1.

INTRODUCTION

1.1.What is Democracy Decentralization ?

Democratic decentralization is the development of reciprocal relationships
between central and local governments and between local governments and
citizens.the transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from
the central government to subordinate or quasi-independent government
organizations and/or the private sector.In 1993, the Government of India
passed a series of constitutional reforms, which were intended to empower
and democratise India’s rural representative bodies – the Panchayats. The 73rd
Amendment to the Constitution formally recognised a third tier of government
at the sub-State level, thereby creating the legal conditions for local self-rule –
or Panchayati Raj. Since this time, the process of decentralisation has been
highly variable, ranging from ambitious attempts at Gram Swaraj (or village
self-rule) in Madhya Pradesh to political re-centralisation in Karnataka. Early
experiences have also revealed considerable uncertainty and confusion about
the precise political, administrative and fiscal powers Panchayats have in
relation to the States, line ministries, and local user groups. This, in part,
reflects the fact that the 73rd Amendment gave the State governments
considerable autonomy to interpret and implement the constitutional reforms.
India, of course, is not alone in this process. Decentralisation has emerged as a
dominant trend in world politics. In 1998, the World Bank estimated that all
but 12 of the 75 developing and transitional countries with populations greater
than 5 million had embarked on a process of political devolution (cited in
Crook and Manor, 1998: 1). At the heart of this transformation are a number of
complex yet inter-related themes. One is an ideological shift, in which the
legitimacy of central state-led development has been challenged on the
grounds that it produces systems of governance that undermine national
economic performance and effective public policy (Gore, 2000; Johnson and
Start, 2001). A second is a (remarkably widespread) political agenda, which
asserts that the decentralisation of public administration and the introduction
of locally elected bodies will produce systems of governance that are better
able to meet the needs of poor and politically marginal groups in society. A
third and related theme suggests that democratic decentralisation is a political
strategy that national élites have used to maintain legitimacy and control in
the face of political disintegration. Here it can be been argued that economic
liberalisation, political regionalism and the rise of powerful inter- and sub-
national actors have weakened the traditional nation state and created the
conditions under which more local identities could emerge (Giddens, 1998).
Assertions in favour of decentralisation are often founded upon a wider
critique of central state planning, which holds that large and centrally-
administered bureaucracies represent an inefficient and potentially destructive
means of allocating resources (and generating wealth) within society. Two
assertions are generally used to substantiate this claim. One argues that
central state agencies lack the ‘time and place knowledge’ to implement
policies and programmes that reflect people’s ‘real’ needs and preferences. A
second and related assertion is that time and place gaps give local officials
unlimited ability to distribute resources and extract ‘rent’ as they see fit. Such
outcomes are believed to be particularly prone in poor countries, where
government represents a vital source of wealth, and mechanisms to ensure
accountable governance are often poorly enforced. In theory, decentralisation
would undermine these opportunities by creating institutional arrangements
that formalise the relationship between citizens and the state, giving the
former the authority to impose sanctions (such as voting, recourse to higher-
level authorities) on the latter. Decentralisation is also thought to create the
conditions for a more pluralist political arrangement, in which competing
groups can voice and institutionalise their interests in local democratic forums.
Finally, it is argued that decentralisation creates institutions that are more
amenable to local needs and preferences. However, a problem that is well-
recognised in the literature on decentralisation is that the devolution of power
will not necessarily improve the performance and accountability of local
government. Indeed, in many cases, decentralisation has simply empowered
local élites to capture a larger share of public resources, often at the expense
of the poor. Reflecting on these relatively long-standing problems, an
important strand of scholarship in the decentralisation literature has argued
that the underlying distribution of assets and entitlements will have an
important bearing on 2 the extent to which marginal groups are able to take
advantage of the mechanisms and opportunities created by decentralisation,
and improve their ability to gain access to the (various) resources provided by
the bureaucratic state.

BACKGROUND OF DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA

Decentralisation In India
In india, the process of decentralization was conceptualized long back since the
pre-independence era. The Constitution of India provided for Village
Panchayats in the Directive Principles of the Constitution. Article 40 of the
Constitution provided with the following that, ‘the State shall take steps to
organize village panchayats and endow them with such power and authority as
may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.’
Although many state governments attempted to translate this Directive
Principle into practice by enacting necessary legislation and creating
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), but with limited success. Against this
background, the need for providing a firm Constitutional status for PRIs
became necessary.

The First Five Year Plan

The initial efforts at outlining decentralized planning of development

commenced with the First Five Year Plan (1951–56), which recognized
the need to break up the planning exercise into national, state, district
and local community levels, but did not spell out how this was to be
operationalized. In January 1957, therefore, a Committee under the
chairmanship of Balwant Rai Mehta was formed by the National
Development Council to enable the Government of India to spell out and
frame the structure of the local self-governments.
A commitment to the reduction of poverty has been a defining characteristic of
the Indian state, from the time of Independence to the present day. As Kohli
(1987: 62) has argued, the Indian state that emerged after Independence was
deeply committed to ‘industrialisation, economic growth and a modicum of
income redistribution.’ In terms of poverty reduction, this involved an early
attempt at improving agricultural productivity through the implementation of
land reforms, agricultural cooperatives and local self-government (Harriss et
al., 1992; Varshney, 1998). From an early stage in this process, the reduction of
poverty and the empowerment of poor and politically marginal groups in India
have been strongly associated with at least some form of decentralisation (e.g.
Drèze and Sen, 1996; Jha, 1999). Perhaps the most enduring image of
decentralisation in India is Gandhi’s vision of village Swaraj, in which universal
education, economic self-sufficiency and village democracy would take the
place of caste, untouchability and other forms of rural exploitation. Although
this vision has been hotly debated since (at least) the time of independence
(see, especially, Ambedkar’s debates with Gandhi, cited in World Bank, 2000a:
5), Gandhi’s vision has had an enduring effect on the ways in which
decentralisation has been argued and defended in Indian politics. Beyond the
symbolic imagery of the independent ‘village republic,’ an important element
of this relates to the idea that formal, constitutional changes in India’s
administrative system can have a lasting impact on informal and unequal
structures like caste, class and gender. (We shall return to this theme in due
course.) Box 2 gives an idea of the various commissions and committees that
have inspired contemporary thinking about Panchayati Raj in India. Perhaps
the most important among these – particularly since independence – were the
B. Metha Commission of 1957, the Asoka Metha Commission of 1978, and the
G.V.K. Rao Committee of 1985. An enduring issue that features in all of these
assessments is the notion that the Panchayats have been weakened or
undermined on three fronts: (1) States that are unwilling to devolve
substantive power; (2) a resistant bureaucracy and (3) the power of ‘local
élites.’ Such realisations were instrumental in the drive to give the Panchayats
constitutional status in the 73rd Amendment

In 1993, the Government of India passed a series of constitutional reforms,

designed to democratise and empower local political bodies
Milestones In Indian Decentralisation

.Box 1.
1882 = The Resolution on Local Self-Government.

