Local Self Government in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

By: Unknown on 02:49

Defination

The term ‘Local Bodies’ refers to Government  Institutions, which develops the local
area  like  Gram  Panchayats,  Municipalities,  and  Municipal  Corporations  etc.

Evolution of local government

• The earliest references to self government are found in the Rig Veda, which mentions ’sabhas’ at the village level.
• Over time, these bodies evolved into Panchayats (council of five persons)
• Under British rule, local governance was authorised by the Mayo Resolution of 1870 (under Lord Mayo)
• However, it was the Ripon Resolution of 1882 (under Lord Ripon) that prioritised local government and recognised the twin objectives of administrative efficiency and political education.
• The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) led to the establishment of village panchayats in the provinces and even princely states.
• Panchayat system in post-independence India developed slowly. Multiple committees were constituted to study panchayat system.
• Panchayat system was institutionalised with the passage of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1992.

Hierarchy of local government

Committees to Study Panchayat System:

Committee		Established	Mandate	Recommendations
Balwantrai Mehta		1957	Community development projects	Establish local bodiesDevolve power and authority Basic unit of decentralised government to be Block/samiti Body to be constituted for 5 years by indirect elections from village panchayats Functions to include agriculture, local industry
K Santhanam		1963	Panchayat finance	Panchayats to have powers to levy tax on land revenue etcPanchayati Raj Finance Corporation to be set up
Ashok Mehta		1978	Effective development of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI)	District to be viable administrative unit for planningPRIs as two-tier system with Mandal Panchayat and Zilla Parishad 4 year term, participation of political parties
GVK Rao		1985	Development of PRIs	PRIs to be activated and supportedBlock Development Office (BDO) to be center of rural development
LM Singhvi		1986	– same-	Local self government to be constitutionally recognisedNon-involvement of political parties

Part IX of the Constitution talks about a three-tier system of Panchayats

1. Zila Parishad at the district level
2. Panchayat Samiti at the block level
3. Gram Panchayat at the village level

The Local government in AP and Telangana falls mainly under 2 categories:

• Urban self government (Municipalities / Councils / Boards /Municipal Corporations) and 
• Rural self government (Zilla/Taluk/ Mandal/Village Panchayats /Gram Panchyat)

Local Government in Urban Areas:

The urban bodies consists of Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats.

1. Corporators of Municipal Corporation
2. Councillors of Municipality/Nagar Panchayat

Municipal Corporation:

 Overview

• Municipal governance in India was first introduced in Madras in 1688. The Madras Municipal Corporation was the first municipal body in the Commonwealth outside the UK. The Bombay and Calcutta Corporations were established in 1726.
• Municipal Corporations are established in cities with population greater than 1 million.
• The Corporations are elected directly by the people. Elected members(Corporators) serve a term of 5 years.
• The head of the Corporation is the Mayor. The principal executive officer is the Municipal Commissioner (an IAS officer).
• Mayor and Deputy-Mayor of the Municipal corporations are elected by corporators.

Functions/Responsibilities

• Catering to people's needs
• Collecting property tax
• Granting building permission and trade license
• Maintaining parks and play grounds
• Managing water supply and power supply
• Monitoring the health, education as well as employments of the citizens
• Issuing birth certificates and death certificates
• Planning for the development of the respective city
• Providing basic civic amenities to the citizens
• Taking care of the conditions of the roads

List of Municipal Corporations in Andhra Pradesh:

City	District	Population (2011)
Visakhapatnam	Visakhapatnam District	2,150,320
Vijayawada	Krishna District	1,050,240
Guntur	Guntur District	628,667
Nellore	Nellore District	625,329
kadapa	Kadapa District	504,239
Kurnool	Kurnool District	424,920
Anantapur	Anantapur District	562,340
Kakinada	East Godavari District	312,255
Rajahmundry	East Godavari District	343,903
Tirupati	Chittoor District	287,035
Eluru	West Godavari District	285,900
Ongole	Prakasam District	202,826
Chittoor	Chittoor District	189,000

List of Municipal Corporations in Telangana:

City	District	Population (2011)
Hyderabad	Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medak District	7,749,334
Warangal	Warangal District	759,594
Nizamabad	Nizamabad District	310,467
Karimnagar	Karimnagar District	272,102
Khammam	Khammam District	262,309
Ramagundam	Karimnagar District	252,261

