On a brighter trail

The Bihar Panchayati Raj Act, 2006, had been implemented in light of the provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, to ensure the development of villages. The purpose of implementing this Act was to continue the development activities in the rural areas smoothly by forming Gram Panchayats at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block level and Zilla Parishad at the district level. For this, the units of government must be present at the village, tehsil and district levels, with due participation of local people.

For inclusive development of the state, the deprived sections of the society like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward and Extremely Backward Classes must be given proper representation in Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads. Even after many decades of independence, the underprivileged sections of society have not been attended properly and neither have their participation in power improved. We talk about equality between women and men, but women are not equal to men even today. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure gender equality at the grassroots level.

At present, there are 8,067 Gram Panchayats, 533 Panchayat Samitis and 38 Zilla Parishads in Bihar. Gram Panchayats are further divided into 1.15 lakh wards. To enable village folks to find solutions to their problems in their village itself, Gram Kacharis have been formed at the Gram Panchayat level, where criminal and civil disputes are settled. Apart from the Gram Sabha, every ward has a Ward Sabha, where the functions of the Gram Panchayat are implemented. Each ward has a monitoring committee which is responsible for the implementation of plans.

The functions of Panchayats have been defined in 29 subjects mentioned in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution. If the government does not act according to the provisions of the Act, the Panchayats can be dismantled. The Pradhan or Up-Pradhan of the Panchayat can also be removed from his office for misusing the powers.

The government is always alerted to prevent the misuse of powers conferred to it. At the same time, it also ensures that Panchayats make continuous efforts to achieve the objective of their formation.

For the Panchayat Samiti to work transparently, democratically and smoothly, the election of Mukhiya, Panchayat Samiti member, Ward member and Zilla Parishad member is conducted after each five years.

Women constitute 57.41 per cent of the elected public representatives of Zilla Parishad, while men are 42.6 per cent. At the same time, 50.46 per cent of these members come from the Backward Classes, while 27 per cent belong to the general category and 22.9 per cent belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Of these members, 0.69 per cent have completed their PhD, 6.48 are postgraduates, 22 per cent are graduates, 23 per cent are 12th pass and 19.68 per cent are matriculates.

Out of the total Panchayat Samiti members, 53 per cent are from backward classes, 23.7 per cent are general category and 23.46 per cent belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Of these, 53.8 per cent are female, while 46 per cent are male and 0.03 per cent are transgender. In terms of educational qualifications, 0.09 per cent have completed their PhD, 1.6 per cent are postgraduates, 14.5 per cent are graduates, 17.8 per cent are 12th pass and 21.14 per cent are 10th pass.

Women constitute 52 per cent of the total Gram Panchayat Mukhiya representatives, while men constitute 47.9 per cent and transgenders 0.03 per cent. At the same time, 51 per cent of these members come from the Backward Classes, while 27.8 per cent belong to the general category and 21 per cent belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Of these, 0.11 per cent are PhDs, 2.9 per cent are postgraduates, 18.47 per cent are graduates, 20 per cent are 12th pass and 22 per cent are 10th pass.

Out of Gram Panchayat members, 52.8 per cent are backward classes, 20.76 per cent belong to general category and 26.43 per cent are SCs and STs. Of these, 52.32 per cent are female, 47.66 per cent are male and 0.02 per cent are transgenders. In terms of educational qualifications, 0.01 per cent are PhDs, 0.6 per cent are postgraduates, 9.42 per cent are graduates, 12.5 per cent are 12th pass and 16.7 per cent are tenth pass.

Women constitute 46.46 per cent among the elected Gram Kachari Sarpanchs, while the number of men is 53.52 per cent. In the case of Gram Kachari Sarpanch, the participation of women is less and the number of transgenders is 0.01 per cent when compared to other public representatives. At the same time, 50 per cent of these members come from the Backward Classes, 27 per cent belong to the general category and 22.6 per cent belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In terms of educational qualifications, 0.09 per cent have done PhD, 1.81 per cent are postgraduates,13.68 per cent are graduates, 15.5 per cent are 12th pass and 22.6 per cent are 10th pass.

Women constitute 59.6 per cent of the elected public representatives of Gram Kachahari Panch, while the number of men is 40.37 per cent and transgenders are 0.01 per cent. At the same time, 51.36 per cent of these members come from the Backward Classes, 18.45 per cent belong to the general category and 30 per cent belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In terms of educational qualifications, 0.01 per cent have done PhD, 0.24 per cent are postgraduates, 3.74 per cent are graduates, 5.58 per cent are 12th pass and 12.36 per cent are tenth pass.

If we compare gender equality and class-wise participation in power within five years between 2016 and 2021, the participation of women has increased in the posts of Mukhiya, Sarpanch, Panch and Ward members, while in Panchayat Samiti members and Zilla Parishad members the participation of women has decreased marginally.

In the economically backward Bihar, the participation of educated women public representatives has increased in the last unit of power, which is a sign of social and political change. The increasing share of transgenders in power shows that the mindset of the society is changing. The participation of more than 50 per cent in the rural governance system of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward and Extremely Backward Classes is a sign of a socially aware and vigilant state.

Based on gender and class wise distribution in the Panchayat system, it can be said that Bihar is a very prosperous state from the social and political point of view.

Views expressed are personal