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Equitable Tourism 0 ptions 23-25, 8th Cross, Vignan Nagar,

New Thippasandra P.O. Bangalore - 560 075, INDIA 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:

The pass ing c..f ?J'd a n d 74'h Amendment to I nd 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 the h isto ry of partic ipatory democra cy,

w h i ch ca me i n to effect on Apr i l 24'h 1993 . . A structu ra l sh ift has been ta k ing p l ace f ro m mere rep resentative d emocracy to p a rt ic i patory democracy a n d th us good 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 space. T h e pa n c h ayats p rev i o u s ly were a m e re

s u g g est ion i n the D i rective Pr i nci p les of State Po l icy whereas the 7 3'd

a n d 74'h Amendment res u lted i n the P a n c h ayat i Raj I n stitut io 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 lit ies a n d m u n ic ipa l corporat ion b e i n g conferred const i tuti o n a l sa n cti o n . T h i s mea n s that a l l activ it ies of P R l s a n d U L B s a s sti p u l a ted b y the Act have n ow lega l a n d const i tuti o n a l status a n d any v io lat ion of t h i s by a ny body a n d at a n y t ime wil l be p u n i s h a b l e by law. The reasons beh i n d t h i s a m e n d ment i s that in many states, i nstitu t ions of loca l g overn a n ce have become wea k a n d i n effective o n acco u n t of a var iety of reasons , i n cl u d i n g the fa i l u re to ho ld reg u la r e lecti o n s , p ro l o n g ed s u p p re ss ions a n d i n a d equate d evo l u tion o f p owe rs a n d f u n ctio n s .

Tou ri s m is co n s i d e red as g rowth e n g i n e fo r eco n o m i c d evelopment and soci a l d evelopment . However rea l ity i s d ifferen t and tou ri s m i n d ustry is perha ps t h e b e s t exa m ple o f the set.tors, i n wh ich needs and a s p i rat ions of the local com m u n it ies h ave been m a rginalized, i n cl u d i n g that of loca l bod ies . A closer look to the resou rces requ i red by the tou rism i n d u stry revea ls the fact that tou rism i n d ustry u ses the re�ou rces, which fa l l u nd el ju r isd ict i o n of i n stituticns of l oca l se lf­g ovE.:rna nce. He nce, it becomes o b l i ga tory for the ind u stry to take thE) permiss ion a n d consent of the l oca l i n st ituti o n s , pr ior to mak ing the use of loca l resou rces . However the last twelve years of expe rience reflects that these i n st ituti o n s a re n ot a ble to perform the roles a n d respo n s i b i l it ies as p e r the ir constituti o n a l m a n datE:. A t t imes lack Of po l itica l w i l l of state and ce ntra l g overn ment a re respo n s i b l e fer non­performa n ce of these i n st i tuti o n s , wh i le a t o pE)ratio n a l leve l d ive rsE; po l i t ica l a g e n d a of these bud ies , c reat ion of pa ra l le l i n st i tuticns , lack of s u p port from t h e l i n e d epa rtmen ts and a m b i g u i ty of p owers a n d

fu nctions across var ious leve ls of loca l governance put constra i nts i n

fu nction i ng of these loca l i n st itut ions .

In the l i gh t of 73'd and 74th Constitut io na l Amendments and tour ism

deve lopments it is imperative to d raw a corre lat ion between the

Constitutiona l P rov is ions and d eve lopment of tou rism i ndustry and

the present paper a ttempts towa rds the s im i l a r a nalys is .

The paper is d iv ided i nto th ree sections:

The first section looks i nto the i m porta nce of tou rism i ndustry and i ts

contri but ion to the world economy a nd I nd i an economy. The section

a lso looks i nto the various five-year p lans i n I nd i a and i ts effort in

boosting tou rism .

The Second Section looks i n to the h istory of pa nchayat i raj i n our

cou ntry. I t looks i nto the 73'd and 74th Amendment Acts and the rig hts

given to the Panchayats and M u n ic i pa l it ies under the Sched u le IX

a n d Sched u le IXA . I t a lso dea ls with the Bh u ria Committee

recommendat ion for se l f-ru le to the triba l popu lat ion on the basis of

which certa i n p rovis ions u nder the 73'd Amendment Acts were

extended to the Sched u led Areas.

The Third Section, tr ies to ana lyze, how i n sp i te of the constitut iona l

powers gra nted to the pan chayats, the present tou ri sm pol icy and the

i n te rna t i o n a l t rad e agre e m e n ts, n a m ely GATS n ega tes t h e

panchayats powers and a re not favora b le t o t h e local commun it ies .

2

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 (TSA), 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 $476 billion (year 2000) 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 .

3

The Indian Scenario

In keep ing with the genera l trend the world over i n economic

development, the contri but ion of the services sector ( l i ke i n format ion

tech no logy, transportat ion, tou rism, fi nanc ia l services etc) to Ind ia 's

Gross Nationa l Product ( G N P ), exceeds the contri but ion made by the

ag ricu ltu re or the manufactu ri ng i ndustry secto rs . I t has been

estimated tha t Ind ia's t rave l and tou rism economy d i rectly or

i nd i rectly accoun ts for 4 .9% of the cou ntry's GOP (The 2004 Travel

and Tou rism Economic Research, WTTC) . Accord i n g to a study

conducted by the Centre for Mon itor i ng I nd i an Economy (CMI E), the

n u mber of tourists a rriv ing i n Ind ia has gone up from 20,26,743 lakhs

i n Apr i l - Ja n, 1 999-2000 to 2 1 , 52,848 lakhs i n the correspond i ng

pe riod of 2000-200 1 Fro m 2002 onwards, there has been exponent ia l

i ncrease i n fore ign tou ri st arriva ls and from 23.84 lakhs i n 2002 i t

i ncreased to 33.67 lakhs i n 2004. There is 43% i ncrease i n fo re ign

tourist a rriva l s, compa red to 2002 a rriva ls .

The exponent ia l g rowth of fore ign tou rist a rriva ls i n 2002 2004, a lso

corresponds to the fore ig n exchange earn i ngs . In 2003-04, there has

been 48% i ncrease i n fo re ign exchange earn i ngs from 2001 -02

(M i n istry of Tou rism, Gove rn ment of I nd ia ) The h igher earn i ngs a re a

resu l t of i ncrease i n a rriva ls comb ined with h i g h per ca p i ta spend i ng

o f tou rist i n genera l Tou rism is emerg i ng as one of I nd ia's largest

export i n d ustr ies i n I nd ia offer ing numerous op portu n it ies . . For

entrep reneurs l a rge and sma l l, and those look ing fo r emp loyment,

tou rism is a re latively easy i ndustry to e nter.

Indian approach to tourism development

The fi rst consc ious and o rgan ized efforts to promote tou rism i n I nd ia

was made i n the year 1 945, when a committee was set u p by the

Govern ment of Ind ia under the cha i rma nsh ip of S i r Joh n Sa rgent,

The ma in objective of the committee was to enco u rage and develop

tou rist traffic both i nterna l and externa l by a l l possi b le means . . S ince,

Independence, Ind ia has made s i ncere effort to boost tou rism as

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seen i n its var ious F ive-Year p lans .. D u ri ng fi rst five year p lan per iod

( 1 951 - 1 956) , m in i stry of transport looked after the subject of Tou rism.

The second five-year p lan of 1 957-62 ea rma rked fu nds exc lusively

for the d evelopment of tou rism i n both centre and state sector.

I n the fou rth P lan ( 1 967-72) , under the new arra ngement the Centra l

Depa rtment o f tou rism took over p la n n i ng and development of

fac i l i t ies su i tab le for overseas tourists, th us enab l i ng i t to expand its

tou rist promotion overseas by maki ng ava i lable adequ ate qua ntity of

bette r qua l i ty and variety of l ite rature in a n u mber of fo re ig n

l anguages. Dur ing the fifth p lan ( 1 972- 1 977) the ma in objective

strategy was to p romote 'desti nat iona l tou rists traffic' that is, t hose

who come pr i mari ly to ho l i day in Ind ia and not on transit th roug h

I nd i a . The fifth P lan a lso l a i d down criter ia for selecti ng centers for

tou rism deve lopment . The crite r ia were a ) tou rism p references to be

dete rm ined by the exist i ng patterns of travel with i n the cou ntry. b )

The actua l o r potent ia l attract ion of a p lace for tou rism beca use of its

h i storica l or a rchaeolog ical s ig n i ficance or scen ic beauty. c) I ts

access ib i l i ty d) its deve lopment i n re lat ion to the existi ng or futu re

trave l patterns of tou r ists to with i n the country. e ) Its relat ion to the

overa l l p romotiona l strategy and the developed p rogra mme of the

Depa rtment. f) The investment that the State Government concerned

wou ld make at the p lace for deve lop ing the infrastructu re such as

roads , wate r and e lectr ic i ty supp ly, transport fac i l i t ies, etc.

The 6th P lan ( 1 977-82) saw the emergence of fi rst tou rism pol icy and

for t he fi rst t ime , P l ann i ng Commiss ion recog n ized the i mportance of

both d omestic a n d i n ternat iona l tou rism, and its capaci ty i n

generat ing soc ia l and economic benefits l i ke p romotion o f nat iona l

i nteg rat ion and i nternat iona l u nderstand i ng , creat ion of emp loyment

opportu n it ies , remova l of reg iona l imba la nces , i ncreaS ing fore ig n

exchange earn i ngs , th us red ressi ng the ba lance of pay ments

s i tuation , etc.

The 7th P l an ( 1 985-1 990) g ave tour ism an i nd ustry status (except ion

be ing Goa which is yet to cons ider i t as a n i ndustry ) , which imp l ied

that such bus i ness activit ies wou ld i n future be ent it led to the same

5

i ncentives and concess ions as we re a pp l ica ble to a n export i ndustry. I n the Eig hth P lan, th rust was on i nvolv ing private sector by provid i ng

better incentives and equ ity support towa rds t he p roject costs.

Another scheme for strengthen ing tou rism i nfrastructu re was the

specia l tou rism areas (STA) sche me, under wh ich the pa rt ic ipat ion of

centra l, state govern me nts and p rivate secto r was envisaged . D u ring

th is per iod Govern ment annou nced a number of measures in the

a reas of i nd ustria l po l icy, fi nanc ia l sector reforms a nd overa l l macro­

economic management. T he i n it iat ive ta ken by the government

a l lowed d i rect fo re ign investment up to 51 % i n h igh p riority i ndustr ies,

and hote ls and tou rism and re lated i ndustr ies . . Above measures were

the i ng red ients of the Nat iona l Act ion P lan 1 992 to p ractica l ly

imp lement those var ious concerns tuned towards g loba l ization . T he

N i nth Five Yea r P lan ( 1 997-2002) rea l ized that numbe r of m idd le and

lower m idd le c lass tou rists v is i t ing d istant p laces i n the country is on

the i ncrease.

T he app roach to touri sm deve lopment i n the N inth P lan was on

coord inated efforts by the pub l ic and p rivate sector . T he major th rust

areas in the N i nth P lan were: a) I nd igenous· and Natu ra l Hea lth

Tou rism b) R u ra l and V i l l age Tou rism c) P i l g r im Touris m d ) Adventu re

Tou rism e) Heritage Tou rism f) Youth and Sen ior C it ize ns Packagers .

T he N i nth P lan a lso suggested g iv ing U export house" status to

tou rism secto r. Specia l emphas is was la id on tou rism p romotion i n

North East Ind ia, i nter sectora l coord i nat ion a n d h u ma n resource

development for tou rism.

T he Tenth F ive-Year P lan (2002-07)) recogn ized the factors

respons ib le for the inadeq uate g rowth of tou ri sm sector in Ind ia which

a re low levels of i nvestments lack of p riority g iven to the development

of sector and lack of in terest on the part of state govern ments One of

the key objectives of the Tenth Plan i s to faci l itate the i mp lementation

of Tou ri sm Pol icy 2002 . T he P lan has suggested five key strateg ies to

ach ieve v is ion of tour ism po l icy, these a re: position ing tou rism as a

nat iona l pr iority, enhanc ing Ind ia 's competit iveness as tou rism

desti nat ion, imp rovi ng and expa nd ing p roduct deve lopment, creat ion

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of world 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 Indian

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 India has witnesse d policy

and 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 India as a world-class tourist

destination, with the objectives of developing tourism in India on

original lines while using it to preserve the heritage an d strengthen

our values and culture and bringing its socio-economic benefits to the

community by generating higher levels of employment, income,

foreign exchange, and revenue for states and by improving habita ts. The national tourism policy of 1 9 82 can only be seen as an

aggressive marketing strategy a dopted by the government to place

India favourab ly on the global tourism map . It cannot be seen as a

comprehensive development programme as it fails to a ddress 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 and

submitted its report in 1 9 88. 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

emphasized the need for India to improve its share in the global

tourist traffic and 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 haphazard manner it would 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

7

to u rism p roject may have. The nati o n a l p lan for to u rism was evo lved in the yea r 1992. The 1992 acti o n p l a n was the centra l g overn ment' s a ttempt to p l ace tou r ism

with i n t h e ove ra l l l i bera l ized a n d p rivatized fra mework that the N ew

Eco n o m ic Po l icy p rescribed for the cou ntry. I t e l a bo rated u po n the

need to e ncou ra g e private entrep re n e u rs h i p, i d e n ti fy locatio n s fo r

concentrated d evelopment of tou ri s m , restru ctu ri n g i n st i tut io n s fo r

m a n powe r d ev e l o p m e n t a n d u n d e rta ki n g m a s s ive m a rket i n g

ca m pa i g n s

T h e po l icy ado pts a fou r pro n g ed d eve lopment strategy fo r tour ism

d eve l o p m e n t - of i m p rov i n g i nfra structu re, d eve l o p i n g a reas on a

se l ect ive b a s i s fo r i n teg ra ted d evel o p m e n t, restructu r i n g a n d

stre n g t h e n i n g t h e i n st i tu t io n a l fra mework a n d evolv i ng a po l icy to

i n crease fore ig n tou rist a rriva l s a n d foreig n exch a n g e . The p l a n a l so

i d e n t if ied 15 c i rcu its a n d d estinati o n s for i n te n s ive d evelopment .

Alth o u g h the N at io n a l Committee o n To u ri s m was set u p with the

o bjective of prov i d i n g a h o l ist ic v i ew o n how tou rism o u g h t to develop

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 n a t i o n a l a ct i o n p l a n . I n pa rt i c u l a r i ts

reco m mendat ion requ i r i n g a n assess m e n t of the ca rry i n g ca pacity of

reg i o n s a n d s u bmiss ion of i m pact assessment re ports h ave been

completely i g n ored .

The Nat io n a l To u rism P o l icy 2002 is considered the resu lt of l o n g

de liberat ions a nd discussion s a m o n g a l l g roups re lated t o tou ri s m .

The Gove rn ment, t h ro u g h the Nati o n a l To u rism Po l icy (NTP) , h a s

tr ied t o p lace the Tourism I n d u stry with i n the l i bera l ized a n d

privatized fra mewo rk t h a t the I nd i a n Economy h a s a d o pted today.

With the N ew I n d u str ia l P o l icy in the backg ro u n d , the NTP h a s

em p h a s ized that i t i s t h e pr ivate sector a nd fore ig n I nvestment w h ich

wi l l a l o n e p rov ide the i m petus for push i n g the tour ism sector, a n d

there by the eco nomy a head. The po l icy d ocu ment a lso see ks to

e n h a nce e m p l oy m e n t potent ia l w i th i n the secto r as wel l as to foster

e co n o m i c i n te g ra t i o n . T h e p o l i cy h a s a l s o m a d e d e f i n i t e

i m p rove ments ove r the prev ious o n es as t h e pri n ci p l e of susta i n a b l e

8

d evelopment has been h i g hl ig hted . I n creasing I n d ia 's share i n world tou rism, to deve lop to u rism as a n enterprise t h a t i s government l e d pr ivate sectcr d rive n a n d comm u n i ty we lfare oriente d , t o d eve l o p effective l i nkages and close coord i nat ion amo ng vario u s d e partments, and deve l o p i n g ecotour ism more than just nature tour ism are pr ime concerns of the NTP 2002. The N TP a lso recognized the i m porta nce to formu lating 8 Code of Eth ics to g u ide to u rism deve lopment .

The 2002 pol icy realizes that the touris m i n d u stry fu n ct ions i n a

h i g h ly comp lex fa sh i o n a n d to r u n it s moothly wou ld requ i re h i g h

leve ls o f coo rdin at ion a mo n g a l l t h e i nvolved sectors . T h e NTP

proposes the incl us ion of to ur ism i n the Concurre nt l ist of the

Constitut ion i n ord e r to a l l ow both the ce ntra l a n d state g overn ments

to p lay a n effective and coo rd i n ated role i n tou rism d eve lopment. The

efforts of the NTP at realizing susta inability as a n i m po rta n t objective

are comm e n d a b l e . H owever the p o l i cy d oes not go far beyond stating

it as an o bjective a n d th erefo re in terms of actu a l po l icy mea s u res,

leaves much to be d es ired There has been s ign if icant d ebate a n d

d i scussion over the move t o p lace tour ism i n the C o ncurre nt l ist.

