and lack of technological know-how, thus fails to
close the gap between the local providers and the foreign operators.
U nder the National Treatment, treating the domestic and foreign
suppliers equally will place the locals at a disadvantage. Subsidies and
tax benefits, which are major incentives for development of domestic
industries, will have to be shared with the foreign suppliers In other
words it takes away the right of selective promotion enjoyed by the
domestic industries. Reduction of few local equity shares will no doubt
promote further concentration a n d integration. Relaxing the terms and
conditions for the foreign suppliE: is and treating them at equal footing
will place the local providers at an inconvenience. Highways, oversized
high-end airports may be far from the reach and needs of the local
communities who may wish to participate in the benefits of tcurism.

Thus we see present economic priorities and tourism policy of the

government is more in consonance with the international agreements
57
a n d i n no way a c c o m mod a tes t h e loca l co m m u n i ty. I f t h e co n se n s u s i s
in favor of g iv i n g maxi m u m b e n ef its of d eve l o p m e n t a n d g reater
partici patio n and i n v o l v e m e n t of the loca l peo p l e , its t i m e to take a h a rd
look at o u r p re s e n t p o l i cy fra mewo rk . T h e P l a n n i n g C o m m i s s i o n h a s
ackn owl e d g e d t h a t after a l l t h e s e yea rs of State p rog ram mes , t h e
pa u perizatio n , exp l o itat i o n a n d d i s i ntegration of tri b a l co m m u n ities
co n t i n u e s. The State Acts s h o u l d e n d ow the P a n c h a yats with a l l
powe rs: leg i s lative, executive a n d j u d i c i a ry s o a s t o e n a b l e t h e m to
fu n cti o n a s u n i ts of self-gove r n m e n t a n d d e c i d e t h e i r own desti ny
without a ny i nterve n t i o n f ro m a bove . H oweve r in rea l ity states a d o pt a
very ske ptic attit u d e towa rd s t h e P a n c h a yats a n d is see n a s a n
exte n d ed a d m i n istrative struct u re rath e r t h a n treat i n g t h e m a s a u n it of
self-gove rn m e n t. A close look at the b e l ow ta b l e wi l l fu rt h e r reve a l t h e
attit u d e of t h e sta te.

58
 B e h av i o r of t h e States i n devol v i n g i n powe rs to t h e P a n c h ayats :
D ate and Yea r of
U ltimatu m g iv e n S u bjects devolved by State
States Enforceme nt of Rema rks
o n Ame n d i n g the Act Leg i s l atu re to Panchay ats
Act by d ifferent States

And h ra April 24, 1 992 Panchayati Raj Act, 1 994 Mai n te n a n ce of gove r n m e n t The State govern m e n t h a s
Pradesh repl aced the A n d h ra roads and b u i l d i n g s , provision of failed to devolve powers to the
Pradesh Gram Panch ayat street lig hts, s u p p l y of drinking p a n c h a y a ts and has gone
Act, 1 964 and the And h ra w a t e r, s a n i ta t i o n , primary ahead cre a t i n g parallel
Pradesh Mandai P raj a education , c o o p e r a t i ve s , structu res to carry out rural
Parishad and Zi lla agricu ltu ral devel opment and devel o p m e n t progra m m e . A
P ra n a l i k a A b h i v ru d h i housing (Eight s u bjects to the recen t in stance to show this is
Sameeks h a Mandals Act, Gra m Panchayat) . Commu n i ty l a u n c h i n g of a new prog ramme,

01
1 986, in 30 May 1 994. d e ve l o p m e n t , a g ri c u l tu ra l n amed ' J a n m abhoomi' on 1
CD development, animal J a n u ary 1 997 to p r o m o te
husbandry a n d fisheries, rural p a rt i c i p a to r y planning and
h e a l th and s a n itati o n ,
land development i n rural areas. The
development, irrigation, roa ds, p rogramme i n corporated the
e l e c t r i c i ty, edu cation , anti ongoing prajala vaddaku pal ana
poverty prog rammes, women ( a d m i n istration on the door
and child w e l fa re ( Twe l v e step) and the Shramd an
s u bj e c t s to the Mandai ( vo l u n ta ry l a b o u r) schemes.
Parishad) H owever, in bypass i n g t h e
e l ected r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of,
different tiers of th e P a n c h ayats,
the n ew programme has p roved
to be no d i fferent from various
 special schemes and p rojects
of the union and state
governments fo r rural
development a n d t h e M P s and
M LAs Area Development
Scheme. I t therefore violates
the spirit, of not the lette r, of the
7 3 rd Con stitutio n a l
A m e n d me n t , which g i ves
pivotal p l ace to these bod ies in
planning and implementing
p rog rammes o f economic and
Q) soci al devel opment in the
o
village.

