Explain the salient features of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment in India and elaborate the impact of its implementation.
The revitalization of Panchayati Raj manifested through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment owes its origin to the dynamic leadership of Rajiv Gandhi. In his address to the 5th Workshop on ‘Responsive Administration’ held at Coimbatore in June, 1988, he said that “If our district administration is not sufficiently responsive, the basic reason is that it is not only sufficiently representative. With the decay of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the administration has got isolated from the people thus dulling its sensitivity to the needs of the people”. With events moving at a faster pace, Panchayati Raj emerged as a major institutional channel of such administration.
Powers and Responsibilities
· According to the Constitution, Panchayats shall be given powers and authority to function as institutions of self-government. The following powers and responsibilities are to be delegated to Panchayats at the appropriate level
· Preparation of plan for economic development and social justice.
· Implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice in relation to 29 subjects given in Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
· To levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
74TH AMENDMENT ACT OF 1992
Constitution of India. It is entitled as 'The Municipalities' and consists of provisions from Articles 243-P to 243-ZG. In addition, the act has also added a new Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution. It contains eighteen functional items of municipalities.
The act gave constitutional status to the municipalities. It has brought them under the purview of justiciable part of the Constitution. In other words, state governments are under constitutional obligation to adopt the new system of municipalities in accordance with the provisions of the act. The act aims at revitalising and strengthening the urban governments so that they function effectively as units of local government.
Salient Features
The salient features of the act are; Three Types of Municipalities The act provides for the constitution of the following three types of municipalities in every state.
I. A nagar pancbayat (by whatever name called) for a transitional area, that is, an area in transition from a rural area to an urban area.
2. A municipal council for a smaller urban area.
3. A municipal corporation for a larger urban area'.
Local government reforms can, therefore, serve to modify spatial patterns of development and disparities. ... Five major dimensions of local governmentorganization—territorial, functional, political autonomy, fiscal, and electoral—are used to define four extreme models of local government.