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Election Commission of India

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The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India.It was established on 25 January 1950 under Article 324 of the Constitution of India. Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. The commission presently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, appointed by the president.

The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The Chief Election Commissioner cannot be removed from office, except on the grounds and in the manner on which the Supreme Court judges can be removed. However, since the other Election Commissioners and the Regional Election Commissioners work under the Chief Commissioner, they may be removed by the President on his recommendations.

The Commission conducts elections in accordance with the constitutional provisions, supplemented by laws made by Parliament. The major laws include Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mainly deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which deals, in detail, with all aspects of conduct of elections and post election disputes.

Functions of The Election Commission of India

  • The Superintendence, Direction and Control of Election
  • Preparation of Electoral Rolls
  • To declare the date of Election
  • To reognise and derecognise Political Parties
  • To prepare code of conduct for Political Parties
  • Control over the staff connected with Election
  • To conduct Election
  • To establish Polling Stations
  • Safety of Ballot Boxes and Counting
  • To declare ineligible for contesting Election
  • To order Re-poll
  • To issue Direction

Electoral Reforms can be achieved by two types of measures: Preventive and Punitive

  • Preventive
    • Advertisements in the press to be issued to educate voters of their rights and responsibilities, besides highlighting ethical voting
    • Meetings with NGOs and citizens’ forums and appeal to political parties and candidates for self-restraint
  • Punitive
    • CEOs of the state would identify those constituencies which were prone to high expenditure and corrupt practices. Large number of assistant expenditure observers and more number of flying squads and surveillance teams would be posted in these constituencies
    • Expenditure observer to be appointed for each district
    • Each candidate to open a separate account for election expenditure
    • All election expenditure are to be incurred by issuing cheques
    • Banks would be required to report to the Commission any suspicious withdrawal of money exceeding Rs 1 lakh
    • Set up a 24*7 call centre and complaint monitoring mechanism
    • Static surveillance teams would keep a watch on large quantities of cash or illicit liquor or any suspicious item being carried in the constituencies
    • District level media certification and monitoring committees would go into the entire process of media advertisements to check paid news

 

Constitutional Amendment methods and important constitutional amendments.

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Amendments to the Constitution are made by the Parliament, the procedure for which is laid out in Article 368. An amendment bill must be passed by both the Houses of the Parliament by a two-thirds majority and voting. In addition to this, certain amendments which pertain to the federal nature of the Constitution must be ratified by a majority of state legislatures. As of July 2017 there have been 118 amendment bills presented in the Parliament, out of which 98 have been passed to become Amendment Acts.

Bills seeking to amend the Constitution are of three types:—

(1)   Bills that are passed by Parliament by simple majority;

(2)   Bills that have to be passed by Parliament by the special majority prescribed in article 368(2) of the Constitution; and

(3)   Bills that have to be passed by Parliament by the special majority as aforesaid and also to be ratified by not less than one-half of the State Legislatures.It includes the Constitution Amendment Bills which seeks to make any change in articles relating to:—

  • the election of the President, or
  • the extent of the executive power of the Union and the States, or
  • the Supreme Court and the High Courts, or
  • distribution of legislative powers between the Union and States, or representation of States in Parliament, or
  • the very procedure for amendment as laid down in article 368 of the Constitution

 

Amendments of constitution                 

 

