About Zilla Parishad

The Panchayat Raj (Village council) is a Political system, originating from the Indian Subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian Subcontinent, and Historical mentions date to the 250 CE period. The word Raj means “Rule” and Panchayat means “Assembly of Five”. Traditionally Panchayat s consisted of wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the Local Community. However there were varying forms of such assemblies. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and between Villages.        

The leader of the Panchayat was often called the Mukhiya, Sarpanch or Pradhan, an elected or generally acknowledged position. The Modern Panchayati Raj of India and its Gram Panchayats are not to be confused with either the traditional system nor with the extra-constitutional Khap Panchayats (or Caste Panchayats) found in parts of Northern India.

Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayat Raj as the foundation of India’s political system. It would have been a decentralized form of government where each village would be responsible for its own affairs. The term of such a vision was Gram Swaraj (Village of Self-governance). Instead India developed a highly centralized form of government. However this has been moderated by the decentralization of several administrative functions to the local level, empowering elected gram panchayats. There are significant differences between the traditional panchayati raj system, that envisioned by Gandhi, and the system formalized in India in 1992.

The British were not generally concerned with local administration, but left that to the local rulers, and thus didn’t interfere with existing panchayati systems, nor induce the rulers to consider more democratic institutions at the local level. The rulers were interested in the creation of ‘controlled’ local bodies, which would help them in their trading interests by collecting taxes for them. When the colonial administration came under severe financial pressure after 1857 uprising, the sought was decentralized in terms of transferring responsibility for road and public works to local bodies. However, the thrust of this ‘compelled’ decentralization was with respect to the municipal administration.

Panchayat Raj had to go through various stages. The first Five Year Plan failed to bring about active participation and involvement of the people in the plan processes, which included Plan formulation implementation and monitoring. The Second Five Year Plan attempted to cover the entire countryside with National Extensive Services Block through the Institutions of Block Development Officers, Assistant Development Officers, Village Level Workers, in addition to the nominated representatives of village panchayats of that area and some other popular organizations like co-operative societies. But the Plan failed to satisfactorily accomplish decentralization. Hence, committees were constituted by various authorities to advise the Centre on different aspects of decentralization.

Gandhi made it very dear that concentration of either economic or political power would violate all the essential principles of participatory democracy. Gandhi’s concept of democratic decentralization bears the stamp of his passionate belief in non-violence, truth and individual freedom. He calls it Panchayati Raj or Village Swaraj. He wants to see each village a little republic, self-sufficient in its vital wants, organically and non-hierarchically linked with the larger spatial bodies and enjoying the maximum freedom of deciding the affairs of the locality. Gandhi wanted Political Power to be distributed among the villages in India. Gandhi preferred the term ‘Swaraj’ to describe what he called true democracy. The democracy is based upon freedom. Individual freedom in Gandhi’s view, could be maintained only in autonomous, self-reliant communities that offer opportunities to the people for fullest participation.

The vehicle that was most ideal to initiate both Political and Economic democracy at the grassroots level was the Panchayati Raj system. Mahatma Gandhi’s tours across the country reinforced his convictions that India would benefit if the villages were governed by Village Panchayats based on the principle of “simple living and high thinking”. These were village republics which were self-contained and self-reliant and having all that people wwant. These were the institutions where minimum standard of living could be accorded to all human beings. An Individual had maximum freedom and opportunity to develop his personality to the greatest extend. In these republics there would be a diminution of the state and the roots of democracy deepened. According to him centralization cannot be sustained as a system without adequate force. The affairs are to be managed by Panchayats consisting of Five persons elected annually. Gandhi aimed at the individual the centre of the local administration. People are expected to take personal interest and turn up in large numbers at the meeting to deliberate problems of common interests such as village industries, agricultural production, obligation and planning.

The Gandhian ideas of Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj system can become vehicles for ushering in the much needed social and political change by including all the stackholders in the process of decision-making and public policy formulation. As Gandhi said, “Panchayat Raj represents true democracy realized. We would regard the humblest and lowest Indian as being equally the ruler of India with the tallest in the Land”

Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayat Raj, a decentralized form of Government where each village is responsible for its own affairs, as the foundation of India’s political system. The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj (Village self-governance). Recomendations of Balwant Rai Mehta Committee. The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee was a committee appointed by the Government of India in January 1957 to examine.

The Chairman of this committee was Balwantrai G Mehta. The committee submitted its reports in November 24, 1957 and recommended the establishment of the scheme of ‘ democratic decentralization’ which finally came to be known as Panchayati Raj.

The main aim of Panchayat raj system is to settle the local problems locally and to make the people politically conscious. The Committee’s recommended village Panchayat should be constituted with directly elected representatives, whereas the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad should be constituted with indirectly elected members. This is because Panchayat is similar to that of state assembly where there is place for politics where as Samiti and Zilla Parishad members should be more educated and knowledgeable and may not need the majority support. Following were the Recommendations.

• All planning and development activities should be entrusted to these bodies.
• The Panchayat Samiti should be the executive body while the Zilla Parishad should be the advisory, coordination and supervisory body.
• The District Collector should be the chairman of the Zilla Parishad Committee.
• There should be a genuine transfer of power and responsibility to these democratic bodies.
• Sufficient resources should be transferred to these bodies to enable them to discharge their functions and fulfill their responsibility.
• A system should be evolved to effect further devolution of authority in future.
• Irrespective of political parties, Election has to be constituted for every 5 years in a genuine way.
• These recommendations were accepted by the National Development Council in January 1958.
• In Arunachal Pradesh (The then NEFA) a four-member Committee was set up in April 1964 under the Chairmanship of late Daying Ering to make its recommendation for adoption of Panchayat Raj system through legislation.
• On acceptance of the recommendations, the President of India promulgated the NEFA Panchayati Raj regulation 1967 w.e.f 2nd October 1968 making provision for constitution of 3-tier Panchayati Raj Institutions in Arunachal Pradesh.
• For three Decades, the Panchayati Raj Institution elections were held regularly for seven times since 1968 to 1992 under the said Regulation. But consequent upon 73rd Constitution Amendment Act of 1992, a new State Act was to be introduced pending which PR bodies Constituted under NEFA Panchayat Raj.
• The Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1997 came into effect from 14th November 2001. Persuant to Article 243K of the Constitution.

Government of Arunachal Pradesh constituted the State Election Commission headed by the State Election Commissioner under Section 104 (1) of the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1997 for superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of Electoral Roll and for the conduct of all elections to the Panchayat bodies.

. The first Panchayat General Elections in the State according to the provisions of the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1997 were held in 2003. Subsequently, Panchayati Raj Elections were held in May 2008 and thereafter elections to the PRIs and the maiden Municipal General Elections of Itanagar and Pasighat were held simultaneously in the month of May, 2013 by the State Election Commission. Pursuant to Govt. vide Gazette Notification No. LAW/LEGN-24/2012 dated 16/03/2015, the SEC undertook delimitation of PR Constituencies in September, 2017 and notified the delimited constituencies. On completion of delimitation works, the Commission conducted summary revision of Electoral Rolls of Panchayati Raj with reference to qualifying date as on 1st Jan 2018.

The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution enables a state having less than 20 lakh population not to have intermediate level, since Arunachal has a population of 13.84 lakh the middle tier of Anchal Samity was done away with and now we have a two tier system.

Subsequently, by the The Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj( Amendment) Act ,2018, a two tier Panchayat Raj system was introduced. The current Zilla Parishad was inaugurated on 15.1.2021, by Shri Pema Khandu, Honourable Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.