1907 = The Royal Commission on Decentralisation. 1948 Constitutional

debates between Gandhi and Ambedkar on Gram Swaraj, ‘self-rule’.

1957 = Balwantrai Mehta Commission – an early attempt to implement the

Panchayat structure at district and block (Samithi) levels. 1963 K. Santhanam
Committee – recommended limited revenue raising powers for Panchayats
and the establishment of State Panchayati Raj Finance Corporations.

1978 = Asoka Mehta Committee – appointed to address the weaknesses of

PRIs, concluded that a resistant bureaucracy, lack of political will, ambiguity
about the role of PRIs, and élite capture had undermined previous attempts
at decentralisation, recommending that the District serve as the
administrative unit in the PRI structure. Based on these recommendations,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal passed new legislation to
strengthen PRIs.

1985 = G.V.K. Rao Committee – appointed to address weaknesses of PRIs,

recommended that the block development office (BDO) should assume broad
powers for planning, implementing and monitoring rural development
programmes.

1986 =L.M. Singvhi Committee – recommended that local self-government

should be constitutionally enshrined, and that the Gram Sabha (the village
assembly) should be the base of decentralised democracy in India.

1993 = The 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution – PRIs at district,

block and village levels are granted Constitutional status. The Gram Sabha is
recognised as a formal democratic body at the village level. The 74th
Amendment, granting Constitutional status to municipal bodies, is passed
soon after.

1996 = The Adivasi Act – Powers of self-government are extended to tribal

communities living in ‘Fifth Schedule’ areas
2.3.The 73rd Amendment……
The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act was passed in 1992 and it came into
effect on 24 April 1993. The Act empowered state governments to take the
necessary steps that would lead to the formalisation of the gram panchayats
and help them operate as units of self-governance.

It provides for a 3-tier Panchayat system, which would be constituted in every

state at the village level, intermediate level and district level. This provision
brought the uniformity in the Panchayati Raj structure in India. The idea
which produced the 73rd and Amendment[12] was not a response to
pressure from the grassroots, but to an increasing recognition that the
institutional initiatives of the preceding decade had not delivered, that
the extent of rural poverty was still much too large and thus the existing
structure of government needed to be reformed. This idea evolved from
the Centre and the state governments. It was a political drive to see
PRIs as a solution to the governmental crises that India was
experiencing.

The Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, passed in 1992 by

the Narasimha Rao government, came into force on April 24, 1993. It
was meant to provide constitutional sanction to establish "democracy at
the grassroots level as it is at the state level or national level". Its main
features are as follows:

 The Gram Sabha or village assembly as a deliberative body to

decentralised governance has been envisaged as the foundation of
the Panchayati Raj System.73rd Amendment of the Constitution
empowered the Gram Sabhas to conduct social audits in addition to
its other functions.
 A uniform three-tier structure of panchayats at village (Gram
Panchayat — GP), intermediate or block (Panchayat Samiti — PS)
and district (Zilla Parishad — ZP) levels.
 All the seats in a panchayat at every level are to be filled by elections from
respective territorial constituencies.
 Not less than one-third of the total seats for membership as well as office of
chairpersons of each tier have to be reserved for women.
 Reservation for weaker castes and tribes (SCs and STs) have to be provided
at all levels in proportion to their population in the panchayats.
 To supervise, direct and control the regular and smooth elections to
panchayats, a State Election Commission has The Act has ensured
constitution of a State Finance Commission in every State/UT, for every five
years, to suggest measures to strengthen finances of panchayati raj
institutions.
 To promote bottom-up-planning, the District Planning Committee (DPC) in
every district has been accorded to constitutional status.

An indicative list of 29 items has been given in Eleventh Schedule of the

Constitution. Panchayats are expected to play an effective role in planning and
implementation of works related to these 29 items.

The 73rd Amendment: major provisions

Box.2.
1. The establishment of a three-tier PRI structure, with elected bodies at
village, block and district levels (States with populations less than 2 million
are not required to introduce block-level Panchayats);

2. The recognition that the Gram Sabha constitutes a deliberative body at

the village level;
3. Direct elections to five year terms for all members at all levels;
4. One-third of all seats are reserved for women; reservations for SCs and STs
proportional to their populations;
5. Reservations for chairpersons of the Panchayats – Sarpanches – following
the same guidelines;
6. State legislatures may provide reservations for other backward groups;
7. A State Election Commission (SEC) will be created to supervise, organise
and oversee Panchayat elections at all levels;
8. A State Finance Commission (SFC) will be established to review and revise
the financial position of the Panchayats on five-year intervals, and to make
recommendations to the State government about the distribution of
Panchayat funds.
 Decentralization in odisha

The process of decentralized planning got its momentum after the 73rd
Amendment of Indian Constitution during 1992. The village level Panchayats
were the units of local governance and administration during the British
regime. Under the First Government of India Act, 1919, Madhusudan Das was
appointed Minister of Local self-government in the new Government of Bihar
and Odisha, but was forced to resign. He had moved a resolution for the
formation of a separate Odisha Province in the plenary session of the Indian
National Congress in 1903. However, the first evidence of the idea of a three
tier Panchayati Raj System comes from Mr. D.P. Mishra, the then Minister for
local selfgovernment in Central Provinces and Berar under the Govt. of India
Act (II) of 1935. He suggested a three-tier structure of local government with
district as the nodal point. Since then it has been observed that the degree of
devolution of power in Indian States has gradually increased, thus giving the
common Indian villager a hope and optimism that the Gandhian ideal of a
system of governance from below will be achieved at some point of time.

Evolution Of Decentralisation In Odisha

Odisha as a province was formed on 1st April 1936. The election for the first
Provincial Decentralized Planning and Budgeting Process in Odisha : Key
Opportunities Pravas Mishra Assembly took place in January, 1937 which
included 56 seats meant for elected representatives including 41 general rural
seats, 6 for scheduled castes, 2 for women, 2 for landlords, 4 for the
Mohammedans and 1 for the Christian community. In pre-Independence
period there was no uniform pattern of local governance in Odisha. It was
governed by different local acts like Bihar and Odisha Local Self-Government
Act, 1985; Bihar- Odisha Village Administration Act, 1922; Madras Local Boards
Act, 1920. Besides, Sambalpur Local Self-Government Act, 1939 was also in
force, which was inherited from the local administrative system of the former
Central Provinces and Berar. Post-Independence period In the post
Independence period, the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act of 1948 was passed in
the new Assembly with its developmental, civil and judicial functions. In 1956
Shri Nabakrishna Choudhury, the then Chief Minister of Odisha introduced
Anchal Sasan in continuation to Gram Sasan as mentioned in the Odisha Gram
Panchayat Act of 1948.The Odisha Anchal Sasan Act that came into force after
the abolition of Zamindaris in 1952 aimed at establishing administrative
decentralization. Following the recommendations of Balwantray Mehta
Committee, Odisha passed the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad Act of 1959.
These acts provided for the establishment of Samitis at the intermediate level
and Zilla Parishad at the district level. Thus a three-tier system evolved with
establishment of Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads on January 26, 1961,
along with the already existing Gram Panchayats. During the year 1964, a
comprehensive Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964 was passed replacing the
1948 enactment. The functioning of the 3-tier system continued till 1968 when
the government abolished the Zilla Parishads on 1st November 1968 by
amending the Odisha Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad Act, 1959. In an
attempt to revitalise the PR bodies the Odisha Government in 1991 passed
three important Acts - the Odisha Gram Panchayat (Amendment) Act, the
Odisha Panchayat Samiti (Amendment) Act, and the Odisha Zilla Parishad Act.
Through these acts the Odisha Government ushered in rapid changes in the
powers and functions of Panchayat Raj bodies with a view to enabling them to
bring out rural development through people’s participation. All the above Acts
were further amended to bring them in conformity with the Constitution’s
73rd Amendment Act of 1992. The State Assembly passed the required
conformity Acts in 1994, 1995, and 1997 to set in place the present form of the
3-tier system of Panchayati Raj. The First Amended State Act came into force
from April 24th 1994.The three-tier PRIs as per the 73rd Amendment Act came
into operation mode after the elections were held during the year 1997