  1. 1951 To fully secure the constitutional validity of zamindari abolition laws and to place reasonable restriction on freedom of speech. A new constitutional device, called Schedule 9 introduced to protect laws that are contrary to the Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. These laws encroach upon property rights, freedom of speech and equality before law.
  2. 1953 A technical amendment to fix the size of each parliamentary constituency between 650,000 and 850,000 voters.
  3. 1955 LS limit of 500 members, one member of a constituency represents between 500000 and 750000 people.
  4. 1955 Restrictions on property rights and inclusion of related bills in Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  5. 1955 Provides for a consultation mechanism with concerned states in matters relating to the amendments to the territorial matters and in the re-naming of the state.
  6. 1956 Amend the Union and State Lists with respect to raising of taxes.
  7. 1956 Reorganization of states on linguistic lines, abolition of Class A, B, C, D states and introduction of Union Territories.
  8. 1960 Clarify state’s power of compulsory acquisition and requisitioning of private property and include Zamindari abolition laws in Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  9. 1960 Minor adjustments to territory of Indian Union consequent to agreement with Pakistan for settlement of disputes by demarcation of border villages, etc.
  10. 1961 Incorporation of Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal.
  11. 1961 Election of Vice President by Electoral College consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament, instead of election by a Joint Sitting of Parliament.Indemnify the President and Vice President Election procedure from challenge on grounds of existence of any vacancies in the electoral college.
  12. 1961 Incorporation of Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal.
  13. 1963 Formation of State of Nagaland, with special protection under Article 371A.
  14. 1962 Incorporation of Pondicherry into the Union of India and creation of Legislative Assemblies for Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Goa.
  15. 1963 Raise retirement age of judges from 60 to 62 and other minor amendments for rationalizing interpretation of rules regarding judges etc.,
  16. 1963 Make it obligatory for seekers of public office to swear their allegiance to the Indian Republic and prescribe the various obligatory templates.
  17. 1964 To secure the constitutional validity of acquisition of Estates and place land acquisition laws in Schedule 9 of the constitution
  18. 1966 Technical Amendment to include Union Territories in Article 3 and hence permit reorganisation of Union Territories.
  19. 1966 Abolish Election Tribunals and enable trial of election petitions by regular High Courts.
  20. 1966 Indemnify & validate judgments, decrees, orders and sentences passed by judges and to validate the appointment, posting, promotion and transfer of judges barring a few who were not eligible for appointment under article 233. Amendment needed to overcome the effect of judgement invalidating appointments of certain judges in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
  21. 1967 Include Sindhi as an Official Language.
  22. 1969 Provision to form Autonomous states within the State of Assam.
  23. 1970 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 1980.
  24. 1971 Enable parliament to dilute fundamental rights through amendments to the constitution.
  25. 1972 Restrict property rights and compensation in case the state takes over private property.
  26. 1971 Abolition of privy purse paid to former rulers of princely states which were incorporated into the Indian Republic.
  27. 1972 Reorganization of Mizoram into a Union Territory with a legislature and council of ministers.
  28. 1972 Rationalize Civil Service rules to make it uniform across those appointed prior to Independence and post independence.
  29. 1972 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  30. 1973 Change the basis for appeals in Supreme Court of India in case of Civil Suits from value criteria to one involving substantial question of law.
  31. 1973 Increase size of Parliament from 525 to 545 seats. Increased seats going to the new states formed in North East India and minor adjustment consequent to 1971 Delimitation exercise.
  32. 1974 Protection of regional rights in Telengana and Andhra regions of State of Andhra Pradesh.
  33. 1974 Prescribes procedure for resignation by members of parliament and state legislatures and the procedure for verification and acceptance of resignation by house speaker.
  34. 1974 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  35. 1975 Terms and Conditions for the Incorporation of Sikkim into the Union of India.
  36. 1975 Formation of Sikkim as a State within the Indian Union.
  37. 1975 Formation of Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly.
  38. 1975 Enhances the powers of President and Governors to pass ordinances
  39. 1975 Amendment designed to negate the judgement of Allahabad High Court invalidating Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election to parliament. Amendment placed restrictions on judicial scrutiny of post of President, vice-president and Prime Minister.
  40. 1976 Enable Parliament to make laws with respect to Exclusive Economic Zone and vest the mineral wealth with Union of India.Place land reform & other acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  41. 1976 Raise Retirement Age Limit of Chairmen and Members of Union and State Public Commissions from 60 to 62.
  42. 1977 Amendment passed during internal emergency by Indira Gandhi. Provides for curtailment of fundamental rights, imposes fundamental duties and changes to the basic structure of the constitution by making India a “Socialist Secular” Republic.
  43. 1978 Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the Country. Repeals some of the more ‘Anti-Freedom’ amendments enacted through Amendment Bill 42.
  44. 1979 Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the Country. Provides for human rights safeguards and mechanisms to prevent abuse of executive and legislative authority. Annuls some Amendments enacted in Amendment Bill 42.
  45. 1980 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 1990.
  46. 1983 Amendment to negate judicial pronouncements on scope and applicability on Sales Tax.
  47. 1984 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  48. 1985 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to two years in the state of Punjab.
  49. 1984 Recognize Tripura as a Tribal State and enable the creation of a Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
  50. 1984 Technical Amendment to curtailment of Fundamental Rights as per Part III as prescribed in Article 33 to cover Security Personnel protecting property and communication infrastructure.
  51. 1986 Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies.
  52. 1985 Anti Defection Law – Provide disqualification of members from parliament and assembly in case of defection from one party to other.
  53. 1987 Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram.
  54. 1986 Increase the salary of Chief Justice of India & other Judges and to provide for determining future increases without the need for constitutional amendment.
  55. 1987 Special powers to Governor consequent to formation of state of Arunachal Pradesh.
  56. 1987 Transition provision to enable formation of state of Goa.
  57. 1987 Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies.
  58. 1987 Provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of constitution as on date and provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of future amendments.
  59. 1988 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to three years in the state of Punjab, Articles 352 and Article 359A amended to permit imposing emergency in state of Punjab or in specific districts of the state of Punjab.
  60. 1988 Profession Tax increased from a maximum of Rs. 250/- to a maximum of Rs. 2500/-.
  61. 1989 Reduce age for voting rights from 21 to 18.
  62. 1989 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 2000.
  63. 1990 Emergency powers applicable to State of Punjab, accorded in Article 359A as per amendment 59 repealed.
  64. 1990 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to three years and six months in the state of Punjab.
  65. 1990 National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes formed and its stututory powers specifed in The Constitution.
  66. 1990 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  67. 1990 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to four years in the state of Punjab.
  68. 1991 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to five years in the state of Punjab.
  69. 1992 To provide for a legislative assembly and council of ministers for Federal National Capital of Delhi. Delhi continues to be a Union Territory.
  70. 1991 Include National Capital of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry in electoral college for Presidential Election.
  71. 1992 Include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali as Official Languages.
  72. 1992 Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Tripura State Legislative Assembly.
  73. 1993 Statutory provisions for Panchyat Raj as third level of administration in villages.
  74. 1993 Statutory provisions for Local Administrative bodies as third level of administration in urban areas such as towns and cities. (Municipalities)
  75. 1994 Provisions for setting up Rent Control Tribunals.
  76. 1994 Enable continuance of 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu by including the relevant Tamil Nadu Act under 9th Schedule of the constitution.
  77. 1995 A technical amendment to protect reservation to SC/ST Employees in promotions.
  78. 1995 Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution.
  79. 2000 Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 2010.
  80. 2000 Implement Tenth Finance Commission recommendation to simplify the tax structures by pooling and sharing all taxes between states and The Centre.
  81. 2000 Protect SC / ST reservation in filling backlog of vacancies.
  82. 2000 Permit relaxation of qualifying marks and other criteria in reservation in promotion for SC / ST candidates.
  83. 2000 Exempt Arunachal Pradesh from reservation for Scheduled Castes in Panchayati Raj institutions.
  84. 2002 Extend the usage of 1991 national census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats.
  85. 2002 A technical amendment to protect seniority in case of promotions of SC/ST Employees.
  86. 2002 Provides Right to Education until the age of fourteen and Early childhood care until the age of six.
  87. 2003 Extend the usage of 2001 national census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats.
  88. 2004 To extend statutory cover for levy and utilization of Service Tax.
  89. 2003 The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was bifurcated into The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
  90. 2003 Reservation in Assam Assembly relating to Bodoland Territory Area.
  91. 2004 Restrict the size of council of ministers to 15 % of legislative members & to strengthen Anti Defection laws.
  92. 2004 Enable Levy of Service Tax. Include Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Maithili as National Languages.
  93. 2006 Reservation for OBCs in government as well as private educational institutions
  94. 2006 To provide for a Minister of Tribal Welfare in newly created Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh States.
  95. 2010 Extended the reservation of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for SCs and STs from sixty to seventy years.
  96. 2011 Changed “Oriya” in the Eighth Schedule to “Odia.
  97. 2012, Jan 12 Right to form unions or co-operative societies. (19(1)C)Promotion of Co-operative Societies. (43B)The Co-operative Societies. (Part 9B)
  98. 2013, Jan 2 To empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.(To insert Article 371J in the Constitution)
  99. 2015 -The amendment provides for the formation of a National Judicial Appointments Commission. 16 State assemblies out of 29 States including Goa, Rajasthan, Tripura, Gujarat and Telangana ratified the Central Legislation, enabling the President of India to give assent to the bill. The amendment was struck down by the Supreme Court on 16 October 2015.
  100. 2015 Exchange of certain enclave territories with Bangladesh and conferment of citizenship rights to residents of enclaves consequent to signing of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Treaty between India and Bangladesh.
  101. 2016 Goods and Services Tax Bill

