Panchayati Raj in Rural Administration - Inauguration of - 26.1.1962

This 15nP stamp and FDC were issued to commemorate the Inauguration of Panchayati Raj in Rural Administration. The stamp depicts a village panchayat addressing the villagers and listening to their problems and suggestions with the aim of good governance and administration. It also shows the supremacy of Parliament over the entire country.

The panchayati raj is a South Asian political system mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent. The word "panchayat" literally means "assembly" (ayat) of five (panch) wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local community. However, there are different forms of assemblies. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and villages. Modern Indian government has decentralized several administrative functions to the local level, empowering elected gram panchayats. Gram panchayats are not to be confused with the unelected khap panchayats (or caste panchayats) found in some parts of Northern India.

The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, headed by MP Balwantrai Mehta was a committee appointed by the Government of India in January 1957 to examine the working of the Community Development Programme (1952) and the National Extension Service (1953) and to suggest measures for their better working. The recommendations of the committee were approved by NDC in January 1958 and this set the stage for the launching of Panchayati Raj Institutions throughout the country. The committee recommended the establishment of the scheme of ‘democratic decentralisation’ which finally came to be known as Panchayati Raj.

The panchayat raj system was first adopted by state of Rajsthan in Nagor district on 2nd Oct 1958.Second state was Andhra Pradesh.While the Maharashtra was the Ninth state. This system was adopted by state governments during the 1950s and 60s, as laws were passed to establish panchayats in various states. It also found backing in the Indian Constitution, with the 73rd amendment in 1992 to accommodate the idea. The Amendment Act of 1992 contains provision for devolution of powers and responsibilities to the panchayats both for the preparation of economic development plans and social justice, as well as for implementation in relation to 29 subjects listed in the eleventh schedule of the constitution.