CS Professional · CSR and Social Governance

Local Self Governance: formula sheet

Full chapter guide

Key formulas

Three forms of decentralisation: Decentralisation = Political + Administrative + Fiscal; Use this to structure any answer on decentralisation. Weakness in any one limits real self governance.
Constitutional basis: Rural: 73rd Amendment (Part IX) | Urban: 74th Amendment (Part IXA); Both amendments were passed in 1992 and came into force in 1993.
Directive Principle: Article 40 - organisation of village panchayats; This is the pre-1992 constitutional starting point for Panchayati Raj.
Key committees: Balwant Rai Mehta (1957): three-tier | Ashok Mehta (1977): two-tier; Examiners like questions on the sequence of committees.
Constitutional basis: 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 = Part IX (Articles 243 to 243O) + Eleventh Schedule (referred to in Article 243G); In force from 24 April 1993. It added Part IX titled The Panchayats.
Three-tier structure: Village + Intermediate + District; Intermediate tier is optional for a State with population not exceeding 20 lakh.
Gram Sabha: Gram Sabha = all persons registered in the electoral roll of the village(s) within a Panchayat area; Article 243(b). Powers are as the State Legislature provides by law.
Term and fresh election: Term = 5 years; election to be completed before expiry, or within 6 months of dissolution; A body formed after dissolution continues only for the remainder of the term.
Women reservation: Seats for women ≥ 1/3 of total seats (including SC/ST women seats); same for Chairperson offices; Reservation for SC/ST is in proportion to their population in the Panchayat area.
Minimum age to contest: Age ≥ 21 years; A person is disqualified if disqualified under any law for the time being in force for State Legislature elections (except that age 21 suffices instead of 25), or under State law.
Finance Commission: State Finance Commission constituted within 1 year of the Amendment, then every 5 years (Article 243I); Reviews finances and recommends tax sharing, grants-in-aid and funds for Panchayats.
Election control: Superintendence, direction and control of rolls and elections = State Election Commission (Article 243K); The State Election Commissioner is removable only like a High Court Judge.
Eleventh Schedule: 29 subjects; Devolution to Panchayats is by State law. It is not automatic.
Source and commencement: 74th Amendment Act, 1992 | in force 1 June 1993 | Part IXA | Articles 243P to 243ZG | Twelfth Schedule; Remember the Part, the Article range and the Schedule together. The Twelfth Schedule lists 18 functions.
Three types of municipalities: Nagar Panchayat (transitional area) | Municipal Council (smaller urban area) | Municipal Corporation (larger urban area); Article 243Q. The Governor specifies the area by public notification.
Term and fresh election: Term = 5 years | Election after dissolution within 6 months; Article 243U. A body elected after dissolution serves only for the remainder of the term. If the remainder of the term is less than six months, no fresh election is needed.
Reservation of seats: SC/ST seats in proportion to population | Women: at least 1/3 of seats, including SC/ST women's seats; Article 243T. Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies.
Ward Committee: Compulsory where population is 3 lakh or more; Article 243S. Composition and territorial area are decided by the state legislature.
Finance and elections: State Finance Commission: Article 243Y | State Election Commission: Article 243ZA; The Governor constitutes the State Finance Commission at the end of every fifth year. It reviews municipal finances and recommends principles for grants and tax sharing.
Planning committees: District Planning Committee: Article 243ZD | Metropolitan Planning Committee: Article 243ZE; The Metropolitan Planning Committee is for metropolitan areas with a population of 10 lakh or more.
Panchayat SFC provision: Article 243-I: Governor constitutes SFC within one year of the 73rd Amendment and then every fifth year; Reviews finances of panchayats and recommends principles for distribution, taxes and grants.
Municipality SFC provision: Article 243-Y: the Article 243-I SFC also reviews municipal finances; The same Commission covers both panchayats and municipalities.
Taxation powers of panchayats: Article 243-H: State law may authorise panchayats to levy and collect taxes, assign state taxes and give grants-in-aid; Powers exist only as far as the State Legislature provides by law.
Taxation powers of municipalities: Article 243-X: State law may authorise municipalities to levy taxes, assign state taxes and give grants-in-aid; Same structure as for panchayats.
SFC tenure cycle: Review period = 5 years; Each SFC covers a five-year window; the next one follows.
Revenue sources summary: Local body revenue = own taxes and fees + shared state taxes + grants-in-aid + borrowings and other receipts; Use as a framework for any answer on sources of income.
Constitutional basis: Article 243M(1) excludes Scheduled Areas (Article 244(1)) and tribal areas (Article 244(2)) from Part IX; Article 243M(4)(b) lets Parliament extend Part IX to Scheduled Areas with exceptions and modifications; PESA 1996 is that extension. It applies to Fifth Schedule areas, not Sixth Schedule areas.
Consistency rule: State panchayat law must be consistent with customary law, social and religious practices and traditional management of community resources; This is the central principle of PESA. State laws inconsistent with PESA had to be amended within one year of its enactment, failing which they ceased to have effect.
Gram Sabha role: Every village has a Gram Sabha, competent to safeguard tradition and culture, community resources and customary dispute resolution; Gram Sabha must be consulted before land acquisition for development projects and resettlement of displaced persons.
Key Gram Sabha and panchayat powers: Approval of plans; identification of beneficiaries; control over minor forest produce, minor water bodies and minor minerals (as framed in state laws); control over village markets, local plans and institutions; prevention of land alienation; regulation of intoxicants and money lending; Learn these as a list. Powers are given through state laws, so exact wording varies by state.
Reservation rule: Seats in every panchayat reserved for Scheduled Tribes in proportion to population, but not less than one-half of the total seats; chairperson posts of panchayats at all levels reserved for Scheduled Tribes; Two parts to remember: proportional seat reservation with a floor of one-half of total seats in each panchayat, and chairpersons of all levels to be Scheduled Tribe members.
Sixth Schedule bodies: Each Autonomous District Council: not more than 30 members, of whom not more than 4 are nominated by the Governor and the rest elected, with a 5-year term; Applies to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Regional Councils are constituted separately for autonomous regions within a district. The councils have legislative, judicial and financial powers within the limits of the Sixth Schedule.
Constitutional basis: Part IX (73rd Amendment) = Panchayats; Part IXA (74th Amendment) = Municipalities; Say which tier you mean. Rural means panchayats, urban means municipalities.
Roles of a local body: Service delivery + scheme implementation + planning + accountability + partnership; Use as a skeleton for any descriptive answer.
Corporate partnership test: Schedule VII activity + CSR policy and action plan + local need + defined roles + monitoring; A tie-up with a local body does not make a project eligible unless it fits Schedule VII.
Local-area preference: Company gives preference to the local area and areas around its operations; This is a preference, not a bar on spending elsewhere.

