Frontline Warriors during a Pandemic: Panchayats

A single worker cannot run a whole factory similarly, good governance requires division of power. The 73^rd amendment to the Indian constitution in 1992, at one stroke transformed the two-tier State machinery into a three-tier system. The Act enacted laws upon the Indian States to establish Panchayati Raj Institutions, a bottom-up approach indeed to decentralize power and to sow the seeds of participatory democracy and development at the grassroots level.

During the ongoing crisis due to Covid-19, panchayats have emerged as frontline and have been playing crucial roles in containing the spread of the disease. Panchayats in collaboration with non-profits, self-help groups as well as ASHA workers and other health volunteers have always been at the front amid any crisis. The 73^rd amendment unlocked the space for more than 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats, setting an example of the most transformative affirmative action with mandatory reservations for women, Scheduled Classes and Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes. Compared to 9% representation of women in Parliament and State Assemblies, 49% of the elected representatives are women. Apart from these, 86000 women chair their local bodies.

Entrusted with the responsibility of developing rural areas in terms of roads, irrigation, sanitation, and rural education and employability, the funds allocated either do not reach most of the panchayats or the elected representatives and sarpanches are unable to assert themselves  in front of the bureaucracy. The expected progress due to decentralization and panchayats has been slow due to excessive surveillance by States and other restrictions and systematic failures. With the setting up of the State Finance Commission, the District Planning Committee and the State Election Commission, proper devolution of power and funds to several of these local bodies remain unattended.

Duties of the Panchayats

With the onset of lockdown in India, thousands of migrant labourers were displaced from their workplaces. Therefore, these labourers started to head towards their villages. With the huge influx of labourers in the villages, it was of high priority that they isolate themselves for at least 14 days. Unfortunately, with one-two room dwellings with an average of seven family members, it becomes cumbersome to contain the spread of the disease within the community. This is where the local government bodies need to intervene and take effective action.

Panchayats can set up local quarantine centres with facilities like sufficient food, water and toilets. Along with local volunteers, non-profits, SHGs and other community-based organisations, Gram Panchayats can spread awareness about the symptoms and preventive measures against Covid-19. They can also prevent the spread of rumours and fake news on media by providing authentic information and reporting fake news and videos to the local police and encourage the community to keep an eye on news circulating on the social media along with the Gram Panchayat. However, to enforce such measures support from the block development officers and the panchayat department of state governments is necessary.

Panchayats can spread news about the various policies that are taken by state as well as central governments and seep its benefits into the rural community. Elected representatives can campaign door-to-door and preach about the beneficiaries of Jandhan Yojana account holders during Covid-19. Although, under the Public Distribution System (PDS), policies are made to provide ration to the poor, but many are void of ration cards which are mandatory for availing such social service schemes. Thus, Panchayats can work to ensure that no one dies due to starvation, also it can work to provide door-to-door mid-day meals.

Gram Panchayats can support rural farmers in using more cost effective rural agricultural practices and using fertilizers and pesticides effectively by collaborating them with Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) which are agricultural extensions which educate and train farmers regarding innovative techniques of agriculture. Collaborating with SHGs, non-profits and ASHA workers, panchayats can provide PPE kits to local health workers and protect their lives to some extent.

Loopholes in the Existing System

On April 24^th 2020, which is also celebrated as the Panchayati Raj Divas, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched the e-GramSwaraj Portal which will enable panchayats to prepare and implement Gram Panchayat Development Planning (GPDP), one of the primary concerns of Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The decisions taken due to GPDP, improve efficiency of public services in the rural and vulnerable regions. Organisations such as Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) have been trying to assist gram panchayats since the beginning of the pandemic. They have been able to coordinate with the administration to use resources of panchayats in creating isolation buildings with proper food and water. Community kitchens in states like Kerala have been effective in containing the spread by providing home delivery of cooked food.

The central government’s support to provide INR 2000 to eight crore farmers and to increase the allowances of MGNREGA workers will not be enough without the active participation of panchayat. Some Indian States, like Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha and West Bengal have taken measures to enforce effective participation of panchayats. The Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, delegated sarpanches to the powers of a district collector to ensure quarantining of returnees and their families. The Odisha government has also ensured gram panchayats with registry facility and facilities for community-based tracking.

While praises have been showered for the effective administration and leadership of Odisha and Kerala State Governments. However, the loopholes of other states remain unattended. Inefficient reach of e-governance in the remote areas of the country bars development of such areas. The use of the allocated funds from the Fourteenth Finance Commission is being encouraged and has also taken up by many State governments. Yet funds have not been transferred to many panchayats, also their power to tax is very restricted which would enable them to earn a certain amount of revenue.

Opinion surveys have consistently shown that Indian citizens trust their local government bodies more than the higher authority official, be it the police or government officials. Anomalies occur when devolution of funds and other functions are disrupted due to a lack of confidence of state governments on the elected representatives of the Panchayats. Many states created parallel bodies to execute functions allocated for the panchayats. For instance, the Haryana government created a Rural Development Agency under the chairmanship of the chief minister to supervise the works of local bodies. It violates the foundation of decentralisation and also prevents local bodies to perform like “little republics”.

Lack of internet connection and network connectivity in remote villages, in the rough terrain of the Himalayas, at the border regions or the Scheduled Areas inhabiting the Adivasi population, creates a lot of difficulties for panchayats as well as residents to avail most of the social service schemes and online education for children specially during a pandemic when the general advise is to stay at home. The allocated 100mbps data narrows down to 10mbps at these areas. The growing digital divide and the consequent negligence by state governments make the panchayats and the residents more vulnerable. With the launching of e-Gram Swaraj Portal, many gram panchayats will be benefitted by it, while many will still remain under the darkness of slow e-governance.

Initiatives to build capacity of newly elected representatives particularly those belonging to underprivileged section of the society should be prioritised. Lack of capacity building question the efficacy of these panchayats and raise doubts in the minds and hearts of the bureaucrats. It is evident in remote and backward areas, where elected representatives have to depend on officials for file noting and budgeting and often become subjects of ridicule. It hinders the panchayats ability to implement rural development schemes and also their constitutional ability to “self-govern”. The ongoing crisis due to Covid-19, has established the importance of self-governing bodies and that they are at the frontline.  A bi-partisan approach by the government to ensure the development of panchayats, to ensure transparency of participatory democracy is the need of the hour.

 Debarati Ganguly

Intern, AGA

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