Describe the nature of the Panchayati Raj system in India.

Hello students, while this question is about the panchayati raj system in India or rural local government, we have also covered local governance for urban areas that include municipalities in small towns and Municipal Corporations in cities. At the end we have also provided a visual mnemonic to help you remember this lesson.

The Panchayati Raj system or Rural local government in India

Rural local government, also known as Panchayati raj is a 3-tier system.
Each village, or a group of villages has a gram panchayat consisting of several ward members, often called panch, presided over by the sarpanch.
They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village. It is the decision-making body for the entire village.
The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha. All the voters in the village are its members.
It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the gram panchayat and to review the performance of the gram panchayat.
The local government structure goes right up to the district level. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area.
All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad. Most members of the zilla parishad are elected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. Zilla parishad chairperson is the political head of the zilla parishad.
Similarly, local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Smaller towns have municipalities. The municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality.
Big cities have municipal corporations. It is also an elected body composed of people’s representatives and headed by the mayor.