MUNICIPALITY:

Overview

• Municipality or Nagar Nigam is an urban local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more
• Municipalities interact with the state government through the Directorate of Municipalities or the District Collector
• The head of the Municipality is the President, elected by and from the members
• The state government also appoints a Chief Officer and other officers such as Health Inspector, Sanitation Inspector etc to assist the President
• Members of Municipalities(Councillors) are elected for a period of five years.
• Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson are elected by Councillors.
• We have 71 Municipalities in 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh and
• 38 Municipalities in 10 districts of Telangana.

Local Government in Rural Areas:

District/Zilla Parishads Level Government:

• The Zilla Parishad is the local government body at the district level. It is also known as the District Council
• The Parishad is responsible for administration of the rural areas of the district
• It is located in the district headquarters

Constitution of the Zilla Parishad

• The members of the Zilla Parishad are Chairmen of the Panchayat Samitis falling under the area
• Members of the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) serve for a period of 5 years
• Zilla Parishads have min 50 and max 75 members
• Seats are reserved for SC/STs, backward classes and women
• The Zilla Parishad is headed by a CEO (who is an IAS officer)

Functions of the Zilla Parishad

• Planning and execution of development projects for the district
• Provide essential services and facilities to the rural population
• Agriculture projects such as supply of seeds, irrigation, new techniques of farming etc
• Education projects such as setting up and running of schools, adult literacy, running libraries
• Establish primary health centres, hospitals, mobile health centres
• Carry out vaccination drives and family welfare campaigns
• Construct/repair bridges and roads
• Development plans for SC/STs, hostels for SC students, ashramashalas for adivasis
• Encourage entrepreneurship in small scale industries such as handicrafts, dairy farms etc

Block Level/Mandal Parishad Government:

• The panchayat at the intermediate level is known as Panchayat Samiti
• It works at the Tehsil or Taluka level, also known as Development Block
• The Panchayat Samiti acts as the link between the gram panchayat and the district administration
• The Panchayat Samiti is also known as Mandal Parishad, Taluka Panchayat, Mandal Panchayat
• The main source of income of the Samiti are grants and loans from the state government

Constitution of Panchayat Samiti

• The Panchayat Samiti is composed four types of members
• Ex-officio members: all sarpanchas of the Development Block, the MPs and MLAs of the area and Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO)
• Coopted members: representatives of SC/STs and women
• Associate members: one farmer, one representative of cooperative societies and one representative of marketing services.
• Total of 654 Mandal Parishads in Andhra Pradesh and 443 Mandal Parishads in Telangana.
• Elected Members of the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC)
• The samiti is elected for a period of 5 years
• There is a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman
• There is an officer in charge for every department of the Samiti including administration, finance, public works, agriculture etc

Gram panchayats/ Village Level Government:

• The panchayat at the village level is known as Gram Panchayat, or simply as Panchayat
• The Gram Panchayat is the basic level of the Panchayat system, and hence of the system of governance in India
• Gram Panchayats can be established in villages with a minimum population of 300. If individual villages have small populations, they can be grouped together to form a group-gram panchayat
• The Gram Panchayat is elected by the Gram Sabha.
• Gram Panchayats are elected for a period of 5 years

The Gram Sabha

• The Gram Sabha consists of all residents of a village above the age of 18 years
• It meets twice a year
• The annual budget and development schemes for the village are placed before the Gram Sabha for consideration and approval
• The Sarpanch and his assistants answer questions posed by the people

Constitution of Gram Panchayats

• The number of members ranges from 7 to 31
• The Sarpanch or Chairperson is the head of the Gram Panchayat
• The Sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch are usually elected from and by the elected members of the panchayat. Sometimes, they are elected directly by the people

Number of members for Gram Panchayat:

1. 600 - 1500 Population : 7 Members

2. 1501 - 3000  : 9 Members

3. 3001 - 4500  : 11 Members

4. 4501 - 6000  : 13 Members

5. 6001 - 7500  : 15 Members

6. 7501 - Above  : 17 Members ( Max )

Seats for SC/ST & Women are reserved in every gram panchayat.