People's Democracy

Functioning Of Panchayats In Bengal: Nadia, A Case Study

B Prasant

NADIA (area 3927 sq km, pop 46,04,827) has abundant land resources, situated as it is on a rich alluvial plain on the rain-softened eastern green stretch of Bengal. However, before the assumption of office of the Left Front government, the district languished economically. The then Congress governance would not utilise the plentiful land and an abundance of workers to create a secular growth line towards production, jobs, and opportunities.

Nadia, one is often surprised to note, did have a strong heritage of self-governance even during the colonial period. It was a given fact that the rural boards during the 1800s and 1900s were overwhelmingly dominated by landlords and lawyers who swore allegiance to British rule.

Nevertheless, the seeds of self-governance were unmistakably in situ. The Congress raj that succeeded the colonial regime while swearing by the Gandhian model, simply allowed the panchayat system to become the den of vested elements.

The panchayati structure remained in place in name only and moribund is the word that would spring to mind when describing the panchayati institutions under Congress rule. The institutions were deprived of funds. Elections were almost never held. Developmental work was not associated with the panchayat institutions. 

Because of the overt antithetical mindset of the Indian ruling classes towards land reforms, the panchayati raj in Nadia was overwhelmingly dominated by the rural stakes including zamindars, jotdars, rich peasants, and the urban bourgeoisie who were often the proverbial ‘absentee landlords.’ The mass of the people of the villages were kept deprived of rural development and rural administration. Nadia was no exception.

The sweeping sea change started to touch the Bengal rural scene in the wake of the 1978 elections to the three-tier panchayat system held after the Left Front came to power in the state. In the changes that followed Nadia too benefited in an important way.

The post-1978 panchayat functioning in Nadia had two important features:

• Rural self-governing institutions were assured of financial viability via supply of funds, with encouragement given to create local assets and to harvest local income.

• Rural masses especially the rural poor were involved in the twin tasks of running and developing the panchayats. It was also ensured that through political-ideological campaign, education, and developmental activities, the correlation of class forces were brought in favour of the rural poor and the landless.

• In Nadia, as elsewhere, the process was helped by the sweep of re-distributive land reforms where ceiling-surplus land was distributed among the landless and the rural poor, and bargadari rights were given to sharecroppers. The panchayat bodies in Nadia actively participate in Plan formulation and Plan implementation. Panchayat office-holders at all three levels of the rural institutions are made members of the Plan Committees. Fifty per cent of the Plan budget for the district is allotted and spent at the level of the panchayati institutions.

The Left Front government has recently adopted a series of measures to improve further the pro-people functioning of the three-tier panchayati raj system, in Nadia as elsewhere in Bengal. These are:

• Formation of zilla sansads and block sansads which are two important accountability fora 

• District Council at each zilla parishad headed by the opposition leader 

• Village Development Committees (Gram Unnayan Samities) 

• Opposition representation in the standing committees of the zilla parishad and the panchayat samity 

• System of institutional audit as well as social audit 

• Improvement of financial and information management 

CLEAN VILLAGE – CLEAN DISTRICT

The concept of clean villages was broached at the 21st state conference of the CPI(M). It was mentioned that units of the CPI(M) and its mass frontal organisations must participate in a planned way to make the district rural stretches clean and pollution-free. Sewage is a crux of the issue here. The Nadia district unit of the CPI(M) has undertaken certain bold and innovative steps.

The task of setting up sanitary toilets in each household is a targeted task. The issue relates to the concept of mass health. Leaflets have been distributed to make the householders aware of the health and environmental benefits of sanitary toilets. House-to-house survey work has been conducted by booth-level members of the CPI(M). Conventions have been held to enhance awareness level of the mass of the rural folk. The district unit of the CPI(M) has set a deadline of completion of work of house-based sanitary toilets by November 15. The work proceeds apace.

SELF-HELP GROUPS

Until date, there are 75 cluster committees and by December this year, cluster committees will be formed in the rest 112 villages of Nadia. The units of the CPI(M) in the district have been entrusted the task of communicating to the people the financial security that the self-help group would offer in the sweep of imperialist globalisation. The aim is to set up a minimum of five self-help groups per booth. Each cluster will include five-to-six self-help groups. The clusters will subsequently be federated at the distinct level as the district-level apex body. 

