It
is now taken for granted in different parts of India
that locally elected panchayats can be important instruments
for ensuring more effective delivery of different
public services and government programmes, as well
as means of social and political mobilisation for
more democratic outcomes. But even when the panchayati
raj institutions were given prominence two decades
ago through the passing of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional
Amendments, this was not so obvious.
In fact, West Bengal was a pioneering state in this
regard, which set the agenda for the rest of the country.
The positive experience of West Bengal’s own panchayat
legislation and subsequent measures at decentralisation
of different powers was what set the tone for the
attempts elsewhere in the country.
However, there was one significant feature of West
Bengal’s experience that made the decentralisation
process much more democratic – the fact that it was
preceded and accompanied by significant land reforms.
These increased the power and status of previously
marginalised and oppressed groups, encouraged them
to participate more actively in gram sabhas and panchayats,
and increased their proportion in the elected representation.
It is this feature of decentralisation being associated
with progressive land reforms that has made West Bengal’s
positive experience much harder to replicate in other
states, with a few exceptions such as Kerala and Tripura,
since there have hardly been significant land reforms
in the rest of the country. But it is particularly
important because it prevents or reduces the possibility
that the panchayats get dominated by village elites,
especially large landlords, moneylenders and traders,
and thereby reinforce power equations that are already
skewed against the poor and socially marginalised
groups.
Data on the current composition of panchayats indicate
that less well-off categories are more numerous in
the panchayat membership, and traditional elite groups
are hardly represented. Agriculturalists and household
workers dominate in terms of the major occupations,
but agricultural labour is also reasonably well represented
even at the panchayat samiti level. Teachers do have
disproportionate representation; however, landlords
and those involved in business, who tend to dominate
in the panchayats of most other states, are insignificant
in number and as a proportion of total panchayat members.
Related to this has been the different social composition
of panchayats in terms of caste categories, which
is also different in West Bengal compared to other
states. While data on occupational background of panchayat
members are not easily available for other states,
we do have some information on social background and
gender for other states, based on a study commissioned
by the Ministry of Rural Development of the Government
of India. The table presents the results, which refer
to five states, in comparison to data from West Bengal.
Table
:
Social Composition of Panchayat Members
(Per cent of Total Elected Representatives)
|
| |
Bihar |
Chhatisgarh |
Madhya
Pradesh |
Maharashtra |
Uttar
Pradesh |
West
Bengal |
Gram
Panchayats |
|
SC |
16.1 |
12.5 |
10.3 |
11.5 |
13.7 |
28.6 |
|
ST
|
0.7 |
42.0 |
17.9 |
13.7 |
0.0 |
7.5 |
|
Women |
35.0 |
33.7 |
33.8 |
33.3 |
37.9 |
36.6 |
|
Intermediate
Panchayats (Panchayat Samitis) |
|
SC |
16.0 |
12.1 |
10.6 |
11.5 |
15.0 |
28.8 |
|
ST
|
0.8 |
40.2 |
17.6 |
13.5 |
0.0 |
7.4 |
|
Women |
35.0 |
34.3 |
33.4 |
36.1 |
36.0 |
35.4 |
|
District
Panchayats (Zilla Parishads) |
|
SC |
16.1 |
10.9 |
10.6 |
11.5 |
14.7 |
26.8 |
|
ST
|
0.8 |
40.9 |
16.6 |
13.7 |
0.0 |
7.2 |
|
Women |
35.3 |
34.7 |
33.8 |
33.7 |
37.1 |
34.2 |
Table
>> Click
to Enlarge
All The most striking feature
to emerge from the table is the much greater representation
of SCs at all levels of panchayats in West Bengal,
compared to all the other five states. This cannot
only be explained by the greater presence of SCs in
the population of West Bengal (which is quite high
at 23 per cent). The share of SCs in total population
is just as high in Maharashtra yet SCs are significantly
less in proportion to total elected representatives.
Indeed, the representation of SCs in the panchayats
is well above their share of population in West Bengal.
The same is true of STs. The proportion of STs in
total elected panchayat membership in West Bengal
may appear to be small at 7.2 per cent, especially
in relation to the higher figures evident for tribal-dominated
states such as Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. But
it is higher than the share of STs in the total population
of West Bengal (5.5 per cent). It is also worth noting
that both SCs and STs have been relatively well represented
not only at Gram Panchayat level, but even at the
higher tiers of district government such as the Zilla
Parishads.
Another significant aspect relates to the empowerment
of women through participation in panchayats. West
Bengal has had a history of substantial representation
of women in panchayats well before the 73rd and 74th
Amendments were passed by Parliament; in fact, more
than one-third of panchayat members have been women
throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The table shows that
this continues and that the proportion of women panchayat
members at different levels is somewhat higher in
West Bengal than in four of the other states. Only
Uttar Pradesh has a slightly higher representation,
but in that state the evidence on actual empowerment
of women as a result of this is more mixed.
The participation of women, SCs and STs in panchayats
tends to have dynamic effects on the social and political
empowerment of these groups in general, and also has
been seen to have positive effects on the general
functioning and responsiveness of panchayats to people’s
needs. There is therefore enormous potential for progressive
social change in such a process. Indeed, there is
also need to ensure adequate representation from minority
communities such as Muslims, for which we do not have
the data at present to analyse the actual extent of
participation.
Panchayats in West Bengal are charged with a very
wide range of powers and responsibilities, and these
duties have been increasing over time. It is therefore
very important to ensure that panchayat members are
provided with the requisite facilities and enabled
with administrative and technical resources to carry
out their many functions.
It is encouraging to note that the state government
has recently announced that for the newly elected
panchayats as of 26 June 2008, pradhans of the gram
panchayats will be declared as whole-time functionaries,
and their remuneration and honorarium will be revised
accordingly. This was a much-needed measure to enable
proper functioning, and along these lines other measures
need to be taken to provide sufficient administrative
support to all panchayat members. This is especially
important for elected representatives who come from
weaker sections and have less in the way of their
own financial and other resources.
