MARCH 2014

Dear Friends,

Thank you for participating in the Jan Aawaz Sanghoshtis conducted by the RGPRS conveners in your State, District and Block. Your participation in the discussions and your suggestions regarding devolution in Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies has been extremely helpful and together we will advocate for increased devolution in every state in the country. With your partnership, RGPRS has been able to submit recommendations related to devolution in local self-governments to the Congress Party for inclusion in the Congress National Elections Manifesto 2014. It is with great pleasure that I share with you our completion report of the Sanghoshtis.

This journey together to empower every citizen in the country through the strengthening of Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies is a long one. We look forward to your ongoing support and participation in the years to come.

Meenakshi NatarajanChairperson

Jan Awaaz Sanghoshthi in progress in Pathankot, Punjab

HAMARI AAWAZ

“All elected representatives of Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies should be given training at regular intervals, demand

representatives of KURUKSHETRA, Haryana”“There must be representatives of Panchayats and Nagar Panchayat representatives in the District Planning

Committee, say Municipal Corporators and Sarpanchs in YAVATMAL, Maharashtra”

“Sarpanchs should be directly elected by the people in the States where they are indirectly elected to avoid

misuse of the position, say ward members and officials of JALNA, Maharashtra”

“There are simply not enough funds given to Panchayats. In many Panchayats in Bihar, more

than 30 lakhs of funds are available under the 13th Finance Commission. But funds are not

devolved to the Panchayats, say Bihar Gram Panchayat Representatives. ”

A Convener conducting a Jan Awaaz Sanghoshti with women from Harda, Madhya Pradesh Discussions regarding devolution in Chikmagalur, Karnataka

RGPRS AND ITS OBJECTIVES

The Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan was founded by Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi in memory of Late Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi. It was our visionary Prime Minister’s dream that Panchayats and Local Urban Bodies be given Constitutional status and empowered as the third tier of our democratic government as he truly believed that a nation with a population of one hundred and twenty Crores could not be adequately represented by a few hundred MPs and a few thousand MLAs. He also believed that the wisdom of the people in the villages should be used to govern the world’s largest democracy. Under his leadership, the move towards decentralization was initiated and the subsequent Congress Government passed the 73 rd

and the 74th Amendments to the Constitution in 1992 making Panchayats and Local Urban Bodies Constitutional Bodies with the mandate of economic development and social justice. While most states have ratified the 73rd and the 74thAmendment to the Constitution, devolution of funds, functions and functionaries as specified in the Amendment still remains a dream.

Given this background, RGPRS aims to build a community of practitioners of Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies who would disseminate information on devolution, identify and advocate policy reforms, share best practices of local self-governments, and educate the people on the values of the Constitution. We see ourselves as a collective of all those who believe in the power of local self-governments. In the coming years, RGPRS would also catalyze leadership action amongst the elected representatives of Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies by empowering them with knowledge and information on their roles and responsibilities and on devolution.

Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan (RGPRS) was revamped and restructured in 2013, and is now guided by its Chairperson Ms Meenakshi Natarajan and Deputy Chairperson Mr Harshwardhan Sapkal.

“The Government implements multiple schemes in areas like housing, education,

healthcare and PDS but provides no role for elected representatives except monitoring. All village development schemes should be discussed, planned and designed at the Gram Sabha. . Fundamental needs of villages are not known to higher officials, say Sarpanchs from Rural

RATLAM, Madhya Pradesh”

The Panchayat Systems in India are often referred to as the grassroot level of democracy. It is an institution of local self-government at the village level. The passage of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 and the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 took democracy to the grassroots, empowering every citizen living in remote villages or Urban Municipalities to plan for his or her own development. The aim of this democratic decentralization was to bring representatives closer to the electorate so that policies formulated would reflect the needs and aspirations of the people. It would help in enhancing civic participation, improve the efficiency of services, reach out to marginalized groups and enhance development.