Comptroller and Auditor General of India

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The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) promotes accountability, transparency and good governance through high quality auditing and accounting.The Comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India is empower to audit all expenses from the combine Fund of the union or state governments, whether incurred within India or outside. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is the Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA&AD) and derives his constitutional standing as the Auditor of the Union and State Governments from Articles 149 to 151 of the Constitution.

Duties of the CAG

• Receipts and expenditure of the Union and the State Governments accounted for in the respective Consolidated Funds.
• Transactions relating to emergency Funds (created for use in circumstances) and the Public Accounts (used mainly for loans, deposits and remittances).
• Trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts and balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any Government Department.
• Accounts of Government organisations, Government companies and Government corporations whose statutes provide for audit by the CAG.
• Authorities and bodies substantially financed from the Consolidated Funds of the Union and the States.
• Any body or authority even though not substantially financed from the Consolidated Fund at the request of the President or the Governor.
• Accounts of bodies and authorities receiving loans and grants from the Government for specific purposes.

The duties of Comptroller and Auditor General includes audit of: ? all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India of Union, of each State and of each Union Territory having a Legislative Assembly with the objective to ascertain whether the moneys shown in the accounts as having been disbursed were legally available for and applicable to the service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged and whether the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it; ? all transactions of the Union and of the States/Union Territory having a Legislature relating to Contingency Funds and Public Accounts; ? all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts and balance-sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any department of the Union or of a State and in each case, to report on the expenditure, transactions or accounts so audited by him; ? receipts and expenditure of bodies or authorities substantially financed from Union or State revenues; ? grants or loans given to other authorities or bodies; ? revenue of the Union and of the State Governments; ? accounts of stores and stock; ? Government Companies and Corporations under the Company’s Act 1956 read with CAG’s (DPC) Act, 1971 ; and ? accounts of other authorities or bodies as per their statute or upon request by the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union Territory having a Legislative Assembly.

Compilation of accounts of the State Government; ? preparation of the annual accounts of the States Governments and Union Territories having a Legislative Assembly; and ? rendering accounting information and assistance to the State Governments.

