Asarpanch, gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the gram sabha (village government) in India.[1] The sarpanch, together with other elected panchayat members (referred to as ward panch), constitute gram panchayats and zilla panchayats. The sarpanch is the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community and retains power for five years. the term used to refer to the sarpanch can vary across different states of India. Here are some of the commonly used terms for sarpanch in various states: panchayat president, gram pramukh, gram pradhan, gram adhyaksha, gaon panchayat president, gram panchayat president, etc.[2][3]
Sar, meaning head, and panch, meaning five, gives the meaning head of the five decision-makers of the gram panchayat of the village. In the state of West Bengal, a sarpanch is called a panchayat pradhan ("chief"), and the deputy is panchyat upa-pradhan.[4]
A sarpanch is a term used to refer to the elected head of a village-level statutory institution called the Gram Panchayat/Village Panchayat/Gram Parishad.
However, the term used to refer to the sarpanch can vary across different states of India.[5] Here are some of the commonly used terms for sarpanch in various states:
A sarpanch performs a number of administrative duties.[6][7]
A sarpanch must be a citizen of at least 18 years of age, and have no legal convictions, among other requirements.[8][9]
The tenure of sarpanch in India is five years.[10][6]
India's federal structure of governance means that different states have different laws governing the powers of the gram panchayats and sarpanches.[11][12]
In many states, elections were not held for decades and instead of elected sarpanches, the gram panchayats were run by bureaucratically appointed administrators. With the passage of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments in 1992, a number of safeguards have been built in, including those pertaining to regular elections.
Article 243D(3) of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment requires one-third of seats in panchayats and one-third of panchayat chairperson positions be reserved for women, across all three levels of the panchayati raj system.[13][14]: 24 This amendment followed various state-level legislative reforms in which reservations were set for panchayat positions to be held by women.[14]: 32
Panchayati Raj is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent. Panchayati Raj Institutions as units of local government have been in existence in India for a long time, in different permutations and combinations. However, it was only in 1992 that it was officially established by the Indian Constitution as the third level of India's federal democracy through the 73rd Amendment Act. The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) consists of three levels: Gram Panchayat at the village level, Block Panchayat or Panchayat Samiti at the intermediate level, Zilla Panchayat at the district level. The word Panchayat means assembly (ayat) of five (panch) and raj means: rule.
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