Aayushi BansalAIR 7 · CSE 2024 · 266 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a constitutional or legal provision
73rd and 74th Constitution Amendments have introduced Part IX, Part IX-A and 11th & 12th schedules for local rural & urban governance respectively, as per spirit of Article 40.
Body · points
Constitutional backing (1) Mandatory regular elections → State Election Commission (2) Constitution of Gram Sabha (rural) (3) Reservation for SC, ST & women (members & chairpersons at all levels) (4) State Finance Commission to advice state govt on funds devolution (5) 29 items (11th sch rural), 18 items (12th sch urban) to be transferred to local govts
as per state's discretion.
(6) Envisaged to play significant role in economic planning & social justice plans.
Structural bottlenecks in decentralisation
(A) Rural decentralisation :-
(1) Funds : Poor devolution, performance linked (15th Finance Commission) can reduce mobilisation & low revenue generation capacity.
(2) Functions : Disparity in states
- Kerala (29 transferred)
- low in Punjab, Jharkhand.
(3) Functionaries :
- Sarpanch Pati (women)
- lack accountability & audits
- poor capacity & training.
(B) Urban decentralisation
(1) Funds → low property tax (RBI) → cases of corruption → low user charges → high spending in Covid (RBI)
(2) Function → low devolution → multiple bodies (eg Delhi) DDA, MCD
(3) Function axis → power to bureaucrats (CEO) over mayor → lack expertise for fast paced urbanisation
Way forward
(1) 2nd ARC recommends ensuring no overlap of functions. (2) Allocating share of stamp duty & GST (3) Mandatory local plans → District Planning Committee, Panchayat plans (4) Action taken report on SFC (time bound)
Close · a way forward
Further, capacity building, CAG supervised audit can uphold the principle of subsidiarity & citizen centricity.