CAG presents a number of Audit Reports on the basis of audit of the Union Government and the State Governments to the Parliament and State Legislature respectively under Article 151 of the Constitution of India.  In addition, CAG certifies the Appropriation Accounts and Finance Accounts of the Union Government and of the State Governments and forwards them to the President / Governors of States for being laid on the Table of Parliament and State Legislature respectively. CAG also submits Separate Audit Reports on all statutory corporations and autonomous bodies, for which he is the sole auditor.

 

Federal Structure: Union-State relations.

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The Indian constitution provides for a federal framework with powers (legislative ,executive and financial) divided between the center and the states. However, there is no division of judicial power as the constitution has established an integrated judicial system to enforce both the central laws as well as state law. The Indian federation is not the result of an agreement between independent units, and the units of Indian federation cannot leave the federation.Thus the constitution contains elaborate provisions to regulate the various dimensions of the relations between the centre and the states.

To understand the topic first we must understand the concept of federalism….

Federalism is a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. Generally, an overarching national government governs issues that affect the entire country, and smaller subdivisions govern issues of local concern. Both the national government and the smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from each other.

A federation is traditionally constituted when two or more independent neighboring states forge a Union for defined purposes of common interest by divesting themselves of a measure of sovereignty which is vested with the federal government. “The urge for union comes from the need for collective security against aggression and economic co-ordination for protection and expansion of trade and commerce. The federation is given only enumerated powers, the sovereignty of the states in the Union remains otherwise unimpaired”.

“A Federation in USA is of this type. Alternatively, a federation is formed when a sovereign authority creates autonomous units and combines them in a Union.” Once constituted, the national and state governments possess co-ordinate authority derived from the several constitutions and enjoy supremacy in their respective spheres of authority and jurisdiction. Canadian federation belongs to this category. However, the differences between the two lie in the degree and extent of emphasis on unitary features.

Characteristic Features of Federalism are:-

(i) Supremacy of Constitution:-Supremacy of the Constitution is a doctrine where by the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and all the State organs including Parliament and State Legislatures are bound by it. They must act within the limits laid down by the Constitution. They owe their existence and powers to the Constitution and, therefore, their every action must have its support in the Constitution.

(ii) The distribution among bodies with limited and co-ordinate authority, of different powers of government;

(iii) The authority of the courts as interpreters of the Constitution;

(iv) Double citizenship is another characteristic of some of the Federation.

A unitary system on the other hand has the highest degree of centralization. In a unitary state, the central government holds all the power. Lower-level governments, if they exist at all, do nothing but implement the policies of the national government. In a purely unitary state, the same set of laws applies throughout the nation, without variation. Unitary states create national policy, which is then applied uniformly. This uniformity sometimes serves as an advantage because people and businesses know exactly what to expect from the laws, regardless of geographical location. At the same time, to maintain its uniformity, a unitary government must overlook local differences that might call for different rules or policies.

Now coming back to our main topics Administrative, Legislative and Financial Relationship between centre and state

Administrative relations between the Centre & the States:

The administrative relations between the Centre and the States have been stated from Article 256 to Article 263 of the Constitution. As a rule, the Central Government exercises administrative authority over all the matters on which the Parliament has the power to make laws, whereas the State Governments exercise authority over the matters included in the State List.   The executive power of the State is to be exercised in compliance with laws made by the Parliament. Also, the Union Executive is empowered to give directions to a State, when necessary like- construction and maintenance of means of communications, declared to be of national and military importance, and also on the measures for the protection of Railways.Article 256 of the Constitution states that the executive power of the states shall be so exercised as to ensure compliance with the laws of Parliament.

Also the union executive power extends to the giving of such directions to the states as may appear to the Government of India to be necessary for the purpose.  It is further stipulated under Article 246 of the Constitution that if the state government fails to endorse the laws passed by the Parliament within its jurisdiction, the union government can issue directions to the states to ensure their compliance. This article lays down that it shall be the duty of the states to exercise its executive power so as to ensure that due effect is given within the state to every act of Parliament and to every existing law which apply in that state. This is a statement of constitutional duty of every state.

Legislative relations between the Centre & the States:

  • Union List Only Parliament can make laws in the case of a subject listed in the Union list. It has 100 subjects for now.
  • State List Only state can make laws in the case of a subject listed in the State List. It has 61 subjects for now.
  • Concurrent  List:- Parliament and state (both) are allowed to make laws on the subjects listed in this list. If both have made laws on the same subject then the central law overrides the state law. It has 52 subjects for now.

42nd Amendment Act, 1976 transferred 5 Subjects from state list to concurrent list. (those five subjects were – education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds and administration of justice; constitution and organisation of all courts except the Supreme Court and the high courts.

 

Financial relations between the Centre & the States:
• The essence of federalism is not just the distribution of functions but also the distribution of resources necessary for the adequate & effective performance of
these functions.
• No system of federation can be successful unless both the union and the states have at their disposal adequate financial resources to enable them to discharge their respective responsibilities under the constitution.
• In the Indian constitution, the union – state financial relations are given in Chapter one of Part XII running from Art. 264 to 293.