A l thoug h most states h ave g iven their co nsent, there a re few oth ers

who h ave vo iced the i r d isapprova l on vario us gro u nd�. Wh i le Kera la

h a s o bjected to t h e pro posa l o n the grou n d s that i t wi l l take away the

state g overn ment 's r ight to leg is late o n a l a rg e n u m ber of su bjects in

the state l i st, M a d hya Pradesh h a s c i ted its reason a s the l ike l i hood

of los ing rig hts to leg i s late o n taxat ion, hosp i ta l ity a n d touri s m

i n d u stry i s s u e s . O n a more g e neral ized n ote, state governments that

h ave o bjected to the pro pos i t ion have d o n e so i n a p prehens ion that i f

to u rism i s p laced i n the Concurre nt list, majority of the leg is lat ive

powe rs w i l l be vested with the ce n tral g overnment, leavi n g very l itt le

for state i n i t iat ive The tour ism i n d u stry has however taken a d iffe rent

sta nce i n s isti n g that con ce rned state g overn ments must g ive their

app rova l i m med iately.The pol i cy seeks to ' posi t ion tou rism as a major

eng i n e of eco n o m i c g rowth' The focus o n ly on the eco n omic side of

to uris m is d i sh earte ning. A long with its v is ib le eco n o m i c i m pacts,

to u ri s m has s ig n if ica nt socia l, cu ltural and e nviro n menta l i m pacts,

9

which n eed to be g iven as m uch, if not more atte nt ion . . The policy h a s stressed the v i ta l role that foreig n i nvestment w i l l have to play to promote tou rism in the cou ntrf. Havin g said this , i t s hou ld

d u ly acknowledge t h e specif ic c l a u ses of the GATS a g reement that

require the d eveloped cou ntr ies to extend benef i ts to the developing

cou ntr ies with respect to i n formation and serv ice technology.

One of the key a reas of focu s of the NTP has out l i n ed is 'S u raksha' -

to e n s u re the safety a nd secu rity of tourists by esta b l ishing speci a l

trained police. The pol i cy make rs a re however obl iv ious t o the fact

that in more ca ses t h a n one it is the safety of the loca l people that is

jeopa rd ized t h roug h tou r ism. I t i s hig h t ime the NTP took note of

issues l ike prost itut ion, chi ld a b u se a n d chi ld trafficki n g that have

g rown in the shadow of tou rism and took steps to check them

Five-Yea r Pla ns Total Outlay

195 1-56 0 1957 -62 Rs. 336.38 lakhs 1962-67 Rs. 800 lakhs 1967-72 Rs. 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 Rs. 2900 C rores

Th us a look at the a bove ta b le shows that importa nce of tou r ism p l a n ning in I n d i a has increased. Th is cou ld be traced from the budg eta ry a llocat ions, which i n creased from R s 3 36. 38 lakhs to RS.1000 crores i n the c u rre n t year. Th u s one ca n not ig nore th is sector a s i t has d i rect and i n d i rect benefits i n adva n c i n g the ove ra l l economic development , i mprovin g t h e sta n d a rd o f l i v i n g a n d creating emp loyment .

Apa rt from the a l locat ions of the five-yea r p la n s, the expen d it u re of the Tou rism M i nistry of the Gove rnment of I n dia ove r the 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)

.-

Year Tourism Civil

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 08.96 1 36 .70 484.51 2238.84 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 87 .43 1 997-98 1 1 7 . 75 1 36.64 908 .51 3783 .61 1 998-99 1 32 . 62 1 99 .92 1 05 1 .99 4453 .30 1 999-00 1 32 . 34 1 95 .76 1 1 82.89 6306.66 2000-0 1 54 .44 238.82 1 354 .78 84 1 6.28 200 1 -02 1 8 1 . 1 9 277.93 1 472.00 8376. 80

Tourism and global regimes

Mid 80s saw the g rowing i mportance of serv ices secto r i n the world

trade . With the comp let ion of the U rug uay Round of trade

negotiat ions and the format ion of the World Trade Organ isat ion

(WTO) , the ru les of mu l t i latera l trad i ng p rocess (wh ich so fa r

perta i ned on ly to the trade i n goods) were extended to trade i n

services th rough the Genera l Agreement on Trade i n Serv ices

(GATS), wh ich b rought a l l serv ices, i nc l ud i ng tou rism with i n the WTO

net. I nd ia beca me a s ignatory to the mu lt i- latera l ag reement a long

w i th the other 1 48 cou ntries i n the WTO, as it d id not want to be left

beh i nd i n the ongo ing l i bera l izat ion process. In i m plement ing the

Ag reement, Ind i a has already sta rted, open i ng i ts ma rkets to fo reig n

mu lt i-nationa ls i n var ious serv ice sectors l i ke compute r serv ices,

tou rism and transport sectors .

With i n the GATS, tou rism has been c lassified as the Tou ri sm and

Travel-Re lated Serv ices', wh ich i nc l udes hote ls, resta u rants, travel

agents, a n d tou r g u ide serv ices . U nder GATS ru les, the trade i n a ny

serv ice sector is defi ned th rough four modes of supp ly, wh ich cove rs

a range of poss ib i l i t ies regard i ng tou rism . These inc lude:

11

a) Cross-border supp ly of the serv ice ( i . e. book ing t ickets th rough t he i nternet, )

b) Consum pt ion Abroad ( i . e . the move ment of the se rv ice consumer i .e . the to u rist from the generat ing to the host coun try) .

c) Commercia l p resence ( i . e a m u lt i latera l co rporat ion sett ing a hotel/resta u rant/travel agency i n the territory of another cou ntry).

d) Cross- border movement of person ne l / l abou r (e. g . movement of fo re i g n m a n a g e rs/g u i d es/to u r ism p rofess i o n a ls fro m t h e generati ng t o host country.)

Another i nteg ra l part of GATS sch ed u les, is the remova l of l i m itat ions

on tou rism serv ice p rov iders , rega rd i ng estab l ish ment , owne rsh i p , em p loyment o f personne l and re mittances' . I n other words fore ign compan ies wi l l h ave free ma rket access to domestic markets under t he same trad ing cond it ions, wh ich exist fo r loca l compan ies of t he host country ( i. e the pr inc ip le of Nat iona l t reatment) . I t i s i m porta nt t o note that , keep ing t h e pr iori t ies and sensit ivities of deve lop ing cou ntr ies i n m i n d , a sect ion of the GATS add resss the need to secu re ' the i ncreasi ng pa rt ic ipat ion of deve lop ing cou ntr ies i n wo rl d t rade'. Accord i ng ly, Membe r governments h ave been advised to ach ieve th is th rough the negot iat ion of 'specific market open ing commitments' i n the fo l l owing a reas, name ly: a) Strengthen i ng the domestic se rv ices ca pa b i l i ti es of deve lop ing cou ntr ies th rough

access to technology resou rces o f the developed cou ntry on a

commerc ia l basis; b) improv ing access of deve lop ing co u ntr ies to

d istri but ion chan ne ls and i nformation networks; c) freedom fo r deve lop ing cou ntr ies to dep loy key and regu l a r personne l i n p laces where they a re supp ly ing tou rism serv ices.

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 round level severa l fo rms of exp lo itat ion i n the f ie ld of tou rism is ta king place as a resu l t of the domestic a n d i nternat iona l po l icies of the govern ment. For e. g . I n the a rea ma rked fo r tou rism a n d deve lopment i n t h e Southern states o f Tam i l Nad u , t h e Land Acq uisit ion Act is wide ly used to app ropriate land from the poor a n d margina l ized fa rmers i n t h e n a m e o f d u b ious ' p u b l i c interest'. Th us l and is forcefu l ly taken away a n d is handed over to hote l cha i ns a n d othe r tou rism service supp l i e rs at th rowaway pr ices. I n G o a shacks and sma l l resta u rants , wh ich p rov ided a so urce of l ive l i hood fo r t he loca l peop le of the reg ion , i s be i ng taken away by b ig hotels. Both these instances show that the govern ment ca rries forward its

p rogramme without consu l t i ng the peop le who l ive i n that reg ion. Even at internat iona l leve l , the g overnments ongo ing p rog ramme of

l i be ra lization especia l ly s ig ning the m u lt i- latera l t rade agreement

GATS, wi l l have negative impact on the tou rism secto r. An E'.xport-Ied

trade such as tou rism does have the potent ia l fo r economic g rowt h , b u t how fa r i t w i l l benefit t h e h ost nations w i l l d e p e n d on where the p rofits actua l ly go , who controls tou rism i ndustry, and what is

perceived by those in power as the funda menta l i nd i cator of economic g rowth: e it her an add i tiorla l casi no hotel for tou rists o r a c lean a n d effic ient water supply for local residents. If those profits , wh ie;h do rema in i n the host country, a re used to c lear h u ge fo re ig n debts rather than to benefit local popu lat ions, then l i be ra l izat ion wi l l b ri n g few, i f any" advanta g es t o t he vast majo rity of loca l com m u n it ies.

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 equitable 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 const itut iona l d i rective tended to i nsp i re the

U n ion Government and State ·Gove rnments, to adopt measu res for

deve lopment of the panchayats i n the country.

D u ri ng the 1 950s severa l states made leg is lat ions to democratize the

structu re and devolve more powers and funct ions to the pa nchayats .

The F ive-yea r p lans i nc luded i n their p rog ramme measures to

strengthen loca l self-government to p lay a ro le in loca l deve lopment

p rocesses and to make them more respons ive to peop le's needs and

expectat ions . I n spite of efforts ta ken by the p l ann i ng p rocess,

fo rmation of panchayats and devo lv ing app ropriate powers and

fu nctions to them were left to the respective state governments.

Some states l i ke West Benga l , Madhya P rades h , and Kera l a put

appropri ate measu res to strengthen the loca l bod ies , wh i le many

states d id not show the i r wi l l i ng ness fo r decentra l izat ion p rocess.

Var ious committees were a lso set u p by the U n ion Government to

make s u g g est i o n s a n d recomme n d at ions o n rev i ta l i z i ng the

Panchayat Raj Inst i tut ions. One such committee was Ashoka Mehta

Committee whose ma in recommendat ions were fo r more genu i ne

and effective devo l ut ion o f powers to the Pa nchayats. The most

s ign ificant recommendat ion 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 uster of v i l l ages and is sma l l e r than

the p resent b lock pa nchayats ) . The committee fe l t that the Zi l la

Parishad and not the Panchayat Samit i shou ld be made the primary

_. u n it in the Panchayati Raj system as the Z i l l a Pa r ishad e njoys g reater

resou rces and leadersh i p to p lay a su bstant ia l deve lopment ro le .

For a n effective coord i nat ion between development and u rban

deve lopment the committee suggested tha t the M u n ic ipa l bodies

should be g iven more representat ion in Zi l l a Parishad and Mandai

Panchayat . As rega rds taxatio n , the committee recommended the

Panchayati Raj Inst itutions to have compu lsory powers of taxat ion to

mo b i l ize the necessary resou rces on the i r own thereby red uc ing the i r

dependence on devolut ion of funds from the State Gove rnment. A

16

rema rkable featu re of the r":,Lht8 Report i s its recornme ndat ion favour ing '( pen partic ipat ion ' rf pol it ica l part ies in Pan cr.laya i raj affdirs. Due to change i n thc govern ment , the recommendat ions of the commi 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 i ts e P a n c h ay a t R aj syste m on t he recom mendat ions of Ashoka Mehta co mmittee report.

Another com mittee a ppointed by the Govern ment was the G. V. Roa

Committee i n 1 985. The co mmittee's ma in 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 st itut ions so as to eq u i p them to

p lay a major ro l e in promoti ng a n d manag ing rura l deve lopment a n d

loca l affa i rs.

The other commi ttee a p po inted i n 1 986 under the noted j u r ist , L. M .

Singhvi advocated g iv ing constitutional status t o the Pa nchayats to stre!1gthen the i r posit ion. The P. K. Thungon Committee l i ke the prev ious commi ttee recommended fo r the constitu

,t iona l recog n it ion

of panchayati raj i n 1 988 . I t recommended that the Z i l l a Par ish ad be made the p ivota l body to carry out p lan n i ng and deve lopment act iv ity i n the district. The most notable recommendat ion of the Thu ngon committee was a bout 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

develo pm e n t a n d r e gula t o ry a dm i n iiit rati o n. I t s o t h e r

reco m mendat ions were abou t a d etai led l ist 01 su\.;ject� fOi" panchayat i raj to be i ncorporated i n the constitution Clild setting up 'f the state fi nance com miss ions to lay down the criter ia and g u ide l i nes fr>r devo lut ion of fi n a nc ia l resources to the P Rls . .

I t was i n th is bar.kdrop that on 1 5 May 1989 the Constitution 64th Amendment hill was d rafted and i ntrod uced i n th!': pml ic:lment There were two serious opposit ions to the b i l l : d u e to its po l i t ica l ()ve rtonesa) the b i l l overlooked the states a nd was seen a s an i nstru ment of the centre to dea l d i rectly with the PHis a n d b) that it was i m pos ing a u n iform pattern th roug hout the coun try i nstead 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 activit ies of P R l s as st ipulated by the Act have now leg a l and const ituti ona l status a nd a ny v io lat ion of this by a nybody and at a ny t ime , wou ld be p u n ishab le by law. Const itut iona l status v ide Art icle 243 of Part IX of the Con stitution wh ich ca me i nto effect fro m Apr i l 24, 1 993 made it mandato ry for a l l States to p romu lg ate their own new acts conseq uent to the 73 rd Constitutiona l Amendment Act o r amend th e i r o ld ones by Apr i l 1 994.

By v i rtue of the Const itutional Status bestowed u pon the P R l s , it now has the potent ia l to revo lu tiona l ize the way we have been see ing loca l self-governa n ce. I t is not on ly a system of pa rt ic i pative se l f governance but .it ensu res pol i t ica l empowerment to the poor, marg i nal ized , and the oppressed , wh ich trad i t iona lly i n o u r cou ntry have been the Sched u led Castes , the Sched u led Tri bes, a nd the women .

1 ) Constitutional Status t o peoples' participation: The Act i n co rporated the concept of Gra m Sabha (the assem bly of a l l adu l ts i n t h e vi l lage/s) . I t was t o comprise of a l l persons reg i stered as voters i n the Pa nchayat a rea at the v i l l age leve l . The state leg is latu re was to statutor i ly entrust the Gra m Sabha with powers of genera l su perv is ion over 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 XI. 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:

22

1. a uthorize the panchayats to levy, col lect and app ropriate su itable local taxes, d ut ies , to l ls and fees in accordance with such proced u re and subject to such l im its;

2. assign to a pa nchayat such taxes , d ut ies , to l l s and fees levied and co l lected by the State Govern ment fo r such pu rposes and subject to such cond it io ns a n d l i m its ,

3 p rovide for mak ing such g rants-i n-a id to the panchayats from the Conso l idated Fund of the State: and

4. p rovide for const itut ion of such Funds for c red i t ing a l l moneys received respectively by or on beha l f of the panchayats and a lso for the withd rawa l of such money therefro m , as may be specif ied in the law.

9) With reg ards to the fi nanc ia l powers , the Governor of the state is entrusted with the power to constitute a F ina nce Commiss ion to review period ica l ly the fi nanc ia l position of the panchayats and ma ke reco m mend at ions reg a rd i n g the d i str ibut i o n of ne t proceeds o f d ut ies, taxes , to l ls , fees etc . between the states and t he pa nchayats a nd betwee n t he panchayats at d i ffe rent level and ass ig nment and app ropriat ion of the taxes, d ut ies , to l ls , fees , etc. , what taxes , d ut ies , to l l s and fees may be assig ned to the Panchayats , g ra nts-i n-a id to the panchayats from the co nso l idated fu nd of the state .

10) T he state leg is latu res may by law make p rov is ions with respect to the ma in tenance of accounts and the aud it i ng of such accoun ts .

Ground Realities

Except for th ree North Easte rn states ( hav ing tr iba l counci l s) and two u rba n U n ion Territor ies ( UTs) , a l l the states/ UTs coming u nder p u rv iew of th i s Act have amended the i r respective pa nchayat Acts in co nform ity wi th the Centra l Act. Fo l l owed by a mend ments i n Const i tut ion a nd State Acts, the dece ntra l ized i nstitut ions h ave come i n to be i ng . Even afte r 1 3 yea rs of enactment of 73rd Amend merlt Act, the rea l i ty of decentra l ized i nstitut ions of self governance remeJi n cr it ica l . Some of the key co ncerns a re as:

23

• Though the prov is ion ta l ks about reseNat ion for women it fa i l s to

i ncl ude prov is ion fo r conduct ing t ra i n i ng prog ra mmes and such

other prog ra m mes to b ri n g them at pa r with the i r male

cou nterparts . I t is genera l ly see n that women do not have any

c lear idea about the i r powers under the Act. They a lso do not

attend meeti ngs. Be ing i l l ite rate they genera l ly affix the i r th u m b

i mpress ions t o pa pers on major decis ions ta ken at t h e meet ings,

wh ich they have not attended.

• I n spite of a prov is ion for compu lsor i ly cond uct ing of e lect ions to

the Panch ayats afte r every five yea rs, in many states elect ions a re

d u e and wherever e lecti ons have ta ken p lace it was

cha racterized by caste and soc ia l c leavages making it very d ifficu l t

to estab l ish effective loca l govern ments. In Ga rhwa l and Kumaon,

Panchayat e lections were last he ld i n 1 988. The next e lect ions

shou ld have been he ld in 1 993. In B i ha r, e lections were last he ld

as long back as i n 1 978-79. Orissa though not i n the same leag ue,

fo l lowed c lose ly. He re the Govern ment showed s u rpri s i ng

dexte rity i n d isso lv ing t he local bod ies i n August 1 995, bu t fa i led to

exh ib it s im i l a r promptness i n reconstitut i ng them a l lowi ng in effect,

the bu reaucracy to ru n them. Elections, wh ich were to be he ld in

February 1 996, were postponed twice - fi rst in November 1 994 , on

the pretext that ba l lot boxes we re not ava i lab le and aga in in May

1 996 at the jo in t request of the po l i t ica l pa rt ies.

