Why Rethink Rotation of Reservation in Panchayats?

Extending the tenure of women in panchayats to 10-15 years as argued by Nupur Tiwari (EPW, 31 January 2009) will not automatically empower them. The existing pattern of reservation should be supplemented with various capacity-building measures. Action-oriented training programmes and adequate representation for women in the local administration will go a long way in ensuring their development and participation in the decision-making process.

Views in the paper are purely those of the author.

Mahi Pal (mpal1661@gmail.com) is presently with the Ministry of Rural Development, New Delhi.

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During the colonial period women were neither voters nor candidates for the panchayat elections, as evident from provisions of the Central Province Village Panchayat Act, 1920, Bombay Village Panchayat Act, 1920 and Holkar State Panchayat Act of 1928. The Franchise Committee set up by the then British government threw the ball in the court of provincial legislatives to decide the issue of women’s franchise keeping in view the local culture and sensitivity (Buch 2000: 34). Although the all governors’ provinces led by Madras availed of the power to pass a resolution for extending franchise to women, rules made under the Government of India Act, 1919 did not make women eligible for membership of the council (ibid: 35).

Article 40 of the Constitution also left the issue of reservation for women to state legislatures. During late 1950s the Central Council of Local Government, 1957 argued for co-opting two women who are interested in work among women and children as members of panchayats. The report of

Reservation should be made of 30% seats at Panchayat to Zilla Parishad level and local municipal bodies for women. Wherever possible, higher representation of dalits, tribals, women of weaker sections should be ensured. 30% of executive heads of all bodies from village Panchayat to district level and a certain percentage of chief executives of Panchayati Raj bodies at lower, middle and higher levels must be reserved for women. A more effective step would be to declare a certain percentage of constituencies in the l ower tier of Panchayati Raj as exclusively women constituencies and all executive positions in certain number of territorial j urisdictions reserved for women candidates. (National Perspective Plan 1988: 164-65).

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S imilarly, Orissa, Maharathara and Kerala also introduced 30% reservation for women in the membership of the panchayats.

It may be deduced from above that r eservation for women had been confined to membership and rotation was not an i ssue at all.

With this evolutionary trajectory of w omen reservation in panchayats let us come to the rotation aspect of reservation for women. The provision for reservation for women and its rotation is mandatory, but how it will be rotated or its periodicity is left to the state legislatures. That is the reason that in some states the seats are r otated biyearly. In this context, it becomes relevant to refer to the resolutions of the Seven Round Tables of Ministers In-Charge of Panchayati Raj which charted out the course of action by both the centre and states to deepen cooperative federalism in the country and in the context of rotation the compendium of resolutions says:

There are different practices being adopted in the different States and there are different practices under contemplation in several States. This being so, the option to reserve seats for more than one-term is open but it is for the State Legislature to decide the number of terms for which seats will remain reserved (GOI 2004: 12).

However, it may be stated that reducing the term to less than five years for one constituency is not in the letter and spirit of the Constitution and if some states have not been adhering to this provision, there are two ways to check it. First, to bring out an amendment to the Constitution and second, to build pressure from women panchayat leaders on the state legislatures for making provision for a five year tenure. The former appears to be impossible given the composition of the Parliament and the latter appears to be feasible provided women are educated, agitated and organised. Now, coming to the findings of the study which has been carried out by A C Nielsen ORG-MARG on behalf of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and cited in the Study on Elected Women Representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions (GOI 2008). In fact, it confuses the issue and if its recommendations are accepted then reservation for women in panchayats will be questioned as some of its findings reveal:

This recommendation is required to be put into practice for women empowerment. And as the experience of working women shows, if this recommendation of the NPPW is implemented, it may not even be necessary to have reservation for w omen in panchayats.

To conclude, more women have come as leaders in panchayats than mandated in the Constitution and they have been instrumental in creating ripples in the existing system of governance which was domi nated by their counterparts. Leaders at the local level consider women forces a potential threat, and are concerned about losing control over local governance and administration. I nstead of granting 10 or 15 year terms for women, the existing p attern of reservation for them should be continued. The efforts of women could be supplemented by organising them into their associations and confederations, building their capacity by taking up a ction-oriented training programmes and giving adequate representation to women in local administration.

References

Buch, Nirmala (2000): “Panchayats and Women” in George Mathew (ed.), The Status of Panchayati Raj in the States and Union Territories of India, I nstitute of Social Sciences (New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company).

Government of India (1988): National Perspective Plan for Women 1988-2000 AD, Report of the Core Group set up by the Department of Women and Child Development (New Delhi: Ministry of H uman Resource Development).