Under the Constitution the financial resources of the State are very limited though they have to do many works of social uplift under directive principles. In order to cope with their ever-expanding needs, the Central Government makes grants-in-aid to the States. Grant- in-aid to States , through it Central Government exercises a strict control over the States because grants are granted subject to certain conditions.

The Indian constitution provides for a federal framework with powers divided between the Centre and the states. The Financial powers entrusted by the Constitution reflect a clear asymmetry between the taxation powers and the functional responsibili-ties, with the Centre being assigned taxes with higher revenue potential and States being entrusted with more functional responsibilities.  The Constitution provides, under Article 280, the institutional mechanism of Finance Commission and other enabling provisions for the transfer of resources from the Centre.

The Role of the Finance Commission under Indian Constitution are to make recommendation to the President with regard to following matters:
a) To determine the scheme that governs the matters relating to the distribution of net proceeds of taxes which are in the divisible pool, between the Centre and States.
b) To make recommendations, to determine the principle that would regulate or govern the revenues to the States from the Central Revenue in the form of Grant in Aid to the needy States
c) This function of the Commission is included by the way of 73rd and 74 Constitutional Amendment to strengthen the financial Status of the local bodies by providing the supplement to the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the States on the basis of the recommendation of State Finance Commission from the Consolidated fund of the State.
d) The last function of the Commission as provided by the Constitution under Article 280 3(d) is very vast any matter relating to the Fiscal interest between the intergovernmental bodies can be referred to the Commission by the President, These function or Terms of Reference, which broadly fixed by the Constitution itself; while at the same time an element of flexibility is built into these terms of reference under sub clause (d) of Article 280(3). Under this Clause the President has a power to refer any matter to the Commission ‘in the interests of sound finance.

 

Local Governance: 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments.Types of Urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions in India.Sources of Finance in Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

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The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992, which gave Constitutional status to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies (ULBs) respectively, in both letter and spirit in order to bring about greater decentralisation and increase the involvement of the community in planning and implementing schemes and, thus, increase accountability.

The Amendments left important matters such as implementation, service delivery (including local capacity building) and transfer of responsibilities and powers to rural local bodies at the discretion of the state legislatures. Consequently, while expenditure responsibilities of local bodies are extensively enhanced, there is no law to ensure a corresponding assignment of funds to match the additional responsibilities.

Panchayats and Municipalities will be “institutions of self-government”.

1. Basic units of democratic system-Gram Sabhas (villages) and Ward Committees (Municipalities) comprising all the adult members registered as voters.

2. Three-tier system of panchayats at village, intermediate block/taluk/mandal and district levels except in States with population is below 20 lakhs (Article 243B).

3. Seats at all levels to be filled by direct elections [Article 243C (2)].

4. Seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and chairpersons of the Panchayats at all levels also shall be reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population.

5. One-third of the total number of seats to be reserved for women. One third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs also reserved for women. One-third offices of chairpersons at all levels reserved for women (Article 243D).

6. Uniform five year term and elections to constitute new bodies to be completed before the expiry of the term. In the event of dissolution, elections compulsorily within six months (Article 243E).

7. Independent Election Commission in each State for superintendence, direction and control of the electoral rolls (Article 243K).

8. Panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and social justice in respect of subjects as devolved by law to the various levels of Panchayats including the subjects as illustrated in Eleventh Schedule (Article 243G).

9. 74th Amendment provides for a District Planning Committee to consolidate the plans prepared by Panchayats and Municipalities (Article 243ZD).

10. Funds: Budgetary allocation from State Governments, share of revenue of certain taxes, collection and retention of the revenue it raises, Central Government programmes and grants, Union Finance Commission grants (Article 243H).

11. Establish a Finance Commission in each State to determine the principles on the basis of which adequate financial resources would be ensured for panchayats and municipalities (Article 243I).

 

The civic functions relating to sanitation, cleaning of public roads, drains and ponds, public toilets and lavatories, primary health care, vaccination, supply of drinking water, constructing public wells, street lighting, social health and primary and adult education, etc. are obligatory functions of village panchayats. The optional functions depend on the resources of the panchayats. They may or may not perform such functions as tree plantation on road sides, setting up of breeding centres for cattle, organising child and maternity welfare, promotion of agriculture, etc.

The State Finance Commissions are required to recommend financial support from the state and principles for determination of taxes, tolls and fees that could be assigned to or appropriated by the local bodies

Article 243I of the Indian Constitution prescribes that the Governor of a State shall, as soon as may be within one year from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor as to

The principles which should govern

  1. The distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State, which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation between the Panchayats at all levels of their respective shares of such proceeds;
  2. The determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned as, or appropriated by, the Panchayats;
  3. The grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State;

Decentralized planning

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Decentralized Planning is a type of planning where local organisations and institutions formulate, adopt, execute actions and supervise the plan without interference by the central body. Decentralized planning in the State operated mainly through the following institutions and instruments; Grama Sabha (GS): People’s participation in decentralization was sought to be ensured mainly through meetings of the GP ward level Grama Sabha, chaired by the ward member.