Decentralization of Planning Process in Odisha

The Amendments during 1992 in India’s Constitution sought to institutionalize
the concept of decentralized planning keeping in view the 150
recommendations of the 7 Round Tables Conferences of Ministers in charge of
Panchayati Raj, organized by Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.
The seven Round Table Conferences were held from July to December2004, at
Kolkota, Mysore, Raipur, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Guwahati and Raipur. A
Compendium of 150 Resolutions of the Seven Round Tables was assimilated in
the form of a Road Map to ensure devolution to PRI’s in Odisha.
The powers devolved by the Government of Odisha to the 3 tier
PRIs were as follows:

* District level Officers, the Block Level Officers and Village Level functionaries
of the 11 Departments will remain accountable to Zilla Parishad, Panchayat
Samiti and Gram Panchayat respectively for implementation of
subjects/schemes transferred to PRIs. But they will continue as the employees
of their respective Departments.

*The District level, Block level and G.P level functionaries of different
Departments will attend the meeting of Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and
G.P respectively.

*They shall plan on the schemes for discussion and approval in the meeting of
respective level of PRIs.

*The President, Z.P, Chairman Panchayat Samiti and the Sarpanch G.P are
delegated with power to sanction the leave of Head of Office/Institution of 11
Departments working at the respective level.

Certain special provisions were considered necessary for the Panchayats of

those areas where tribal population was preponderant. Certain tribal enclaves
within the States other than the North-Eastern States of India are known as the
5th Schedule areas. It was provided in the 73rd Amendment that its provisions
would not be directly applicable to these areas. They could be extended in the
5th Schedule areas only by a law of the Parliament. Such law could make
necessary modifications of the Constitutional provisions to ensure that the
Panchayats of these areas can adequately take care of the social, cultural and
economic interests of the tribal communities. Consequent to the
recommendations made by the Bhuria Committee headed by Dileep Singh
Bhuria in June 1994, the Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act
(PESA Act) was passed by Parliament in 1996, to extend the provisions of the
Constitutional Amendment to the fifth schedule areas of nine States. These
States are required to make Amendments to their respective Panchayats Acts
in terms of the Central Act. In an attempt to assess the extent of devolution of
Functions, Funds and Functionaries in Odisha, Indian Institute of Public
Administration (IIPA) with the support of Ministry of Panchayati Raj had
conducted a study during 2012-13. Odisha is placed eleventh in devolution
index among twenty eight select states of India.

3. URBAN & RURAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

Two major forms of local self-government exist in India: In the urban
areas, that is, in cities and towns, local self-governance is carried out by
municipalities and corporations. In the rural areas, that is, in villages, Zila
Parishad, block samitis, and panchayats carry out the functions of local
self-governance.

3.1 .Rural Self-Government in Odisha

The rural local government, also called Panchayati Raj, is the third tier of
Indian federalism. It derives its power and share of resources from the
respective states

At the village level is Gram Panchayat. It consists of members called Panch

headed by the Sarpanch. Its members are directly elected by the people of the
Gram Sabha which is composed of the entire voting population of a village or a
group of villages. Gram Panchayat is the decision-making body and it works
under the supervision of Gram Sabha which meets at least twice a year.
A group of Gram Panchayats forms the Panchayat Samiti at the block level. All
the panchayat members elect the members of a Panchayat Samiti.
At the district level we have a Zilla Parishad which is formed by all the Zilla
Parishads in a district. This body consists of elected members along with
members of the legislative assembly and members of parliament from that
particular district. The chairperson of the Zilla Parishad is the political head of
this body.

 Constitutional mandate – PRIs to work for Economic Development & Social

Justice
 50926 Villages, 6798 GPs, 314 PSs, 30 ZPs with106487 Elective
Representatives.
 2 nd executive leader post in all 3-tier PRIs for women in Odisha .
 PRIs at a Glance Election as per PESA in 2012 with PRIs at all levelsheaded
by STs in 2099 GPs, 122 PSs 2 executive leader post in all 3-tier PRIs for
women & 14ZPs
 21 subjects subjects of 11 departments transferred to PRIs as per 73rd
Amendment.
 21 subjects subjects out of 29 of 11 departments

Growth Of 3-tier PRIs: Odisha.

YEAR GP PS ZP
1991-92 5263 307 13
1997-98 5263 314 30
2002-03 6234 314 30
2014-19 6798 314 30
2020-21 6798 314 30
2022-23 6798 314 30
 ZILLA PARISHAD
- Out of 29 subjects required to be transferred to PRIs as per the 11th
schedule of the constitution, 19 subjects transferred to the control of Zilla
Parishad. However concerned Dept. have Function ...... Cont. of Zilla
Parishad. However concerned Dept. have the option to place fund with Zilla
Parishad to implement their programme or to get the programme
implemented through their district level officers with the approval of Zilla
Parishad.
Functions Of Zilla Parishad
(i) undertake schemes or adopt measures including giving of financial
assistance relating to the development of agriculture, social forestry, live stock,
industries, co-operative movement, rural credit, water-supply, distribution of
essential commodities, rural electrification including distribution of electricity,
minor irrigation, public health and sanitation including establishment of
dispensaries and hospitals, communications, primary, secondary and adult
education including welfare and other objects of general public utility

PANNHAYAT SAMITI
Every Gram Panchayat under a Block Panchayat chooses one/two/three
individuals specifically to the Block Panchayat. Gram Pradhans are ex-offic .
Every Block shall have a Samiti consisting of the following members ( Sec – 16
) Chairman / Vice-Chairman P.S.Member Sarapanch of the G.P. M.Ps
& M.L.As representing Block area. Member of the Council of States ( in case
of Registered Voter of the Block area).

