A Comparative Study of Village Councils in Mizoram and Panchayati Raj Institutions: A Critical Appraisal
Lallianchhunga
Dept.
of Political Science, Mizoram University, Aizawl
Mizoram
is one of the few states in the country where Village Council as a form of
democratic decentralization has been an accepted policy for a long time. This
Village Council has been in existence in the state for more than 60 years since
1954. The Lushai Hills District (Village Council) Act, 1953 (as amended from
time to time) has been in use in the whole state of Mizoram until the passage
of the Mizoram Municipalities Act, 2007, which now constitutes Aizawl Municipal
Corporation since 1st July, 2008 for Aizawl city; all the district headquarters
are still functioning under Village Councils. In addition, Mizoram also has the
unique institution of the three Autonomous District Councils (Lai, Mara &
Chakma), vested with powers intended to ensure a large degree of
self-government to tribals under Sixth Schedule to the Indian Constitution.
I.
Historical Development of Village Council
Before the introduction of Village Council in Mizoram, all administration in the villages was carried out by the Chief with the help of his Council of Elders. Chieftainship was hereditary and autocratic; one Chief could rule over two or more villages including hamlet depending upon ability to administer the villages. The Chief, with the assistance of his Council, administered all aspects of the village life in accordance with the customary laws of the Mizos. Their administrative system, planning of the villages and implementation of local development, and administration of justices were not inferior to the systems adopted by even most civilized society of the world.
But,
with the passage of time, the dawn of democratic political consciousness and
the formation of the first political
party, called the Mizo Union on 9th April, 1946, and the subsequent
establishment of District Council in the then Lushai Hills led to the passage
of the Assam Lushai Hills District the Lushai Hills District Council, which came
into force on 1st April, 1954 onwards. By this Act, two hundred and fifty-nine (259)
Mizo (Lusei) Chiefs and fifty (50) Pawi-Lakher Chiefs were dethroned from their
Chieftainship since 14th April, 1956 (Poonte, 1965, p.20).
Before
the Assam Lushai Hills District (Acquisition of Chiefs; Rights) 1954 was passed
which led to the abolition of Chieftainship, the Lushai Hills District (Village
Council) Act was passed in 1953 for the establishment of Village Councils, which
will replace the traditional political institution. This Village Council Act is
in conjunction with paragraph 3, Sub.-para (1), Clauses (e) & (f) of the
Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, and the Governor of the then Assam
gave his assent on 29th November, 1953; it was published in the Assam
Gazette on 9th December, 1953. The elections to the newly constituted Village Councils
were not conducted simultaneously in the villages; instead, polling parties visited
villages after villages to conduct elections and 16th August, 1954 has been accepted
as the official date of the establishment of Village Councils in Mizoram.
I.i
Power and Functions
The original Act was almost
silent on the powers and functions of the Village Councils, except on the
allotment of land for jhum cultivation and voluntary community works (Sec.8). The
principal Act mainly dealt with the establishment of Village Councils,
formation of executive council, conduct of business, powers and duties of the
President, Vice President and Secretary, duty of Village Crier, issues relating
to establishment of hamlet and dissolution of Village Councils. In addition,
the Village Council has been entrusted with such powers and functions as
enumerated in the following Acts and Rules: (i) The Lushai Hills Autonomous
District (Administration of Justice) Rules, 1953, (ii) The Lushai Hills District
(House Site) Act, 1953, (iii) The Lushai Hills District (Jhumming) Regulations,
1954, (iv) The Mizo District (Forest) Act, 1955, (vi) The Mizoram Animal
(Control & Taxation) Act, 2014.