There are following major dimensions of decentralization:

(i) Financial:- the transfer of revenue, budgeting and expenditure authority to local elected bodies.

(ii) Administrative:-the transfer of functional responsibilities in various sectors as well as staff resources to the jurisdiction of elected local governments

(iii) Political:- the transfer of policy and legislative powers to local councils that have been democratically elected and establishment of mechanisms of accountability to local constituents

Panchayats are mentioned in Rig Veda, which is believed to have been composed more than 1000 years before Christ. The five members of the Panchayat of the village were known as Pancha Parameswar, or the five godly persons. Kings were respectful towards them. The Panchayat distributed land, collected revenue and settled disputes in the village. However, the Panchayats suffered a steady decline later under feudal and Moghul rules. A new class of feudal chiefs called zamindars came to function as a link between the king and the people.

Lord Ripon, who is regarded as the father of local-self government in India. He attached importance to both administrative efficiency as well as political education at the local level.

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992, which gave Constitutional status to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies (ULBs) respectively, in both letter and spirit in order to bring about greater decentralisation and increase the involvement of the community in planning and implementing schemes and, thus, increase accountability.

The Amendments left important matters such as implementation, service delivery (including local capacity building) and transfer of responsibilities and powers to rural local bodies at the discretion of the state legislatures. Consequently, while expenditure responsibilities of local bodies are extensively enhanced, there is no law to ensure a corresponding assignment of funds to match the additional responsibilities.

The District Planning Committee was made under the Constitution (74th) Amendment Act, 1992. Accordingly, there shall be a District Planning Committee at the district level to consolidate the plans prepared by the panchayats and municipalities and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole.

  • Village/Ward Committee: Micro visioning & planning – linking vision to individual/family
  • Gram Panchayat:Link vision to own responsibility , resources , decide goal & plan
  • Intermediate Panchayat:Link vision to own responsibility , resources , decide goal & plan
  • Zilla Panchayat:-Link vision to own responsibility , resources , decide goal & plan
  • District Planning Committee :Integration & Consolidation

The Eleventh’ Schedule of the Constitution has recommended 29 subjects for devolution to Panchayats. The most important rationale for decentralized planning is direct involvement of the people in addressing their own development. An intervention which has impact only at the local level and can be organized locally is best left to the Panchayat to organize the same.

Finance Commission

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Under the Constitution the financial resources of the State are very limited though they have to do many works of social uplift under directive principles. In order to cope with their ever-expanding needs, the Central Government makes grants-in-aid to the States. Grant- in-aid to States , through it Central Government exercises a strict control over the States because grants are granted subject to certain conditions.

The Indian constitution provides for a federal framework with powers divided between the Centre and the states. The Financial powers entrusted by the Constitution reflect a clear asymmetry between the taxation powers and the functional responsibili-ties, with the Centre being assigned taxes with higher revenue potential and States being entrusted with more functional responsibilities.  The Constitution provides, under Article 280, the institutional mechanism of Finance Commission and other enabling provisions for the transfer of resources from the Centre.

The Role of the Finance Commission under Indian Constitution are to make recommendation to the President with regard to following matters:
a) To determine the scheme that governs the matters relating to the distribution of net proceeds of taxes which are in the divisible pool, between the Centre and States.
b) To make recommendations, to determine the principle that would regulate or govern the revenues to the States from the Central Revenue in the form of Grant in Aid to the needy States
c) This function of the Commission is included by the way of 73rd and 74 Constitutional Amendment to strengthen the financial Status of the local bodies by providing the supplement to the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the States on the basis of the recommendation of State Finance Commission from the Consolidated fund of the State.
d) The last function of the Commission as provided by the Constitution under Article 280 3(d) is very vast any matter relating to the Fiscal interest between the intergovernmental bodies can be referred to the Commission by the President, These function or Terms of Reference, which broadly fixed by the Constitution itself; while at the same time an element of flexibility is built into these terms of reference under sub clause (d) of Article 280(3). Under this Clause the President has a power to refer any matter to the Commission ‘in the interests of sound finance.

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992, which gave Constitutional status to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies (ULBs) respectively, in both letter and spirit in order to bring about greater decentralisation and increase the involvement of the community in planning and implementing schemes and, thus, increase accountability.

The Amendments left important matters such as implementation, service delivery (including local capacity building) and transfer of responsibilities and powers to rural local bodies at the discretion of the state legislatures. Consequently, while expenditure responsibilities of local bodies are extensively enhanced, there is no law to ensure a corresponding assignment of funds to match the additional responsibilities.

