Organisation of village panchayats

Also called: Article 40 · Topic: Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 6 "The State, the Government, and You"; Class 11, Ch 2 "Rights in the Indian Constitution"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Local Governments"

Meaning

Organisation of village panchayats (Article 40) is a Directive Principle that tells the State to set up village panchayats. The State must also give them the powers and authority they need to work as units of self-government, meaning bodies that run their own local affairs.

It matters because it is the clearest form of Gandhi's gram swaraj (village self-rule) in the Constitution. The 73rd Amendment, 1992 later carried it out by giving panchayats constitutional status.

Explanation

What Article 40 says

• The duty: "The State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government."
• It has two parts:
• Organise panchayats, so that they exist in every village.

• Empower them, so that they have real powers and do not exist only on paper.

• Its aim: villages should govern themselves. Decisions are taken by the people closest to the problem.

Why it is a "Gandhian" directive

• Gandhian principles are the directives in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) that come from Gandhi's programme. They rest on three ideas:
• gram swaraj: village self-rule
• simple living: small, local industry instead of big factories

• social reform: help for the weak, a ban on alcohol, and protection of cattle

• Article 40 stands for the first idea, gram swaraj. It is the purest of the Gandhian directives.

• The other Gandhian directives are in Arts. 43, 43B, 46, 47 and 48.
• Class 11 NCERT lists four heads of Gandhian policy: prohibition, cottage industries, cattle and village panchayats.

Its limits: a directive, not a right

• Non-justiciable (Art. 37):
• No court can order the State to carry out Article 40.

• Even so, all directives are "fundamental in the governance of the country". The State is expected to follow them when it makes laws.

• The problem before 1992:

• Panchayats existed only under ordinary state laws.
• States could ignore these laws, delay elections or keep powers to themselves.

• Article 40 alone could not stop this, because no one could take the State to court over it.

• The fix: the 73rd Amendment turned the goal into binding constitutional law in Part IX. Article 40 itself is still a directive.

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Article 40 is in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy). It has been part of the Constitution since it began in 1950.
• How it was carried out: the 73rd Amendment, 1992
• It added Part IX ("The Panchayats", Arts. 243 to 243-O).
• It added the Eleventh Schedule, which lists 29 subjects that panchayats can be given, such as agriculture, drinking water and primary education.

• Panchayats got constitutional status. Their existence no longer depends only on the choice of a state government.

• The link between the two:

• Art. 40 gives the goal, and courts cannot enforce it.
• Part IX gives the binding rules that carry out that goal.

• Details of the three-tier system, elections and reservations are in the panchayati-raj note.

• Who acts on it:

• Parliament passed the 73rd Amendment.

• State legislatures pass the panchayat laws. They decide how many of the 29 subjects, and how much money and staff, actually go to the panchayats.

• In NCERT:

• Class 7 NCERT quotes Article 40 directly.

• Class 11 NCERT names village panchayats as a Gandhian directive and covers the 73rd Amendment in its chapter on local governments.

• Main lesson: a directive that courts cannot enforce became real law through a constitutional amendment. In the same way, Art. 47 became enforceable through a statute (NFSA 2013) [4].

Don't confuse with

• Part IX / 73rd Amendment: Art. 40 is the non-binding directive that has been in the Constitution since 1950. Part IX is the binding law added in 1992. The 73rd Amendment gave constitutional status to the panchayats. It did not make Art. 40 enforceable.
• Art. 43B (cooperative societies): Art. 43B is also Gandhian, but it was not in the original Constitution. It was added by the 97th Amendment, 2011 [2], and its matching Part IXB deals with cooperatives, not panchayats [3]. Art. 40 is original and deals with village self-government.
• Art. 43 (cottage industries): this is the economic side of village life (khadi, handloom, pottery), mainly through KVIC (1957). Art. 40 is the political and administrative side, meaning self-government.
• 74th Amendment, 1992 (municipalities): it covers urban local bodies in Part IXA. It does not come from Art. 40, which speaks only of village panchayats.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 40 → organise village panchayats as "units of self-government". It is classed as a Gandhian directive (gram swaraj).
• 73rd Amendment, 1992 → Part IX + Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects). This gave panchayats constitutional status.
• Trap: "The 73rd Amendment made Art. 40 justiciable" is wrong. Art. 40 is still a non-justiciable directive (Art. 37). Only Part IX is binding.
• Trap: Art. 40 was in the original Constitution (1950). Art. 43B (cooperatives) was added in 2011 by the 97th Amendment [2].
• Gandhian directives set: Arts. 40, 43, 43B, 46, 47, 48. Art. 43 is both Gandhian and socialist, which makes it a common "which category" trap.
• Art. 40 covers villages only. Urban local bodies come under the 74th Amendment (Part IXA), not under Art. 40.

Mains Points

• From directive to binding law:
• Before 1992, states could ignore Art. 40 because no court could enforce it, so panchayats stayed weak.
• The 73rd Amendment fixed this by making panchayats a constitutional body.

• This is a strong answer to the claim that DPSPs are just "pious wishes": directives can guide later amendments and laws.

• Status is not the same as power:

• Part IX makes panchayats exist, but the states still decide how many of the 29 Eleventh Schedule subjects to hand over.
• Often states hand over functions without enough funds and staff to carry them out.

• Without real devolution (states passing real powers down to panchayats), Art. 40's goal of "units of self-government" is only partly met.

• Gram swaraj as deepening democracy:

• Panchayats bring government to the village and give ordinary people a say in local decisions.
• This makes Art. 40 central to any GS-II answer on decentralisation and grassroots democracy.

Related concepts

• Gandhian principles
• Promotion of cottage industries
• Promotion of interests of weaker sections
• Nutrition and public health directive
• PM POSHAN
• Prohibition of intoxicating drinks
• Prevention of cattle slaughter

Read more

• Gandhian directives: village, cottage, weaker sections, prohibition and cattle