The
powers and functions of the Village Councils, however, can be divided mainly
into two heads General and Judicial Administrations under the Village Council Act
as amended in 2014. Under General Administration, the Village Council has the following
powers and functions: allotment of land for jhum cultivation, construction of approach
road to jhum field and demarcation of boundary lines between one or more jhum fields,
repairing/clearing of roads between village and villages, management of public water
points/tanks and public burial grounds/cemetery, organizing voluntary community
works, registration of births and deaths, organizing search party for lost persons
and overall development of the village. In the field of judiciary, the Village Council
Court has the power to administer justice in both Civil and Criminal cases, in which
both parties belong to a Scheduled Tribes resident within its jurisdiction.
Civil cases include cases of civil and miscellaneous nature falling within the purview
of village or tribal laws and customs. Criminal cases relate to cases falling
within the purview of tribal laws and customs and offences of petty nature,
such as petty theft and pilfering, mischief and trespass of petty nature,
simple assault and hurt, affront and affray of whatever kind, drunken or
disorderly brawling, public nuisance and simple cases of wrongful restraint. It
also has the power to fine Rs.500 (Rupees five hundred) to the loser of the case,
whereas it has no power to try offences in respect of which the punishment of imprisonment
is obligatory under the Indian Penal Code.
Besides,
the Village Council has the power to collect annual animal tax under the guidance
of Local Administration Department, Government of Mizoram. The revenues
generated from this annual animal tax is normally shared on 50:50 (fifty:
fifty) basis with the state government. Apart from this, the Village Council
has also the power to collect Rs. 50 (Rupees fifty) and Rs.25 (rupees twenty-five)
from non-participants of voluntary community works in the form Run and Pha
respectively. These are also the principal sources of revenue, called own
source revenue of the Village Council.
In the
amendment of the Act in 2014, the Village Council has been freshly endowed with
the following powers and duties: to formulate village development schemes; to
supervise development works received from the State government through various
agencies; to help various government agencies in carrying out development works
in the village; to take up development works on its own initiative or on
request by the government; to convene regular social audit for successful implementation
of development works in the village; to collect property tax as prescribed by
the State government; to realize registration fees for each litigation within
its jurisdiction; to raise fund for public utility within its jurisdiction by
passing a resolution subject to the approval of the State government; to
administer relief and rehabilitation to the people during calamities; to assist
the State government in public distribution system; to initiate or assist the
Government in all preventive measures on the outbreak of an epidemic or infectious disease; to co-operate with Government
officials in charge of any of the above functions within its jurisdiction (Section 8A).
Another interesting addition
in this amendment is incorporation of Village Assembly (Gram Sabha) provision
in the main Act, with the power to approve the annual plans, programmes and
projects for social and economic development in respect of the village
concerned before such plans, programmes and projects are taken up for implementation
and identification or selection of persons as beneficiaries under the poverty
alleviation and other programmes. Besides, the duration of Village Council term
has been upgraded from three years to five, and provision for seat reservation
for women has also been made.
It may be noted here that
Mizoram has been exempted from the implementation of 73rd Constitutional
Amendment Act of 1992; but this amendment in 2014 has, however, been in effect
in consonance partly with 73rd Constitution Amendment Act of 1992.
II.
Panchayati Raj
The 73rd Constitutional
Amendment was passed in 1992 to impart certainty and continuity to strengthen
the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) by giving them constitutional space in
the country. This landmark Constitutional amendment to rejuvenate an
institution of democratic local self-government in India was assented by the
President of India on 20th April, 1993 and it came into operation on
23rd April, 1993 onwards. It empowers the States to establish Panchayats as the
true units of local self-governments. The states, which are exempted under
Article 243M are also free to opt this type of rural local self-government if
the Legislative Assembly of that State passes a resolution to that effect by a
majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less
than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.
II.i
Structure & Powers
The
73rd Constitutional Amendment has accepted three-tier structures for the Panchayati
Raj System: (i) Zilla Parishad at the District level, (ii) Block Samiti/ Vidhan
Sabha at the Block level, (iii) Gram Panchayat at the village level. A state
having less than twenty lakhs population is, however, exempted from having
block level Panchayats. Nevertheless, National Commission to Review the Working
of the Constitution (2000-2002) has interestingly recommended two tier
structures, both at the village and district levels for the state of Mizoram.
