Class 6 Civics Chapter 4 Notes - Panchayati Raj

• Recommendations of the Gram Sabha are binding on the Gram Panchayat.
• The key roles entrusted to the Gram Sabha are micro planning, the social audit of Panchayat functioning, ratification of Panchayat accounts, balance sheets, identification and approval of beneficiaries, and supervisory and regulatory functions.
• The institution of the Gram Sabha is very important as it gives an opportunity to each and every voter of the Gram Panchayat at the local level to take part in the decision-making process of the decentralised governance as well as in planning and development.

Gram Panchayat: It is the executive wing of the Gram Sabha.
Panchayat Samiti: It is an executive body. The work of the Gram Panchayat has to be approved by the Gram Sabha. The Gram Panchayat is answerable to the Gram Sabha.

• The Gram Sabha is a meeting where people directly participate and seek answers from their elected representatives.
• Every village Panchayat is divided into wards, i.e. smaller areas.
• Each ward elects a representative who is known as the ward Member or Panch.
• The Gram Sabha members elect a Sarpanch who is the Panchayat President.
• The Ward Panchs and the Sarpanch together form the Gram Panchayat.
• The term of Gram Panchayat is five years.
• The Gram Panchayat and the Gram Sabha have one common secretary. The secretary is appointed by the government.
• It is the secretary who calls the meeting of the Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat.
• One of the main functions of the Gram Sabha is to prevent the Gram Panchayat from doing wrong things.
• The Gram Panchayat is responsible for the implementation of the developmental programmes for the villages that come under its jurisdiction.
• The Panchayati Raj System is a process through which people participate in their own government.
• The Panchayati Raj System is the first tier or level of democratic government. It extends to two other levels— Block level (Janpad Panchayat or the Panchayat Samiti), District Panchayat (Zila Parishad).

Gram Panchayat: It is the primary unit of governance in the Panchayati Raj System. It consists of a Panchayat President and its members elected by the people through a general election. .