Gram panchayat
Also called: Village panchayat · Topic: Panchayati Raj: Rural Local Government · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 11 "Grassroots Democracy – Part 2: Local Government in Rural Areas"; Class 10, Ch 2 "Federalism"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Local Governments"
Meaning
The gram panchayat is the lowest tier of panchayati raj. It covers one village or a group of villages. Voters elect its ward members (panchs), and it is headed by a sarpanch. It looks after water, sanitation, village roads and street lights, and it chooses who benefits from schemes. It answers to the gram sabha. Today there are about 2.6 lakh gram panchayats.
Example
In Hiware Bazar (Maharashtra), the gram panchayat under sarpanch Popatrao Pawar led watershed work (saving rainwater and soil) that changed the village. Pawar received the Padma Shri in 2020.
Don't confuse with
- Gram sabha: this is the assembly of all voters in the area. The gram panchayat is the smaller elected body that answers to it.
Related concepts
- Sarpanch
- Panchayat secretary
- Patwari
- Panchayat samiti
- Zila parishad
- Child-friendly panchayat
- Bal sabha
- Women-friendly panchayat