Bihar A p r i l 2 4 , 1 992 The B i h a r Panch ayati Act,
1 993, repealed the Old
Panch ayati Raj Act, 1 947,
a n d the B i h a r Panch ayat
Samiti and Zi l l a Parish ad
Act, 1 96 1 .
The Eleventh Sched u l e o f the A conspicu ous omission of the
Constitu tion g i ves twen ty- n i n e act is n o n - i n c l u sion of l a n d
s u bjects to Panch ayats . T h e reforms i n t h e P a n c hayati list.
B i h a r a c t assig n s t h i rty-o n e Witb their p roximity to l a n d ,
fu n ctions to gram panch ayts, vill age P a n c h a y a ts cou l d ,
tw e n ty - s e v e n functions to perhaps, contri bute s ig n i ficantly
samitis and t w e n ty-fo u r in l a n d reforms. There i s a lot 0
functions to p a rish a d s , s u bject overlapping of f u n c t i o n si
to such conditions as may be b e tw e e n the th ree t i e rs .
p rescribed b y the governm e n t Besides, the Panch ayats do no
from time to time. h a ve excl u s i ve j u ri s d i c ti o n ,
 independent of the statE
government over t h e fu nctiom
e a r m a rked for them . Unde
s u c h circu msta n ces most of thE
fu nctions w i l l conti n u e t o bE
p e r fo r m e d by the linE
d e p a r tm e n t of the statE
govern ment. The n ew act kee p�
the Panchayat u nder strong grip
of the state government units,
th us fai l i n g to help them emerge

t
- 1 · · - - --
as u n i ts of self-government.

CJl -G�j� rat r April 24, 1 99 2 The Gujarat Panch ayat Act,
1 993, came i n to force on
The act though reflects a better
understanding of thE
1 5th April 1 9 94 replacing d e m ocratic norm fo r i n te r
the G ujarat panchayat Act, panch ayat control o f u p per tie
1 973. over the lower tier of the
P a n c h ayati R aj I n stitu t i o n s .
However, the act a l so g i ves thE
state g overn ment con cu rren
power to control ove
Panch ayati R aj Institutions
thro u g h com petent auth ority or
its n o m i n ated officers . This
ham pers the g rowth 0
 decentral i zed democracy at
the g rass root levels. The
i n cre a s i n g i nfl u e n ce of the
M LAs and MPs fu rther affects
the fu n c t i o n i n g of the
Panch ayats .

Karnataka April 24, 1 992 The Karnataka act of 1 993
came to force on 1 0 May
1 9 9 3 , is c o n s i d e re d a
l a n d m ark i n the histo ry of
local government in I n d i a ,
as it demonstrated fo r the
(J)
N and
fi rst time the w i l l i n g ness of a
state government to d i vest
itself of su bstantial powers
and fu n ctions i n favor of
su b-state i n stitutions, was
repl aced by the Karnataka
act 1 983.
G ram Parishad were m a n d ated The act is no d i fferent from the
to provide san itary l atri nes to earlier legislation of 1 983; it
households and co m m u n i ty fai led to establish Panch ayats
l atrines, m a i n ta i n water s u p p l y as u n i ts of self-government and
works, achieve u n iversal made it an agency of State
e n rolment i n primary schools g overn m e n t . The sched u les of
u n i versal i m m u n izatio n , the act of 1 993 defines the
among others. The talu k fu nctions of the th ree tiers of
p a n c h a y a t were obliged to P R o n l y i n general terms; there
improve water s u p p l y and to get is no clear division of
h a l f- ye a r l y r e p o rts on the responsibility among the tiers
fu n c ti o n i n g of gram in overl apping fu nctional areas.
Panchayats. Establishment of The general approach of the
health and matern ity cen tres, devolution u n d e r the 1 993 act
social forestry and prevention of fol lows the previous act of 1 983
d r i l l i n g of i rrigation wells i n th e of segregati ng 'reg u l atory' and
vici n i ty of d r i n k i n g water wells 'development' fu n ction at the
were the obligatory fu n ctions of d i strict level and below, the
Z i l l a Parish ads. development fu nctions being
 entrusted to the a p p ropri ate tier
of P a n c h a y a ts . R e s o u rce
t r a n sfe r is mostly tied to
p ro g ra m mes and activities ;
u n tied fu nds are not enough for
the P a n c h ayats for l a u n c h i n g
their own i n itiatives. The
p e rce n t a g e of P a n c h ay a ts
s h a re from the p l a n outlay and
the state's resou rces h ave
been stagnating lower than
what they were i n the l ate

0>
e i g h ties. In areas like, rural
W
e l e c t r i fi c a t i o n , public
d istri b u tion system and rural
housing w here there has been
n o devol ution at all. There is a n
anomaly of the D e p u ty
Comm issioner conti n u i n g to be
in c h a rg e of M e m be rs of
Parliament Local Area
Development Scheme, which
i s itself and a berration i n the
con text of Panch ayati raj and
relief of n at u ral calamities,
even though the i m plementing
 s t a ff are all w i th the
P a n c h a y a ts . The area
development bodies l ike the
Hyderabad- Karn ataka
Development Board, Malnad
Development B o a rd and
Maidan Development Board
co n ti n u e t o fu n cti o n . Their
function overla p with those of
the P R l s .

