Tag: basics of rural development

• Under Panchayat Raj system the lowest unit is Gram Sabha.
  
• A Gram Sabha consists of members that include every adult of the village. It is generally formed in villages with the population at least exceeding 1500 people.
  
• Gram panchayats are the active units of Panchayat Raj System because it helps in levying and collecting taxes.
  
• Gram panchayats have the power to collect irrigation tax from State Tube wells and to impose a surcharge on land revenue.
  

Zilla panchayat is also called as district council. It is the third tier of Panchayat Raj system which is functional at the district level. Head of the Zilla panchayat is chairperson.

In order to decentralize power and to make the policies available to the people of even remote areas government has introduced a three-tier system of local governing bodies in the rural areas.

Municipality which is also called as Nagar Palika, Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation is a local self-governing body. These are found in the towns. Head of a municipality is Mayor

Leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar were not very comfortable with the idea of panchayat system because they felt that faction and caste-ridden nature of rural society would defeat the noble purpose of local government at the rural level.