“Accountable but powerless” is how the author describes the devolution of power to the Panchayats (local
government).
Decisions are being taken by local
government officials, who have hijacked the planning and implementation process. In many places, the sarpanch (village head) has no say in the implementation of village works as the work is being done by labourers and the payments are being made by petty officials. When funds are available, it is the absence of technical staff that is undermining the development process. Part of the problem is that people’s aspirations have been raised but the Panchayats are not being able to cope with the extra workload as they have to attend to many grievances (such as scarcity of drinking water, lack of sanitation, availability of ration cards, payment of pensions) besides attending meetings and negociating with officials for the release of additional funds. Panchayats have a huge administrative workload as there are far too many central government schemes, each of which has to be dealt with separately at the village level. By and large, the performance of the Panchayats depends upon their state of empowerment. And as far as corruption is concerned, it is easier to check corruption at the local level because it is visible to the people. The people must feel that they have an effective voice in the decision making process. Participation by the people in the form of the village assembly is a vital ingredient to the success of the Panchayat system. The village Panchayat is a grassroots-level and elected body. The village government must have rights over the resources essential for their livelihood. For this to take place funds, functions and staff must be made available to them. And the state government and its officials must not interfere in their functioning. Maintainance of the assets created is yet another problem facing the Panchayats. Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Panchayat Raj was based on his belief in self-reliance and self-governance. Panchayats must not be treated as yet another government department. Panchayats are directly involved with the development concerns of the people. And despite many constraints, they have delivered. In times to come Panchayats will no doubt get more work, money and responsibility; but will they be able to handle them? The future of our democracy depends on this.