Kerala April 24, 1 992 Kerala en acted the Kera l a There were 1 26 items for village T h e degree and exte n t o f the
Panchayat act, 1 994, which Panch ayats , twe n ty- n i n e items d e c e n tr a l i z a t i o n p rocess i n
en
.j:>. came i n to force on 23 Apri l , for block level Panch ayats and Keral a h a s been giganti c . I t has
1 994. T h e first e lections to e i g h ty items fo r d i s t r i c t g iven powers and fu nctions
the new th ree-tier Panch ayats . along with i n stitutions and staff
Panchayat Raj set up were and r e s o u rces h a ve been
held in Septe m ber 1 995 tran sferred t o t h e local bodies.
a n d t h e Panchayats came The government did not wait for
i n to being on 2 October the capacity of th e local
1 995. govern ment t o b e b u i l t u p as a
pre-condition for tran sfer of
powers and respo n s i b i l ities. I n
sectors, which looked i n to the
m i n i m u m needs of the locals,
l i ke p rovid ing m i n i m u m needs
 l i k e shelter, d r i n k i n g water,
s a n itati o n facil ities and
co n n e c t i v i t y, the local
govern ment h as p e rfo rmed
beyo n d expectations. In oth er
sectors like agriculture, a n i m a l
h u s b a n d r y, health and
education , they h ave been good
model to be adopted by other
state s . Yet there are so me grey
areas, th e Eleventh Sched u l e o f
the Constitu tion actu ally does
en not carve out the fu n ctional
(J1
domain of the Panch ayats. It
only l i sts out th e d evelop mental
areas wh ere such l ocal
governments cou ld h ave ro l e i n
planning fo r economic
deve l o p m e n t a n d soci al ju stice
and i n the im plementation of
_ �u c h pl� n s
j- - ·r - _ _ __ _ _'_

P l a n n i n g , a pproval o f b u dget, Of th e 29 s u bjects mentioned in

'

Ta m i l April 24, 1 992 After a l o t of waverin g ,

Nadu Ta m i l Nadu under the selection of beneficiaries of all the XI sched ule only two
A D M K rule fel l i n l i n e with schemes, auditing t h e su bj ects h ave been allocated .
the Con stitu tion (Seventy- Panch ayats a n n u al state m e n t One is the land devel opment
a n d its implementatio n . a n d M a r k e t a n d fa i r s .
 After a lot of wavering, Development officials working
i n t h e Panchayat bodies a re
Ta m i l Nadu under the
d e c l a re d a s g o ve r n m e n t
ADMK ru le fel l i n line with
officials a n d t h e y do not come
the Constitution (Seventy­
u n d e r the p u rview of local
T h i rd Amend ment) Act and
bodies. As a result, the local
passed th e Tam i l N adu
bodies cannot s u p e rvise the i r
Panch ayat Act in 1 994. I t
acti vities. C o m p a red t o th e
c a m e i n to fo rce o n 2 2 Apri l ,
earlier act 1 958 with the new
1 994.
act, one finds that there were
adequate powers in the earlier
law for the local bodies to
s u pervise reg u late and control
0)
0) the offici a l s working with them .
The district collector's arbitrary
power to suspend and d issolve
the gram P anchaya ts is against
the spirit of decentra l i zation .
The Centre and State have
i n troduced schemes like, Anna
Marumalarchi Thittam scheme
(An n a re n a a isance scheme)
and N amakku N a me Scheme
(we for o u rselves) , which tries to
bypass the Pancha yats powers
and works against the local
i n te rests .
 Madhya April 24, 1 992 The M a d h ya Pradesh Management of public The fu nctions of the Gram
Pradesh Panch ayat Raj Adh i n i yam, markets/melas (fa i r ) , Panchayat in th is act are mainly
1 993, was passed by the emerg e n c y re l i ef a n d work m u n icipal in nature. Though
State Legislatu re on 30 relating to rural development, school management and the
December 1 993 and came agricu lture, welfare of weaker r u ra l h e a l th c e n tres were
i n to effect on 25 Janu ary section , school management transferred t o Panch ayats with a
1 994 replacing the earlier and the ru ral health centres . new post of C h ief Medical
Panchayat Act of 1 990. Officer ( C M O) to look after the
E l ecti o n s to the G ra m health programmes u nder the
Panch ayats and Zilla Zil l a Panch ayats . However, in
parish ads were held i n May actu a l practice the CMO
and J u n e 1 994. remains a govern ment official
d i rectly a n s w e ra b l e to his
0>
---I departmental su periors b u t for
certain fu nctions, he moves the
papers to the ch ief executive
officer of the Zill Panch ayat.
Similarly schools continue to be
of govern ment.