Quick revision

Local self governance is the running of local affairs by elected local bodies.
The 73rd Amendment deals with Panchayats in rural areas; the 74th deals with Municipalities in urban areas.
Both amendments gave local bodies constitutional status.
Both provide for regular elections and reservation of seats for weaker sections and women.
The Gram Sabha is the base of the Panchayati Raj system.
Panchayats operate in a tiered structure from village upward.
The State Finance Commission reviews local body finances and recommends how resources should be shared.
Local bodies are funded by their own taxes and fees, grants and devolved funds.
PESA extends Panchayat provisions to Scheduled Areas with special powers for the Gram Sabha.
Local bodies deliver sanitation, water, health, education and other local services.
CSR works best when aligned with local body plans and priorities.
In answers, name the provision, apply it to the facts, then conclude.

Common mistakes

Confusing local self governance with simply local administration by State officials. Fix: Stress that local self governance means elected local bodies with their own powers, not officials acting for the State.
Mixing up the 73rd and 74th Amendments. Fix: Remember 73 for rural Panchayats (Part IX) and 74 for urban bodies (Part IXA).
Saying the Constitution itself gives Panchayats all 29 Eleventh Schedule powers. Fix: Write that States may by law endow Panchayats with powers and authority to function as self-government institutions, including these subjects.
Saying every State must have three tiers. Fix: Add that a State with population not exceeding 20 lakh need not constitute the intermediate tier.
Mixing the 73rd and 74th Amendments, for example saying Part IX covers municipalities. Fix: Use the pair: Part IX with the Eleventh Schedule is rural (73rd); Part IXA with the Twelfth Schedule is urban (74th).
Stating that a ward committee is needed in every municipality. Fix: Write that it is compulsory only where the population is three lakh or more.
Saying SFC recommendations are binding on the State. Fix: Write that the report is laid before the Legislature with an action taken memorandum, and the State is not bound to accept it.
Mixing up the Union Finance Commission and the State Finance Commission. Fix: The SFC is set by the Governor and covers State and local bodies; the Union Finance Commission is set by the President and considers SFC reports when recommending supplementary resources.
Saying PESA applies to Sixth Schedule areas. Fix: PESA covers Fifth Schedule Scheduled Areas. The Sixth Schedule has its own council system and sits outside PESA.
Treating PESA as a stand-alone code that gives powers directly. Fix: PESA requires states to amend their panchayat laws. Powers reach the Gram Sabha through state laws and rules, so mention this.

Exam tips

Always give a short timeline with years; evolution questions reward dates.
Learn the one-line difference between the 73rd (rural) and 74th (urban) Amendments.
Use numbered points for features and importance; examiners can mark them quickly.
Add a line connecting local bodies to CSR or social governance to show application.
Do not copy long text from the study material; use your own short sentences.
Learn the Article numbers only if you are sure: Part IX covers Articles 243 to 243O, and the Eleventh Schedule is referred to in Article 243G. Otherwise write Part IX.
Write exact conditions: 20 lakh population, five years, six months, one-third. Examiners look for these numbers.
In case questions, structure the answer as provision, analysis, conclusion.