Structure of local government in India - Concepts - Chapter 2 Class 10 Political Science - Federalism - Political Science

Structure of local government in India

A. In rural areas

The local government in rural areas is called Panchayat or Panchayati Raj.

It operates at three levels-

I. At Village level

• Each village, or collection of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat , or village council, which is made up of a president or sarpanch and a number of ward members, commonly referred to as panch .
• The adult resident of that ward or town votes for them directly. It serves as the village's primary decision-making body.
• The gram sabha has overall control over how the panchayat operates. The village's residents are all eligible to vote.

II. At Block level

• A panchayat samiti, block, or mandal is a collection of a few gram panchayats.
• All the panchayat members in that region vote to elect the members of this representative body.

III. At District level

• The zilla (district) parishad is made up of all the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district.
• The majority of zilla parishad members are chosen via election. 
• Members include representatives from the Lok Sabha , the district's MLA, and a few additional district-level authorities.
• The political leader of the Zilla Parishad is the Zilla Parishad chairperson.

B. In urban areas

The local government for urban areas operates at two levels-

1. Small towns

• Municipalities are set up in towns.
• Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality.

2. Big cities

• Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations.
• In a municipal corporation, the Mayor is the political officer.