West April 24, 1 992 West Bengal en acted the West Beng al's Panch ayati raj is
Bengal West Bengal Panch ayati a success story. The
Act i n 1 994. i nstitu tion alization of Panch ayat
d e m ocracy along with land
r e fo r m a re the two most
i m portant achievements o f the
Left Front government that has
 achieve m e n ts of the Left Fro n t govemment th at
has been i n power in t h e state co nti nuously fo r
more than two decades. In the management of
poverty a l l eviati o n prog rammes t h e states record
h a d been better than that of other states as th e
state h a d been given the e n tire respon s i bi l i ty of
i m p l e m e n tation of all such programmes. The
Panch ayats of West B e n g a l a r e not mere paper
org a n izati o n s but h ave been g i ven sU bsta n t i a l
respo n s i b i l ity in rural d e ve l o p m e n t w o r k s ,
p a rticul arly in the i m p l ementati o n of poverty
a l l evi atio n p rog rammes. As a result, these local
bodies a re today a n i n d e pendent part of th e
en
co delivery syste m of the state govern ment in the
ru ral a reas. One d isturbi ng feature of West
Bengal's P a n c h ayats i s t h e i r fai l u re to raise l ocal
resources . No atte m pt is made to raise n o n -tax
reven u e , o r to generate l oc a l contribution o r to
access i n stituti o n a l fi nance. With no resou rces of
their own even to bal ance thei r revenue budget,
effectiveness of these bodies depend tota l l y u p o n
t h e grants of the state govern ment. The dream of
Panch ayats emerg i n g as i n stitutio n s of 'self­
g o vern m e n t' thus fac i l itati n g genuine
decentralization of gove rn ance sti l l rem a i n s a
d ream.
From the a bove ta b l e it i s clear that most state g overn ments h ave n ot
shown m u ch vision on en a cti n g new P a n c h ayati raj l aws. The
exce pti o n s being West B e n g a l and Kera l a where decentra l ization of
powe r has been exten sive and g e n u i n e . A part of the fa ult l i es in the
syste m , a pa rt i n the immed i ate soc i a l e n v i ronment but a large
pa rt is to be attri b uted to the contro l l i n g state g overnment itse lf.
I n adeq u a cy of fu nds ava i l a b l e to loca l bod ies a n d c reation of
para l l e l structu res to ta ke over the m a n datory powe rs of the
P a n c h ayats h a s been a c h ro n i c p ro b l e m before all loca l bodies.
Powerfu l g ro u ps based on caste a n d eco n o m i c status d o m i n ate the
local g overn m e nta l bod i e s . Th oug h , the states have a ccepted the
73'd a n d 74th Amend ments i n l ette r rather th a n i n s p i rit, i n m a ny State
Acts , civ i l serva nts a re i n d i rectly g iven powers ove r the elected body
th u s m a k i n g the devol ution of powe rs a n d fu n cti o n s to the
Panch ayats g o at a snail pace.

The b u reau cracy and politicians sti l l enjoys fi n a n c i a l and eco n o m i c

powe r vis-a-vis the e lected re p rese ntatives at the pa n c h ayat level . To
m a i n ta i n such a positio n , the a rg u ment they p u t forwa rd i s that i n
most o f the v i l lages a n d d i stricts, the feu d a l e lemen ts a n d l a n d
own i n g sections a re sti l l d o m i n a n t a n d t h a t t h e i r c h a n ces of m i s u s i n g
the politica l a n d eco n o m i c power a re h i g h e r. F u rther, t h e a rg u me n t
they p u t fo rwa rd is t h a t the voices o f i l l ite rate Sched u l e Castes,
Sched u l e Tribes, women and other m a rg i n a l ized sections may not
ca rry the same weig h t while d ecid i n g i m p o rta nt matte rs even if they
occu py i m porta n t positi o n s i n the P a n ch ayat Raj I nstitu tions. These
a re the fl i m sy g ro u n d s , w h i ch b u reau crats use to wield power.

The a bove a rg u ments o n l y goes to prove that there has been

re l u cta nce on part of state-level politici a n s to recog n ize t h e
importa nce o f the loca l govern a n ce- t h e i r a uto n o my, t h e i r powers a n d
thei r a rea of fu n cti o n i ng-, w h i c h is a g a i n c reati rlg p roblems i n
d evolv i n g powe rs . M i n isters , MLAs a n d s e n i o r pol itica l leaders a re
more wurried that the powe r they enjoyed so fa r wi l l wa n e i f
P a n ch ayats a n d m u n ici pa lities become rea l ly row e rfu l . State-level
leaders d o not l i ke the emerg e n ce of loca l level le�ders h i p , a s it
wou l d pose c h a l l e n g e to them in due cou rse.

68
T h i s l e a d s us to p ro b e i n to t h e issues of fed e ra l i s m a n d l o o k i n to t h e
q u estion of w h a t ma kes t h e states b e h a v e i n a d iffe re n t m a n n e r.
T h e re is n o d o u bt t h a t t h e fed e ra l structu re of t h e co nstitution h a s
m i se ra b ly fa i l ed to d i stri b u te powers e q u i ta b l y to t h e states a n d t h e
P a n ch ayats . I t o n ly p ro m otes ove r cen tra l ization of powers i n t h e
h a n d s of U n i o n Gove r n m e n t , wh ich I n t u r n makes t h e states re l u cta n t
to d e v o l v e powe rs t o t h e P a n c h ayats. T h e Sa rka r i a C o m m i s s i o n
reco m m e n dat i o n s , w h i c h favors state a uto n o my at l e n g th n e e d s t o
be t h o ro u g h ly i m p l e me nted a n d p ractice d . Wh e n States e nj oy fu l l
a u to n o my, i t w i l l a u to mati ca l l y l ead to t h e d evo l u t i o n of p owe r to t h e
l o c a l g overn m e n t . T h e b e h a v i o r o f t h e states i n d evo l u t i o n of powe r
to t h e P a n chayats w i l l co m e with o u t re l u cta nce a n d i n h i b i t i o n s . I n
a d d i t io n , mea s u res s h o u l d b e ta ken to a m e n d t h e constitu t i o n to
acco rd sta t u s to the E l eventh Sched u l e a n d to treat i t a t pa r with t h e
C e ntra l l i st, State l i st, a n d co ncu r re n t l i st.