• The recently he ld panchayat e lect ions in B i ha r after a gap of 23

years were ma rred by v io lent c lashes between caste g roups wh ich

goes on to prove that po l i t ica l pa rt ies v iew pa nchayat e lection as

the equ iva lent of exit po l l s and a ba rometer to measu re the i r

popu la rity Pa nchayats e lections thus becomes a m in i vers ion of

the assembly a nd Lok Sabha pol l s with po l i ti ca l part ies explo i t ing

caste affil iat ions by extend ing support to i nd iv idua ls. The pol it ica l

pa rties a re to a l a rge extent b la med fo r postpon i ng pa nchayat

e lection because for the fea r of fac ing the pa nchayat e lectorate .

They do not wa nt to conduct panchayat e lection d u ri ng the

midway o r towa rds the fag end of their of their term. N o party who

is aspi ri ng to come to power wou ld l i ke to be d ishonored by los ing

seats a t var ious leve ls of the pa nchayats. Therefore the pol it ica l

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part ies , both ru l i n g a s we l l as the o p positio n jo i n h a n d s in post p o n i n g e l ect i o n. The State El ect i o n C o m m i s s i o n a l so sometimes succu mbs to the press u re tactics of the State govern ments . Therefore if the l ocal g overn ment h a s to be successfu l , fundamental refo rms wil l have to take p lace. The state Electio n C o m missio n e r who is entru sted with the respo n s i b i lity of co n d u ct i n g Panchayats e l e ctio n s s h o uld be con stitut i o n a l ly e m powered to take act ion against those that atte m pt to po liticize local g overn ment bod ies and state g overn ments that d o not co n d u ct e lectio n s o n t ime.

• The refe re nce to t h e Eleve nth Sched u l e in the 73rd Ame n d ment says "th e state g overn ments may e ntrust schemes under s u bjects , wh ich are listed i n the e leventh sched u l e , to the Panchayats . " That is , it doesn ' t confe r any ent i t lement or rig hts o n t h e Panchayats ove r t h e s u bjects B u t rat h e r, that the Panchayats ca n be appo i n ted as med i ators of vario us d e partments of the C e n tre/state government at the latte r's sweet wil l , to run some scheme wh ich they have devised o n the i r beha lf.

• Alth o u g h the G ram Sabha h a s become the so u l of any d ecentra l ization d e bate s i n ce 1995 , it has not achieved the status and positio n it o u g h t to have. Tho u g h the g ram sabha h ave the power to id entify beneficiaries fo r vari o u s poverty a l leviat ion p rog ram mes, p ropose an an n ual p lan , d i scuss the budget and audit re ports and review pro g ress, in most of the states , the i r d ecis i o n s a re n ot b i nding as i t o n ly e njoys an ad visory ro le . O n ly few states l ike , Harya n a , P u nj a b , Orissa and Ta m i l Nad u h ave g iven the sab ha the powe r to ap p rove the budget . The s u ccess with regard to h o lding meeting 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 the statutory meeti n g was he ld . In Mad hya Pradesh a n d Rajasthan , fie ld reports s h owed that m a n y people d i d n ot know about the dates of the g ram s a b h a meeti n g s. Moreover, as the meet i n g s are he ld at pa nchayat headqu a rte rs , people from d i sta , l t v i l lage f ind i t d iff icu l t to atte n d them . Atte ndance i s h i g h wherl a

ben eficia ry l i st i s to be discussed . Genera l ly losers in the

25

panchayat e lect ions mob i l ize su pport to oppose the deve lopment p lans in the Sabhas . To rev ive the g ra m sabha and to make it an effective i nstru ment of g rassroots de mocracy, effective measu res need to be ta ken l i ke l and reforms etc.

• U nder the 73rd Amendment , the states leg is lature has the leg is lat ive powers to confe r to the Pa nchayat such powers and a uthori ty so as to ena b le them to prepa re p lans a n d imp lement sche mes for economic deve lopment a nd socia l j ustice on various s u bjects ment ioned i n the Sched u l e IX . Bu t th i s ca n be put i n p ractice on ly i f some k ind o f profess iona l and tec h n ica l expert ise ( from the state and the centre) is accompan ied by it Without such g u idance , deve lopmenta l act iv i t ies ca n go i n a haphazard man ner.

74th Constitutiona l Amend ment Act: Sa l ient Featu res : S im i l a r to the prov is ions u nder 73rd Amend ment , prov is ions exist i n t h e C o n st i t u t i on Seven ty -Fo u rth A m e n d m e n t Act , 19 9 3 on " M u n ic ipa l i t ies" app l icab le to u rban a reas . P rovi s ion i n Sched u le IX A a re very much s im i l a r to prov is ions i n Sched u l e IX especi a l ly with rega rds to reservat ion of seats, F i na nce commiss ion , E lection Commissi on , etc.

Ta k i n g i n acco u n t , t h e n ecess a ry p rov I s i o n s req u i red fo r strengthen ing the i nst itut ions of u rban loca l se lf-governance, the 74th Const itu t iona l Ame nd ment has fo l lowing sa l ient featu res.

I ) Defi n it ions and formati o n of Urban Local Bod i es of var ious

u rba n a reas : (243 Q.) There i s p rov is ion for " Nagar Panchayat" for a n a rea i n tra nsit ion from a ru ra l a rea to a n u rban a rea . S i m i l a rly M u n ic ipa l cou n ci l s a re for sma l le r u rba n a rea , wh i l e M u n ic ipa l Corporat ions a re for l a rger u rba n a rea . A Nagar Pa nchayat i s ma i n ly a trans i ti ona l a rea , an a rea tha t i s tra nsformed from a ru ra l to a n u rba n a rea . Such a n a rea is bas ica l ly ru ra l i n cha racter, wh ich over a per iod of t ime develop u rban cha racterist ics. S uch an u rban loca l body wou ld have to

5The powers a n d fu n ct i o n s of the Panch ayats a re d escribed in the e l eve nth sched u le co n cern i n g the 29 I tems which pr imar i ly d e a l with t h e i r day today fu nctio n s .

26

perfo rm both rura l a n d u rban fu nct ion s . N a g a r Panchayats even

n ow exist in some states. M u n ic ipa l C o u n c i l s a re co nst ituted in a

sma l l e r u rb a n a rea w h i l e fo r l a rg e r u rban a reas m u n i c i p a l

corporat ions a re co nst ituted . Demog ra p h i c a n d oth er co nd it io n s ,

w h i c h a re d eterm i n i n g fa ctors fo r constitu t i n g a part icu l a r ty pe of

M u n ic ipa l ity, d iffe r from state to state . It i s l eft to the state to

d eterm i n e wh ich ty pe of m u n ic ipa l i ty w i l l be con st ituted for each

u rban a re a . The a reas for d i ffe rent ty pes of u rban bod ies wo u l d

be specif ied b y t h e Gove rnor tak i n g i nto accou nt : popu lat ion of

t h e a re a ; d e n s i ty of popu lat io n ; reven u e g e n e rated by the loca l

b o d y ; a n d p e rce n ta g e of e m p l oy m e n t i n n o n -a g r icu l t u ra l

activ i t ies ; the eco n o m i c i m porta n ce a n d oth er factors .

2) The Act ma kes it o b l i g atory fo r every state to constitute such

u n its. But i f there is a n u rban a rea or part of i t where m u n ic ipa l

serv i ces a re p rov ided or proposed to be prov ided by a n i n d u str i a l

esta b l ish ment i n t h a t a rea then co ns ideri n g a lso the s i z e o f the

a rea and oth e r factors t h e g overnor may specify i t to be an

i n d ustr ia l town s h i p (fo r e . g . Bokaro Steel C ity) . For such a n a rea

i t i s n ot mand atory to constitute a M u n c i p a l i ty.

II) Composit ion of Mun ic ipa l it ies.( 243 R): A l a rg e r p roport ion of

members in the M u n ic ipa l ity a re e lected members c h o s e n by

d i rect e l e ct i o n fro m the terr i to r i a l co n st i tu e n c i es i n t h e

M u n i c i pa l a rea a n d fo r th is p u rpose e a c h M u n ic i p a l a re

is d iv ided i n to territo ria l con stitu e n cies a lso k n own as wards . I n

add i t ion to the e lected members, there a re some n o m i n ated

m e m be rs . 3) All the seats in a m u n ic ipa l i ty a re fi l l ed thro u g h d i rect

e l ecti o n of members chosen fro m territo r ia l co n st itu e n cies in the

m u n ic ipa l a rea and fo r t h i s pu rpose each m u n ic ipa l a rea a re

d iv ided i n to territo ri a l const ituencies known as ward s . Each seat

re presents a wa rd in the M u n i c i pa l ity. Besides the seats fi l l ed by

d i rect e l ectio ns , some seats may be fi l led by n o m i nat ion of

perso n s , h a v i n g a pt i tude in m u n ic ipa l a d m i n i strat io n . For t h i s

p u rpose t h e state leg i s la ture m a y specify the con d i t ions a n d

p roced u re for n o m i nat ion of s u c h persons . B u t the person s o

a p po i nted d o e s n o t e njoy any voti n g rig h t i n the meet i n g s o f t h e

M u n ic ipa l i ty.

27

III) Constitution and composition of Wards Committees, etc

(2435) : The 74th Amend ment Act a l so g ives p rov is ion for the

fo rmation of Wa rds Committees , consist i ng of one or more wa rds ,

with i n the territor ia l a rea of a M u n ici pa l ity hav i ng a popu lat ion of

th ree lakhs or more . The Leg is latu re of a State may, by l aw, make

p rov is ion with respect to (a) the composit ion and the terr ito ri a l

a rea o f a Wards Committee ; ( b) t he man ner i n wh i ch the seats i n a

Wards Committee sha l l be fi l l ed .

IV) Powers and Functions of Urban Local Bodies (243 X) : The

74th Amend ment Act, g ives the those powers and authorit ies to

the M u n ic ipa l i t ies wh ich a re necessary to enab le them to

fu n ct ion as i n stitut ions of self-govern ment. The powers and

fu nctions d evolved to the mun icipa l i t ies can be g rou ped i nto

fo l lowi ng major h eads :

( i ) The preparat ion of p lans for economic development and soc ia l

j ust ice ;

( i i ) T h e performa nce o f fu nctions a n d t h e imp lementation o f schemes

as may be entrusted to them i nc l ud i ng those in re lat ion to the

matters l isted in the Twe l fth Sched u le ;

The Committees with such powers and authority as may be

necessa ry to enab le t hem to ca rry ou t the respons ib i l it ies conferred

u pon them i nc l ud i ng those in re lat ion to the matters l isted in the

Twe lfth Sched u le .

The 1 2th Sched u le o f t he 74th Constitut iona l Amend ment Act of

I n d i a , defines 1 8 n ew tasks in the fu nct iona l doma in of the U rban

Loca l Bod ies , as fo l lows:

• U rban P lann ing i nc l ud i ng town p la n n i n g . • Regu lat ion of land use and construct ion of bu i l d i ng . • P l a n n i ng for economic and socia l deve lopment . • Roads and br idges . • Water su pp ly for domestic, i nd ustr ia l and commercia l p u rposes • P u b l i c hea lth , san itat ion conservancy and so l i d

waste management . • F i re services .

2 8

• U rban fo restry, p rotect ion of the env i ron ment a nd promot ion of

eco log ica l aspects Safeg ua rd i n g the i n terests of wea ker sections of society,

i nc l ud i ng the hand icapped and menta l ly reta rded S l u m imp rovement and u p g radati on . U rban poverty a l l eviat io n . P ro motio n o f cu ltu ra l , educationa l and aesthetic aspects .

Financial Status : I n add i t ion to the basic powers and fu nctions ,

the 74th Ame ndment Act a lso outl i nes the p rov is ion to i m pose

taxes by, and fu nds of, the M u n ic ipa l i t ies . As per the Art ic le 243

X-, the leg is latu re of a state may, by law, -

(a ) Authorize a M u n ic ipa l i ty to levy, co l lect a nd app ropriate such

taxes, d ut ies , to l l s and fees i n accorda nce with such p rocedu re

a n d subject to such l im its ;

( b ) Ass ig n to a M u n ic ipa l i ty such taxes, d ut ies , to l l s a nd fees lev ied

and co l lected by the State Government for such pu rposes and

subject to such cond it ions and l im its ;

(c) P rovide for mak ing such g ra nts-i n-a id to the M u n ic ipa l i t ies from

the Conso l i dated Fund of the State; and

(d ) P rovide for const i tut ion of such Funds fo r cred i t ing a l l moneys

rece ived , respect ively, by o r on beha lf of the M u n i c ipa l i t ies and

a l so fo r the withd rawa l o f such moneys there from . As may be

specif ied i n t he law.

V) State Finance Commission: (243Y) The F i nance Commiss ion

constituted unde r a rt ic le 243-1 i s a l so a uthorized to rev iew 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

recommendations to the Governor on-.

The p ri nc ip les wh ich shou ld govern- the d istr ibut ion betwee n

t h e State and t h e M u n ic i pa l i t ies o f th e n e t proceeds o f the

taxes, d ut ies, tp l l s and fees lev iab le by the State , wh ich may

be d iv ided betwee n them u nder th is Pa rt a nd the a l locat ion

between the M u n ic ipa l i t ies at a l l leve l s of the 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 Governor 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 ittee: (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 draft 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 isations 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 which 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 Committee 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 t h e d r a f t

development plan and has to cons ider :

6 Status of the Panchayat l Raj in the States and the Un ion territories of I nd ia 2000,

I nst i tute of Socia l Sciences . p 1 4

3 1

( i ) The p lans prepared by the M u n ic ipa l i t ies and the Panchayats i n

t h e Metropo l ita n a rea ;

( i i ) Matters of common i n te rest between the M u n ic ipa l i t ies and the

Panchayats , i nc l ud i ng co-ord ina ted spat ia l p la n n i ng of the a rea ,

shar ing of water and othe r physica l and natura l resou rces, the

i n tegrated development of infrastructu re and env i ron menta l

co nservation ;

( i i i ) The overa l l objectives a n d pr io r it ies set by the Government of

I nd ia a n d the Government of the State ;

( iv) The extent and natu re of i nvestments l i kely to be made i n the

M etropo l i ta n a rea by agencies of the Govern ment of I nd i a and of

the Government of the State and other ava i l ab le resources

whethe r fi nanc ia l o r otherwise;

The Metropol itan P la n n i ng Committee shou ld 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 ov e r n o r m a y ,

b y o rder, specify. T h e Cha i rperson o f every Metropo l i ta n P l ann i ng

Committee sha l l forwa rd t he development p la n , as recommended

by such Committee , to the Govern ment of the State .

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

T h e va l i d i ty of a n y l aw re l a t i n g to t h e d e l i m i ta t i o n of

constituenc ies or the a l lotment of seats to such constituenc ies

sha l l not be ca l led in q u est ion in any cou rt . No e lection to a ny

M u n ic ipa l i ty sha l l be c� l Ied i n question except by a n e lection

peti t ion p resented to such autho rity a n d i n such manner as is

p rov ided fo r by o r under any law made by the Leg is latu re of a

State .

Members of the Lok Sabha , Rajya Sabha M P 's and Members of

State Leg is lative Assembl ies represent i ng const ituencies , wh ich

comprise who l ly o r pa rtly the mun ic ipa l a rea concerned a re a lso

voti ng members of the M u n ic i pa l i ty. The Cha 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 te e s ) w i l l h av e

representat ion i n a M u n ic ipa l i ty with voti ng r ig hts.

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v i i i ) To p rov ide adequate representat ion of Sched i l l e Caste and Sched u le Tri bes and o f women i n t he M u n ic ipa l bod ies , p rov is ion has been made for reserving seats for them. But the n u mber of seats so reseNed for SC/ST is to be in p roport ion to the i r tota l popu lat ion i n the m u n ic ipa l a rea and such seats a re a l l otted by rotat ion to d ifferent const ituencies i n a m u n ic ipa l ity. Out of the tota l seats to be fi l l ed by d i rect e lecti on , not less than one-th i rd seats a re to be reseNed for women be lon g i ng to SC/ST. Not less than on e-th i rd ( i nc l ud i ng seats reseNed for SC/ST's ) o f the tota l seats to be fi l led by d i rect e lection i n every e lect ion i n every m u n ic ipa l i ty a re reseNed fo r women and such seats may be a l l otted by rotat ion to d i fferent const ituenc ies i n a m u n ic ipa l i ty. Th is is a mandatory prov is ion .

The state leg is lature by law p rescri bes the manner i n wh ich the

office of cha i rpersons is to be reseNed fo r SC/ST's and

women . The state leg is lature i n a s im i l a r manne r p rescri bes by

law the manner of reseNation of the offices of the cha i rpersons

of M u n ic ipa l i ty. The state by law a lso reseNes seats or offices

of the cha i rpersons of M u nc ipa l it ies in favou r of backward

c lass , wh ich is an opt iona l p rovis ion .