The
term of the Panchayats is five years, normally from its first meeting after the
election, and elections to constitute new bodies shall be completed before the
expiry of its term; in the event of dissolution, election will be compulsorily
held within six months. Seats are also reserved for both Schedule Caste (SC)
and Schedule tribes (ST) in proportion to their population; not less than
one-third of the seats are reserved for women as well. Offices of the chairperson
of the Panchayat at all levels shall be reserved in favour of SC and ST women.
One-third of the offices of chairperson of Panchayats at all levels shall also
be reserved for women. Legislature of the state shall be at liberty to provide reservation
of seats and office of chairperson in Panchayat in favour of backward class citizens.
The establishments of both State Election Commission and State Finance Commission
are now a constitutional obligation for the states.
The most remarkable entity
of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment is the constitutional recognition of the
powers and functions of the Panchayats, which are clearly laid down in Eleventh
Schedule of the Indian Constitution. These twenty-nine items (Core functions
five items, welfare functions thirteen items, agriculture & allied nine
items, industries two items) mentioned in the Eleventh Schedule are not, however,
distributed for a specific level of Panchayats at the three tier structures; in
other word, the states are given the freedom to allocate any item under
Eleventh Schedule to a particular level of Panchayats.
Under Article 243G, the
Panchayats have also been endowed with such powers and authority as may be
necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government and
such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities
upon Panchayats at the appropriate level with respect to the preparation of
plans for economic development and social justice, and the implementation of
schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them
including those in relation to the matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
The sources of financial
revenues for the Panchayats have also been protected by the Constitution under
Article 243H. According to this article, the State government is obligated to
provide for the Panchayats the power to levy, collect and appropriate such
taxes, duties, tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and subject to
such limits; assign such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the
State Government for such purposes and subject to such conditions and limits; provide
for making such grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the
State; and provide for constitution of such Funds for crediting all moneys received,
respectively, by or on behalf of the Panchayats and also for the withdrawal of such
moneys there from, as may be specified in the law.
Article 243O of the Constitution
of India also imposes bar to interference by courts in electoral matters of
Panchayats on the following matters: firstly, the validity of any law relating
to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such
constituencies, made or purporting to be made under article 243K, shall not be
called in question in any court; secondly, no election to any Panchayat shall
be called in question except by an election petition presented to such authority
and in such manner as is provided for by or under any law made by the Legislature
of a State.
III. Village Council &
Panchayati Raj System
There have been persistent
demands from some quarters to introduce Panchayati Raj System in Mizoram since
the late 1990s. Apart from publishing in vernacular newspapers, the apex body
of Young Mizo Association (YMA), Central YMA in its Annual Conference also
discussed this issue thoroughly. At the Annual General Conference of Young Mizo
Association in 2001 at Kawnpui and in 2004 at Serchhip, the issues of PRI were
put up as one of agenda items, but it was not passed. If passed, the Central
YMA would be obligated to submit representation to the State government for the
adoption of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment in Mizoram.
Resistances, however, have
also been present on the ground that Panchayati Raj Institutions are not
designed for tribal population in Mizoram, and that the name itself suggests a
non-Mizo entity. But, supporters and opponents of Panchayats are agreed on the
need to introduce a vibrant democratic local self-government at the local level
for realization of developments.
In
the meanwhile, various development schemes under the Central government need a
vibrant and lively democratic political institution at the local level for the successful
implementation. Therefore, major amendment to the Village Council Act, 1953 was
made in 2014 to meet the growing requirements of the various schemes under the
Central government. The desire to convince the Central government officials on
the commitment of the State government to opt for Panchayati Raj System is also
another chronic reason for this amendment. Interestingly, the amendment has
adopted some essential features of Panchayats, such as provisions for Village
Assembly (Gram Sabha), five years term and reservation of one-third seats for
women; the powers and functions of Village Council have also been enlarged.