Th is w i l l h e l p e m bo l d e n the P a n chayats r i g hts, as t h ey k n ow best

what is good fo r the d ev el o p m e n t of t h e i r reg i o n . Dece n t ra l ization
should be p racticed in true s p i rit. A p a rt fro m this the ri g ht to
i n fo rma t i o n shou ld be fo l l owed by e v e ry sta te to m a i n ta i n
tra n s pa re n cy a n d p reven t a ny k i n d o f e x p l o i tati o n .

T h e re h ave b e en i n sta n ce s , wh ich s h owed t h a t i n s p ite o f l i m itati o n s

a n d a rb itra ry attitu d e o f t h e States , pa n c h ayats p l ayed a cru c i a l ro l e
i n c h a l l en g i n g t h e a u toc rat i c natu re of t h e State a n d b u rea u c ra cy, a n d
a l so c h a l l e n g i n g t h e l i be ra l izati o n p rocess, ta k i n g s h a pe i n t h e form
of m u l t i n a ti o n a l s col l a bo rat i n g with t h e i r I n d i a n pa rt n e rs to sta rt t h e i r
I n d i a n ventu re s . M N Cs w h e n i n itiate a p roj ect s h ows n o co n c e r n fo r
t h e l ife , c u l t u re , e n v i ro n me n t a n d l o n g term effect of t h e i n d u st ri a l
wa ste o n t h e n a t u ra l resou rces such as water a n d so i l .

A rece n t case i n t h e p o i n t i s t h e Th a pa r-D u pont Company, w h i ch

did n ot g e t p e r m i ss i o n fro m t h e P a n c h ayats fro m a Ke ri v i l l a g e
P a n chayat i n Goa . T h e C o m p a n y w a s n ot a l l owed t o sta rt work a n d
w a s i s s u ed a s h ow ca use notice . Th o u g h t h e co m p a n y we n t o n a n
a p pe a l a g a i nst t h e P a n chay ats o rd e r b u t h a d t o s u b m it t o t h e
P a n c h ay a t , a s t h e K e r i v i l la g e P a n chayat stood fi rm b y n o t a l l ow i n g
p e r m i s s i o n . I f P a n c h ayats h ave a powe r i n d e c i d i n g cases as was

70
done in Dupont c ase .

I n another instance , the Government of Karn at a ka le ased out l ands

in sched uled are as for minin g operat ions to non-tribals without
consult in g them, thus contraven in g the f ifth schedule of the
Const itut ion . The Adiv as is i n An ant a gir i m and a i of v izag d istr ict in
Andr a Pradesh were victims of powerful economic lobbies- the
mining ind ustry . Sm all pr iv ate min in g companies were i n occup at ion
of t rib al l ands and were usin g t ribals as l aborers . The tribals in Borr a
P anch ayat who h ave been l iv in g in these h i lls for centur ies (the Borra
c aves which are world f amous geolo g ic al format ions of st al act ites
and st al a gmites d ate b ac k to the pre -histor ic a ge ) were den ied t it le
deeds to their own l ands . On the othe r h and m inin g comp an ies were
g iven le ases by the state s ince the 1 96 0s on t rib al and forestl ands .
The f irst company to enter the are a w as B i rl a Per iclase, which is a
company of Ind i an R ayon and Industr ies. The comp a ny w as g iven a
le ase of 1 20 acres of l and in a sm all interior v ill a ge c alled
N imm al ap adu , for exp loiti n g c alc ite , one of the p rincipal r aw m ate ri als
fo r their Se a Water M a gnesi a plant ne a r Bh iml i .

The tr ib als of Bo rra P anc h ayat with the help of an N G O , n amed

S am ata put up a f i ght directly a g a inst th e state as it w as found out
th at the le ases were a g a inst the l and t ransfe r re gul ations of the
scheduled are a (the LT R Act 1 of 1 9 7 0 ) and st a rted question in g the
le g al ity of these le ases . A stron g peoples movement w as bu ild up
and a le g al b attle w as fou ght to question the states r i ght to grant
min in g le ases in the scheduled are a to pr iv ate comp an ies as the
le ases amounted to tr ansfer of tr ib a l l ands to non-tr ibals.

Public interest liti g ation w as filed in the h i gh cou rt of Andhr a Pradesh

in 1 9 93 on the grounds that the government w as also a 'pe rson' (non­
trib al ) and hence does not h ave the powe r to gr a nt le ases in a
scheduled a re a to non-trib als . A st ay o rder w as g ranted and for the
fi rst t ime afte r independe nce , the tr ib als of B o rr a P anch ayat
cult iv ated thei r own l ands . In 1 9 9 5 the st ay o rder w as l ifted and the
c ase w as d ism issed by the High court. This p rompted th e S am at a to
t a ke the issue of t ribals to the Supreme Cou rt. I n July 1 9 9 7 , the
histor ic judgment w as m ade which declared th at m in in g le ases in the