Representatives Administrative Officials

• Chairperson • B.D.O
• Vice-Chairperson • A.B.D.O
• P.S.Members & Sarapanches • Asst. Engineer
• Standing Committees • Extension Officers / J.Es • VLWs/
E.Os
Functions Of Panchayat Samiti
1. Construction and Maintenance of Public Facilities

2. Levying and collecting local taxes

3. Executing government schemes related to generating employment in the

village

4.water supply,Street Lights ,observing lower employees….etc

GRAM PANCHAYAT

³The State shall take steps to organise village Panchayats and endow them with
such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as
units of Self-Government´ -Article 40 of the Indian Constitution. A democratic
political system involves the decentralisation of power to the Local
Government. Local Government is the representative political institution,
which is concerned with the local conditions, local needs, local opinions. It is an
essential part of the fabric of democratic Government. It is not possible on the
part of the Central Government situated at Delhi or any State Government
situated at State capital to understand seriously and properly the problem of
rural areas. The decision makers should hand over power to solve local
problems and implementation of the local developmental programmes in the
hand of the elected leaders of the local area. Power must not be concentrated
in the hands of a few persons in a democratic system. According to Lord Acton,
³Power corrupts and absolute Power corrupts absolutely.´ Considering this
statement the Government decided for the decentralisation of power. It
implies the extension of democracy depends on the popular and active
participation of its people in the process of administration. The System of Local
Administration through people¶s popular bodies especially Gram Panchayat is
not new. It had its origin in the ancient times. In the ancient times, Village
Panchayats.
Structure…….
Grama Panchayat is the bottom of three tier Panchayati Raj System in Orissa. It
was constituted as per the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964. A Group of
contiguous villages constitute one Grama. The population of a Grama is more
than 2000 and less than 10,000 for each Grama there shall be a Grama Sasan.
The Grama Sasan is a corporate body. The office and headquarters¶ of the
Grama Sasan is situated with the limits of the Grama. Grama Sasan is
otherwise known as µGrama Sabha¶ in Orissa. It meets at least two times, one
in February and the other in June, every year. The quorum for the meetings is
one-tenth of the total members of the Grama Sasan. There is one Grama
Panchayat for each Grama Sasan. It is the executive authority of the Grama
Sasan. After the constitution of a Grama the Collector of the District
determines about the number of wards in accordance with Article 243(C) of
the Constitution. Normally a village is composed of one or more than one
ward. The total number of wards of a Grama Panchayat cannot be less than 11
and more than 25. Each Panchayat area is to be divided into different
territorial constituencies (wards). It should be divided in such a manner that
the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of
seats allotted to it shall be same through out the Panchayat area. Grama
Panchayat is constituted with one Sarpanch, one NaibSarpanch and Ward
Members. Sarpanch is elected by the electors of whole Gram Panchayat. One
Ward Member is elected from each ward by the electors of the ward from
among themselves. Soon after the publication of election result of Sarpanch
and Ward Members a special meeting is convened to elect one Naib-Sarpanch.
Naib Sarpanch is elected from among the Ward members. If the post of
Sarpanch of the Grama Panchayat is not reserved for woman than the post of
Naib-Sarpanch shall be reserved for woman of that particular Panchayat. One-
third seats (including the number of seats reserved from S.C. and S.T. Women)
shall be reserved for woman. This reservation of seats shall be allotted by
rotation of different wards of a Gram Panchayat. Besides these elected
members, one Secretary is being appointed by the State Government for
maintaining the records
Power & functions……
The main objective of the Grama Panchayat is rural development. Section 44
and 45 of the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act specify the functions and power of
Grama Panchayat. The functions of the Grama Panchayat have been divided
into two, like obligatory or compulsory and optional or discretionary. The
following are the obligatory or compulsory functions of the Grama Panchayat.

1. It constructs, repairs, maintains and improvises the public roads.

2. It makes provision for lighting and cleanse of public roads and other
important public places.

3. It constructs, maintains and cleanse drains and public latrines, urinals etc.

4. For the purposes of supply and storage of drinking water, it constructs,

repairs and maintains tanks, wells or tube wells etc.

5. It makes adequate arrangements for scavenging, removal and disposal of

filth, rubbish and other obnoxious polluted matters.

6. It takes steps for preventing and checking the spread of epidemic or infected
diseases.

7. It maintains records of birth, death and marriages.

8. It prepares the census reports of human being and animals and registration
of animal sold.

9. It protects, maintains and develops all properties entrusted to the

management of the Grama Panchayat.

10. It regulates and controls the movement of cattle for protection of crops.

11. It demolishes the stray and ownerless dogs.

12. It renders all reasonable assistance to the Panchayat Samiti for establishing
and maintaining primary education.

13. It supervises and maintains social conservation work.

14. It regulates µmelas¶, fairs, and festivals and maintains markets, hats and
cart stands.
15. It implements schemes for agricultural extension

Optional function
The main optional functions of the Grama Panchayats are as follows:

1. Maintenance and Planting of trees on both side of the public streets and
maintenance of village forests.

2. Establishment and improvement of livestocks.

3. Construction, maintenance and regulation of slaughter houses.

4. Steps for assisting and advising farmers in reclaiming waste lands and
cultivating fellow lands.

5. Management and development of different Co-operative Stores.

6. Relief from famine or other natural calamities.

7. Opening and maintenance of Libraries and Reading Rooms for villages.

8. Organisation of fire services and protection of life and property in case of

fire.

9. Establishment of maternity and child welfare centers.

10. Establishment and maintenance of Akharas, clubs and other recreation

centers.

11. Establishment and maintenance of works for providing employment in time

of scarcity and establishment of Grainaries.

12. Promotion of cottage industry

Besides the above mentioned functions it has to perform such other functions,
which are given on compulsory basis or optional basis by the State
Government.
 3.2.URBAN SELF-GOVERNMENT IN ODISHA
Urban Local governent implies the governance of an urban area by the
people through their elected representatives. 74th Constitutional
Amendment Act, 1992 provided constitutional status to local urban
bodies.In Odisha the ULBs are… 1.Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam) .2
Municipality (Nagar Palika) &.3 City Council (Nagar Panchayat).

The 74th Amendment 1992 Of ULBs

The 1992 Act provided for the Twelfth Schedule which listed the functions of
urban local bodies, along with their planning, regulation and development
powers. It made provision for ward committees in areas exceeding 300,000
and the specification of the powers and responsibilities of municipal units and
the ward committees. There is a requirement made therein for the holding of
timely periodical elections and for the reconstitution of a municipal
government within six months. Sources of municipal finance and their periodic
review by a statutorily constituted State Finance Commission were also
provided by the Act, which also made it obligatory for the Central Finance
Commission to recommend steps to support state resources for the assistance
of municipal governments. The Act also provided for reservation of one-third
of the seats for women and scheduled castes in municipal bodies. State
Governments were to adopt the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act with
reference to their respective municipal bodies to affect its purpose within their
jurisdictions. The Seventy-fourth Amendment to the Constitution of India
mandated all State Governments to operationalise Urban Local Bodies (ULBs),
as units of self-government. The Orissa Municipal Act, 1950 was amended
(2007) for this purpose and the Orissa Municipal Corporation Act was enacted
(2003) to ensure devolution of powers and responsibilities to ULBs, in relation
to the subjects listed in the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution.