4) The term of office of every mun i cipa l i ty is f ive years fro m the

date of a p po i ntment . I f d issolved before i ts term (acco rd i n g to

law in force) , e lect ions a re to be he ld with i n six months . No

amend ment of the law i n force can d i ssolve the m u n ic ipa l i ty

before the exp i ry of i ts normal te rm. The State Gove rnment o r

i ts agencies have done th i s to take away the poss ib i l i ty of

a rb itrary suspens ion or s u pe rsess ion of M u n ic ipa l i t ies . If the

State Government dec ides to d issolve a M u n ic ipa l i ty before the

exp i rat ion of its norma l term i t has to g ive the M u n ic ipa l i ty a

reasonab le opportu n ity for be ing heard .

5) The qualification fo r be i ng a member of state leg iS lature and

fo r be i ng a member o f m u n ic ipa l i ty a re same , the o n ly

d iffe rence be ing that a persons who have atta i ned the age of 2 1

years a re e l i g i b l e to be a member o f a mun ic ipa l i ty, wh i le the

constitutiona l req u i rement is that for the e lect ion to the State

Leg is lature of a state , a person must have atta ined the age of

33

25 y rs . A member of the M u n ic ipa l ity ca n be d isqu a lif ied o n the same g ro u n d as the member of the state legis l atu re .

6 ) T h e State E le ct i o n C o m m i s s i o n e nj o y s t h e powe r o f s u peri n te n d e n ce , d i rect ion a n d co ntrol o f the p reparat ion of e l ecto ra l ro l l s fo r, a n d the co n d u ct of a l l e l ectio n s to the m u n ic ipa l i t ies As per the p rov is ions in the Const i tut ion the state leg is latu re of a state may, by l aw, m a ke p rov is ions with res pect to a l l matte rs re lat i ng to or i n con n ecti o n with , e lectio n s to m u n i cipa l i t ies . A state e l ecti o n co m m iss i o n e r a p poi n ted by the Gove rnor is to head the co m m iss ion . The Govern o r of a state ca n prov ide staff to ass ist the co m m i ssio n to ca rry o u t the e lecti on p rocesses.

Some state govern ments did n ot a d here to the s p i ri t of the co nstitut ion and v io lated the pr inci p l es of d ecentra l izat ion by m a k i n g col lecto rs c h a i rp e rsons and i n some others m i n i sters (who a re t h e i r n o m i nee) of the O P C . H owever the d o m i n a n t trend h a s been to ass ig n t h i s post to d e mocrat ica l ly e lected head of the d i str ict leve l panchayat

Thoug h co nst ituting a OPC i s a ma n datory fu nct ion o f eve ry State, i n p ract ice o n ly few states l i ke Ke ra la a n d West Benga l have taken d ecentra l ized p l a n n i n g ser ious ly othe rs have s h own a very s l ow a p p roach .

I n s i g hts from G rou n d Real it ies : The a bove p rov is ions , have tr ied to g ive a u to n o m o u s statu s to t h e Panchayats a n d the M u n c i pa l it ies . Yet t h e re a re certain d i stu rb i n g fa cto rs , w h i ch h ave creeped i n to t h e effective fu nct ion i n g of the Panchayat i raj i n st i tuti o n . M i n iste rs a t the ce ntre a n d the var ious d e p a rtments i n the states concerned with var ious d evelopment schemes and p rog ra mmes such as a g ricu ltu re , hea l th , ed u ca tion , wo men a n d c h i l d d eve lopment 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 istered societ ies) , at the d i str ict leve l , th u s try i n g to bypass the ro le of panch ayats.

D istrict R u ra l Development Agency ( D RDA ) : Alth o u g h Kera l a , Mad hya P radesh a n d Ka rnata ka h a v e a b o l i shed O R OAs a n d

34

merged them with Z i l l a Panchayats now there i� a move to revive D R DAs. The latest move in the M i n istry of R u ra l Deve lopment is to make a Member of Par l i a lment the head of D R DA with the D istr ict Co l lector as i ts secreta ry.

Watershed Development P rogramme (WO P) : the M i n istry of Agr icu ltu re and M i n istry of R u ra l Deve lopment i mp lement these p rog ra m mes. Though there is no d ifficu lty i n a l locat ing fu nds i n the d i str icts to the Z i l l a pa nchayats i t i s not be i ng d o n e . The imp lement ing agency therefo re shou ld receive funds from Z i l la pa nchayat and th us e n s u re tha t the respons i b i l i ty of these p rog ra m mes rema i n with Z i l l a panchayat , wh ich is a democratica l ly e lected body.

Jo int Forest Management Committee (J FMC) : t h i s commi ttee works under the M i n i stry of Env i ron ment and Forests and excl udes the i nvolvement of loca l bod ies . Though there i s a g reater ro le fo r the Panchayat i Raj I n st i tut ions in the a rea of affo restat ion and socia l forestry a n d m ino r fo rest p rod uce i n sched u led a reas , J F M C opera tes i ndependently o f loca l e lected bod ies .

Anoth er lacu nae i n the act i s tha t , the D istr ict P l a n n i ng committees has been imp la nted strange ly in the 74th Amendment act, beca use without execu tive fu nct ions they wi l l not i n any sense be i nst i tutions of self-government

Desp i te lacunas , new progra mmes ca me i nto be i ng . Part ic i patory a nd susta i nab le Loca l Level Deve lopment P l a n n i ng with the s log a n : ' P l ann i ng b y t h e peop le a n d for t h e peop le ' tak ing p lace i n Kera la panchayats and m u n ic i pa l i t ies . About 40 percent of State fu nds has been a l l ocated fo r the pa nchayats and Nagar Pa l i kas i nst itut ions to be used excl us ively by i t for prod u ctive serv ice , socia l service sectors and i n frastructu re i n the ratio 40: 30: 30 i n r u ra l a reas is someth i ng wh ich other states cou l d fo l low.

I n o rd e r to p reven 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 representatives (wh ere t h e re presentat ives used the i r posit ion to get offic ia l sa nct ions by subm itti ng fa lse vouchers and b i l l s) , the r ight to

I nfo rmation was i n trod uced . Th is has led to transparency where 35

every state is to open the i r records to pub l ic . The r ig ht to i n format ion . is gett ing momentu m , where every cit ize n has the r ig ht to i nformat ion and on payment he o r she cou ld demand a n d receive deta i l s of the expend i ture on the work done over the last f ive yea rs i n h is or her v i l lage and a l l the docu ments cou ld be photocop ied as evidence, to use it in fu tu re . Tam i l Nad u , Goa , a n d Ke ra l a have a l ready fo l lowed i t . States l i ke M P and U . P. has opened many depa rtments of Panchayat i Raj to pub l ic eye .

The new panchayat i raj has opened u p v istas for better flow of i n format ion . I n fo rmatio n , wh ich was ear l ie r, cons idered the doma i n of on ly the dominant c lasses has percolated to the pa nchayats , th us b ri ng i ng i n transpare ncy.

Self-governance for the Sched u l ed Areas : As per the 200 1 census tri ba l popu lat ion constitutes a bout 8 . per cent of the tota l popu l at ion of I nd i a and majority of them are posit ioned i n ru ra l a reas . Most of the tr i ba l societ ies have the i r own customary laws, th e i r own mode of l i v i ng , o rg a n ization , t rad it ions , cu l tu ra l mores, etc. and a re tota l cut off from the rest of the society. The tr i ba l peop le have a strong com m u n ity orga n izat ion t hus fo rmat ion of fo rma l i n st i tu t i o n s l i ke P a n c hayats c reated an anoma lous s i tuat ion . These formal i nst i tut ions often came i n confl i ct with the tr i ba l customary laws and trad i t i ons . Whenever th ese fo rma l i nst i tutions tr ied asserti ng i ts a uthority, confrontat ion took p lace. The fo rma l i nst i tut ion fa i led to recog n ize the v ib rant tri ba l com m u n i ty wh ich has been manag ing i ts affa i rs i n accorda nce with i ts trad i t ion th rough ages , meet i ng effectively the cha l lenges , wh ich have been com ing in i ts way. The ongoing confrontat ion between tr i ba l people and the forma l system was i gnored a nd often treated as law a n d order p rob lem. T h u s i t was fe lt to br ing a system whereby t h e tr i ba l cou ld exercise the i r freedom without a ny i n tervent ion from outs ide fo rces and to create a structu re , wh ich wo u ld be i n consonance with the trad it iona l syste m and yet encompass the modern e lements as env isaged i n var io us pa rts and Sched u les of the Const itut ion .

A com m ittee co nS ist ing o f Members o f Par l i ament a n d Experts unde r t he cha i rmans� i p 9f S h ri D i l i p S i n g h B h u ria , was created to suggest a n

., '; "

36

a l ternative syste m to be b u i l t on the fou n dat ion of tra d i ti o n a l i nsti tut ions that existed i n tri b a l area s. The com m i ttee wa'2 to s u ggest steps toward s :

a ) Harmon izat ion of F ifth, S ixth, E leventh a n d Twelfth Sched u le o f the Const i tut ion as they i n tru d e u p o n the Pa nchayat Raj i n st i tution s ; b ) to form u late the sa l ient features of the law that may be ta ken up for e nactme nt by Parl i a m e n t for exte n d i n g the prov is ions of the Part I X o f t h e C o n st i tut ion t o t h e Sched u led Areas referred i n C l a u se 1 of Art ic le 244 of the C o n st i tu t ion s u bject to exce pti o n s a n d mod if icat ions as may be n ecessary u n der Art ic le 243 M (b) ; c) variat ions a n d mod if icat ions in other a rt ic les re leva n t to the F ifth Sched u l e Area s.

The recommendations were as fol l ows :

• The co mmittee fel t that w h i l e s h a p i ng the new 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 structure s h o u l d b e b lended with the modern structure a n d d u e a tte nt ion s h o u l d be pa id to t h e u n i q ueness o f tri ba l societ ies a n d tri ba 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 the tri ba l co m m u n it ies have b e e n l i v i n g i ndependent ly for years they have exerc i sed contro l over a nd a ccess to natura l resources. The Gra m S a b h a and v i l lage cou nc i l s have been the ir v i bra nt i n st i tut io n s in the f ie ld of a d m i n i strat io n , re l i g ion, p o l i t ics, eco n o m i c , just ice etc.

• W h i l e d rafti n g t h e law, t h e co m m i ttee felt that the adva ntages of both the fifth a n d the s ixth sched u les shou ld be kept i n m i n d. The fifth sched u l e s h o u l d be the treated as the fou ndat ion a n d the des ig n a n d contents of the s ixth sched u l e s h o u l d serve a s a reference fra me for a d i strict with i n the broad ca nvas of the f i fth sched u le. However, eth n i c, reg i o n a l a n d other re lated variat ions s h o u l d be g iven d u e cons iderat ion.

• At the state leve l the tr ibe's advisory cou n c i l , envisaged i n the fifth sched u l e as a con s u ltat ive body, n eeds to b e reformed tc r;1z:, kc it more effect iv(. 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 cha irm a n a n d i ts meeti ngs s h o u l d be he ld o nce i n every three months.

• At the ce ntra l l evel, the centra l advisory c o u n c i l to be rev ita l i=eG , to serve the purrose of tri ba l po l ic ies a n d progra m mes a n d rp r , r 'c ;

3 7

advice i n d isputes between a state govern ment and the Tri bes adv isory cou nc i l o r betwee n the D istr ict Counc i l and the tr ibes adv isory cou nc i l wh ich shou ld be b i nd i ng . The pr ime m in i ster cou ld cha i r i ts meeti ngs and its members may be the m i n isters for welfa re , h o m e , and ru ra l deve lopment and t h e dep uty cha i rperson o f the P l ann i ng Commiss io n .

• Many of the exist i ng adm in istrative bou nda ries we re created d u ri ng the co lon i a l t imes. After i ndependence , the boundaries exist i n t he same shape and s ize . The committee therefo re recommended that bou ndaries shou ld be reorgan ized on the basis of its geog ra phy, eth n ic i ty and demog raphy. The who le p rocess the committee fe l t shou ld be comp leted and fi n a l ized with i n a cou p le of yea rs .

• The ora l trad it ions and m i l i eu is to be kept i n m ind wh i l e form i ng cooperative organizations among the tr i ba ls . (The tr i ba l societ ies a re characterized by comm u n itar ian and cooperative sp i ri t , v is ib le i n many of the i r act iv it ies l i ke sh i fti ng cu lt ivati on , house construct ion etc) .

• To assig n Minimal role to the lower fu nct iona ries l i ke the police, excise, forest and revenue that have shown least i n te rest i n the tr i ba l society and h ave acted i n a n authorita ri an manner. Th erefore the committee fe lt they shou ld be made to work under the control of concerned panchayats to p revent fu rthe r exp lo itat ion of the tr i ba l commun ity.

• The com mittee fe lt that there shou ld be no barr ie r for the gram Sabha to ca rry fo rward its trad it iona l ro le . Fu rther, a g ra m Sabha may de legate fu nctions l i ke execut ion of deve lopment works to its trad it iona l body.

• A n u mber of sma l l v i l lages o r hamlets to have a v i l lage Pa nchayat , known by d ifferent names such as g ra m panchayat, a ncha l or parha o r pa rgana pa nchayat . Th is t ier is to rese mb le the lowest t ier i n the 1 992 act and i ts members may be e lected d i rectly.

• Constituencies cou l d be de l i m i ted for e lection of members to the i n te rmed iate and d istrict Panchayats. The d i strict leve l panchayat may be ca l led autonomous district council (ADC) .

• I n certa i n d i str icts , the popu lat ion of the sched u led tr ibes is less than 50 percent o f its tota l popu lat ion , but i t may be concentrated i n a part

3 8

or pa rts of the d istr ict , say i n some b locks or a sub-d iv is ion or sub­d iv is ions . Therefore SU b-d istr ict Cou nc i l may be const ituted for such a reas ca l led the autonomous sub-d istrict councils (ASDCs) . Howeve r th is recommendat ion shou ld be regarded as a n i nte r im arrangement , awa it i ng reorgan izat ion o f ad m in istrative bou ndaries .

• For the organ izatio na l structu re of the a utonomous d istrict cou nc i l , t h e co mmittee recommended t h e adopt ion o f a b road fra me-des ign of ADC's conta i ned i n the s ixth sched u led a reas n a me ly ; Assa m , Megha laya , M izora m and Tri pu ra There shou ld a l so be sco pe for sett i ng apart seats (not more than five) i n the D istrict Co u nc i l fo r m ino rity t ri ba l commu n it ies , who ca nnot f i nd rep resentat ion t h roug h t h e e lect ion process . Such nomi nat ions shou ld b e made i n consu ltat ion with t h e governor.

• Lok Sabha Schedu led Tri be M P 's shou ld be associated with i n te rmed iate level of Panchayat and with the d istrict cou nci l . But the rep resentat ion shou ld not be restricted to Sched u led Tri be M LAs , eve n non-ST M LAs shou ld be associated with both t iers .

• S i nce the Sched u led and the Triba l a rea co ns ist mostly of tri ba l s , the d ifferent t ier of panchayats therefore shou ld have more of sched u led tri be members . Fu rther the cha i rman and the v ice­cha i rman shou ld be sched u led tribe .

• The s ixth sched u le confe rs leg is lative , executive , jud ic ia l , fi na nc ia l and deve lopmenta l respons ib i l i t ies to the d istr ict counc i l . Th e d istr icts i n the Sched u l ed Areas shou ld adopt the s ixth sched u le fo rmat, and expa nd i t t o i nc l ude subjects t ha t a re i nd icated i n t he E leventh Sched u le o f the const itut io n .

• The leg is lat ive powers of the ADCs i n the fifth sched u l ed a reas a re more or less s im i l a r to th e s ixth sched u led with some amendments . For the adm in istrat ion of just ice the commi ttee recommended fo rmat ion of a trad it iona l J u ry-based lega l system. It recommended non- i nterfe rence of po l ice i n cases not i nvo lv ing non-he inous offences . The g ra m Sabha shou ld hand le such cases. The sou rces of fu nds fo r the panchayats i n the schedu led a reas shou ld be sa me

·as the sou rces of fi na nce ment ioned in the 73'd

Amendment for the Pa nchayats.

• Fu nds received from sou rces oth er tha n panchayats shou ld be kept

39

as "charged" categ o ry as op posed to "Voted" categ ory to avoid misut i l izat ion or d ivers ion of fu nds .

• To prevent m ismanag ement of fu nds occ u rr ing i n the tr i ba l s u b-p la n fie lds , t h e tr i ba l s u b- p l a n fu nds (wh ether perta i n i n g to State P l a n o r specif ic centra l assista nce o r any oth er) perta i n i ng to d ifferent sectors of d evelopment s h o u l d be p l aced under ADC's for d i stri but ion a mong panch ayats i n the d i str icts . M o reover t h e state a n d the ce ntre s h o u l d d evise method for d i rect a l locat ion of fu nds to theADCs.

• A l l g overnment serv a n ts a n d offic ia ls concerned wi th t h e P a n chayats i n the sched u led a reas a n d located with i n its j u risd ict ion s h o u l d be u n d e r i ts contro l .

• As per the prov is ions u nd e r the s ixth sched u l e a co m miss ion m u st be a p po i nted by t h e g overnor to exa m i n e a n d report on matte rs relat i n g to the fu ncti o n i n g of ADCs. The com mittee recommended that i n such a com miss ion re presentat ion of sched u l e d tr i bes s h o u l d be there .

• The tr ibes advisory co u n c i ls a n d a u to nomous d i str ict cou n c i ls i n the Sched u led Areas s h o u l d be g iven the power to rev iew the re leva nce of the exist i n g laws a n d the i r a p p l ica b i l ity a n d to exc l u d e a ny i rre l eva nt l aws if any a n d to i n c l u d e a n y law that may be usefu l .