71
Sched u l ed a re a s were a g a i n st the l a n d tra n sfer reg u l at i o n s, a n d
t h e refo re, n u l l a n d vo i d . T h e C o u rt reco g n ized t h e 73'd Co nstitution
Ame n d me n t Act a n d t h e A n d h ra P ra d e s h P a n c h a y a t R aj ( Exte n s i o n
t o Sched u le d A reas) Act b y sta t i n g t h a t the G ra m S a b h a s s h a l l be
c o m pete nt to safe g u a rd a n d preserve co m m u n i ty resou rces a n d
t h e re by re i t e rated t h e n eed t o g ive t h e ri g h t of s e l f-gov e r n a n ce to
tri bals. The co u rt a l so recog n ized t h a t the Gove rn m e n t co u l d n ' t lease
o u t l a n d s in sched u led a reas fo r m i n i n g o pe rati o n s to n o n-tri ba l s as i t
i s I n con trave n t i o n of the fifth sched u l e o f t h e C o n stitu t i o n .

T h e l e g a l v icto ry was a g reat rea s s u ra n ce o f d e mocratic space to

tribal a n d con stitu t io n a l r i g hts. M i n i n g activ ities i n the s c h e d u l ed
a reas of A . P. i m med iately ca m e to a halt and t h e co m p a n i e s were
d i rected to close d ow n t h e i r work. Tri bals co u l d take back t h e i r l a n d s
a n d p ra ctice a g r i c u l t u re a n d a re l iv i n g a life of d i g n i ty s i n ce t h e o rd e r.

Apa rt fro m t h e a bove i n sta nces t h e re a re o t h e r i n sta nces l i ke the

B a lco case and t h e En ro n i s s u e, w h i c h a g a i n g o e s to prove t h a t t h a t
the P a n c h ayats ca n assert t h e i r rig h ts w h e n ever th e i r rig h ts a re take n
away u nco n st i t u ti o n a l ly. M o n i to r i n g of a l l s u c h p rojects a n d the
powe r to term i n ate t h e m fo r n o n -fu l fi l l m e n t of o b l i g a t i o n s- s h o u l d be
h a n d l ed d i rectly by the co m m u n ities concerned, perh a ps in the form
of preva i l i n g s e l f-g overn m e n t i n stitutions l i ke P a n c h a ya ts . Beca u se
as bitte r experi e n ce s h ows t h a t aski n g a d m i n i st ra t i o n ' s c u t off fro m
the peo p l e to e n fo rce reg u l a t i o n s e n s u res noth i n g but g ra ft,
i n eff i c i e n cy a n d reso u n d i n g fa i l u re .

F ro m expe r i e n c e i t i s a l so s e e n t h a t s o m e P a n c h a y a t a re proactively
expa n d i ng t h e s pa ce eve n with i n t h e a va i l a bl e s pectru m and have
bee n effectively a d d ress i n g m u l t i -fa ceted i s s u es i n c l u d i n g l iveli hood,
e m pl o y m e n t g e n e ra t i o n , effective use of l o ca l res o u rces and
protect i n g t h e e n v i ro n m e n ta l res o u rces. I t i s c l e a rly esta b l i s h ed fro m
the fi rst term of P a n c h ay a t Raj ( B etwee n 1 993- 2001 ) that
P a n c h a y a t i h ave d o n e exte n sive work o n a d d ress i n g i n frastructu re
i s s u e s of v i l l a g e s s u c h as l a y i n g m eta l roa d s, r u ra l e l ectrifica t i o n ,
street l i g h ts, w a t e r s u pply a n d provid i n g cre m a t i o n g ro u n d s .

72
The need of the h o u r is bottom l i n e pl a n n i n g s h o u l d be d o n e
acco rd i n g t o loca l specificities, effective a n d mea n i ngfu l p a rtici pation
i n the decision making process , control ove r resou rces fo r eq u i ta b l e
a n d s u s ta i n a b l e u s e of s u c h re s o u rc e s , i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f
d e v e l o p m e n t p ro g ra m m e s a n d m o n i t o r i n g t h e e x t e n t o f
i m p lementati o n , b y themselves. I n n uts h e l l - a l l powers a n d fu nctions
to pla n , i m plement a n d m o n itor i n cl u d i ng -executive, legislature a n d
j u d i c i a l s p h e res which i s the i n tent o f t h e true local self-gove rnance .
Considering t h e constitution a l status, clea r d e m a rcatio n o f s u bjects i n
the X I Sched u le , pa rtici patory de mocratic stru ctu re to the g ra m
sa b h a , P a n c h ay a ts h av e sco p e to expa n d t h e i r d o m a i n of
g ove rna nce and effectively assert th e i r rig hts in deci d i n g their own
deve lopment.

T h i s all goes to p rove beyond dou bt that whe never p rojects , l i ke

tou rism comes u p i n a loca l a rea , P a n c hayats have the true potential
to exercise t h e i r constituti o n a l powers assertively to q u esti on the
parad i g m of development.

B I B I L I O G RA P HY:

P r i m a ry S o u rces :
1 . Governmen t of In dia, Ministry of Tourism, ( 1 9 9 8) , Draft N atio n a l
To u rism Pol icy Septe m b e r 1 998 , D raft N at i o n a l To u rism P o l i cy,
Septem be r 1 998 .

