"Even after so many years of independence, we come across Caste Panchayats, which only work towards augmenting the plight of the victim" observed Mr. Justice S.B Sinha, Judge, Supreme Court of India as he inaugurated a two-day workshop on Panchayat Raj Jurisprudence organized by RLEK on 10-11th July 2005 in Dehradun, Uttaranchal. The workshop was convened with the objective of generating input for RLEK's Draft Interim Report on Jurisprudence of Panchayati Raj Institutions, produced with the support of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and funded by the UNDP.
In the span of these two-days, critical issues ranging from devolution of funds, functions and functionaries, Panchayat elections, reservation of seats, autonomy of Panchayats, Nyaya Panchayats as instruments of justice-dispensation at the grass-roots level and existing flaws in various State Panchayat Acts are being discussed at length. In relation to these subjects, a number of key issues were debated and recommendations put forth to strengthen India's PRIs:
- States have not adequately devolved power to the panchayats in congruence with their obligations under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment.
- Autonomy of panchayats must be ensured, while maintaining appropriate checks and balances on power at all levels and between elected bodies and the bureaucracy.
- Inconsistencies in a number of State Panchayat Acts need to be resolved to bring them into conformity with the 73rd Amendment.
- Political devolution of powers must be accompanied by meaningful fiscal devolution. Schemes, which bypass and undermine the authority of panchayats should be abolished and funds should instead go directly to panchayats themselves.
- Parallel structures and bodies created at a local level also undermine the authority of panchayats and should be removed.
- Elections at all three tiers of the PRIs should be conducted at the same time to save the states' resources.
- Nyaya Panchayats should be formulated, which would provide speedy, transparent and cost effective justice at the village level and reduce pressure on the overburdened judicial system. At the same time, caution must be exercised with respect to the powers and authority granted to these bodies, and to issues of representation and impartiality.
Discussion and debate yielded both criticism and optimism in relation to India's PRIs. Acknowledging the persistent problem of caste-based discrimination, participants also noted that in the relatively short time-span of 12 years since the 73rd Constitutional Amendment came into force, substantial achievements have been realised. Participants were particularly encouraged that women are contesting elections and winning seats, even in non-reserved areas, and are becoming strong leaders at the panchayat level.
Among those participating in the workshop were legal luminaries such as sitting and former Supreme Court, High Court Judges, a former State Governor, IAS administrators, representatives of UNDP and NGO functionaries. These included Justice S.B. Sinha (Supreme Court of India), Justice Brijesh Kumar (Former Judge, Supreme Court of India and Chairman of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, Justice Madan B. Lokur (Delhi High Court), Justice Surya Kant, (Punjab & Haryana High Court), Justice Rajesh Tandon (Uttraranchal High Court), Justice Pradeep Kant (Allahabad High Court), Dr. V.S Rama Devi (Former Governor of Himachal Pradesh & Karnataka), Mr. D. Bandhopadhyay (Chairman Advisory Committee and Member Secretary, National Legal Services Authority).
Recommendations from the participants will be incorporated into the Final Report on Jurisprudence of Panchayat Raj Institutions, due to be released by RLEK in August 2005. The study covers fourteen states of northern India: Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir. Its purpose is to evaluate the functioning of Part IX of the Constitution, by reviewing the State Acts, analyzing the case law on Panchayats, reviewing the extant legislations affecting the functions earmarked for Panchayats by Schedule XI of the Constitution and examining the Panchayat (Extension to the Schedule Areas) Act, 1996.