8th Standard, Social, Political Science, Chapter 23
Local Self Government
EXERCISES
I Fill in the blanks with suitable words:
1. The Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act that is in force now was passed in the year 1983.
2. The body of the village council in which all the voters of the village can participate is Grama Panchayat.
3. The President of Grama Panchayats are chosen to Taluk Panchayats on the basis of lottery system.
4. The officer appointed by the Government to look after the day to day executive work of Zilla Panchayat is called Chief Executive Officer.
5. The total number of City Corporations in Karnataka including Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike is 11.
II Answer the following questions briefly:
6. What are the objectives of Local Self Government?
Answer: The objectives of Local Self Government are as follows.
- To involve the local people in solving the problems of their own locality.
- To provide the knowledge of administration to common people.
- To help in decentralizing powers and make the administration more efficient.
- To train or develop leadership qualities among people at the grass root level.
7. State the place where you reside comes under urban local body or Rural local body.
Answer: We are residing in Puttur which comes under urban local body area.
8. Mention the structure of Gram Panchayat.
Answer: Grama Panchayats are formed on the basis of population. Village or group of villages with a population between 5,000 and 7,000 form one Gram Panchayat. Regions of Uttar Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Malnad regions form Grama Panchayat only with the population of 2,000. The members of the grama panchayat are elected by the adult population of the Panchayat area. One representative for 400 voters is elected. Reservation is provided to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, backward classes and women. The term of office of Gram Panchayat will be for complete five years starting from the day of the first meeting.
9. What are the sources of income of local self-government?
Answer: The main sources of income for local self-government are,
Amount collected through water cess, health cess, education cess, library and reading room cess.
- Amount collected through building tax, vacant land tax, taxes on business establishments, markets, entertainment houses and advertising bodies.
- Taxes collected from the tourist spots.
- Rental and lease amount collected on their properties.
- Financial grants from the state government.
10. Mention the need for constituting standing committees in local bodies.
Answer: Standing Committees are formed for the efficient administration of Grama Panchayats. Standing committees are needed in local bodies to enhance citizen participation, improve the efficiency of resource allocation, and provide focused expertise on specific areas like finance, public works, or education. These committees allow for detailed discussion of complex issues, scrutiny of budget and accounts, and help ensure that the local government’s actions are in line with long-term goals and public interest.
11. List out the group of members who have been provided reservation in the local bodies.
Answer: The group of members who have been provided reservation in the local bodies are,
- Scheduled caste
- Scheduled tribe
- Backward classes
- Women.
12. What should be the population to classify an area as town or city?
Answer: An urban area is classified as a town or a city on the basis of the population. An area with a population between 20,000 and 50,000 is considered as a town. Town municipality is the governing body of that area. Similarly an area with a population between 50,000 and 3 lakhs is considered as city. The governing body of that area is called a City Municipality.
13. What are three tiers of Panchayat Raj system in Karnataka?
Answer: The three tiers of the Panchayat Raj system in Karnataka are the Grama Panchayat the village level, the Taluk Panchayat the intermediate taluk level, and the Zilla Panchayat at the district level. This structure was established through the73rd amendment of the Indian constitution and is designed for democratic decentralization.
Additional Questions:
- What are the functions of Local Self Governments?
Answer: The functions of Local Self Governments like Grama Panchayats, Taluk Panchayats and Zilla Panchayats are varied. They are as follows.
- To maintain and protect the panchayat property.
- To prepare the annual budget of the local body.
- To undertake health and family welfare programmes.
- To plan and undertake the developmental works like laying of roads, electrification, housing and supply of drinking water, etc.
- To encourage and implement the primary, secondary, adult and informal education programmes.
- To maintain cleanliness and sanitation of the area.
- To prevent all sorts of pollution and to provide better health facilities.
- To provide facilities for the distribution of essential commodities like food grains, kerosene etc.
- To ensure prompt registration and reporting of birth and deaths.
- To encourage agriculture, animal husbandry, khadi and handicraft industries.
- To undertake the programmes for conservation of soil, water and forest.
- To execute the agricultural extension programmes to help the farmers.
- To plan and implement the welfare schemes for the benefit of sheduled caste, sheduled tribes, backward and weaker sections, persons with disabilities (divyangas) women and children.
- To provide marketing facilities, street lighting facilities and reading room facilities.
- To collect taxes, fees and penalties.
- To identify the beneficiaries for the various projects and welfare programmes of the government.
- What are the sources of Income of Local Self Governments?
Answer: The main sources of income for local bodies are,
- Amount collected through water cess, health cess, education cess, library and reading room cess.
- Amount collected through building tax, vacant land tax, taxes on business establishments, markets, entertainment houses and advertising bodies.
- Taxes collected from the tourist spots.
- Rental and lease amount collected on their properties.
- Financial grants from the state government.
- Describe Grama sabha.
Answer: There is no election procedure to Grama Sabha. All the members of Grama or village aged 18 and above can take part in Grama Sabha meetings. The president of Grama Panchayat presides and the members of Grama Panchayat attend the meetings. Grama sabha must meet at least once in six months. Grama sabha discusses the problems of their village and also the welfare measures undertaken for the progress and development of the village. The villagers get chance to give advice. It recommends the names of the beneficiaries to various governmental schemes.
- What are the functions of Zilla panchayat?
Answer: All the developmental programmes and schemes of the government are implemented through Zilla Panchayats. In addition it has the following functions:
- To create an atmosphere of mutual trust, confidence and co-operation between Grama Panchayats, Taluk Panchayats and Zilla Panchayat for successful implementation of government projects and programmes.
- To bring about co-ordination among all the departments for successful implementation of programmes and also to supervise such developmental work.
- To encourage and provide support for the establishment of co-operative societies, co-operative banks and such other co-operative institutions.
- To execute the work as directed by the state government.
- What are three types in urban local bodies?
Answer: There are three types in urban local bodies. They are:
1) City Corporation (Mahanagara Palike) – Major cities
2) Pattana Panchayat, Municipal Corporations, Town Municipalities – Towns and Cities
3) Cantonment wards: under the control of Defence ministry.
III Activities:
1. Invite the head or a member of the local body of your area to the school and discuss the problems of your area and also the programmes undertaken to solve such problems.
2. Supposing you are a member of local body of your area, what measures would you undertake to solve the problems of your area?
3. Participate in the gram sabha of any grama panchayat and prepare a report.
IV Projects:
1. Study and collect information about the local bodies which functioned in ancient India.
2. Survey the area in which you live and collect the information about the problems of the area that needs to be attended.
3. Interview any five or six members of the local bodies and collect information about the measures taken by them to improve their wards and prepare a report.