The State Finance Commissions are required to recommend financial support from the state and principles for determination of taxes, tolls and fees that could be assigned to or appropriated by the local bodies

Article 243I of the Indian Constitution prescribes that the Governor of a State shall, as soon as may be within one year from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor as to

The principles which should govern

 

  1. The distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State, which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation between the Panchayats at all levels of their respective shares of such proceeds;
  2. The determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned as, or appropriated by, the Panchayats;
  3. The grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State;

 

State Finance Commission

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The State Finance Commissions are required to recommend financial support from the state and principles for determination of taxes, tolls and fees that could be assigned to or appropriated by the local bodies

Article 243I of the Indian Constitution prescribes that the Governor of a State shall, as soon as may be within one year from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor as to

The principles which should govern

 

  1. The distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State, which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation between the Panchayats at all levels of their respective shares of such proceeds;
  2. The determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned as, or appropriated by, the Panchayats;
  3. The grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State;

Union Parliament and State Legislatures.

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Parliament is the central institution through which the will of the people is expressed, laws are passed and government is held to account. It plays a vital role in a democracy, and endeavours to be truly representative, transparent, accessible, accountable and effective in its many functions. The Parliament has two Houses–Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha is upper House and represents the States of India while the Lok Sabha is lower House.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha: 0rganisation and Functions;

The Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is the Upper House of our Parliament. It consists of not more than 250 members, out of which, 238 members represent the States and Union territories and 12 members are nominated by the President from amongst the persons having special knowledge and practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service. At present, the actual strength of Rajya Sabha is 245. A permanent body, Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution. However, one-third of its members retire biennially. A member who is elected for a full term retains his membership for six years. He is eligible for re-election. A Member elected/ nominated to a casual vacancy serves for the remainder term only. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

Lok Sabha is composed of representative of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of adult suffrage.  The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is 552, upto 530 members to represent the States, up to 20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian Community to be nominated by the President, if,  in his opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the House.  The total elective membership is distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all States.

The cardinal functions of the Parliament is to oversee the administration, passing of budget, ventilation of public grievances, and discussing various subjects like development plans, international relations, and national policies. The Parliament can, under certain circumstances, assume legislative power with respect to a subject falling within the sphere, exclusively reserved for the states.

The Parliament is also vested with powers to impeach the President, remove judges of Supreme and High Courts, the Chief Election Commissioner, and Comptroller and Auditor General in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution. All legislation requires the consent of both Houses of Parliament. In the case of Money Bills, the will of the Lok Sabha prevails. The Parliament is also vested with the power to initiate amendments in the Constitution.

Articles 168 to 212 in Part VI of the Constitution deal with the organisation, composition, duration, officers, procedures, privileges, powers and so on of the state legislature.In most of the States, the Legislature consists of the Governor and the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha). This means that these State have unicameral Legislature. In a Six States( Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.), there are two Houses of the Legislature namely, Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and Legislative council (Vidhan Parishad) besides the Governor.Where there are two Houses, the Legislature, is known as bicameral.Five States have the bicameral, legislature. The Legislative Assembly is known as lower House or popular House. The Legislative Council is known as upper House.

There is a Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) in every State. It represents the people of State. The members of Vidhan Sabha are directly elected by people on the basis of universal adult franchise. They are directly elected by all adult citizens registered as voters in the State. All men and women who are 18 years of age and above are eligible to be included in the voters’ List.

There are certain qualifications prescribed by the Constitution for being elected as an M. L. A. The candidate must:

  • be a citizen of India;
  • have attained the age of 25 years;
  • have his/her name in the voters’ list;
  • not hold any office of profit; and
  • not be a government servant.

Subject to the provisions of article 333, the Legislative Assembly of each State shall consist of not more than five hundred, and not less than sixty, members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the State.

The Legislative council or Vidhan Parishad is partly elected and partly nominated. Most of the members are indirectly elected in accordance with the principle of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote system. Different categories of members represent different interests. The composition of the Legislative Council is as follows:

i. One-third members of the Council are elected by the members of the Vidhan Sabha.
ii. One-third of the members of the Vidhan Parishad are elected by the electorates consisting of members of Municipalities, District Boards and other local bodies in the State;
iii. One-twelfth members are elected by the electorate consisting of graduates in the State with a standing of three years;
iv. One-twelfth members are elected by the electorate consisting of teachers of educatioal institutions within the State not lower in standard than a secondary school who have teaching experience of at least three years;
v. The remaining, i.e. about one-sixth members are nominated by the Governor from amongst the persons having special knowledge in the sphere of literature, science, arts, co-operative movement and social service.

The State Legislature is empowered to make laws on State List and Concurrent List. The Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies have the right to make the laws on the subjects mentioned in the Concurrent List. But in case of contradiction between the Union and State law on the subject the law made by the Parliament shall prevail.

State legislature has exclusive powers over subjects enumerated in List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and concurrent powers over those enumerated in List III. Financial powers of legislature include authorisation of all expenditure, taxation and borrowing by the state government. Legislative assembly alone has power to originate money bills. Legislative council can make only recommendations in respect of changes it considers necessary within a period of fourteen days of the receipt of money bills from Assembly. Assembly can accept or reject these recommendations.

State legislatures, apart from exercising the usual power of financial control, use all normal parliamentary devices like questions, discussions, debates, adjournments and no-confidence motions and resolutions to keep a watch over day-to-day work of the executive. They also have their committees on estimates and public accounts to ensure that grants sanctioned by legislature are properly utilised.