Municipal Corporation: For a larger urban area with a population

exceeding 50,000 and generating annual revenue exceeding ` 2 crores for the
local administration and which has been declared to be a municipal area. This
model is also known as the Commissioner system taking its name from the role
of the city administrator who is generally a state-appointed officer. In such a
system, the Mayor in the Municipal Corporation is usually chosen through
indirect election by the councillors from among themselves for a term of one
year, which is renewable. The Mayor generally lacks executive authority. This is
due to the British roots of the system that remain from the time when the
administrator was the representative of the colonial power, not to the fact that
it operates under a council-manager whereby the executive would be
accountable to the elected representatives. In this context, the indirect
election of the Mayor combined with his short one-year tenure renders the
role little more than that of a figurehead. Councillors act by committee, the
most powerful being the Standing Committee with its role of the steering
committee exercising executive, supervisory, financial and personnel powers.
It is composed of elected members varying in number between seven and
sixteen through a system of proportional representation of councillors. The
executive arm of the corporation is the Municipal Commissioner, who is the
Chief Executive Officer and head of the executive arm of the Municipal
Corporation. All executive powers are vested in the Municipal Commissioner.
Although the Municipal Corporation is the legislative body that lays down
policies for the governance of the city, it is the Commissioner who is
responsible for the execution of the policies. Municipal Corporations are
established in cities with population greater than 1 million. The Municipal
Corporations function under the provisions of the Corporation Act 1835, the
Corporations are elected directly by the people. Elected members serve a term
of 5 years. Municipal Corporations provide necessary community services such
as health care, educational centres etc. It also interacts directly with the state
governments; the head of the Corporation is the Mayor. The principal
executive officer is the Municipal Commissioner (an IAS officer). The sources of
income of Municipal Corporation are from (i) taxes on property, water,
markets, entertainment. (ii) taxes on vehicles, and (iii) grants from the state
government.

Function Of Muncipal Corporation

The important functions of the municipal corporations are planning and

management, providing health services, establishment of primary health
centres and primary schools, supply of drinking water, sanitation, and
construction/repair of roads, street lighting, establishment of cooperative
societies, and establishment of youth organizations, water management and
waste disposal, social services, social welfare, technical training, poverty
alleviation and electrification, providing fire records of birth and death

Municipal Council:

For a smaller urban area (urban) with population exceeding 5000 and
generating annual revenue exceeding ` 20 lakh for local administration. A
municipality administers an urban area of population 2,00,000 or less
Municipalities interact with the state government through the Directorate of
Municipalities or the District Collector Members of Municipalities are elected
for a period of five years The head of the Municipality is the President elected
by and from the members The state government also appoints a Chief Officer
and other officers such as Health Inspector, Sanitation Inspector, etc. to assist
the President Their sources of income and functions are similar to that of
Municipal Corporations.
Composition
The area administered by a municipal corporation is known as a
municipal area. Each municipal area is divided into territorial
constituencies known as wards. A municipal corporation is made up of a
wards committee. Each ward has one seat in the wards committee.
Members are elected to the wards committee on the basis of adult
franchise for a term of five years. These members are known as
councillors or corporators. The number of wards in a municipal area is
determined by the population of the city. Some seats are reserved
for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and women.[1]
A state can choose to constitute additional committees to carry functions
of urban local governance, in addition to the wards committees. In
addition to the councillors elected from the wards, the legislature of a
state may also choose to make provisions for the representation of
persons having special knowledge or experience in municipal
administration, the MPs or MLAs representing the constituencies which
comprise wholly or partly the municipal area, and/or the commissioners
of additional committees that the state may have constituted. If a state
legislature appoints a person from the first category to a wards
committee, that individual will not have the right to vote in the meetings
of the municipal corporation, while MPs, MLAs and commissioners do
have the right to vote in meetings.
Function Of Muncipal Council

The Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution lists the subjects that municipal
corporations are responsible for. Corporations may be entrusted to
perform functions and implement schemes including those in relation to
the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule.

 Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings .

 Urban planning including town planning .
 Planning for economic and social development .
 Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes .
 Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management .
 Fire services .
 Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of
ecological aspects.
 Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including
the handicapped and mentally disabled
 Slum improvement and upgradation.
 Repair street lights
 Urban poverty alleviation.
 Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens,
playgrounds.
 Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.
 Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and
electric crematoriums.
 Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals.
 Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.
 Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and
public conveniences.
 Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.

Nagar Panchayat
City Council administer urban areas having population greater than 30,000 and
less than 100,000 However, as an exception, all previous Town Area
Committees (more than 5000 less than 20,000) have been reclassified as City
Councils City Councils have a Chairman and ward members Ward members
included elected members (minimum 10) and nominated members What is the
composition and function of Nagar Panchayat?
Each nagar panchayat has a committee consisting of a chairman with
ward members. Membership consists of a minimum of ten elected ward
members and three nominated members. The NAC members of the
Nagar are elected from the several wards of the nagar panchayat on the
basis of adult franchise for a term of five years. A nagar panchayat (town
panchayat; transl. 'town council') or Notified Area Council (NAC)
in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a
form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban
centre with more than 12,000 and less than 40,000 inhabitants is
classified as a nagar panchayat.

Function

 . Essential services and facilities to the urban area.

 Sanitation program.
 Street lighting and providing roads in wards and main roads of town.
 Schools in urban areas.
 Program for adult literacy and run city libraries.
 Water supply to every ward of urban area.
 Drainage system to clear the solid and liquid wastes from town.
 Maintaining records of births and deaths.

YEAR MUNCIPAL MUNCIPAL NAGAR

CORPORATION COUNCIL PANCHAYAT
2021 5 40 66
2022 5 40 66
2023 5 47 66

4.1. Review/Summery
The concept of local self-government is known to Indian since ancient
times. During the Vedic age, there existed village assemblies known as
‘Sabha’ and ‘Samiti’. Gradually cities and Towns came into prominence.
They also enjoyed greater level of autonomy in administration as witnessed
during the Mauryan and Gupta period. The system of local selfgovernment
in its modern sense was revived during the British period. In a democratic
country power is decentralized and shared at different levels. Apart from
the Central and State Government, the administration at the local level is
handled by the local government in urban as well as rural areas. The local
 Self-Government ensures effective people’s participation and ensures
overall development. These small units of government enable people to
feel a sense of responsibility and understand values of democracy. In India
the Local Self-government is broadly classified into two categories that is
Rural and Urban. The Urban local bodies include Municipal Corporations,
Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayat. The rural local bodies in
corporate Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat. The
concept of panchayati raj is not a recent one in India. There have been
traces wherein the said system has been found working effectively in
administration of the small units of the countries, like the villages. This
concept has been acknowledged by various Constitutional framers and
keeping in mind the Constituent Assembly’s intent in mind, this has been
given a Constitutional status under Part IX by the virtue of the Seventy
Third Amendment. Even after two decades of the working of the
panchayati raj in India constitutionally, there have been various issues in its
effective functioning. 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments were
passed by Parliament in December, 1992. Through these amendments
local self-governance was introduced in rural and urban India. The Acts
came into force as the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 on April
24, 1993 and the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 on June 1,
1993. These amendments added two new parts to the Constitution,
namely, 73rd Amendment added Part IX titled “The Panchayats” and 74th
Amendment added Part IXA titled “The Municipalities”. The Local bodies–
‘Panchayats’ and ‘Municipalities’ came under Part IX and IXA of the
Constitution after 43 years of India becoming a republic.