A Close Look of the 73rd and the 74th Amendment to the Constitution

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 gave Constitutional status to Panchayats, providing the legislative framework for the introduction of a three-tier system of elected councils in rural areas consisting of District (Zilla) Panchayats, Intermediate Bodies at the Block or Taluk level, and Gram Panchayats at the village level. It mandates 33.3% reservation for women in all three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are allocated reserved seats in line with their share of the population in the constituency. Gram Sabhas, which include the adult voting population of the Gram Panchayat, are mandated as organs of accountability and oversight. As per the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are required to be endowed with adequate responsibilities and powers to enable them to function as the “Institutions of self-government” and the Amendment contains provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities by State legislatures to the Panchayats at the appropriate level with respect to (a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice; and (b) the implementation of such schemes for economic development and social justice including 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule.

There are 238,000 Gram Panchayats, 6325 Block Panchayats and 589 Zilla Parishads in India. There are 29 Lakh elected representatives in all three tiers of which 13.6 Lakh are women.

The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 provided Constitutional Status to the Urban Local Bodies, providing the legislative framework for the introduction of three types of Municipalities – Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations. It mandates 33.3% reservation for women in all three types of Municipalities and allocates reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in line with their share of the population in the constituency. As per the 74th Amendment, the State should devolve powers, authority and responsibilities to Municipalities with respect to 1) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice 2) the performance of functions and the implementation of schemes including 18 subjects listed in the Twelfth Schedule of the Amendment Act.

There are 4000 Municipal Councils and 188 Municipal Corporations in India

A State Finance Commission is constituted under Article 243 I of the Constitution in every State to review the financial position of the Municipalities and the Panchayats, distribute funds between State, Panchayats and Municipalities and allocate funds to all levels of Panchayats and Municipalities.

THE RGPRS MANIFESTO PROJECT

The Manifesto Project was initiated to formulate the RGPRS Manifesto through a consultative and participatory process. The purpose was to understand the challenges faced by elected representatives of Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies in different states across the country with respect to devolution of funds, functions and functionaries in the subjects mentioned in the Eleventh and the Twelfth Schedule of the 73rd and the 74th Amendment Acts respectively so as to draft the RGPRS objectives and action plan for the coming year with your support. Key issues were identified and recommended to the Congress Party for inclusion in their Election Manifesto 2014.

Under the Manifesto Project, RGPRS identified and trained 64 Conveners in Sevagram, Wardha in December 2013. By the end of February 2014, the Conveners had organized 255 District and Block level consultations or ‘Jan Aavaz Sanghoshtis’ in 16 States of the country to highlight the current challenges of devolution in local self-governments across the country. The conveners made great efforts to get the opinions and voices of women, dalits, marginalized groups and minorities among others in these consultations.

Over 7000 Gram Sarpanchs, Gram Panchayat Ward Members, Block Panchayat Presidents and Members, Zilla Parishad Chairpersons and Members, Chairpersons and Ward Members of Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations, Panchayat Secretaries,

A consultation in progress in Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu

Anganwadi Field Workers, Congress Party Office Bearers and Workers, representatives of NGOs, social workers, teachers, village leaders, officials of local District and Block administrations, and SHG women leaders participated in the consultations to discuss and highlight the challenges faced by Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies in exercising their leadership and fulfilling their roles and responsibilities.

Your voices have also been heard by Congress Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi who participated in two National Level consultations, one of which was held exclusively with elected women representatives of Panchayats and Urban Bodies.

The outcomes of each discussion were individually recorded and analyzed by RGPRS. The analysis was once again presented to the conveners before developing the draft Manifesto which was then submitted to the Congress Party to be included in their 2014 Election Manifesto.

We, at RGPRS, dedicate ourselves to ensure that all the suggestions heard, recorded and reproduced are translated into political and administrative actions in the years to come.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi with elected women Sarpanchs and Ward Members from Madhya Pradesh

Election Manifesto 2014RGPRS Recommendations to the Manifesto Committee of Congress Party

Devolution of power is one of the fundamental political ideas that has driven the Congress Party. Our uncompromising commitment towards the decentralized system of governance comes from the legacy of our great leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi who had deep conviction about the transformative energy of millions of Indians. Our Party has acted upon its belief in devolution through the passage of the 73rd and 74th amendments of Constitution. With that single action, we as a Nation enshrined the third tier of government in our Panchayats and Municipalities.

The Congress Party is committed to continuing on this journey to allow the emergence of the third tier as vibrant democratic ‘institutions of local self-government’. We will continue to strengthen systems that devolve political power to the very grassroots of the Nation, all the way to its people. Guided by the voices from the grassroots, RGPRS has identified specific issues in local self-governments to be included in the Manifesto of the Congress Party for the 2014 elections. Our recommendations are classified into five broad themes:

1. Upholding the Dignity and Respect of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies in the process of governance and politics

We are obliged to end all the discriminatory rules against the Rural and Urban body representatives. We firmly believe that criteria which qualify a candidate to stand for elections should be equally applicable for all elected representatives be it the Parliament, State Assemblies, Panchayat representatives or representatives of Urban Bodies. As such existing norms for local self- government representatives like the Two Child Norm, Certificate to prove that they have toilet in the house, etc. shall be removed.

“Conditions such as the Two Child Norm, Dhara 40 in Madhya Pradesh and certificate to prove that candidates have toilets at home work against the poor and the marginalized who want to contest elections. These conditions should be removed demand representatives of local

bodies of BARMER, Rajasthan and GODDA, Madhya Pradesh”

We will secure the rights and dignity of elected representatives in all bodies of local self-governments. We will ensure that elected representatives of Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies are accountable to the people and cannot be punished or dismissed by the executives or government officials. As such existing rules like

Dhara-40 in the Madhya Pradesh PRI Act and Dhara 41 in the Chhattisgarh PRI Act (provisions that provide administrative power to officials to take disciplinary action against representatives) shall be removed.

We shall fight for the power of elected representatives to write the Annual Confidential Reports of Government Employees in their work areas

All elected PRI and ULB representatives should be included as voters in the Legislative Council seat for Panchayati Raj

2. Devolution of Power (funds, functions and functionaries) to Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies as defined in the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution.

Our government will be committed to do everything possible within the constitutional means to give maximum power to Gram Sabhas, all three tiers of Panchayats and the Urban Local Bodies and end the ‘Government Resolution Raj ’ in all the states.

Our government will develop comprehensive guidelines for creating specific rules under respective state acts. This set of guideline will explain the role, functions and rights of PRIs and Urban Local Bodies. This will see an end of ‘GR Raj’.

We will implement these suggestions in centrally sponsored schemes and link fund transfers to states based upon the adherence of these principles. We will also make sure that these guidelines and principles of devolution are followed in all the central legislations, as we have done it in ‘Land Acquisition Act 2013’.

State Finance Commission is defunct and ineffective in most of the states. They do not have any budget. This is the only Constitutional means to ensure the financial requirements of local self-governments. Effective functioning of State Finance Commission will be made as mandatory.

Our government will work towards creating a devolution friendly environment in all the states. An Independent National Level Devolution Commission consisting of practitioners and experts will be created under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Urban Development to assess the status of devolution across the states periodically. A People’s Devolution Index will be constructed through participatory methods to suggest measures to strengthen PRIs and Urban Local Bodies.

We will ensure that 5% of the Government of India revenues go to PRIs and Urban Local Bodies.

“Beneficiary identification for schemes should be finalized at the Gram Sabha. Government

interference should reduce, say citizens of HAZARIBAGH, Jharkhand”

We will link the state allocation decisions of Central Finance Commission to the People’s Devolution Index. This index will be an additional one to the existing CFC parameters in devolving funds to the states.

We promise decentralized planning for the 13th Five Year Plan. We will begin the preparation from 2014-15.

We will also ensure that beneficiary selection of all Central Schemes is done in the Gram Sabha only.

Parallel bureaucratic authorities for urban development will not be encouraged. Those urban bodies implementing development plans through Nagarik Sabhas will be promoted through an incentivised system under Ministry of Urban Development.

All parallel bodies in health, education, agriculture, water supply and sanitation should be integrated with PRIs and ULBs.

3. Strengthening the capacities of Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies so that they can emerge fully as institutions of local self-government

Toll free help lines will be set up for all elected representatives to facilitate information dissemination and counseling of elected representatives, especially women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe elected representatives

Special assistance will be given to provide for honorarium for PRI and ULB representatives

We will launch a massive ‘devolution awareness campaign’ under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies

Under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Urban Development, we will launch special training programmes for all PRI and ULB representatives to enhance their understanding of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Urban Local Bodies and the provisions in the Centrally Sponsored Schemes

We will ensure the internet connectivity of all Zilla Parishad Panchayats, Block Panchayats, Gram Panchayats and all Urban Local Bodies. We also ensure that they will be electronically networked

We are committed to transfer all departments to ULBs and necessary actions will be taken in this direction

We strongly believe that ULBs should have the authority to run rehabilitation programmes for those displaced by the Slum Eradication and Poverty Alleviation Programmes

We will encourage seminars in education institutions and Youth Groups to create large scale awareness of PRIs and ULBs and duties of citizens

“Even when funds come they come under ‘Government Resolution Raj’. A number

of rules and limitation restrict effective utilization. The Collector should not determine the fund allocation to the Panchayats in the district. District and Block chairman

should decide the fund allocation, says VELLORE Sarpanch, Tamil Nadu”4. Deepening participation of women in Gram Sabhas, Panchayati Raj and Urban

Local Bodies

We will bring the urban and rural local bodies under the purview of Work Place Act to provide protection and safe work environment for elected women representatives. We will ensure the implementation of Vishakha guidelines stipulated by the Supreme Court.

Special assistance fund will be constituted to promote gender budgeting in local governments through incentivisation. This will encourage the local governments to initiate various provisions for women and children like ladies toilets in public places, training centres, working women’s and girls’ hostels, crèches, transit camp for sex workers and street children etc.

To create a gender sensitive political environment, we want the Ministries of Panchayati Raj, Urban Development and Women and Child Development to formulate gender sensitization programmes for elected male members and officials. They will also be directed to conduct awareness programme for the women PRI and ULB representatives.

A central helpline will be dedicated exclusively to assist elected women representatives in all three tiers of PRI and ULBs during emergency and during elections.

There are complaints about gender insensitivity of some of the advertisements of Centrally Sponsored Schemes. We will monitor all the campaigns and ensure that all advertisements are gender sensitive and uphold the dignity of women.

“50% seats in local self-governments should be reserved for women,

demand representatives of local bodies in OSMANABAD, Maharashtra”

5. Ensure the implementation of PESA Act in the Tribal (Scheduled) Areas

We want the proper implementation of PESA Act. We will ensure that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs incentivizes those states which implement the act in letter and spirit. Central funds earmarked for Scheduled Areas will be allotted with the guidelines congruent to the PESA act.

We need to avoid confrontation between the traditional tribal councils and Local Panchayats. We want the Ministries of Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj to work together to promote best practices of harmonious relationship between Panchayats and communities in the Scheduled Areas with special development funds.

We will ensure that the Special Central Funds to the tribal regions under Maoist influence are spent effectively. We will initiate a mechanism among the ministries concerned that can help the elected Panchayat representatives in those regions to formulate plans through the Gram Sabhas in participatory manner.

“The rights under PESA Act should reach the Adivasis at the earliest, say the Scheduled

Tribes of Rural AMRAVATI, in Maharashtra”---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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