• The law passed by the pa r l iament wi l l s u percede such a n d a ny laws, wh ich have been enacted i n p u rsua nce of t h e 73'

d a n d 7

4th

Co nstitu t ion Amend ment Acts .

• I n sp ite of a n atte m pt to sched u l e o u t the sched u led a reas sta rted ea rl i e r, the p rocess sti l l rema i n s i n compl ete . The co m mittee therefore recommended the i n c l u s i o n of the left out tr i ba l pockets i n t h e sched u led a reas.

• The fra mework of the S ixth Sched u l e to be looked afresh in the north-eastern reg i o n i n the l ig ht of the s u g g estions made by the com m ittee .

The a bove reco m mendat ion o f the committee ta kes i nto acco u n t p rov is ions o f the fifth a n d sixth sched u les a n d the 73'd Constitut ion a m e n d ment . I t has g iven d u e i m po rta nce to the soci a l , economic , po l it ica l , a n d cu l tura l aspect of the tri ba l society. I t has a l so ta ken n ote of

40

the tr i ba l a reas not i nc l uded i n the f ifth and s ixth schedu les of the Const i tut ion .

Based o n the B h u ria co mmi ttees recommendat ions for se lf ru le to the tri ba l pop u l atio n , Pa rl i a ment extended certa i n p rov is ions i n the 73'd Amendment act mea nt fo r the Pa nch ayats to the Schedu led Areas . Acco rd i ng ly, a b i l l was i ntrod uced i n the Par l ia ment on 1 9 December 1 996 and subseque ntly, the P res ident's g ave h i s assent o n 24 December 1 996 afte r wh ich it became a pa rt of the Const i tut ion . Sched u led Areas under t h e fifth Sched u le i nc ludes d h ra P rades h , J h a rk h a n d , Guj a rat , H i m a c h a l P rades h , Madhy a P rades h , Chattisgarh , Maharashtra, O rissa a n d Rajastha n . The triba l a reas u nder the s ixth Sched u l e i nc lude Meg ha laya, M izoram, Naga land a n d Tri p u ra i n the North Eastern reg ion .

The outstand ing featu res of the Act (extens ion of Schedu led A reas) i nc ludes the fol lowi n g :

The most notab le feature of th is act i s that the Gram Sabha h a s been made the nucleus and the so u l of a l l act iv i t ies . Though 73'd Amend ment has a p rov is ion fo r the const i tut ion of the g ram sa bha but it is the State leg is latu res , wh ich has been endowed by l aw to defi ne the powers a n d fu nct ions o f t h e G r a m S a b h a . T h e extended act however, has m a d e t h e Gra m S a b h a t h e sou l o f t h e democratica l ly decentra l ized a d m i n istrative structure, the sym bo l of tr iba l ident ity, tra d it iona l c ustoms a n d practices , a n d comm u n ity assets . Any of the state leg is lat ion on the Panchayats fo r the tr i ba l a reas has to be i n ag reement with the customa ry law, soc ia l a n d re l i g ious p ractices , a n d trad it iona l p ractices o f commu n ity resou rces.

A v i l l age has been recog n ized as a ha b i tat ion or a g rou p of ha b i tat ions o r ham let or a g roup o f ham lets compr is i ng o f co mmun ity and manag ing its affa i rs i n accorda nce w i th the t rad i t ions a n d customs. S i nce the tri ba l settlements a re scatte red and they l ive i n sma l l u n i ts , each u n it ca n be dec l a red as a v i l lage .

The mandatory provis ions of the extended Act a re :

1 ) Every v i l l age is to have a G ra m Sabha cons ist i ng o f pe rso ns whose n a mes a re i nc l uded in the e lecto ra l ro l l s for the Panchayats at the v i l l age leve l . Every Gra m Sabha i s e mpowered to safeg uard a n d p reserve the trad it ions, customs a n d cu ltu ra l identity o f the people , com m u n ity reso u rces a n d s ettl i ng local d isp utes

41

through customary methods. The Gram Sabha under the extended act is to approve plans, program mes and projects meant for social a n d economic development of the village panchayat prior to its im plementation by P a nchayats at the village level. The gram Sabha h as been empowered to identify and select beneficiaries for povert y alleviation a n d other program mes . This provision reduces the cha nce of misuse of powers by the bureaucracy a nd the politicia ns.

2) Every vil lage 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 development, poverty alleviation and other programmes.

3) Acq uiring l and for development projects and rehabilitation a nd resett lement of persons affected as a result of any project underta ken in the scheduled areas has to be done in consultation with either gram Sabha or the Pa nchayat at the a p propriate level. Planning and implementation of the project has to be coordinated at the state level.

3) P lanning and ma nagement of min or water bodies in the scheduled areas have to be managed by the Panchayats at the a p propriate level.

4) For grant of license or lease of land for the purpose of mining min or min erals, the recommendation of the gram Sabha or the panchayat at the appropriate level is mandatory. Grant of concessions for the exploitation of min or minerals by auction has to be given on the recommendations of the Gram Sabha or the panchayat at the a p propriate level. This is a measure ta ken to prevent illegal mining and overexploitation of natural and eco nomic resources.

5) Besides the above mandatory powers the gram sabha or the panchayat at the a p propriate level enjoy other mandatory powers such as: i) to enforce prohibition or to regulate and restrict the sa le and consumption of any intoxicant; ii) the ownership of minor forest produce and management of all types of village markets; iii) to prevent a l ienation of land and to take appropriate action to restore any unlawfully a lienated land of a scheduled land of a scheduled tribe in the scheduled areas; iv) to exercise contro l over local plans and its resources including tribal sub-plans.

42

6) As per the exte nded Act, Reservation of seats i n the schedu led a reas at every pa nchayat has to be i n p rooort ion to the popu lat ion of the co mmun it ies in that panchayat for vv hom reservation is to be g iven under part IX of the const i tution . Reservat ion of seats at a l l t iers o f panchayats for t h e sch ed u led tr ibes sha l l not b e less one-ha l f of the tota l n u mber of seats ; the act p rov ided fu rther that a l l seats of cha i rpersons of pa nch ayat at a l l l eve ls sha l l be reserved for the sched u led tr i bes.

7) In case there is no representation of sched u led tri bes at the i n te rmed iate or d i str ict level then the state government ca n nomi nate a person to represent such tr ibes bu t the nu mber of pe rsons to be nomi nated ca n not exceed one-tenth of the tota l members to be e lected i n the pa nchayat.

8 ) The state leg is latu re wh i le endowing powers to the Panchayats has to ensu re that Panchayats at the lower leve l do no assume the powers and authori ty of any lower level panchayat or the g ra m sa bha .

9 ) Thus we see tha t the extended Act g ives the G ra m Sabha i m mense mandatory powers . I t g ives them i ndepende nce, freedom and au tonomy to take the i r own dec is ions and manages the i r own affa i rs . The provis ions a re des igned to p rotect the tri ba ls from exp lo itat ion and he lp in th e i r genu i ne deve lopment and se lf-re l ia nce. By ass ig n i n g t he g ra m Panchayats power to a pp rove p l ans , p rog ra mmes and projects for the socia l and economic deve lopment . I t has tr ied to red uce the cha nces of m isuse of power ma i n ly by po l i t ic ians and b u reaucracy in the management and imp lementat ion of deve lopment p rog rammes. I t b ri ngs i n tra nsparency and accoun tab i l ity i n t he syste m and l eads to c loser mon itor i ng by the local people . I t wou l d h ave been bette r i f p rovis ions had been made where G ra m Sabha cou ld i dentify schemes and locat ions for any p rojects .

1 0) The extended act has ta ken cog n izance of the longstand i ng p rob lems of the tri ba l peop le i n matters of indebtness , l and a l i enat ion , d isp lacement , a lcoho l i sm , rig ht on wate r, fo rests and other natu ra l resou rces. The permiss ion of the Gram Sabha o r the app ropriate Panchayat has been made mandatory w i th rega rd to acq u is it io n , resett lement and rehab i l i tat ion of a ny tri ba l l ands .

1 1 ) The extended p rov is ion has tr ied to look i nto the perenn i a l p rob lems

43

of the loca l s l i ke e nfo rc i n g p ro h i b i t i o n , own e rs h i p of m i n o r fo rest

p rod u ce , prevent ing a l i e n atio 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 over m o n ey l e n d i n g , control over i n st i tut io n s d e a l i n g with soci a l sectors and their fu nct io n a ries and control over local p l a n s

a n d reso u rces i n c l u d i n g tr i ba l s u b - p l a n s . T h i s prov is ion th u s p rotects tri b a l s fro m explo itatio n a n d h e l p i n t h e i r g e n u i n e

deve lopment .

Shortcomings There a re Lacunae with i n the act , i t a p p l i es to o n ly the fifth

sched u l ed a reas ; i t does not i n c l u d e the sixth sched u l e a reas .

M o reover there a re m a n y tr i b a l a reas that have been exc l u d ed fro m

both the sched u l es , th u s p r ev e n t i n g t h e m fro m re a p i n g t h e

adva ntages ment ioned i n the specia l co nst i tuti o n a l p rovi s ions .

1 ) The Act does n ot ment ion a nyth i n g a bo u t ta k ing away l a n d

belo n g i n g t o the l oca l popu l at ion by t h e centra l govern ment i n t h e

name of nati o n a l i n terest. For e . g . i n ord e r to c a r ry out a ny

defe n se p ro g ra m me l i ke testi n g of miss i les , o r co n d u ct ing n u clea r tests , the gove rnment 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 belo n g i n g t o th e tri ba ls . T h o u g h as p e r the constitut i o n a l

act, th is is a c l e a r v io lat ion o r m i s u s e of tr i ba l p roperty. T h e g overn ment i n such cases ofte n g ets away by say i n g t h a t i t i s

carry i n g o n the prog ra mmes i n t h e n a m e of n at io n a l interests. Secu rity of the n at ion i s g ive n p reced e n ce in such cases.

2) The r ig hts over land and resou rces in the fo rest reg i o n s w h e re the

tri b a l popu lat ions had h istorica l l y l ived h a d been ta ken away by

the I nd i a n Forest Act 1 927 and the s u bse q u e n t land acq u i s it ion

acts ( both co lo n i a l a cts) . The s h ed u l e five a reas a n d the

P a n ch ayat i raj h a d not re i n stated th is r ig h t back to the t ri b a l

p eo p l e .

Conc lus ion: T h e 73'd a n d 74th a me n d ments a re a m i lesto n e i n the

h i story of the rura l loca l g overn ment . I t is a n a ct of P o l it ica l and a d m i n ist.at ive d ece ntra l izati o n , t h u s rel e a s i n g the loca l p o p u lat ion

from contro l by po l it ic i a n s a n d b u reaucracy. T h e a m e n d me n t h a s made a n atte m pt t o ma ke the l o c a l b o d i e s more broad b a s e d t o res c u e t h e m fro m p o ss i b l e d o m i n a t i o n by t h e soc ia l ly a n d eco n o mica l ly d o m i n a n t fe u d a l l o rd s .

44

B u t the quest ion that remains to be a n swered is whether a mere constitutional provision is an adequate substitute for political will to decentralize and devolve powers to the local bodies? Added to th i s , i nte rnati o n a l com mitments i n the form of GATS f u rther neg ates the g ro u n d pr i n c i p l es a nd make mockery of the system.

Despi te all t h i s i n terna l a n d externa l i n h e re n t weakn esses sti l l Pa nchayats a re t h e o n l y s pace ava i l a b l e for t h e l oca l popu lat ion 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 .

Tourism i s o n e sector where Pa nch ayats ca n effectively i n terve ne i n se rvices sector, es pecia l ly w h e n to u rism p rojects a re a p p ropriat i n g s pace a n d resou rces , i n clud i n g l a n d , water, n a t u ra l resources etc. that is mea n t fo r local i n d ig e n o u s co m m u n ity u n d e r the custo m a ry laws. Proa ctive ly, Pa nchayats cou ld a lso ra ise voices a g a i nst no n ­i n cl u si o n o f loca l concerns i n p l a n n i n g i m p lementi n g a n d mon itoring of tou ri s m p rojects. I t is i n t h i s backd ro p we tu rn our attention to , the next sect io n , wh ich wi l l a lso try to exp l o re whether Pa nch ayats ca n ove rri d e the po l ic ies pursued at the nat iona l a n d i nternatio n a l level

S ECTI O N I I I

A n a lysis : Prese n t day tour ism p romot ion by a n y Gove rn ment is p u re ly fo r eco n o m i c reaso n s beca use it assumes that to u rism g e n e rates h u g e fo re i g n excha n g e a n d c reates d i rect a n d i n d i rect em ployment o pportun it ies i n serv ices associated with i t . I t ra re ly bri n g s i nto focus the i l l a ffects associated with the to u rism i n d ustry. I t fa i l s to add ress the pro b lems of the peo ple who gets a ctu a l ly affected a n d d is p l aced as a res u lt of touris m i n d u stry Both nat io n a l a n d i nte rnat i o n a l po l ic ies do not g ive e n oug h space in the i r po l ic ies to a d d ress the p rob lems of the i n d i g e n o u s co m mun ity a t p laces where tou ri s m i s p romoted .

H owever the g ove rn ment made some effo rt to b r i n g i n g reater d ece ntra l izat ion of powe r to the Pa nch ayats and there by to the loca l peo p l e t h roug h 73,d a n d 74'h C o n st i tuti o n a l Amendment Acts. I t e n d owed t h e Pa nch ayats with power a n d a utho r i ty a s to e n a b l e them

4 5

to fu nction as un its of self-government . They were g iven power to i m p lement p lans for the socio-economic deve lopment of their reg ion i n letter, b u t i n sp i r it i t i s not s o . Bu t as th is section reflects that i n sp ite of these measures, whenever a tour ism project comes up in a local a rea , the Panchayats do not enjoy enough power because the nationa l and i nternat iona l po l ic ies contravene them and act as a stumb l i ng b lock i n exerc is i ng those m i n i m a l powers T h u s negat ing t h e true sp i ri t of decentra l izat ion . The focus of th is sect ion therefore, w i l l be to ana lyze, how i n sp i te of the g rant ing Const itut iona l status to the Panchayats, the present tou rism po l icy and the g loba l isat ion processes and i nternat iona l trade agreements namely GATS negates the Panchayats ' powers and are not favorab le to the local i nhab itants.

The m ethodo logy for ana lysis Tab les have been created so as to focus the righ ts and respons ib i l i t ies of the Panchayats as per the 73'd and 74'" amendm ent. Th is is fol lowed by the requ i rem ents of tour ism development , tou rism po l ic ies and the i nternat iona l agreement GATS . Poss ib le anoma l ies between these are a lso marked as remarks i n the adjacent co l umn

Ta ble 1 Panchayat Rights a n d tou rism expectat ions

Rig hts and powers Requirements Remarks of the Panchayats of the Tourism Industry

L a n d i m p r o v e m e n t , R eq u i re s l a n d t o b u i l d For acquisit ion of any land i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f l a n d hote l s , l o d g e s . reso rts , within the territoria l a rea of refo r m s . R e g u l at i o n o f l a n d swi m m i n g poo l , cas inos , a P a n c h a y a t , t o u r i s m u s e a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n o f go l f cou rse etc industry needs permission b u i l d i n g s .

o f the panchayats A c q u i r i n g I a n d f o r d e v e l o p m e n t p roj ects a n d Req u i re s l a nd t o b u i l d Requires t h e permission of re h a b i l itat i o n a n d resettlement hote l s , l o d g e s , re s o rt s , t he Panchayats. of persons affected a s a resu lt sw i m m i n g p o o l , c a s i n o s , of a n y p rojects u n d e rta ken i n go l f cou rse etc. a n d t o Sched u led a reas has to be carry out other p rojects d o n e i n c o n s u l ta t i o n w i t h e ither Gram Sabha or the re lated to tour ism

Pa n chayat at the a p p rop r iate leve l . (th u s the tri b a l people does not have to wa it fo r the concerned authorit ies to a ct i n t h e v i ta l m a tt e r o f l a n d explo ita t io n ) .

M i n o r i r r i g a t i o n , w a t e r m a n a g e me nt a n d wate rshed development .

46

P a n c h a y a t a t t h e R e q u i re s l a n d to app rop ri ate leve l . ( thu s bu i l d hote ls , lodges, the tri ba l peop le does res o rt s , s w i m m i n g not h ave to wait for the poo l , cas i nos , go l f concerned a uthori t ies to cou rse etc . and to act i n the v i ta l matte r of c a r r y o u t o t h e r l and exp lo i tation) . p rojects re la ted to

M i n o r i r r igat io n , wate r m a n a g e m e n t a n d w a t e r s h e d d eve lopment .

P l a n n i n g a n d management of m inor w a t e r b o d i e s i n Sched u led Areas .

W a t e r s u p p l y f o r domestic , i n d u stri a l and commerc ia l p u rposes .

tou rism

Req u i res water for the pu rposes re l ated to the hotel i nd ustry

For reg u l a r s u p ply of water i t depends on t h e r i ve rs , p o n d s , l a kes, streams

Req u i res water for var ious

p urposes rel ated to the

h otel i n d u stry. ( ba th i n g

w a s h i n g , d r i n k i n g ,

swi mming , clean i ng etc

B a s i c i n f r a s t r u c t u r e

Requ i res the permit

of the Panch ayats

Requ i res the permit

of the Panch ayats

Requ i res the permit

of the Panch ayats

Requ i res the permit

of the Panch ayats

Roads , cu lverts , br idges , ferries , waterways and o t h e r m e a n s o f com m u n icat ion .

r e q u i r e d t o f a c i l i t a t e Requ i res the permit

tour ism. For the smooth of the Panchayats

movement of the tourists

P l a n n i n g fo r Soc i a l a n d Req u i res proper h e a l t h

economic development . f a c i l i t i e s , s a n i t a t i o n ,

garbage disposal system, Requ i res the permit regu la r water supp ly, fue l , of the Panchayats dra inage system, markets,

fa i rs etc

47

M i n o r fo r e s t s p r o d u c e ope n i n g the forests to R e q u i r e s t h e

(communi ty resources) tou rists . B i i l d i ng resorts perm iss ion of the

inside the forest. Provid ing Panchayats.