III.i
Similarities and Differences
(i)
Like Panchayats, the new Village Council has
a term of five years from the date appointed for its first meeting after it is constituted.
Like the Panchayats, elections to the Village Council shall be conducted before
the expiry of its full term. The term of the Village Council can be extended or
shorten for a period not exceeding eighteen (18) months in the aggregate. There
is no such extension provision in the Panchayats.
(ii)
The number of members of Panchayats at all
levels is fixed in proportion to the number of voters in the Panchayats,
whereas the number of members in a Village Council is determined by the number
of households in the village. As per 2014 amendment, a village having up to two
hundred (200) household has three (3) members of Village Council, village
having 201-500 households has 5 members, village having 501-1000 households has
7 members and village having above 1000 households has 9 members of Village
Council.
(iii)
Like Panchayats, provision for Village
Assembly (Gram Sabha) has also been given to the Village Council. While the
regularity of convening Gram Sabha in a year is not provided in the 73rd
Constitutional Amendment, the Village Council is required to convene Village
Assembly (Gram Sabha) meeting at least three (3) times in a year. (Sec 11A-6); quorum
of such meeting is 10% of the registered voters of latest electoral roll of the
Village Council (Sec. 11A-3).
(iv)
The Village Council has also incorporated a
system of seats reservation for women, yet it does not meet national requirement
in some cases.
(v)
Unlike Panchayats at the village level, the
Village Council area is not divided into wards/territorial constituencies for
election purposes. Seat reservation for women in the Panchayats is carried out
on rotation basis in accordance with wards/territorial constituencies in every
election.
(vi)
Seats are also reserved in Panchayats for
Schedule Caste (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) in proportion to their population.
Such system has no provision in the Village Council.
(vii)
There are no specific judicial powers for the
Panchayats, whereas the Village Council has been provided this judicial power
by The Lushai Hills Autonomous District (Administration of Justice) Rules,
1953.
(viii)
Panchayats has no power to allot land for
jhum cultivation, though agriculture is an important item (Item No.1) under
Eleventh Schedule. The Village Council has the power to distribute land for
jhum within its territorial jurisdiction as per The Lushai Hills District
(Jhumming) Regulation, 1954.
(ix)
Eligibility for voters in Panchayats elections
is based on the qualification imposed under The Representation of People Act,
1950 (Act 43 of 1950); therefore, all the voters whose names are included in
the electoral roll of State Legislative Assembly elections are qualified voters
in the Panchayat elections. But, in the case of Village Council elections, only
permanent residents of Mizoram, such as Mizo and Gorkhas have enjoyed voting
rights. According to Rule 18 of The Mizoram (Election to Village Council)
Rules, 2014, such non-tribals whose cases are not triable by the Village
Council Courts under The Lushai Hills Autonomous District (Administration of
Justice) Rules
IV.
14th Finance Commission and Village Council
The
Fourteenth Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India under
Article 280 of the Constitution on 2nd Jan., 2013; Dr. Y. V. Reddy,
former Chairman of RBI was appointed to chair the Commission. Among its Terms
of Reference (ToR), the measures needed to augment the consolidated fund of states
to supplement the resources of the local governments in the states on the basis
of the recommendations made by the State Finance Commissions basically relates
to local self-government in India.
The Fourteenth Finance
Commission excluded Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and other Sixth Schedules
Areas in parts of Assam, Tripura and Hill Districts of Manipur in its
recommendation on Basic Grant and Performance Grant of rural local body for the
year 2015-2020. The Fourteenth Finance Commission has stated that financial
grants cannot be recommended for areas where Part IX and Part IX A do not
apply, and also where the States have not enacted laws for establishing duly elected
panchayats and municipalities. It further stated that areas under Schedule VI in
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Assam, the areas in the hill districts of Manipur,
rural areas of Nagaland and Mizoram will remain outside the ambit of the
measures we have recommended for panchayats and municipalities.
