Number theory: Three decades of India’s decentralisation venture
April 24 is observed as National Panchayati Raj Day in India.
The 73rd constitutional amendment, which came into effect on April 24, 1993, accorded panchayats a constitutional status as the third tier of local self-governance in India. While some states such as Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal had already enacted state-level legislations to recognise panchayats as local self-governance institutions, the 73rd and 74th amendments, both of which came into effect in 1993, made this a pan-India phenomenon. It is for this reason that April 24 is observed as National Panchayati Raj Day in India. What is the experience of India’s experiment with Panchayati Raj? Here are some charts that try to answer this question.

Asymmetry in representation per panchayat is different from the first and second tiers of legislatures
Since local governance is a state subject, different states have adopted different rules for granting the status of panchayats as a local unit. It means population per panchayat ends up varying a great deal across states. To be sure, difference in population per representative unit is also observed at the level of Lok Sabha and state legislatures, with northern states showing a much higher number than southern and other smaller states. However, the asymmetry in representation at the panchayat level is more prominent than the national or state levels.

For example, in states like Kerala and West Bengal, the average population per panchayat is above 18,000, while this number is under 3,000 for a state like Uttar Pradesh. In such instances, there is also a qualitative impact of this difference, as in many instances, a panchayat may consist of a cluster of villages, which runs against the intuitive idea of a panchayat being a village-based unit.
Panchayati Raj has been far more successful in giving women a fair share of representation
Despite being the world’s largest democracy, India’s track record in providing equal representation to women continues to disappoint. Women’s reservation bill to address this at the level of Parliament and state legislatures continues to remain in the cold storage even after being passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010. The only place where India has been successful when it comes to ensuring fair democratic representation of women are panchayats.

At the local level, one-third of total seats are reserved for women. Some states have breached this limit and provided 50% reservations to women in elections for the local bodies. In states like Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Kerala, the number of elected women representatives has exceeded the number of their male counterparts. In terms of providing representation to women, local bodies fare far better than state assemblies. This increased representation of women at the local level has various policy outcomes like increased spending on community-based welfare for women and financial independence for women through self-help groups in many places.
But states differ when it comes to honouring the spirit of decentralisation
Just making representative bodies at the third tier does not ensure that there is devolution of governance in the true sense of the term. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments mandate the devolution of 29 subjects to local bodies. However, the number of subjects devolved to the local bodies varies across states. Some states have greater devolution of financial powers to the local bodies and others lag in this respect. One of the most pressing constraints vis-à-vis effective decentralisation of power is the degree of fiscal autonomy given to local governance bodies by various states. The ministry of panchayati raj has created an aggregate devolution index to assess the degree of decentralisation in different states. The devolution index assesses the degree of decentralisation in states on four different aspects of the functioning of panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), which include devolution of functions, transfer of functionaries and devolution of finances to PRIs, and the comparative achievement of states in establishing systems of infrastructure, governance and transparency (IGT).

The rankings show Kerala and Maharashtra are the best when it comes to following devolution in its true spirit, while Odisha and Assam are ranked the lowest among major states.
A complete understanding of decentralisation in India must engage with the question of who is getting elected to office and what hinders the capacity of the local bodies to carry out the tasks entrusted to them. Elected representatives at local bodies work at the intersection of the boundary of state and society, and are the most important players in shaping citizens’ trust in democratic representation. As a central site for claims of the citizens, it is absolutely critical that we have a better understanding of our tryst with Panchayati Raj in the last three decades.