M i n o r f o r e s t s p r o d u c e

(communi ty resources)

Recommendation of the Gram S a b h a or P a n c h a y a t i s mandatory for grant of l icense or lease of land for the purpose of m i n i n g m inor mi nera ls .

Safari to have a close look

at the an imals . Bonfire etc.

open i n g the forests to R e q u i r e s t h e tou ris ts . B i i l d i ng resorts perm iss ion of the i ns ide the forest. Provid ing P a n c h a y a t s Safari to have a close look at the animals . Bonfi re etc

req u i res l i m e , g r a n i t e , R e q u i r e s t h e marbles, stones, b lue metal perm i s s i o n of the for l ay ing roads, stone P a n c h a y a t s . s labs for construction , sand etc.

Rural electrification , inc lud ing Requ i res street l ights. d i s t r i b u t i o n of e l e c t r i c i ty .

Though generation of e l e c t r i c i t y c o m e s under the purview of the state, s ince it's a state subject. But , p e r m i t o f t h e P a n c h a y a t i s req u ired for street l i g h t i n g .

Sol id waste management Requ i res proper and safe e x p e c t s t h e garbage d isposal system. p a n c h a y a t s t o

provide.

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

inc lud ing h ospitals, primary p r e c a u t i o n a r y h e a l t h p a n c h a y a t s t o

h e a l t h c e n t r e s a n d m e a s u r e s t o c u r b p r o v i d e

d i s p e n s a r i e s . c o n t a g i o u s d i s e a s e s . S p r a y i n g d i s i n fe c t i v e l i q u i d s . a n d s p r a y s .

48

C u ltural Activities Org a n izi n g fest iva ls of e x p e c t s t h e

l o c a l a n d i n d i g e n o u s p a n c h a y a t s t o

d e i t i e s , e n te r ta i n m e n t provide

act i v i t ies , c i rcus , fa i rs ,

bu l lock ral l ies etc.

U rban forestry, protection of Consumption of natural p e r m i t o f t h e

t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a n d reSOl,liCes . panchayat is needed

p r o m o t i o n o f e c o l o g i c a l a s i t belongs t o them

aspects . a n d t h e y h a v e

acqu i red n atural r ight

over i t as a resu l t of

s t a y i n g t h e re fo r

years .

Welfa re of the weaker section H ave no interest in i t , on e x p e c t s t h e

a n d i n part icu lar Sched u le the othe r hand they are p a n c h a y a t s t o

C aste and Schedu le Tribes. exploite rs of women and provide

ch i ld re n .

W o m e n a n d c h i I d h ave no interest i n it , on e x p e c t s t h e development. the other hand they are p a n c h a y a t s t o

exploite rs of women and provide ch i ldren .

M a i n ten ance of com m u n i ty roads, street l ights and e x p e c t s t h e assets roadside trees and parks. p a n c h a y a t s t o

p rovide

Market and fairs. L o c a l p u b l i c m a r k e t ( S u n d a y m a r k e ts a n d w e e k l y m a rk e ts ) , f i s h market, vegetable market, local hand icraft, jewel lery, she l ls and pearls etc.

M a y o r m a y n o t Labou r depend on the labour

of the locals as they have thei r own set of professional staff and caterers .

49

Cu ltural Activities Food M a y o r m a y n o t depend on them.

Travel Cu lture (to see the R e q u i r e s t h e culture of the ind igenous c o n s e n t o f t h e groups inhab it ing there . Panch ayats.

Ta ble 1 F i rst and the second Co lumn l i sts out the mandato ry power

and fun ctions of the Panchayats g iven u nder the Constituti ona l

Amendment Act na mely 73'd a n d 74th and the req u i rements of the

tou rism i nd ustry respectively. A compa rative study has been made

between the a bove ta b les . The ta b le ma kes it very c lea r that tou rism

i nd ustry is very much dependent o n the Panchayats beca use they

use the resources , which fa l l , with i n the Panchayats territo ria l a rea .

Hence i t becomes ob l igatory on them to ta ke the permiss ion and

consent p r io r to mak ing use of them. Panchayats reven u e sou rces

ma i n ly comprises of house tax , p roperty tax , veh ic le tax , and

enterta i n ment s u rcharge a n d fee fo r l i cens ing t he i nd ustr ies i nc l ud i ng

tou rism i ndustry. Whe n other sou rces of reven ues a re l i m ited they

look for these sou rces to accompl ish mandatory a n d deve lopmenta l

fu n ct ion s ass i g n ed t o t h e m . T h i s has i nva ri ab ly fo rced the

Panchayats to i ssue l icenses fo r some u nwa nted and haza rdous

i ndustr ies to t ide over the fi nanc ia l cris is i n the a bsence of reven ue

support i n the form of su bs id ies from the state excheq uer and

consol idated fun d .

P u rely for monetary benefits Panchayats a l lows i ndustr ies l i ke

tou rism, to come u p in their reg ion . Wh i le g rant i ng permiss io n , the

Panchayats too has certa in expectations .

• The Panchayats expects the tou ri sm i n d ustry to pay tax when

they occu py the i r l and . Thoug h the amount is very meager to ta ke

ca re of the socio-economic deve lopment , the Panchayats fu rther

expects a g reater ro le in the i ndustry itse lf as i t leads to

d isp lacement of people a n d privatize the i r major sou rce of

l ive l i hood and other natura l ly acq u i red scen ic bea u ty.

50

• The P a n c h ayats a lso expects p ro p e r management a n d l a n d use ,

wh ich is not detr i menta l to t h e e n v i ron ment a n d ma i n ly a i m i n g

towa rd s t h e p reservat ion a n d co nservati on o f t h e i r natu ra l

reso u rces a n d h e ri ta g e .

• Si nce t h e h o t e l i n d ustry d e p e n d s o n th e same sou rce for wate r,

wh i ch the P a n ch ayats depend o n , the P a n c h ayats expects

befo re h a nd to be informed about t h e so u rce, the vol u m e of

req u i rement , as t h ey do not want to be d e p r ived of the basic

sou rce and fac i l i t ies , w h i ch be long to them.

• As far as fo rests a n d usage of m i n e ra l resou rces a re concern ed ,

the state acce pts the com m u n ity 's rig ht over m i n o r forest p rod uce

a n d m i n o r m i n e ra ls . Wh e n o p e n i n g the M i n o r forests to the

tou rism i n d u stry, the loca l s expects the fu l l ownersh i p of the

natu ra l p ro d u cts such a s bamboo, gum, h o n ey, co i r, fru its , h e rba l

med ici n es be lo n g i n g to the forest as they e njoy customary r ig h ts

ove r it . B u t it is widely seen that the loca ls d o not h ave access to

the forests a n d i ts p rod u cts , once a n i n d u stry is set u p .

Apart from t h e a bove expectat ion s , t h e rig h t t o i nfo rmation , which i s

g a i n i ng s u p port i n m a n y state s , ma kes i t ob l ig atory for a ny i n d u stry

l i ke tou rism to i n form befo re h a n d to the Panch ayats a bout a n y

p roject fro m its i n it ia l stag e t o i ts co m p l et ion .

• The P a n ch ayats have t h e r ig ht to know about the master p la n ,

budget a n d p l a n outlay of a p roject. T h e P a n c h ayats a l so o u g h t to

know what ro le they a re g o i n g to p l ay from i ts p l a n n i n g stage to

the i m p l e me n tatio n a n d mon itori n g .

• The P a n c h ayats a lso expects eco n o m i c ben efit , e m p loyment

opport u n it ies a n d some vocati o n a l tra i n i ng a n d e d u cat ion fo r i ts

peop le to g et fa m i l i a r ized with the l a test tech n o logy a n d

deve lopment .

• Oth er expectatio n s , w h i ch t h e P a nch ayats expects from the

5 1

to u ri s m secto r, a re to keep i n m i n d the u n i q u e n ess of the loca l

trad i t ion a n d c u l t u re

Thou g h the a bove a re the expectat ions of the Pa nchayats , i t

becomes the d u ty of the tou rism i n d ustry to fo l l ow these g u i d e l i nes

when sett ing up a project. B u t i t i s wid e ly seen that whenever to ur ism

projects comes up in a loca l area, the loca l s a re not i nvo lved or

co nsu lted ma i n ly on the p re m ise that they are uned u cated and lack

the expert ise and kn ow-h ow. Some men i a l jobs a re g iven to them

a n d o u ts i d e rs occu py a l l h igh p rofi le , prestig io u s a n d so p h i st icated

jo bs . In most cases i t is a lso seen that l a n d i s forci b ly taken away by

the states in the n a me of d u b ious p u b l i c i nterests a n d g iven 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 ls were s e t u p i n i t s p lace . Ta b le 2 w i l l fu rther make i t c lea r that

the to u ri s m p o l i cy of the g overn ment too does not accom mod ate the

ri g h ts of Pa nchayats.

Ta ble 2 Rig hts of P a n c h ayats and to u rism pol icy

R i g hts a n d powe rs P resent To u rism pol icy

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

Land improvement, implementation of I t i s h i g h l y c a p i t a l i n t e n s i v e . land reforms. I nvestments ru ns in to crores.

Regu lation of land use and construction Tech nological and efficiency in tensive of bu i ld i ngs . ( a b s e n c e o f l a b o u r ) . I n t ro d u c e

p rofess iona l ism exce l lence th rough tra i n i n g a n d re-tra i n i n g of h u man r e s o u r c e s . O p t i m u m u s e o f e -commerce a n d e-mai ls , use o f i n ternet, setting of tou rists information Kiosks, keeping abreast with the latest g lobal techno log ies to help fac i l itate and p romote tou rism.

Acq u i ri ng land for development projects and rehab i l i tat ion and resettlement of persons affected as a resu l t of any projects u n d e rtaken in Sch e d u l ed areas has to be done i n consu ltat ion

52

.------ - ----------r---------- - -

wi th e i t her Gram S a b h a o r the Panch ayat at the appropri ate leve l . ( t hus the triba l people does not have to wait for the concerned authorit ies to act in the vital matter of land exploitation) .

Minor i rr igation , water management and watershed development .

P lanning and management of minor water bodies i n Sched u led Areas.

Water su pply for domestic, industria l and commercia l pu rposes .

Roads , cu lverts , b r idges , fe rr ies , waterways and oth e r m e a n s of commun ication .

P lann ing for Socia l and economic development.

M inor forests p roduce (co m m u n i ty resou rces ) .

53

Big H ighways (which are general ly fu n d e d by Wo r l d B a n k , A s i a n Development Bank etc.)

Expand foreign tou rists arrivals , ma in ly h igh spend ing tou rists who needs five­star accomodation , swimming poo l , golf course, casinos etc.

Focus o n Sooch n a ( i n form at io n ) , Swagat (welcome), Suraksha (security) of the tou rists .

Adoption of new tech nology (kiosks, IT etc.)

To ach ieve necessary l in kages and s y n e r g i e s i n t h e p o l i c i e s a n d p r o g r a m m e s o f a l l c o n c e r n e d Departments/agencies by establ ish ing effective co-ord ination mechan isms at Centra l , State and D istrict leve l . The focus wi l l therefore be to develop tou rism as a common endeavor of a l l agencies vita l ly concerned with i t at the Central and State leve ls , pub l ic sector u ndertakings and the private sector.

To encourage Peoples participation i n to u r i s m d e v e l o p m e n t i n c l u d i n g P a n ch ayat i Raj i n s t i t u ti o n s , n o n ­g o v e r n m e n t a l o rg a n i z a t i o n s a n d enterpris ing local youths t o create publ ic awareness and to ach ieve a wider spread of tou rists faci l i t ies.

Steps wi l l be taken to work towards the integ rated development of a l l the tou rist c i rc u i ts of the cou n try with the involvement of al l the infrastructu ral departments, state govern ments and the private sector and to faci l i tate d i rect and easy access to those p laces from in ternational desti nations .

Recommendat ion of the Gram Sabha Diversify Tou rism products i n such a or Panchayat is mandatory for grant of way th at i t su pp lements the ma instream l icense or lease of land for the pu rpose tour ism. of m in ing m inor m inerals .

R u r a l e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g T h e p r i n c i p l e o f s u s t a i n a b l e d istri but ion of e lectricity. deve lopment stipu lates that the level of

deve lopment does not exceed the carry i ng capacity of the area . I t w i l l be the Government's pol icy to ensure adhere n ce to such l i m i ts t h rough a p p ro p ri a te p l a n n i n g i n st ru m e n ts , gu ide l i nes and enab l i ng regu lat ions and their enforcement .

Sol id waste management Fore ign i n vestments and incentives to mainta in the h igh qua l ity standards in services, hote ls and tou rism rel ated i ndustr ies.

H e a l t h a n d s a n i t a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g Being a g loba l i n d ustry i t requ i res the hospita ls , primary hea lth cen tres and participat ion of various i n ternationa l d ispensar ies . agencies and co l laborators with other

cou n tr ies.

Cu ltu ral Activit ies 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 lopment of North-Eastern States, H ima layan reg ion and is land States! un ion territories with a v iew to ach ieve overal l economic development of the r e g i o n , a m e a s u re c o n s i d e r e d n e c e s s a r y t o r e m o v e r e g i o n a l imba lances .

U rb a n fo restry, p rotect ion o f the I t seeks to streaml ine the tour ism pol icy e n v i ro n m e n t a n d p ro m o t i o n o f i n such way so a s to avoid adverse eco log i ca l a s pects . U rb a n fo restry, im pact on the natural env i ronment and protection of the env i ronment promotion of ecological aspects.

a n d cu l tura l heritage .

Welfare of the weaker section and in p a r t i c u l a r S c h ed u l e C a s t e a n d Schedu le Tri bes. Women and chi ld development . Mai ntenance of com m u n ity_ assets . Market and fairs .

54

A look at Ta b le 2 separate ly shows that R ig h ts and powers of the Panchayats and present tou rism po l icy ru ns co nt rary to the Panchayats expectations , thus be ly i ng the r ig hts g ran ted to th em. Even though it ta l ks a bout encou rag i ng peop les pa rtic i pat ion , a n d deve lop ing necessary sy nerg ies and co-ord i nat ion at Cent ra l , State and D istr ict level i n o rder to deve lop to ur ism, it has left no space fo r i t . I t i s h i g h ly ca p i ta l i ntens ive , techno logy a nd effic iency i ntens ive , cate rs to h i g h spend i ng tou ri sts w h o wa nts five-star accommodat ion , ta lks about adopt ing new soph ist icated tech no log ies , ta l ks a bout encou rag i ng fo re ign investme nts to ma in ta i n i ng h i gh q u a l i ty standards i n serv ices , re lated to hotel and tou rism i ndustr ies and encou rages b ig h i ghways each of these in no way i nvolves the partic i pat ion of the loca l commun ity. The amb i loquy po l ic ies of the govern ment a re more or less cate rs to the expectat ion of the hotel i n dustry. I t i s more i n tu ne with the ongo ing economic l i bera l izat ion p rocess . I t favors easy access to mu lt i nat iona l corporat ions thus fu rthe r red uc ing the ch ances of the Panchayats to i ntervene i n the tou rism secto r. I t fa i l s to address the issue of remov ing reg iona l i mba la nces

Table 3 Rig hts of the Panchayats a n d GATS

Rights a nd Powers of the Panch ayats

Land improvement, implementat ion of l and reforms.

Regu lat ion of land use and construction of bu i ld ings .

Acqu i ri ng land for deve lopment p rojects and rehab i l i tat ion a n d resettlement of persons affected as a resu I t of any projects u n dertaken in Sch e d u led areas has to be done i n consu ltat ion w i t h e i t h e r G r a m S a b h a or the Panchayat at the appropriate leve l .

5 5

GATS

GATS a l lows fore ign service supp l iers fu l l access to domestic m a rkets provided a co un try commits to open ing u p its secto rs .

Tou r operators, hotel enterprises and other to u r i s m - a n d t rave l - r e l a ted compan ies from one coun try wi l l be ab le to set u p operations i n other cou ntr ies.

I n the hotel sector, GATS wi l l fac i l itate franch is ing , management contracts , tech n ica l service agreements , l icens ing and patents .

Minor i rr igation , water management and watershed development.

P lann i ng for Socia l and Economic development

M i n o r forest prod uce (co m m u n i ty resou rces)

Recommendation of the Gram Sabha or Panch ayats i s mandatory for grant of l icen se or lease of land for the purposes of m in i ng m inor minerals .

Sol id Waste Management

56

I f Nationa l Treatment is granted fu l ly, foreig n compan ies wi l l be able to sel l their services u nder the same terms and condit ions as domestic compan ies and supp l iers .

Subsid ies and tax benefits, which are major incentives for development of domestic industries, wi l l have to be shared with the fore ign supp l iers . I n other words it takes away the r ight of selective promotion enjoyed by the domestic i ndustries.

