Book Description

India is basically an agrarian country the two-thirds population of which lives in rural areas. The quality of national life is ultimately determined by the standard of life in village. Thus, development at the grass-root level is imperative to the overall development of the country. But over the years it is observed that rural development is difficult to be realised by the government’s initiative from above. In fact, the initiative needs to come from the bottom. Here comes the importance of the Panchayat system in general and Gaon Sabha in particular. Gaon Sabha provides an ideal forum for participation of any ordinary villager in the process of development. It is the ideal manifestation of decentralised planning by which the people at the lowest rung of our democracy may ventilate their hopes and aspirations. It ensures sustainable development and finds solutions to the problems of poverty and under development in rural India. The 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, 1992 (received the assent of the President on April 20, 1993 and published in the Gazette of India, Part II, Section I, dated 20 April, 1993) for the first time created a statutory imperative for the establishment of a legally empowered Gaon Sabha. Gaon Sabha means a body of all persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village falling within the jurisdiction of a village panchayat. It is designed to ensure participation of people in the three stages of planning i.e., plan formulation, plan implementation and plan evaluation at the grass root level. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts have provided an opportunity for the persons registered as voters in the village to directly participate in the decision making process. Gaon Sabhas thus serve as the basis of decentralised planning and help to ensure a transparent and accountable administration through Gaon Panchayat. It monitors the functioning of the Gaon Panchayat. While the elected representatives take policy level decisions on behalf of the people, the registered voters in the village discuss and take part in the decisions relating to the development of the village. The Assam Panchayat Raj Act 1994 also empowered the Gaon Sabha to discuss, plan and formulate policies for rural development.