2 . G e n d e r a n d Tou ri s m : Wo men's e m p loy ment a n d partici pation i n

To u rism , S u m ma ry o f the re port pre p a red fo r the U N C o m m ission
on S u sta i n a ble Deve l o p ment 7'h Sessio n , N ew Yo rk, April 1 999.

Seconda ry S o u rces :
1 ) Somnath C h i b "Essays on Tourism" ed ited by Ratna S a h a i ,
C ross S ectio n P u b l i cati o n s P rivate L i m ited , N ew Del h i , 1 989.

2) B hati a , A. K. " Tourism in In dia: History and Development' ,

Sterling P u b l i s h i n g P rivate L i m ited , New D e l h i 1 978.

3 ) B h a ti a , A . K. " Tourism Developmen t: Principles and Practices" ,

73
Ste rl i n g P u b lish e rs P rivate L i mite d , N ew D e l hi , 1 9 9 6 .
4 ) S m i t h L . Va l e n e , (ed . ) S m i t h a n d Wi l l i a m R. E a d i n t o n " Tourism
alterna tives: Poten tials and problems in the developmen t of
tourism" , T h e U n iversity of P e n n sy lva n ia P re s s , 1 9 9 2 .

5) C o l i n M i c h a e l H a l l , " Tourism a n d Politics: Policy, Power and

Place" , Bookcraft ( 8a t h ) L i m ited , 1 99 4 .

6) D u rg a Das Basu , " Introduction to the Constitution of India " ,

P re n t i ce H a l l of I nd i a P rivate L i m ited , N ew D e l h i , 1 9 9 8 .

7) D r. B . D . S h a rm a , " Tide Turned, The Making o f Tribal Self-Rule in

the first Cen tral L a w in the wake of Bhurial Committee Report,
P u b l is h e d by S a h ayog P u stak Kut i r, 1 9 9 7 .

8) D r. B. D . S h a r ma , " Whith e r Trib a l A re a s ? Constitu tio n a l

Amendmen ts a n d A fter' , S a h ayog P u stak K u t i r, 1 9 9 5 .

9) " Status of Panch ayati Raj in the Sta tes a n d Union Territories of
India 2000' , P u b l is h e d by t h e I n st i t u te of Soci a l S c i e n ce s ,
C o n ce pt P u b l i s h i n g C o m pa ny, N ew D e l h i , 2 0 0 0 .

1 0 ) D r. B . D . S h a rm a " Globalisation: The Tribal Encounter' , H a r­

A n a n d P u bl icati o n s , N ew D e l h i . 1 9 9 5 .

1 1 ) P ra n Seth , " Successful Tourism Ma nagemen: Fundamen tals of

Tourism" , Ste rl i n g P u b l i s h e rs P rivate L i m ited , N ew De l h i , 1 9 9 9 .

1 2 ) " Kerala : Exploring Future Fron tiers in Tourism Developmenf' ,

Depa rt m e n t of To u ri s m , Kera la, Equ a t i o n s , B a n g a l o re , J u ly, 2 0 0 0 .

1 3 ) Tou rism P o l i cy of I n d ia : An Exp l a i n a to ry Stu d y, Equa t i o n s ,

Ba n g a l o re , 1 9 9 5 .

1 4 ) N i rm a l M u ka rj i , " Th e Third Stra tum" , Eco n o m i c a n d Pol itical

Weekly, M a y 1 , 1 99 3 , p p . 8 5 9-62 .

1 5 ) Edwa rd M a t h i a s , " Panchayati Raj Institutions and Role o f NG Os" ,

I n d i a n Soci a l I n stitute, N ew D e l h i , 2 0 0 0 .

74
1 6 ) R aj S i n g h , " Panch ayati Raj Manual: A Socio- Historica/- cum­
Legal Perspective " , A n m o l P u b l i cati o n s , N ew De l h i , 1 996 .

1 7) M a th u r, S . N . "Nyaya Panchayats as instruments of Justice" ,

I n stitute of S o c i a l S c i e n ce s .

NEWSPA PER A ND CLIPPINGS:

1 ; The H i n d u , " Righ t to Informa tion A ct will be brought in soon ",
B a n g a l o re P u b l icatio n , 2 5 F e b r u a ry, 2 00 1 .
2 . T h e Ti m e s of I n d i a , " Power to Panch ayat", 24 A p ri l , 2 0 0 1 .
3 . Eco n o m i c Ti m e s , 1 3 , M a rc h , 2 0 0 1 .
4 . F a i r Tra d e i n To u ri s m , The m a g az i n e of To u ri s m C o n ce r n ' s F a i r
Tra d e i n To u ri s m N etwo r k , I s s u e 1 , S p ri n g 2 0 0 0 .
5. E Q U AT I O N S , B riefi n g p a p e r on the GATS , Dece m b e r, 2 0 0 0 .

G l ossa ry :
1. Local S elf- Government I t i m p l i e s t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f loca l
affa i rs by t h e loca l p e o p l e It d e a l s with p r o b l e m s of t h e l oca l
co m m u n ity l i ke h e a l th , s a n itatio n , water s u p p ly, p r i m a ry e d u catio n ,
co n structio n a n d m a i nte n a n ce of l o ca l tracks a n d roa d s , street
l ig h ti n g , d ra i n ag e , d i sposa l of sewa g e , u p ke e p of pa rks a n d
g a rd e n , esta b l is h m e n t o f l i b ra ri e s a n d rea d i n g roo m s a n d oth e r
s u c h a ctivities .