However, we note the weight
of the argument put before us by the concerned States that these areas are in
pressing need of assistance. We note that the Constitution mandates the Union Government
to play a direct role in supporting the development of these areas. However,
going by the quantum of the assistance given over the years to these regions by
the Ministries in Union Government, we note that the intervention of the Union
Government under the proviso to Article 275(1) has been very limited....We urge
the Union Government to consider a larger, sustained and more effective direct intervention
for the upgradation of administration as well as development of there as
covered under the proviso to Article 275(1) and excluded from the consideration
of Finance Commissions in the ToR, in order to bring such areas on par with
other areas (Fourteenth Finance Commission, Paras 9.108 9.110).
The Commission, however, has
earmarked 180262.98 Crores for Basic Grant and 20029.22 Crores for Performance Grant
during this period for all other States. Due to this, the principal financial
source of Village Councils in Mizoram has become exhausted, while Municipality
would be entitled to receive 96.17
Crores as Basic Grant and 24.04 Crores as Performance Grant for the period
2015-2020.
IV.i
Concluding Observations
It has been stated earlier
that the Village Council does not have a reliable source of revenue on its own.
The power of the Village Council Court, in which the losers of the cases can be
penalized Rs.500, is not a dependable financial source; even most of villagers
prefer to approach the law Court rather than their Village Council Court for
redressal of disputes. The sharing of annual animal tax with the State government
on 50:50 basis does not turn out to be a good source of financial revenue. The
power to collect property tax by the Village Council within its jurisdiction
has not yet been implemented at the village level. The Village Council is,
therefore, unable to meet even the monthly salary of its members from its own
sources.
The first Mizoram State
Finance Commission submitted its report to the Governor on 15th February, 2015,
and its recommendation covers the period from 1st April, 2015 31st
March, 2020. Mention may be made here that the State government has only
accepted Rs.680 lakhs as annual financial grants to the Village Councils during
this period, which will not be a good amount for around 812 Village Councils in
the whole State.
As a result of the
Fourteenth Finance refusal to recommend financial grants for Village Councils
in Mizoram, the Government of Mizoram constituted a Study Team on 16th January,
2017 to look into the feasibility and practicability of converting the existing
Village Councils into Panchayati Raj Institutions. The Study Team is chaired by
K. Lalrinthanga, Parliamentary Secretary (LAD) with R.S. Lalzamliana, Director (LAD)
as Member-Secretary. Vice- Chairman is K. Lalmuana, Secretary (LAD); Lallianchhunga
(MZU), Dr. L.H.Chhuanawma (PUC) and Eric R. Zomuanpuia (Chhimbial Chhantu) are members.
Apart from visiting Tripura and Sikkim to study the working of Panchayats, Consultation
Meeting on Conversion of Village Council into Panchayati Raj th June, 2017 with
participations from representatives of political parties, NGOs, teachers and prominent
citizens. The recommendations of the Study Team resulted in the drafting of the
Mizoram Rural Local Government (Panchayat) Bill, 2018 to meet the requirements
of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, 1992.
In the meantime, the Union Government
has recently constituted Fifteenth Finance Commission on 27th November,
2017 with Shri N. K. Singh, former member of Planning Commission as its
chairman, which will make recommendations for the five years commencing on 1st
April, 2020 till 31st March, 2025. It is not yet clear whether this new
Finance Commission will follow the precedence set by the previous Finance Commission
or not; therefore, the state government of Mizoram is at a crossroad either to
adopt Panchayati Raj Institutions or retain the existing Village Council.
The sources of revenues from
its own and annual financial grants from the state government are not enough to
make the Village Council an instrument of development in the state. In fact,
the Village Councils are not competent to initiate proposals for the
development of their respective villages (Lalrintluanga, 2011, p. 196). More
financial resources are needed to make Village Councils an institution of vibrant
local self-government. Given the state of economic condition of Mizoram with
few elastic sources of revenue for the State, financial devolution to the
Village Council will always remain a challenge.
Village Councils will not
find it easy to mobilize resources on its own. The State government itself will
always face severe constraints in resource mobilization for its Village
Councils. While several Village Councils have made creative efforts to raise additional
resources from various rural development programmes/schemes, and have had some
success in this regard, this can at best be a modest supplementary source of
development finance, which is outside the purview auditing authority. This is
where the role of the Central government becomes crucial. Therefore, it is
imperative to transform the Village Councils along Panchayati Raj Institutions,
while retaining its traditional uniqueness, for receiving financial grants from
Central Finance Commission, so as to qualitatively transform the social,
economic and political condition of the villages in Mizoram.
Notes
1)
https://lad.mizoram.gov.in/page/villagecouncil-kaihhruaina-2012.html
(Accessed on 6th March, 2018)
2)
The Lushai Hills District (Jhumming) Regulation,
1954. As per this Regulation, distribution of jhums shall be done by draw of
lots to distribute previously demarcated land and by draw of lots to decide the
order of preference by which selection of jhums shall be done.
3)
The Lushai Hills District (Village Council)
Act, 1953 (herein referred as VC Act)
4)
Rule 14 of The Lushai Hills Autonomous District
(Administration of Justice) Rules, 1953.
5)
The Mizoram Animal (Control & Taxation)
Act,2014. Section 13 (2)
6)
Person who does not comply with the Hnatlang
shall be liable to either in kind or in cash which may be fixed by the
government, or order, from time to time, not exceeding {Rs.50 per hnatlang day}
unless has been exempted from hnatlang under Section ((1) or has obtained
commutation under Section 9 (3)
7)
Section 9 (3) of the VC Acts States, commuting
his obligation to render service under hnatlang on payment of cash compensation
in lieu of it at a rate to be fixed by the Village Council not exceeding
(Rs.25) per hnatlang day.
8)
According to 243M of the Indian Constitution,
exempted areas/states are:
(i)
the States of Nagaland, Meghalaya and
Mizoram;
(ii) the
hill areas in the State of Manipur for which District Councils exist under any
law for the time being in force.
(iii) the
hill areas of the District of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal for which
Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists under any law for the time being in
force;
9)
Items under 11th Schedule: 1. Agriculture, including
agricultural extension. 2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms,
land consolidation and soil conservation. 3. Minor irrigation, water management
and watershed development. 4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry. 5.
Fisheries. 6. Social forestry and farm forestry. 7. Minor Forest produce. 8.
Small scale industries, including food processing industries. 9. Khadi, village
and cottage industries. 10. Rural housing. 11. Drinking water. 12. Fuel and
fodder. 13. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of
communication. 14. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.
15. Non-conventional energy sources. 16. Poverty alleviation programme. 17.
Education, including primary and secondary schools. 18. Technical training and
vocational education. 19. Adult and non-formal education. 20. Libraries. 21.
Cultural activities. 22. Markets and fairs. 23. Health and sanitation,
including hospitals, primary health centres and dispensaries. 24. Family
welfare. 25. Women and child development. 26. Social welfare, including welfare
of the handicapped and mentally retarded. 27. Welfare of the weaker sections,
and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. 28. Public
distribution system. 29. Maintenance of community assets.
10)
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri was Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri
Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), Rurban
Mission and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) are Centrally Sponsored
Schemes in which participation of the villagers/stakeholders through Gram Sabha
have become an indispensable part of it.
References
· Democratic Institution of Village Council in Mizoram International Journal of Operation and Supply Chain Management, 1(1-2) January- December, pp. 183 203.
· Poonte, B. (1965). Zoram Thlirna, Deputy Commissioner, Mizo District, Aizawl.
· Report of Fourteenth Finance Commission, 2015-2020.
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