Reduction of local equ ity share wil l promote fu rther concentrat ion and i n tegration . Relaxin g the terms and cond it ions for the fore ign supp l iers and treati ng them at equal footing wi l l p lace the local providers at a disadvantage.

Services sectors under GATS inc lude: Business and 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 ications , a u d i o v i sua l ) , construct ion 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 on , e d u c a t i o n , environmental services (water del ivery, energy, refu se d i sposa l ) , fi n a nc ia l s e r v i c e s , i n c l u d i n g b a n k i n g a n d insurance, Heal th related a n d social services, tourism and travel related services, recreationa l , cu l tura l and sport i ng services, transport services . Sectors in which I nd ia has committed o n e c a n e x p e c t fo re i g n d i re c t i n vestment .

GATS main ly ta lks about efficiency in services and professional management. Avai lab i l ity of outd ated and depleted technology and lack of techn ical Know­how, 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 wil l be a d ifficu l t task.

-

H e a l th a n d S a n i t a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g Wi l l b e ab le t o move staff t o a foreign hospita ls , pri mary health ren tres and co u n try a n d b a s e t h e m w i t h o u t d i spensaries . restrictions .

Cu l tu ra l Activiti es . Wi l l be a l lowed to effect i n ternationa l transfers and payments for current transactions without restri ctions

Welfa re of the weaker section and in p a r t i c u l a r S c h e d u l e C a s t e a n d Schedu le Tribes .

Women and Ch i ld development .

Ma in tenance of commun ity assets.

Markets and 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. Availabil ity 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. Under 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 and 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 acco mmod ates the loca l co m m u n i ty. I f the co n se n s u s is in favor of g iv i n g maxi m u m benef its of d eve lopment a n d g reater part ic i patio n and i nvolvement of the local peo p l e , i ts t ime to take a h a rd look at o u r p resent po l icy fra mewo rk. The P la n n i ng C o m m iss ion has ackn owledged that after a l l these yea rs of State p rog ram mes , the pa u perizat io n , exp l o itat i o n and d is i ntegrat ion of tr i ba l com m u n it ies co nt i n ues. The State Acts s h o u l d e n d ow the Panchayats with a l l powe rs: leg is lat ive, executive a n d j u d ic iary s o as t o e n a b l e them to fu n ct io n as u n i ts of self-gove rnment a nd decide the i r own dest i ny without a ny i nterve nt ion fro m a bove . However in rea l i ty states adopt a very ske ptic att itude towa rds the Pa nchayats a n d is see n a s a n exten d ed ad m i n istrat ive struct u re rather than treat i n g them a s a u n it of self-gove rn ment. A close look at the be low ta b le wi l l fu rt h e r reve a l the atti tude of the state.

58

01 CD

States

Andh ra Pradesh

B e h avior of the States i n devolv ing i n powers to the P a n c h ayats :

U ltimatu m g iven on Amend ing the Act

Apri l 24, 1 992

Date and Year of Enforcement of

Act by d ifferent States

Panchayati Raj Act, 1 994 r e p l a c e d t h e A n d h r a Pradesh Gram Panchayat Act, 1 964 and the And h ra P r a d e s h M a n d a i P raj a P a r i s h a d a n d Z i l l a P r a n a l i k a A b h i v r u d h i Sameeksha Mandals Act, 1 986, in 30 May 1 994.

Subjects devolved by State Legis latu re to Panchayats

Mai n tenance of gove rnment roads and bu i ld ings , provision of street l ig hts, supp ly of dr ink ing w a te r, s a n i ta t i o n , p r i m a r y e d u c a t i o n , c o o p e r a t i v e s , agricu l tu ra l development and housing (E ight subjects to the Gram Panchayat) . Commu n i ty d e v e l o p m e n t , a g r i c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t , a n i m a l husbandry and fisheries, rural hea l th and san i tati on , l a n d development, i rr igat ion, roa ds, e l e ct r i c i ty, e d u c a t i o n , a n t i poverty prog rammes, women and c h i l d w e l fa re ( Twe l v e s u b j e c t s t o t h e M a n d a i Parishad)

Remarks

The State govern ment has fai led to devolve powers to the p a n c h a y ats a n d has gone a h e a d c r e a t i n g p a r a l l e l structu res to carry out rural deve l opment programme . A recent instance to show this is launch ing of a new programme, n amed ' Janm abhoomi ' on 1 J a n u ary 1 9 9 7 to p romote p a rt i c i p a tory p l a n n i n g a n d development in rural areas. The p rogramme i ncorporated the ongoing prajala vaddaku pa l ana (adm in istrat ion on the door s t e p ) a n d t h e S h r a m d a n ( vo l u n tary labour) schemes. H owever, i n bypass i ng t h e e l ected representat ives of, d ifferent t iers of the Panchayats, the new programme has proved to be no d i fferent from various

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Bihar Apr i l 24 , 1 992 The B ihar Panch ayati Act, 1 993, repealed the Old Panchayati Raj Act, 1 947, and the B ihar Panchayat Samiti and Zi l l a Par ish ad Act, 1 96 1 .

The Eleventh Schedu le o f the Constitu t ion g i ves twen ty-n ine subjects to Panch ayats . The B iha r ac t assig ns th i rty-one fu nct ions to gram panch ayts, tw e n ty- s e v e n f u n c t i o n s t o s a m i t i s a n d t w e n t y - f o u r functions to parish ads , s u bject to such condit ions as may be p rescribed by the government from t ime to time.

spec ia l schemes and projects o f t h e u n i o n a n d s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t s f o r r u r a l development and the MPs and M L A s A r e a D e v e l o p m e n t Scheme. I t therefore v io lates the sp i rit , of not the lette r, of the 7 3 r d C o n s t i t u t i o n a l A m e n d m e n t , w h i c h g i v e s pivotal p lace to these bod ies in p l a n n i n g a n d i m p l e m e n t i n g p rog rammes o f economic and soc i a l deve l o p m e n t i n the v i l l age .

A conspicu ous omiss ion of the act is non- inc lus ion of l and reforms in the Panchayati l ist . Witb their p roximity to land , v i l l a g e P a n c h a y a ts c o u l d , perhaps, contri bute s ign i ficant ly in l a n d reforms. There i s a lot 0 o v e r l a p p i n g of fu n c t i o n si b e tw e e n t h e t h r e e t i e rs . Besides, the Panchayats do no h a ve exc l u s i ve j u r i sd ic t i o n ,

CJl t-G�j�rat r

-Apri l 24, 1 992

1 · · - - --The Gujarat Panch ayat Act, 1 993, came i n to force on 1 5th Apri l 1 994 replacing the G ujarat panchayat Act, 1 973.

i n d e p e n d e n t o f t h e s t a t E government over t h e fu nctiom earmarked for them . Unde such c ircu mstances most of thE functions w i l l continue to bE p e r f o r m e d b y t h e l i n E d e p a r tm e n t o f t h e s t a t E govern ment . The new act kee p� the Panchayat u nder strong gr ip of the state government un its, th us fai l i ng to he lp them emerge as un i ts of self-government .

The act though reflects a better u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h E dem ocrat ic norm fo r i n te r panch ayat control o f u p per tie over the lower t ier of the Panch ayat i R aj I n st i tu t i ons . However, the act a lso g ives thE state govern ment con cu rren p o w e r t o c o n t r o l o v e P a n c h ayat i Raj I n s t i t u t ions through competent authority or its n o m i n ated officers . Th is h a m p e r s t h e g r o w t h 0

(J) N

Karnataka Apri l 24, 1 992 The Karnataka act of 1 993 came to force on 1 0 May 1 993 , is c o n s i d e red a landmark i n the h isto ry of local government in I nd ia , as i t demonstrated for the fi rst t ime the w i l l i ngness of a state government to d ivest itself of su bstant ia l powers and fu n ct ions in favor of su b-state i nst i tut ions, was replaced by the Karnataka act 1 983 .

Gram Par ishad were mandated to provide san itary l atri nes to h o u s e h o l d s a n d co m m u n i ty latrines, mainta in water supp ly w o r k s , a c h i e v e u n i v e r s a l enro lment i n pr imary schools and u n i versa l i m m u n izat io n , a m o n g o t h e r s . T h e t a l u k panchayat were o b l i g e d to improve water supp ly and to get h a l f-ye a r l y r e p o rts on t h e f u n c t i o n i n g o f g r a m Panchayats. Estab l ishment of health and matern i ty centres, socia l forestry and prevent ion of dr i l l i ng of i rr igat ion wells i n th e vici n i ty of dr ink ing water wel ls were the ob l igatory fu n ct ions of Z i l la Parish ads.

decentral ized democracy at the g rass root levels. The i ncreas ing i nfl uence of the MLAs and MPs fu rther affects t h e f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e Panchayats .

The act is no d i fferent from the earl ier legis lation of 1 983; i t fai led to establ ish Panchayats as u n i ts of self-government and made i t an agency of State g overnment . The schedu les of the act of 1 993 defines the fu nct ions of the th ree tiers of PR on ly in general terms; there i s n o c l e a r d i v i s i o n o f respons ib i l i ty among the tiers in overlapping fu nctiona l areas. The general approach of the devolution under the 1 993 act fol lows the previous act of 1 983 of segregati ng 'reg u l atory' and 'development' fu nction at the d istrict level and below, the development fu nctions being

0> W

entrusted to the appropriate t ier of P a n c h a y a ts . R e s o u rce t ran sfe r is most ly t ied to p ro g ra mmes and activ i t ies ; u n tied fu nds are not enough for the Panchayats for launch ing t h e i r o w n i n i t i a t i v e s . T h e perce n tage of P a n c h aya ts share from the p lan out lay and the state 's resou rces h ave been stagnat ing lower than what they were i n the late e igh ties . In areas l ike, rural e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n , p u b l i c d istribu tion system and rura l housing where there has been no devolution at al l . There is a n a n o m a l y o f t h e D e p u t y Commissioner conti nu i ng to be i n c h a rg e of Members of P a r l i a m e n t L o c a l A r e a Development Scheme, which is i tself and aberration i n the context of Panchayati raj and re l ief of n atu ra l ca lamit ies , even though the implement ing

en .j:>.

Kera la Apr i l 24 , 1 992 Kerala enacted the Kera la Panchayat act, 1 994, which came in to force on 23 Apri l , 1 994. The first e lections to t h e n e w t h r e e - t i e r Panchayat Raj set up were held in Septem ber 1 995 a n d t h e Panchayats came i n to being on 2 October 1 995.

There were 1 26 items for v i l lage Panch ayats , twen ty-n ine items for block level Panch ayats and e i g h t y i t e m s fo r d i s t r i c t Panchayats .

s t a ff a r e a l l w i t h t h e P a n c h a y a t s . T h e a r e a development bodies l ike the H y d e r a b a d - K a r n a t a k a Development Board, Malnad D e v e l o p m e n t B o a rd a n d Maidan Development Board co nti nue to fu n cti o n . Their function overlap with those of the PR ls .

The degree and extent of the decentra l izat ion process i n Kera la has been g igantic . I t has g iven powers and fu nctions a long with i nstitutions and staff a n d resou rces h a ve been tran sferred to the local bodies. The government d id not wait for t h e c a p a c i ty of th e l o c a l government t o b e b u i l t up as a pre-cond i tion for tran sfer of powers and respons ib i l i t ies. I n sectors, which looked in to the m in imum needs of the locals , l i ke provid ing m in imum needs

en (J1

j- - ·r -Tami l Apri l 24 , 1 992 Nadu

After a lo t of wavering , Ta m i l N a d u u n d e r the ADMK ru le fel l i n l i ne with the Con stitu t ion (Seventy-

l i ke she l ter, d r ink ing water, s a n i t a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s a n d c o n n e c t i v i t y , t h e l o c a l govern m e n t h a s pe rfo rmed beyo nd expectations . I n other sectors l ike agr icu l ture , an ima l h u s b a n d r y , h e a l t h a n d education , they h ave been good model to be adopted by other states . Yet there are some grey areas, the E leventh Sched u le of the Constitu tion actu a l ly does not carve out the fu nct ional domain of the Panchayats. It only l i sts out th e develop mental a r e a s w h e r e s u c h l o c a l governments cou ld have ro le i n p l a n n i n g f o r e c o n o m i c deve lopment and socia l ju stice and i n the im plementat ion of

_ �uch pl�ns _ _ _ _ _ _ '_ '

P lann i ng , approval o f budget, Of th e 29 subjects ment ioned in select ion of beneficiar ies of a l l the XI sched u l e o n l y two s c h e m e s , a u d i t i n g t h e su bjects h ave been a l located . Panchayats a n n u al statement One is the land devel opment and i ts implementatio n . a n d M a r k e t a n d f a i r s .

0)

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After a lot of wavering, Ta m i l N a d u u n d e r the ADMK ru le fel l i n l ine with the Constitution (Seventy­Th i rd Amend ment) Act and passed th e Tami l N adu Panchayat Act in 1 994. I t came in to fo rce on 22 Apri l , 1 994.

Development officials work ing in the Panchayat bodies a re d e c l a re d a s g o ve r n m e n t officials and they do not come under the pu rview of local bodies. As a resu l t , the local bodies cannot supervise the i r activ i t ies . Compared to th e earl ier act 1 958 wi th the new act, one finds that there were adequate powers in the earl ier law for the local bodies to supervise reg u late and control the officia ls working with them . The d istrict col lector's arbi trary power to suspend and d issolve the gram P anchayats is against the spirit of decentra l i zation . The Centre and State have in troduced schemes l ike, Anna Marumalarchi Thittam scheme (An n a re naa isance scheme) and N amakku Name Scheme (we for ourselves) , which tries to bypass the Panchayats powers and works against the local i n terests .

0> ---I

Madhya Pradesh

West Bengal

Apri l 24, 1 992

Apri l 24 , 1 992

T h e M a d h y a P r a d e s h Panchayat Raj Adh in iyam, 1 993, was passed by the State Legis latu re on 30 December 1 993 and came in to effect on 25 January 1 994 replacing the earl ier Panchayat Act of 1 990 . E l ecti o n s to the G ram P a n c h a y a t s a n d Z i l l a parish ads were held i n May and June 1 994.

West Bengal enacted the West Bengal Panchayati Act in 1 994.

M a n a g e m e n t o f p u b l i c m a r k e t s / m e l a s ( f a i r ) , emergency re l i ef and work relating to rural development, agricu l ture, welfare of weaker section , school management and the ru ral health centres .

The fu nctions of the Gram Panchayat in th is act are mainly mun icipal in nature. Though school management and the r u ra l h e a l th cen tres were transferred to Panchayats with a new post of C h ief Medical Officer (CMO) to look after the health programmes under the Zi l l a Panchayats . However, in a c t u a l p r a c t i c e t h e C M O remains a government official d i rect ly a n swera b l e to h i s departmental superiors b u t for certain fu nctions, he moves the papers to the ch ief executive officer of the Zill Panchayat. Simi lar ly schools continue to be of government.

West Bengal's Panchayati raj is a s u c c e s s s t o r y . T h e i nstitu tiona l ization of Panchayat democracy a long with land refo r m a re t h e two m o s t important achievements o f the Left Front government that has

en co

achievements of the Left Front govemment th at has been in power in the state conti nuous ly fo r more than two decades. In the management of poverty a l l eviat ion prog rammes the states record had been better than that of other states as th e state had been given the en t ire respons ibi l i ty of imp lementation of al l such programmes. The Panchayats of West Benga l are not mere paper organ izations but h ave been g iven sU bstant ia l respo n s i b i l i ty in ru ra l deve lopment works , particu l ar ly in the imp lementation of poverty a l l evi ation prog rammes. As a resu l t , these loca l bodies are today an independent part of th e de l ivery system of the state govern ment in the ru ral areas . One d isturbi ng feature of West Benga l 's Panchayats i s t he i r fai l u re to ra ise l ocal resources . No attempt is made to raise non-tax revenue , or to generate loca l contribut ion or to access i n st i tutiona l fi nance. Wi th no resou rces of their own even to ba l ance thei r revenue budget , effectiveness of these bodies depend tota l l y upon the grants of the state govern ment . The dream of Panchayats emerg i ng as inst itut ions of 'se l f­g o v e r n m e n t ' t h u s f a c i l i t a t i n g g e n u i n e decentral izat ion of govern ance sti l l rema ins a d ream.

From the a bove ta b le it i s c lear that most state govern ments have not shown much v is ion on en acti ng new Panchayat i raj laws. The exceptions being West Benga l and Kera la where decentra l izat ion of power has been extens ive and genu i ne . A part of the fa u l t l i es in the

system , a pa rt i n the immed iate soc ia l env i ronment but a large

pa rt is to be attri buted to the contro l l i ng state government itse lf.

Inadeq uacy of fu nds ava i l ab le to loca l bod ies a n d c reation of

para l le l structu res to take over the mandatory powe rs of the Panchayats has been a chron ic p rob lem before a l l loca l bod ies . Powerfu l g roups based on caste and economic status dom i nate the local governmenta l bod ies . Thoug h , the states have accepted the 73'd and 74th Amend ments i n l etter rather tha n i n sp i ri t , i n many State Acts , civ i l serva nts a re i nd i rectly g iven powers over the e lected body th us mak ing the devol ut ion of powers a n d fu nctions to the Panch ayats go at a sna i l pace.

