As Telangana gears up for Zilla Parishad, Mandal Praja Parishad elections for the first time since districts were reorganised, Express takes a look into the power dynamics among civic bodies; according to experts, the Panchayat Raj institutions are no more than ‘toothless, powerless’ bodies
HYDERABAD: The Lok Sabha elections concluded just about a week ago, and Telangana is already gearing up for its next polls. For the first time since the government reorganised the districts into 33, the Zilla Parishad (ZP) and Mandal Praja Parishad (MPP) elections will now be conducted across the State. But to what avail, exactly? A proper analysis of the situation would indicate that the ZPs and MPPs have no financial resources to take up any work. In fact, they do little more than supervisory works.
In fact, with some ZPs being as small as they are now, their financial viability is doubtful as well. “These small ZPs without enough funds will not be viable,” says BJP State vice-president S Malla Reddy.
Once, the Karimnagar Zilla Parishad had up to 57 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTC). After the reorganisation, the number has come down to 15. The ZPs, more or less, look like big MPPs at the moment.
As the urban areas in and around Hyderabad have increased considerably, there are currently only four ZPTCs in the Medchal-Malkajgiri district. After the members are elected from these four constituencies, two of them would become the chairperson and the vice-chairperson, leaving just two more members.
The number of ZPTCs is below ten in just three districts - Medchal-Malkajgiri (4), Warangal Urban (7) and Mulugu (9). On the other hand, Nalgonda district stands at the highest number of 31 ZPTCs.
In the end, however, these ZPTC and MPTC member posts are just ornamental. Except attending general body meetings with voting rights, the members do not have any powers or duties. The government is however paying `10,000 and `5,000 to ZPTC and MPTC members respectively as monthly honorarium. Except for a supervisory role, the ZP chairpersons too have little power. Yet, even in smaller ZPs, the chairpersons draw a monthly honorarium of `1 lakh.
At one stage, the State government had decided to change the existing five-tier system to three-tier, by eliminating these powerless representatives. However, this would have required an amendment to the Constitution, due to which it did not work out. Now, however, these posts are being used as an opportunity to provide employment to village and mandal-level politicians.
To add to the matters, the newly-constituted ZPs or MPs do not even have own buildings to conduct meetings. There is no staff to discharge their work. Several officials are clueless even as to how to convene the first general body meeting of the newly elected ZP representatives, once the elections are over.
Transfer of functions
Experts point out that Telangana ranks 18th (in ascending order) across the country with regard to the devolution of funds and functions to local bodies. As listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, the State government is supposed to transfer 29 functions to them, but there have been orders to transfer only around 18. Even so, their implementation is near to nil in these institutions.
Even tribal States like Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Bihar have bagged better ranks when it comes to transferring the three ‘F’s’ - funds, functionaries and functions - to the local bodies.“We have no powers, no big duties to discharge. We are all on ventilators,” lamented a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a ZP, when the newly-constituted State Finance Commission (SFC) held a meeting with the local bodies a few months ago. Several CEOs are of the view that their role would be further reduced in smaller ZPs. But the complaints seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. “The State is not serious about empowering Panchayat Raj (PR) bodies,” an official said.
Even the candidates contesting for the ZP chairperson post are disappointed with the existing system, which gives them no power to serve the people. “If the State government does not provide us funds or functions, we have nothing to do except take the honorarium,” a ZP chairperson aspirant said.
Kerala, Karnataka lead the way
In Karnataka, the ZPs have been implementing as many as 300 schemes. All departments work in close coordination with the ZPs. In Kerala, the Kudumbashree, which is a Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission launched in 1998, has an office in every gram panchayat. In Telangana, however, the line departments do not work in association with the gram panchayats.
CPM senior leader Sarampalli Mallareddy alleged that the ZPTC and MPTC posts were intended only to provide “political employment” to some leaders. “The local bodies have become pocket institutions of the TRS. It is imperative that the government transfers the departments like agriculture, sanitation, education, health, etc. to local bodies,” he said. He further alleged that the TRS government had failed to implement the Constitutional amendments to local bodies.
BJP State vice-president Malla Reddy, who worked as a sarpanch in late 80s, demanded that the State transfer all the 29 functions mentioned in the Constitution to the local bodies. “The government should also share GST, excise, MV Tax and other revenues to Panchayat Raj institutions,” he added. Without income and powers, the PR institutions would remain ornamental pieces, he said.