2. Panchayat T h e word P a n c h ay a t is d e rived fro m the S a n s krit

word panch. As t h e word s u g g ests i t mea n s five a n d h e n ce h a s
tra d itio n a l ly bee n u s e d to ca n n ote a n asse m b ly of five e l d erly a n d
res p e cta b l e pers o n s of t h e v i l l a g e . T h e word i s n ow u se d t o refe r
to ru ra l l o ca l g overn m e n t .

3. Gra m(a) : Vi l l a g e .

4 . Gram Sabha: I t i s t h e bottom l ev e l body i n t h e P a n c h ayati raj

syste m . It i s p e rceived as t h e p ri m a ry body of P a n c h ay a t raj
syste m d es i g n ed to fac i l i tate d i rect pa rtici pation of the peo p l e i n
loca l a ctivities. I t i s a statutory body a n d co n s i sts o f a s se m b ly of
a l l a d u lts res i d e nts in the v i l l a g e .

5. Panchayat Samiti: I t i s t h e i nterme d i ate tier i n t h e P a n c h ay a t i raj

syste m of r u ra l l oca l govern m e n t in I nd i a .

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6. Zilla Parishad: I t con stitutes the a pex i n the P a n c h ayati raj
system of rura l loca l g overn m e n t i n I n d ia.

7. Di.s trict: means a d i strict i n a State o r a p o rtion of territory, reg ion

o r loca l ity, notifi ed under the statutes of the state.

8. Intermediate level: It mea ns a level between the v i l l a g e and

d i strict levels s pecified by the Governo r of a State by p u b l i c
notification .

9. Panchayat area: mea n s the territorial a rea of a P a n chayat.

1 0. Population: I t means the p o p u l ation a s ascerta i n ed at t h e last

p reced i n g cen s u s of wh i ch the releva n t fig u res h ave been
published.

1 1 . Metropolitan area: I t mea ns a n a rea having a p o p u lation of ten

l a k h s or more co m prised in one or more d i stricts a n d co nSistin g of
two or more m u n icipal ities or panch ayats or other conti g u o u s
a reas, s pecified b y the g overnor b y p u b l i c n otification t o be a
metropol ita n a rea.

1 2. Municipal area: I t means the territo ria l a rea of a m u n i c i p a l ity a s

notified b y the gove rnor.

1 3. Nagar Panchaya : It is m a i n ly a tra n siti o n a l a rea, a n a rea that i s

tra n sfo rmed fro m a ru ra l t o a n u rb a n a rea . S u ch a n a rea i s
basica l ly r u ra l i n c h a racter, which ove r a period of time d evelop
u rba n ch a ra cteristics. S u ch a n u rb a n loca l body wo u l d have to
perfo rm both ru ra l a n d u rba n fu n ctions . N a g a r P a n c h ayats even
now exist in some states.

14. M unicipal Councils : It i s constituted in a s m a l l e r u rban a rea .

1 5. Municipal corpora tions : I t i s constituted for larg e r u rb a n a reas.

I t i s the top m ost of u rb a n loca l g overn ment. I t is set up u nder a
speci a l statute by the state leg islatu re .

1 6. Constitution : I t i s a body of fu ndame nta l p r i n c i p l e s a ccord i n g to

which a state is g overned .
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1 7. Directive Prin ciples of State Policy: It is enshrined in the
fourth part of the Constitution . They are unique and n ovel in so
far as they describe the ambitions and aspirations of the framers
of the Constitution. It is not a legal part of the Cor stitution and is
not enforceable by any court of the country.

1 8. Eleventh Schedule: It lists out the powers and rights of the

Panchayats as may be necessary to function as a unit of self­
government.

1 9. Twelfth Schedule: It lists out the powers and rights of the

Municipalities as may be necessary to function as a unit of self­
government.

20. Fifth Schedule: The major features of the Fifth Schedule are
Tribes Advisory Council, Governor's power to adapt laws passed
by parliament and State Legislatures and making regulations for
the Scheduled Areas having the force of law, and extension of
the executive power of the U nion Government to the giving of
directions to a State for administration of Scheduled Areas. It
provides for Scheduled Area of a State, an enabling frame for
legislation in the form of regulations, tribal con sultative
machinery in the form of Tribes Advisory Council and is
paternalistic in its design . It contains the potential to become a
pote n t i n strume n t for preve n t i o n of exploitation a n d
discrimination as well as for governance of Scheduled Areas in
tribal interests. The fifth Schedule includes eight states namely,
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan .

2 1 . Sixth Schedule: It pertain s to the Tribals i n the North Eastern

States. It deals with constitution of autonomous district councils
and autonomous regions specifying for them legislative, judicial,
executive, developmental and financial powers and functions. It
spells out in different spheres the concept of self-man agement
for autonomous councils and region al councils at the districts
and region al level respectively The tribal areas under the sixth
Schedule i nclude Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura in
the North Eastern regioil.

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