4.2. CONCLUSION
Arguments in favour of decentralisation are often defended as a means of
strengthening accountability and improving the delivery of public services. In
the context of poverty reduction, access to the (myriad) resources and benefits
that governments provide is associated with systems of governance that
empower poor and vulnerable groups in society. An underlying hypothesis
here is that strong mechanisms of accountability will improve the distribution
of benefits to groups that are traditionally marginalised in local political
processes. A central aim of this paper was to review the literature on Indian
decentralisation, and to assess the extent to which the Indian States of Odisha
have devolved substantive powers to district, subdistrict and village level
Panchayats. Although we have addressed participation, political
transformation and the role that political parties can play in improving the
effectiveness and accountability of local government bodies, this paper has
been primarily concerned with the extent to which Union and State
governments have created an enabling environment for accountable local
government in India. This has involved a critical review of the 73rd
Amendment, an assessment of the ways in which different States have
followed or resisted the stipulations outlined in the 1993 reforms and an
analysis of the problems most commonly associated with a lack of
decentralisation in India: federal constraints, a resistant bureaucracy and local
élite capture. A general conclusion which we reach from this review is that
many States in India have tended to retain powers of appointment, transfer,
revenue generation, spending, etc. at the expense of the Panchayats. In very
general terms, the States of Odisha have tended to conform to this trend.
However, there are States which have transferred substantive powers of
appointment, planning, spending, etc. to very local spheres of political life.
Gram Swaraj in Odisha is one example of this type of decentralisation, as is the
Campaign for Decentralised Planning in Kerala and the Left Front
Government’s longstanding strategy of supporting Panchayat planning in West
Bengal. In all of these States, substantive efforts to devolve funds, functions
and functionaries have followed periods of political contestation among parties
whose electoral support has been based in large part among the rural poor. In
this context, decentralisation has been interpreted as a means of supporting –
or at least placating – the interests of these groups. The ideas, evidence and
hypotheses developed in this paper are principally concerned with
understanding the conditions under which decentralisation can lead to
improvements in accountability in rural India. In the context of this paper, we
define accountability as a relationship between public officials and citizens, in
which the latter possess a means of challenging or counterbalancing the
arbitrary use of power on the basis of a formal understanding of what
constitutes appropriate behaviour on the part of public officials. The power on
which citizens can counterbalance the power of public officials may be based
on the hierarchical authority of the bureaucratic state (upward accountability)
or on the general consent of the citizenry (downward accountability), or on a
combination of the two. In its most ideal form, accountability should be based
on strong norms of communication and consultation between public officials
and citizens. Reviewing experience from international and Indian settings, we
have developed four general propositions about the conditions under which
decentralisation can lead to improved accountablity for poor and marginal
groups in society: 1. active participation among broad elements of society,
involving activities such as voting, campaigning, attending meetings, running
for office, lobbying representatives, etc.; 2. fiscal and political support from
higher level authorities within government.

4.3. REFFERENCE

1.Satyajit Singh and Pradeep K. Sharma [eds.] Decentralisation: Institutions

and Politics in Rural India, OUP, 2007.

2. D. A. Rondinelli and S. Cheema, Decentralisation and Development,

Beverly Hills: Sage Publishers, 1983.

3. N. G. Jayal, Democracy and The State: Welfare, Secular and Development

in Contemporary India, Oxford: Oxford University Press,1999.

4. Bidyut Chakrabarty, Reinventing Public Administration: The Indian

Experience, Orient Longman, 2007 Noorjahan Bava, Development Policies
and Administration in India, Delhi: Uppal Publishers, 2001 Gabriel Almond
and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture, Boston: Little Brown, 1965.

5. M. P. Lester, Political Participation- How and Why do People Get Involved

in Politics Chicago: McNally, 1965.

6.Agrawal, A. and Gibson, C.C. (1999) ‘Enchantment and Disenchantment:

The Role of Community.

7.Das, S.K. (1998) Civil Service Reform and Structural Adjustment. Delhi:
Oxford University Press

8. Agrawal, A. and Gibson, C.C. (1999) ‘Enchantment and Disenchantment:

The Role of Community

in Natural Resource Conservation,’ World Development. 27(6): 629–649.

Agrawal, A. and Ribot, J. (1999) ‘Accountability in Decentralization: a

Framework with South
Asian and West African Cases,’ The Journal of Developing Areas (33): 4.

Alsop, R., Krishna, A.and Sjoblom, D. (2000) ‘Are Gram Panchayats

Inclusive? Report of a Study

Conducted in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,’ Background Paper No. 3 of

the World Bank’s

unpublished Overview of Rural Decentralization in India, Volume 3.

Baland, J-M. and Platteau, J-P. (1996) Halting Degradation of Natural

Resources: Is there a Role

for Rural Communities? Oxford: Clarendon Press for the Food and
Agriculture Organization.

Bardhan, P. (1998) The Political Economy of Development in India. (Revised

Edition) Delhi:

Oxford University Press.

Bebbington, A. (1999) ‘Capitals and Capabilities: a Framework for Analyzing

Peasant Viability,

Rural Livelihoods and Poverty.’ World Development, 27:12: 2021–2044.

Behar, A. (2001) ‘Madhya Pradesh: Gram Swaraj: Experiment in Direct

Democracy,’ Economic

and Political Weekly, 10 March 2001.

Behar, A. (1999) ‘Initiatives for Decentralisation of Governance in Madhya

Pradesh,’ Economic

and Political Weekly, 6 November 1999.

Behar, A. and Kumar, Y. (2002) Process of Decentralisation in Madhya

Pradesh: Panchayati Raj

to Gram Swaraj (1995–2000). Background report submitted to ODI

Livelihood Options Project.

London: Overseas Development Institute.

2.7.ADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALISATION

1. Motivation of Subordinates

Talking about the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization,

counting the motivation among the team members and the stakeholders
is important. When you give them the power to be part of decision-
making, it will encourage them and make them feel they are an important
part of the institution. In fact, by the time decentralization reaches every
corner of the planet, we will have replaced hierarchies that are abundant
in our centralized societies with a fairer framework. One where networks
and protocols are run by their communities every step of the way.

2. Growth and Diversification

Distributing executive powers among every organization member makes

them accountable and motivated for growth. They will understand
various aspects of decision-making. Moreover, decentralization makes
way for diversified decision-making for a diverse and vibrant society.

3. Efficient Communication

Since the powers are distributed amongst various organizational levels,

it leads to effective and efficient communication among the members. It
helps with developing better relationships among colleagues. In the
financial world, decentralization also improves communication between
the recipient and payee.