On the other hand, many TRS candidates express high hopes for the future of PR bodies. Kova Lakshmi, TRS candidate for Asifabad ZP elections, said that the PR bodies would function extremely effectively in the coming years. Lakshmi, who is also a former sarpanch and a former MPP member, felt that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would allocate sufficient funds for the PR bodies in the Budget. “As far as Asifabad is concerned, we will get funds from SCCL. Our income will be better than any ZP,” she averred. She added that the ZPs and MPPs may also receive funds from MPs, ministers, etc.
KCR is with us, says Tula Uma
Karimnagar ZP chairperson and forum leader of ZP chairpersons Tula Uma opined that the CM was determined to provide more powers to the representatives of ZPs and MPs. Contrary to Malla Reddy’s opinion, she felt that the small ZPs, in fact, would be most viable for governance. “When the districts are very big, the ZP chairpersons are unable to tour across all the villages. Now, in small districts, the ZP chairpersons can visit all the villages during their tenure,” she said.
She noted that this would be an opportunity to meet the people directly. “The new set-up would help them monitor closely how government schemes are being executed at the ground level,” she observed. She, however, admitted that the Kerala or Karnataka model of local governance was lacking in Telangana.
What researchers say
According to some professors who have been researching on PR institutions across the country, the ZPs and MPs are currently considered ‘toothless and powerless’ bodies.If the State government is unwilling to strengthen them, there is no use continuing them. In the five-tier system, the role of ZPTCs and MPTCs is zero. But according to the political party leaders, these representatives were useful politically. “Without their presence, the local MLA or the party will not survive,” admitted the leader of a political party, on the condition of anonymity.
Telangana lags behind
An expert pointed out that though the Telangana State stands number one in many aspects like the tax revenues, implementation of Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bhima schemes, collection of seigniorage, paddy procurement, etc., it lags behind in terms of strong local governments. “The ruling TRS has been demanding the transfer of some departments from the concurrent list of the Central government to the State governments’ list. The State has been voicing for a higher tax devolution. The same rule is applicable for the Panchayat Raj institutions as well. Though the State did enact a new Panchayat Raj Act last year, it is more or less same as the old one. No powers have been transferred to the institutions through the new Act,” the expert said.
Did govt strengthen local bodies?
During his presentation at the 15th Finance Commission in February, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said: “We have taken decisive steps to strengthen the local bodies and make them more accountable. We have enacted a new Panchayat Raj Act and increased the number of Gram Panchayats from 8,368 to 12,751. Similarly, the number of municipalities has gone up from 74 to 142. We request the Finance Commission to significantly increase grants to rural as well as urban local bodies.”
After meeting the representatives of the Panchayat Raj institutions in Hyderabad in February, the 15th Finance Commission made a few observations. Accordingly, first, to strengthen the local self-governance in the State, the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018 was enacted. The commission also observed that only 10 out of the 29 functions envisaged in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution were actually devolved to the Panchayat Raj institutions.
Education under the ZPs
According to sources in the State government, the Chief Minister is currently contemplating the idea of giving more supervisory powers to the ZPs in the coming days. If sources are to be believed, the responsibility of supervising the Zilla Parishad schools and Anganwadi Centres is likely to be given to ZP representatives. Currently, the District Educational Officers or Deputy Educational Officers are inspecting the schools. “The CM is thinking of strengthening the ZPs. Once a policy decision is taken, the local ZPTC member will inspect the ZP schools and Anganwadi centres and subsequently give a report to the Zilla Parishad,” the source said.
Schedule likely to be issued on April 20
The schedule for Zilla Parishad and Mandal Parishad elections is likely to be issued on April 20 by the State Election Commission (SEC). State Election Commissioner V Nagi Reddy on Thursday held a meeting with the District Collector and SP, regarding the preparedness of the officials for the ensuing Panchayat Raj polls. According to sources, the polling for 535 ZPTC members and 5,857 MPTC members will be held in three phases, likely to be on May 6, May 10 and May 14 respectively. After the results of these polls are out, the ZPTC members will then elect the Zilla Parishad chairperson and the MPTC members will elect the Mandal Praja Parishad president. The SEC is planning to conduct elections for as many as 212 ZPTCs and 2,365 MPTCs in the first phase, for 199 ZPTCs and 2,109 MPTCs in the second phase, and for 124 ZPTCs and 1,343 MPTCs in the third and final phase