State Executive:-Governor,Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers

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The Governor is the head of the state executive. He is also the representative of the Centre in  the  state.  The Governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies in the hand of the  Chief Ministers of the states and the Chief Minister’s Council of Ministers.

Article 153 of the Constitution states that there shall be a Governor for each State.  One person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States. Article 154 vests the executive power of the State in the Governor.  Article 155 says that “The Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal”.  Article 156 provides that “The Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President”.  The term of the Governor is prescribed as five years.   The only qualifications for appointment as Governor are that he should be a citizen of India and must have completed the age of thirty-five years.

The powers of the Governor can be categorized as

(i) Executive powers:-Governor is the head of the State executive and The executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.Governor appoints the Chief Minister of the State. Other ministers are also appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The ministers including the Chief Minister hold office during the pleasure of the Governor.

(ii) Legislative powers:- Governor  has the right of addressing and sending messages, summoning, deferring and dissolving the State Legislature. The Governor inaugurates the state legislature and the first session of each year, by addressing the Assembly, outlining the new administrative policies of the ruling government.The Governor lays before the State Legislature, the annual financial statement and also makes demands for grants and recommendation of ‘Money Bills’.The Governor constitutes the State Finance Commission. He also holds the power to make advances out of the Contingency Fund of the State in the case of any unforeseen circumstances.All bills passed by the Legislative Assembly become a law, only after the Governor approves them. In case it is not a money bill, the Governor holds the right to send it back to the Vidhan Sabha for reconsideration. But if the Vidhan Sabha sends back the Bill to the Governor the second time, then he has to sign it.The  Governor  has  the  power  to  reserve  certain  bills  for  the President. The Governor has the power to promulgate an ordinance when the Legislative Assembly is not in session, and a law has to be brought into effect immediately. However, the ordinance is presented in the state legislature in the next session, and remains operative for a total of six weeks, unless it is approved by the legislature.

 

(iii) Financial powers:-Money bills in the State legislature cannot be introduced without prior recommendation of the Governor.  Governor ensures that the Budget of the state is laid before the assembly every year. The “Contingency Fund of the state” is maintained and administered by the Governor of the state. Governor can advance money out of it for meeting unforeseen expenditures, but the money has to be recuperated with the authority of the state legislature. The Governor of the state receives the report of the States auditor general pertaining to the accounts of the legislature and puts it before the state legislature.

(iv) Judicial powers:-Under Article.161, Governor has the power to grant pardon, reprieve or remission of punishment or to  suspend,  remit or  commute  the  sentences  of  any  person,  convicted  of  any  offence against any law relating to the matter which the executive authority of the state extends.

(v) discretionary powers:-When no party gets a majority in the Legislative Assembly, the Governor can either ask the leader of the single largest party or the consensus leader of two or more parties (that is, a coalition party) to form the government. The Governor then appoints the leader of the largest party as Chief Minister.

Constitution of Indian under article 163 states that  There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.Chief Minister is the head of the government in the State. The Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as its head exercises real authority at the State level. The Council of Ministers has the following categories of ministers: Cabinet Ministers, Minister of State and Deputy Ministers.

The Chief Minister is the link between the Governor and the council of ministers. He is required to communicate to the Governor the workings of the various wings of the government. Similarly, the advice and suggestions of the Governor are communicated to the council of ministers by the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister has a pivotal role in the financial matters of a state, including the budget, basic infrastructural and developmental priorities of the state, financial planning and economic growth of the state and others.

Functions and powers of Council of Ministers:-

(1) Formulation State Policies. The Council of Ministers has the responsibility of formulating and determining the policies of the state. All the policies are discussed and decided upon by it.
(2) Running Administration. The ministers are responsible for the running the administration of the State in accordance with the policies of the government and the laws passed by the legislature.
(3) Appointment – making powers. The Cabinet, in fact the Chief Minister, makes all appointments in the state. All the appointments of the high dignitaries of the state made by the Governor on the advice of the State Council of Ministers.
(4) Law Making. It is the ministry which really decides the legislative programme. Most of the bills are introduced by the ministers in the state legislature. The Governor summons, prorogues and dissolve the State Legislature upon the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Functions of The Chief Minister:-

  • Chief Minister is the real head of the State Government. Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Governor allocates portfolios to the ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister.
  • Chief Minister presides over the Cabinet meetings. He/she coordinates the functioning of different ministries. He/she guides the functioning of the Cabinet.
  • Chief Minister plays a key role in framing the laws and policies of the State Government. Bills are introduced by the ministers in the State legislature with his/her approval. He/she is the chief spokesman of the policies of his government both inside and outside the State Legislature.
  • The Constitution provides that the Chief Minister shall communicate to the Governor all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration and the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation.
  • The Chief Minister furnishes such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation as the Governor may call for.
  • If the Governor so requires, the Chief Minister submits for consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the Cabinet.
  • The Chief Minister is the sole link of communication between the Cabinet and the Governor. The Governor has the right to be informed by the Chief Minister about the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers.