i. Historical Background
The village panchayats lost their autonomy and became weak during British rule.
|
1870 |
The Mayo Resolution (1870) forced the development of local institutions by expanding their powers and responsibilities. Mayo also presented the concept of elected officials in urban municipalities. |
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1882 |
Following this, Lord Rippon provided the essential democratic framework for these institutions. |
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1907 |
The appointment of the Royal Commission on Centralization gave a boost to the local self-government institution. |
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Post–Independence |
After the Constitution came into power, Article 40 mentions the panchayats, and Article 246 enables the state lawmaking body to enact any subject identifying with local self-government. |
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1959 |
Balwant Rai Mehta Committee proposed three-level PRIs, to be specific, Gram Panchayats at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and Zilla Parishad at the district level. |
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1977 |
The appointment of the Ashok Mehta Committee introduced Panchayat Raj. The Committee suggested a two-level Panchayat Raj institutional design consisting of Zilla Parishad and Mandal Panchayat. |
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1985 |
The G.V.K. Rao Committee suggested making the “district” the fundamental unit and holding regular elections. However, the L.M.Singhvi Committee suggested giving more financial resources and Constitutional status to the panchayats to reinforce them. |
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1989 |
The Rajiv Gandhi Government presented the 65th Constitutional Amendment Bill (Nagarpalika bill) in the Lok Sabha. The bill pointed toward strengthening and revamping the municipal bodies by giving Constitutional status to them. |
|
1991-93 |
The Narasimha Rao Government also introduced the Amended Municipalities Bill in Lok Sabha. It eventually became the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 and entered into force on June 1, 1993. |