4. Ease of Expansion

Since any organization aims to expand to various places, giving

authoritative powers to team members in different places can lead to
effective expansion. You can get area-specific requirements from the
team members and grow according to those needs.
5. Better Supervision and Control

Team members can have better supervision amongst themselves as

they have the authority to recommend new work styles when needed to
improve efficiency. As members of an organization or project who
are equally responsible for its affairs, they will be motivated to take
a more active role in fixing burning issues.

6. Satisfaction of Human Needs

Every person wants to have a sense of freedom while working or even

making financial transactions. Decentralization helps in feeling the sense
of power and freedom that everyone requires. If you and others are
satisfied workers in the organization, then the organization must be
working towards growth.

7. Key Personnel are no more than Consultants

VP, CTO, and HR are key personnel, especially during the initial stages
of a new project. The community can always consult them for guidance
in the future. At the end of the day, the community, including these
people, will collectively make the decisions rather than just a few people
at the top.

8.Growth and Diversification

Under decentralization, every single product division attains sufficient

autonomy to exercise their creative flair. In this way, the top-level
management can create healthy competition amongst different divisions.

While carrying out a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of

decentralization, it is imperative to note that it aids subordinates in exercising
their own .

They even develop managerial skills and help in solving the succession problem
which ultimately ensures the growth and of an organization.

9.Quick Decision Making

10.Efficient Communication

11.Ease of Expansion

12.Better Supervision And Control

13.Satisfaction of Human needs

14.Relief to top executives

2.8.DISADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALISATION

1. Difficult to Coordinate

In discussing the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization, it is

necessary to understand that one of the biggest cons is reaching a
consensus. Since there are many members to consult, the decision-
making can be a difficult task to complete. It means that sometimes the
lack of coordination may stretch the decision-making.

2. External Factors

A lot of times, external factors like trade unions, market movement, the
government, and others, make it hard to achieve a decision through
discussion and consensus. They may look to manipulate/corrupt the
majority through protocol loopholes resulting in unfair decisions made.

3. Narrow Product Lines

For decentralization, the product lines in an organization need to be

subsequently broad. This is important to ensure that decentralization
helps in decision-making. Smaller organizations with narrow product
lines and a lack of managerial-level people at lower levels may find it
challenging to gain from decentralization.

4. Expensive

Now, if you ask every one of your employees to put extra effort into
managing the company and be a part of the decision-making, you need
to give them leverage as well. This means bringing decentralization can
cost more to an organization than the centralized version. The same
goes for the financial world, as the technology for decentralizing finances
is costlier. It will remain to be the case until decentralization is adopted
by the masses.
 2.1.HISTORY OF DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA

In England at the grass-roots level there had been Parish meeting and Parish
Council, immediately above that there had been rural districts and urban
districts, and at the higher level of local self – government three types of
institutions.It was only in 1967 that a Royal Commission on local self-
government popularity known as Redcliff Maud Committee, was appointed
and only by the Act of 1976 the local self-government in England, were
rationalized based on real decentralization. This process of decentralization of
powers from the central government to the provincial governments was
deliberately pursued during British Indian Rule for a variety of reasons such as
administrative convenience, political pressure generated by the national
freedom struggle, and the need for political accommodation of the elite and
the intelligentsia.

Pre-Independence Period
The decentralization debated during colonial rule can be traced to the famous
Ripon Resolution of 1882. To train the Indians in the art of governance, to
enable them to learn from experience and to open up avenues for political
participation of the educated class, Ripon strongly advocated the cause of
decentralization of administration through the establishment of local self-
governing institutions. The British administrators were not prepared to accept
the Ripon thesis as they questioned the competence of Indians to manage local
administration under a local self-government regime. The debate was
essentially over the choice of values; democracy or efficiency. With the rising
tempo of freedom struggle, the imperial policy had to however willingly
concede Indian demands for self-government and participation in
administration.

Post-Independence Period
The second phase of the debate in post-Independence India was staged on the
floor of the Constituent Assembly. Panchayati Raj was an important
component of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of future India in which economic and
political power would be decentralized and each village would be self-reliant
economically. It was in deference to the wishes of the Mahatma Gandhi that
Article 40 of the Constitution of India was adopted stipulating that the State
shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such
powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units
of self-governments.

2.2.THE FIVE YEAR PLAN OF INDIA

From 1947 to 2017, the Indian economy was premised on the concept of
planning. This was carried through the Five-Year Plans, developed, executed,
and monitored by the Planning Commission and the NITI Aayog. With the
prime minister as the ex-officio chairman, the commission has a nominated
deputy chairman, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister. The Twelfth Plan
completed its term in March 2017. Prior to the Fourth Plan, the allocation of
state resources was based on schematic patterns rather than a transparent
and objective mechanism, which led to the adoption for the Gadgil formula in
1969. Revised versions of the formula have been used since then to determine
the allocation of central assistance for state plans.

First plan (1951-1956)

The first Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, presented the First Five-Year
Plan to the Parliament of India and needed urgent attention. The First Five-
year Plan was launched in 1951 which mainly focused in the development of
the primary sector. The First Five-Year Plan was based on the Harrod–Domar
model with few modifications. First Plan (1951–1956) This five years plan's
president was Jawaharlal Nehru and Gulzarilal Nanda was the vice-president.
The motto of first five years plan was ' Development of agriculture' and the aim
was to solve different problems that formed due to the partition of the nation,
second world war. Rebuilding the country after independence was the vision of
this plan. Another main target was to lay down the foundation for industry,
agriculture development in the country and to provide affordable healthcare,
education in low price to the folks.
Second Plan(1956-1961)
The Second Plan focused on the development of the public sector and Second
Plan (1956–1961) "rapid Industrialisation". The plan followed the Mahalanobis
model, an economic development model developed by the Indian statistician
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1953. The plan attempted to determine the
optimal allocation of investment between productive sectors in order to
maximise long-run economic growth. It used the prevalent state-of-the-art
techniques of operations research and optimization as well as the novel
applications of statistical models developed at the Indian Statistical Institute.
The plan assumed a closed economy in which the main trading activity would
be centred on importing capital goods.From the Second Five-Year Plan, there
was a determined thrust towards substitution of basic and capital good
industries.

Third Plan (1961-1966)

The Third Five-year Plan stressed agriculture and improvement in the
production of wheat, but the brief SinoIndian War of 1962 exposed
weaknesses in the economy and shifted the focus Third Plan (1961–
1966) towards the defence industry and the Indian Army. In 1965–
1966, India fought a War with Pakistan. There was also a severe
drought in 1965. The war led to inflation and the priority was shifted
to price stabilisation. The construction of dams continued. Many
cement and fertilizer plants were also built. Punjab began producing
an abundance of wheat.