The bu reaucracy and pol i t ic ians sti l l enjoys fi nanc ia l and economic power v is-a-v is the e lected representatives at the pa nchayat leve l . To ma in ta i n such a posit ion , the a rg u ment they put forwa rd i s that i n most o f the v i l lages and d i str icts , the feuda l e lemen ts a n d l and own ing sect ions a re sti l l dominant and tha t t he i r chances of m isus ing the po l i t ica l and economic power a re h ig her. Fu rther, the a rg u ment they put forward is t ha t the voices of i l l ite rate Sched u le Castes, Sched u le Tribes , women and other marg i n a l ized sect ions may not ca rry the same weig ht whi le d ecid ing importa nt matters even i f they occu py i m porta nt positions i n the Panchayat Raj I nst itu t ions. These a re the fl imsy g rounds , wh ich bu reaucrats use to wie ld power.

The a bove a rg u ments on ly goes to prove that there has been re l u cta nce on part of state- level po l i t ic i ans to recog n ize the importa nce of the loca l governance- the i r a utonomy, the i r powers and the i r a rea of fu nct ion i ng- , wh ich is aga i n c reat i rlg p rob lems i n devolv i ng powers . M in isters , MLAs and sen ior pol it ica l leaders a re more wurried that the power they enjoyed so fa r wi l l wa ne i f Panchayats and m u n ic i pa l i t ies become rea l ly rowerfu l . State- level leaders d o not l i ke the emergence of loca l level le�dersh i p , as i t wou l d pose cha l lenge to them in due cou rse.

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This leads us to p robe i n to the issues of fed e ra l ism a n d look i n to the

q u est ion of what ma kes the states behave i n a d iffe re n t m a n n e r.

There is n o d o u bt that the fed e ra l structu re of the const i tut ion has

mise ra b ly fa i led to d i str i bute powers e q u i tab ly to the states a n d the

P a n chayats . I t o n ly p romotes over cen tra l izat ion of powers i n the

hands of U n io n Government , wh ich I n turn makes the states re l u cta nt

to devolve powers to the Panchayats. The Sa rka r ia Comm iss ion

recommen dat i o n s , wh ich favors state a uto n o my at l e n g th needs to

be thoroug h ly i m p l e me nted a n d p ractice d . Whe n States e njoy fu l l

a uto nomy, i t w i l l a u to mat ica l ly lead to the d evo l ut ion of powe r to the

loca l g overn ment . The behavior of t h e states i n d evol ut ion of power

to the P a n chayats w i l l co me with out re l u cta nce a n d i n h i b i t ions . I n

add i t io n , mea s u res s h o u l d b e ta ken to a m e n d the constitut ion to

accord status to the E l eventh Sched u l e a n d to treat i t a t pa r with the

Ce ntra l l i st , State l ist, a n d co ncu rrent l ist.

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

what is good fo r the d evelopment of t h e i r reg i o n . Dece ntra l izat ion

s h o u l d be p racticed i n true s p i ri t . Apart from th is the rig ht to

i n fo rma t i o n s h o u l d be fo l l owed by e v e ry sta te to m a i n ta i n

tra n spa re n cy a n d p reven t a ny k i n d o f exp lo i tat io n .

There have been i n sta nces , wh ich s h owed that i n s p ite o f l i m itat io n s

a n d a rb itra ry att itu d e o f the States , pa nch ayats p layed a cru c i a l ro le

i n c h a l l en g i n g the a u tocrat ic natu re of the State a n d b u rea ucracy, a n d

a l so cha l l e n g i n g t h e l i be ra l izat i o n p rocess, ta k i n g s h a pe i n t h e form

of m u l t inati o n a l s col l a bo rat ing with t h e i r I n d i a n pa rtners to sta rt t h e i r

I n d i a n ventu res. M N Cs when i n it iate a p roject s h ows n o co ncern for

the l ife , cu l ture , e n v i ro n ment a n d l o n g term effect of the i n d u stri a l

wa ste o n t h e natu ra l resou rces such as water a n d so i l .

A recent case i n t h e p o i n t is t h e Th a par-Du pont Company, w h i ch

d i d n ot get permiss i o n from the Panchayats from a Ke ri v i l l a g e

P a n chayat i n Goa . The 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 issued a s h ow ca use not ice . Th o u g h the company wen t o n a n

a p pea l a g a i nst t h e P a n chayats 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 ayat , as 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

permiss i o n . I f P a nchayats h ave a powe r i n decid 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 lands

in sched uled are as for minin g operat ions to non-tr ibals 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 antagir 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 ing companies were in occupat ion

of t rib al l ands and were usin g t ribals as laborers . The tribals in Borr a

Panch ayat who h ave been l iv ing in these h i lls for centur ies (the Borra

caves which are world f amous geolo g ical format ions of stalact ites

and stalagmites 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 960s on t rib al and forestlands .

The f irst company to enter the are a w as B i rl a Per iclase, which is a

company of Ind ian Rayon and Industr ies. The compa ny w as g iven a

le ase of 1 2 0 acres of land in a sm all interior v illa ge c alled

N immal ap adu , for exp loiti ng calc ite , one of the p rincipal r aw mate ri als

fo r their Se a Water Ma gnesi a plant ne a r Bh iml i .

The tr ibals of Bo rra Panc h ayat with the help of an N G O , n amed

S amata put up a f i ght directly aga 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 70) and sta rted question in g the

le g al ity of these le ases . A stron g peoples movement was bu ild up

and a le g al battle 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 ivate comp an ies as the

le ases amounted to tr ansfer of tr ib a l lands to non-tr ibals.

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

in 1 993 on the grounds that the government was also a 'pe rson' (non­

tribal ) and hence does not h ave the powe r to gr a nt le ases in a

scheduled a re a to non-tribals . 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 Borr a Panch ayat

cult ivated thei r own lands . In 1 995 the stay o rder w as l ifted and the

case w as d ism issed by the High court . This p rompted th e S amata to

t a ke the issue of t ribals to the Supreme Cou rt. I n July 1 9 97, the

histor ic judgment was made which declared th at m in in g le ases in the

7 1

Sched u led a reas were a g a i n st the l a n d tran sfer reg u l at ions, a n d

the refore, n u l l a n d vo i d . T h e C o u rt recogn ized t h e 73'd Co nst i tut ion Ame n d ment Act a n d the A n d h ra P radesh P a nchayat R aj ( Exte n s i o n t o Sched u le d A reas) Act b y sta t i n g that the G ra m Sabhas s h a l l be compete nt to safe g u a rd a n d preserve co m m u n i ty resou rces a n d thereby re i terated t h e n eed t o g ive t h e rig h t of se l f-governa nce to tr i bals. The cou rt a l so recog n ized that the Gove rn ment co u l d n ' t lease out l a n d s in sched u led a reas for m i n i n g o pe ratio n s to n o n-tri ba l s as i t i s In contrave nt ion of the fifth sched u l e of the Const i tut io n .

T h e lega l v icto ry was a g reat reassura n ce o f d e mocratic space to tr ibal a n d con st itu t io n a l r ig hts. M i n i n g activ i t ies i n the sched u led a reas of A . P. i m med iately ca me to a halt and the compan ies were d i rected to close d own the i r work. Tri bals co u l d take back the i r l a n d s a n d pra ct ice agr icu l ture a n d a re l iv i n g a l i fe of d i g n i ty s i n ce the order.

Apa rt from the a bove i n sta nces t h e re a re other i n sta nces l i ke the B a lco case and the En ro n issue, wh ich aga i n goes to prove that that the Panchayats ca n assert the ir r ig h ts w h e n ever th e i r r ig hts a re take n away u nco n st i tut i o n a l ly. M o n ito r i n g of a l l such p rojects a n d the power to term i n ate them fo r n o n-fu l fi l l me n t of ob l igat ions- shou ld be h a n d l ed d i rectly by the com m u n it ies concerned, perh a ps in the form of preva i l i n g se lf-g overn ment i n st i tut ions l i ke P a nchaya ts . Beca u se as bitte r experi e n ce s h ows that aski n g a d m i n i strat ion 's cut off fro m the peo ple to enforce reg u lat ions e n s u res noth i n g but g raft, i neff ic iency a n d reso u n d i n g fa i l u re .

Fro m exper ience i t i s a lso s e e n t h a t s o m e Pa nchayat a re proactively expa n d i ng the space eve n with i n the ava i la ble s pectru m and have bee n effectively a d d ress i n g m u l t i -fa ceted issues i n c l u d i n g l iveli hood, e m ployment g e n e rat ion, effective use of loca l resou rces a n d protect i n g t h e env i ro n menta l resou rces. I t i s c lea rly esta b l i s h ed fro m the f i rst term of P a n c h ayat Raj ( B etwee n 1 993- 2001 ) that P a nchayat i h ave done exten sive work o n a d d ress i n g i n frastructu re issues of v i l lages such as l a y i n g meta l roa d s, rura l e l ectrif icat ion, street l i g hts, water s u pply and provid i n g cremat ion g ro u n d s .

72

The need of the hou r is bottom l i ne p la n n i ng shou ld be done accord i ng to loca l specif ic i t ies , effective and mea n i ngfu l pa rt ic ipat ion i n the dec is ion making process , contro l over resou rces fo r eq u i tab le and s u sta i n a b l e use of such res o u rces , i m p l e menta t ion of 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 to r i n g t h e ex te n t o f i m p lementati on , by themselves. I n n utshe l l - a l l powers and fu nct ions to p la n , i m p lement and mon itor i n cl u d i ng -execut ive, leg is la ture a n d j ud ic ia l spheres wh ich i s the i n tent o f t h e true local se lf-governance . Cons ider ing t h e const itut iona l status , c lea r demarcation o f subjects i n the X I Sched u le , pa rt ic i patory democratic stru ctu re to the g ra m sa b h a , Panchaya ts h ave scope to expa nd t he i r doma i n of governa nce and effectively assert the i r r ig hts in deci d i ng their own deve lopment .

Th is a l l goes to p rove beyond dou bt that whenever p rojects , l i ke tou rism comes u p i n a loca l a rea , Panchayats have the true potent ia l to exercise the i r const i tuti ona l powers assert ively to question the parad i g m of deve lopment .

B I B IL IOGRA PHY:

Pr imary Sources : 1 . Governmen t of In dia, Ministry of Tourism, (1 998) , Draft N at iona l

Tou rism Po l icy September 1 998 , D raft Nat iona l Tou rism Po l icy, September 1 998 .

2 . Gender and Tou ri sm : Women's emp loyment and part ic ipat ion i n Tou rism , S u m mary o f the report prepared for the U N Commiss ion

on Susta i na b le Deve lopment 7'h Session , New York , Apr i l 1 999.

Seconda ry Sources : 1 ) Somnath C h i b "Essays on Tourism" ed ited by Ratna Saha i ,

C ross Section Pub l i cat ions Private L i m ited , New Del h i , 1 989.

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

Ster l i ng P u b l i sh i ng P rivate L im ited , New De lh i 1 978 .

3) Bhati a , A . K . " Tourism Developmen t: Principles and Practices" ,

73

Ster l i n g P u b lish e rs P rivate L i mited , N ew D e l hi , 1 9 96. 4) S m ith L. Va l e n e , (ed . ) S m ith and Wi l l i a m R. Ead i nton " Tourism

alternatives: Potentials and problems in the developmen t of

tourism" , The U n iversity of P e n n sy lva n ia P ress, 1 99 2 .

5 ) Col i n M ichae l H a l l , " Tourism a n d Politics: Policy, Power and

Place" , Bookcraft ( 8ath) L i m ited , 1 99 4 .

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

P rent ice H a l l of I nd i a P rivate Lim ited , N ew D el h i , 1 99 8 .

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

the first Central Law in the wake of Bhurial Committee Report,

P u b l ished by S a h ayog P ustak Kut i r, 1 99 7 .

8) D r. B. D . S h a r ma , " Whither Trib al A re a s ? Constitutional

Amendments and After' , S a h ayog P u stak Kut i r, 1 99 5 .

9 ) " Status of Panchayati Raj in the Sta tes a n d Union Territories of

India 2000' , P u b l ished by the I n st i tute of Soci a l Sc iences , Conce pt P u b l i s h i n g Compa ny, N ew Del h i , 2000 .

1 0 ) D r. B . D . S h a rma " Globalisation: The Tribal Encounter' , H a r­A n a n d P u bl icati o n s , N ew Del h i . 1 99 5 .

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

Tourism" , Ster l i n g P u b l ishers P rivate L im ited , New De l h i , 1 99 9 .

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

Depa rtment of To u ri s m , Kera la, Equat ions , B a n g a lore , J u ly, 2 0 0 0 .

1 3) Tou rism P o l i cy o f I ndia : An Exp l a i n a tory Study, Equat ions , Ba n g a l o re , 1 99 5 .

1 4 ) N i rma l M uka rj i , " The Third Stratum" , Eco n o m i c a n d Po l i t ica l Weekly, May 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 nd i a n Soci a l I n stitute, N ew D el h i , 2 0 0 0 .

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1 6) R aj S i n g h , " Panchayati Raj Manual: A Socio- Historica/- cum­

Legal Perspective" , A n m o l P u b l i cati o n s , New Del h i , 1 996 .

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

I nst i tute of Socia l Sc iences.

NEWSPA PER AND CLIPPINGS: 1 ; The H i n d u , "Righ t to Information A ct will be brought in soon ",

B a n g a l o re P u bl icat io n , 2 5 February, 200 1 . 2 . The Ti mes of I n d i a , " Power to Panchayat", 24 Apri l , 2 00 1 . 3 . Eco n o m i c Ti mes , 1 3 , M a rc h , 200 1 . 4 . Fa i r Tra d e i n To u ri s m , The magazi n e of To u ri s m C o n cern 's F a i r

Tra d e i n Tou rism N etwork , I s s u e 1 , Spri n g 2000 . 5. EQUAT I O N S , B riefi n g paper on the GATS , Dece m b e r, 2000 .

G l ossa ry : 1. Local S elf- Government I t i m p l ies t h e management o f loca l

affa i rs by the loca l people It dea ls with problems of the l oca l com m u n ity l i ke h e a l th , san itat io n , water s u p p ly, pr imary e d u catio n , co nstructio n a n d m a i nte n a n ce of loca l tracks a n d roa d s , street l ig h ti n g , d ra i n ag e , d isposa l of sewa g e , u p keep of pa rks a n d g a rd e n , esta b l is h ment of l i b ra ries a n d rea d i n g rooms a n d oth e r s u c h a ctiv it ies .

2. Panchayat The word P a n c h ayat is d e rived from the S a n s krit word panch. As the word s u g g ests i t mea n s five a n d h e n ce h a s trad it ion a l ly bee n u s e d to ca n n ote a n assem b ly of five e l der ly a n d respectab le person s of the v i l l a g e . The word is n ow u se d t o refe r to ru ra l loca l g overn ment .

3. Gram(a) : Vi l l a g e .

4. Gram Sabha: I t i s t h e bottom l eve l body i n the P a n c h ayati raj syste m . It i s perceived as the p rimary body of Panchayat raj syste m d es i g n ed to fac i l i tate d i rect pa rtici pat ion of the peo p le i n loca l act iv it ies. I t i s a statutory body a n d co ns ists o f asse m b ly of a l l a d u lts res idents in the v i l lage .

5. Panchayat Samiti: I t i s the i nterme d i ate t ier i n the Panchayat i raj system of r u ra l loca l govern ment in I nd i a .

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6. Zilla Parishad: I t const itutes the a pex i n the Panchayat i raj system of rura l loca l govern ment i n I n d ia .

7. Di.strict: means a d i str ict i n a State or a port ion of terr itory, reg ion o r loca l i ty, notif i ed under the statutes of the state .

8. Intermediate level: I t mea ns a level between the v i l l age and d istr ict levels specif ied by the Governo r of a State by pub l i c notif icat ion .

9. Panchayat area: mea n s the territor ia l a rea of a Panchayat .

1 0. Population: I t means the popu lat ion as ascerta i ned at the last p reced ing census of wh ich the re levant fig u res have been pub l i shed .

1 1 . Metropolitan area: I t mea ns an a rea hav ing a popu lat ion of ten l akhs or more com prised in one or more d i str icts a n d conS ist ing of two or more mun ic ipa l i t ies or panchayats or other conti guous a reas, specif ied by the g overnor by pub l i c notif icat ion to be a metropo l ita n a rea .

1 2. Municipal area: I t means the territo r ia l a rea of a m u n ic ipa l ity as not ified by the governor.

13. Nagar Panchaya: It is ma in ly a tra nsit i ona l a rea , a n a rea that i s t ransfo rmed from a ru ra l to a n u rban a rea . Such a n a rea is bas ica l ly ru ra l i n character, wh ich over a period of t ime deve lop u rba n cha racter ist ics. Such a n u rban loca l body wou ld have to perform both ru ra l and u rba n fu nctions . Nagar Panchayats even now exist in some states.

14. Municipal Councils : I t i s constituted in a sma l le r u rban a rea .

1 5. Municipal corporations : I t i s constituted for larger u rban a reas . I t i s the topmost of u rban loca l govern ment . I t is set up u nder a specia l statute by the state leg is latu re .

1 6. Constitution: I t i s a body of fu ndamenta l pr inc ip les accord i ng to wh ich a state is governed .

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1 7. Directive Principles of State Policy: It is enshrined in the fourth part of the Constitution . They are unique and novel in so far as they describe the ambitions and aspirations of the framers of the Constitution. It is not a legal part of the Corst itution 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 self­government.

1 9. Twelfth Schedule: It lists out the powers and rights of the Municipalities as may be necessary to function as a unit of self­government.

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 consultative 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 strumen t for preve nt ion of exploitat ion 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 pertains 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-management for autonomous councils and regional councils at the districts and regional level respectively The tribal areas under the sixth Schedule include Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura in the North Eastern regioil.

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