Fourth Plan (1969-1974)

The Fourth Five-Year Plan adopted the objective of correcting the
earlier trend of increased concentration of wealth and economic
power. It was based on the Gadgil formula focusing on growth with
stability and progress towards self reliance. At this time Indira
Gandhi was the prime minister.
 2.4.Decentralization in odisha

The process of decentralized planning got its momentum after the 73rd
Amendment of Indian Constitution during 1992. The village level Panchayats
were the units of local governance and administration during the British
regime. Under the First Government of India Act, 1919, Madhusudan Das was
appointed Minister of Local self-government in the new Government of Bihar
and Odisha, but was forced to resign. He had moved a resolution for the
formation of a separate Odisha Province in the plenary session of the Indian
National Congress in 1903. However, the first evidence of the idea of a three
tier Panchayati Raj System comes from Mr. D.P. Mishra, the then Minister for
local selfgovernment in Central Provinces and Berar under the Govt. of India
Act (II) of 1935. He suggested a three-tier structure of local government with
district as the nodal point. Since then it has been observed that the degree of
devolution of power in Indian States has gradually increased, thus giving the
common Indian villager a hope and optimism that the Gandhian ideal of a
system of governance from below will be achieved at some point of time.

Pre-independence period-

Odisha as a province was formed on 1st April 1936. The election for the first
ProvincialAssembly took place in January, 1937 which included 56 seats meant
for elected representatives including 41 general rural seats, 6 for scheduled
castes, 2 for women, 2 for landlords, 4 for the Mohammedans and 1 for the
Christian community.

It was governed by different local acts like Bihar and Odisha Local Self-
Government Act, 1985; Bihar- Odisha Village Administration Act, 1922; Madras
Local Boards Act, 1920. Besides, Sambalpur Local Self-Government Act, 1939
was also in force, which was inherited from the local administrative system of
the former Central Provinces and Berar.
Post-Independence period
Odisha Gram Panchayat Act of 1948 was passed in the new Assembly with its
developmental, civil and judicial functions. In 1956 Shri Nabakrishna
Choudhury, the then Chief Minister of Odisha introduced Anchal Sasan in
continuation to Gram Sasan as mentioned in the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act
of 1948.The Odisha Anchal Sasan Act that came into force after the abolition of
Zamindaris in 1952 aimed at establishing administrative decentralization.
Following the recommendations of Balwant Ray Mehta Committee, Odisha
passed the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad Act of 1959. These acts
provided for the establishment of Samitis at the intermediate level and Zilla
Parishad at the district level. Thus a three-tier system evolved with
establishment of Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads on January 26, 1961,
along with the already existing Gram Panchayats. During the year 1964, a
comprehensive Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964 was passed replacing the
1948 enactment.

The functioning of the 3-tier system continued till 1968 when the government
abolished the Zilla Parishads on 1st November 1968 by amending the Odisha
Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad Act, 1959. In an attempt to revitalise the
PR bodies the Odisha Government in 1991 passed three important Acts - the
Odisha Gram Panchayat (Amendment) Act, the Odisha Panchayat Samiti
(Amendment) Act, and the Odisha Zilla Parishad Act. Through these acts the
Odisha Government ushered in rapid changes in the powers and functions of
Panchayat Raj bodies with a view to enabling them to bring out rural
development through people’s participation. All the above Acts were further
amended to bring them in conformity with the Constitution’s 73rd
Amendment Act of 1992. The State Assembly passed the required conformity
Acts in 1994, 1995, and 1997 to set in place the present form of the 3-tier
system of Panchayati Raj. The First Amended State Act came into force from
April 24th 1994.The three-tier PRIs as per the 73rd Amendment Act came into
operation mode after the elections were held during the year 1997.
2.5.Evolution Of Decentralisation In Odisha

Odisha as a province was formed on 1st April 1936. The election for the first
Provincial Decentralized Planning and Budgeting Process in Odisha : Key
Opportunities Pravas Mishra Assembly took place in January, 1937 which
included 56 seats meant for elected representatives including 41 general rural
seats, 6 for scheduled castes, 2 for women, 2 for landlords, 4 for the
Mohammedans and 1 for the Christian community. In pre-Independence
period there was no uniform pattern of local governance in Odisha. It was
governed by different local acts like Bihar and Odisha Local Self-Government
Act, 1985; Bihar- Odisha Village Administration Act, 1922; Madras Local Boards
Act, 1920. Besides, Sambalpur Local Self-Government Act, 1939 was also in
force, which was inherited from the local administrative system of the former
Central Provinces and Berar. Post-Independence period In the post
Independence period, the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act of 1948 was passed in
the new Assembly with its developmental, civil and judicial functions. In 1956
Shri Nabakrishna Choudhury, the then Chief Minister of Odisha introduced
Anchal Sasan in continuation to Gram Sasan as mentioned in the Odisha Gram
Panchayat Act of 1948.The Odisha Anchal Sasan Act that came into force after
the abolition of Zamindaris in 1952 aimed at establishing administrative
decentralization. Following the recommendations of Balwantray Mehta
Committee, Odisha passed the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad Act of 1959.
These acts provided for the establishment of Samitis at the intermediate level
and Zilla Parishad at the district level. Thus a three-tier system evolved with
establishment of Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads on January 26, 1961,
along with the already existing Gram Panchayats. During the year 1964, a
comprehensive Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964 was passed replacing the
1948 enactment. The functioning of the 3-tier system continued till 1968 when
the government abolished the Zilla Parishads on 1st November 1968 by
amending the Odisha Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad Act, 1959. In an
attempt to revitalise the PR bodies the Odisha Government in 1991 passed
three important Acts - the Odisha Gram Panchayat (Amendment) Act, the
Odisha Panchayat Samiti (Amendment) Act, and the Odisha Zilla Parishad Act.
Through these acts the Odisha Government ushered in rapid changes in the
powers and functions of Panchayat Raj bodies with a view to enabling them to
bring out rural development through people’s participation. All the above Acts
were further amended to bring them in conformity with the Constitution’s
73rd Amendment Act of 1992. The State Assembly passed the required
conformity Acts in 1994, 1995, and 1997 to set in place the present form of the
3-tier system of Panchayati Raj. The First Amended State Act came into force
from April 24th 1994.The three-tier PRIs as per the 73rd Amendment Act came
into operation mode after the elections were held during the year 1997

2.6 Decentralization of Planning Process in Odisha

The Amendments during 1992 in India’s Constitution sought to institutionalize
the concept of decentralized planning keeping in view the 150
recommendations of the 7 Round Tables Conferences of Ministers in charge of
Panchayati Raj, organized by Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.
The seven Round Table Conferences were held from July to December2004, at
Kolkota, Mysore, Raipur, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Guwahati and Raipur. A
Compendium of 150 Resolutions of the Seven Round Tables was assimilated in
the form of a Road Map to ensure devolution to PRI’s in Odisha.

Consequent to the recommendations made by the Bhuria Committee headed

by Dileep Singh Bhuria in June 1994, the Panchayat (Extension to the
Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act) was passed by Parliament in 1996, to extend
the provisions of the Constitutional Amendment to the fifth schedule areas of
nine States.

These States are required to make Amendments to their respective

Panchayats Acts in terms of the Central Act. In an attempt to assess the extent
of devolution of Functions, Funds and Functionaries in Odisha, Indian Institute
of Public Administration (IIPA) with the support of Ministry of Panchayati Raj
had conducted a study during 2012-13. Odisha is placed eleventh in devolution
index among twenty eight select states of India.