ICDS 

Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) units are developed at the rate of one unit per 1000 population in the rural areas, and per 2000 in cities. There would be health sub-centres per 5000 population. There would be one ‘headquarters-level’ sub-centre per gram panchayat. Funding will come from zilla parishads and from the DFID. Progress has been achieved in a remarkable way as a field visit confirmed with 50 per cent of the work near completion.

SURVEY OF BACKWARD VILLAGES

Survey work has already identified 195 villages as backward. The survey work is being done by the panchayats in cooperation of the Kalyani University and the Hare Krishna Konar social science centre. The survey work would be completed, the district CPI(M) assures us, by the end of October 2006. Planned development of the villages will be essayed based on the survey data.

EDUCATION

With 70 per cent of the district literate, the district panchayats have a lot to do. 1423 centres have been sanctioned for continuing education; 1279 are up and running. More than 50,000 students avail themselves of the educational opportunities offered by these centres. 122 nodal centres have been set up per two gram panchayats to coordinate the progress of literacy. The village committees are taking care of the total literacy campaign including supply of mid-day meals to students.

RURAL EMPLOYMENT

A recent survey has revealed that the number of workers in the villages increases in a steady manner as more and more people stay away from low-return agricultural work and go in for industrial employment. The gram panchayats have taken an active initiative towards providing workers, especially those involved in the construction industry with identity cards. 

The rural bodies are also involved in health insurance of rural workers. Gram panchayats are also involved in providing rural labour including khet mazdoors with provident funds facilities. For purposes of REGA, lists of workers have been drawn by each gram panchayat. House-to-house survey work preceded the preparation of the list. The booth-level teams of the CPI(M) plays a crucial role in this regard. Houses are being handed over to the rural poor especially those below the poverty line, under the rural shelter schemes.

GRAM SANSADS

The gram sansads are very active in Nadia and this was self-evident during field visits. The running of the gram sansads presents several features.

• Rousing the consciousness amongst the rural people about the need to participate

• To establish in the meetings that it is the people who run the sansads

• Attempt is made to involve working class men, women, and especially women in the work of the sansad

• Gram sansad is built up as the epitome of the combined will power and strength of the people

• A living link is established between the panchayats and the people through the sansad

• Political consciousness of the mass of the people is continuously enhanced

These we found are some of the most crucial features of the panchayati raj in action in Nadia. As a result, the district has witnessed coordinated growth in agriculture and industry. 

Nadia, situated on new alluvium, remains evergreen and fertile. The agricultural production, both food crops and commercial crops, is certainly helped by the progressive outlook of the kisans who have an open mind towards newer forms of technology.

• The net cropped area is 2,72,135 HA.

• Foodgrains production of rice, wheat, pulses and oil seeds has gone up from 5,13,540 MT in 1976-77 to stand at 9,42,601 MT in 2000-2001.

• Vegetables production 1976-77 was 1,20,000 MT. The figure now is 12, 50,182 MT.

• In the realm of commercial crops, jute is a main stay of the district. Here the production has trebled from 1976-1977 when just 6,23,366 bales were produced. The figure in 2000-2001 is 17,02,760.

Irrigation facilities have greatly improved from 1976-1977. Land under irrigation in that year was 30.7 per cent of the total agricultural land. The figure is now over 78 per cent. Number of deep tube wells has increased from 531 to 664. In place of 15,700 shallow tubewells, there are now 64,637 of them spread around Nadia. River lift irrigation has improved agro-production in a big way. 

The task of extending irrigation is an ongoing one with great prospects on the horizon with additional irrigation potential being created each year.

Agro-based industries in the district include Husking mill; Rice mill; Pressed rice (Chira) mill; Oil seed husking mill; Wheat grinding; Bakery; Pulses mill; Papad (pulses based delicacy) making; Flour mill; Condiments manufacturing centers;

The industrial development in West Bengal includes in its sweep the district of Nadia, which has a great deal of resources. Nadia is rich with paddy, jute, mango, papaya, litchi, tomato, ginger, garlic, and very many other agricultural produce.

Another important resource is, of course, human skill at a call. Skilled artisans reside in Nadia in families and over centuries. They turn out exquisite works of handicraft and artisanship including such fineries and utilities as brass and bell metal products, needle work, conch shell carving, wood carving, terracotta, cane and bamboo crafts, clay dolls and models.

Industries include an entire array of units that produce jute goods, food, downstream projects of the Haldia Petro-Chem unit.

The developmental success of Nadia is intrinsically bound up with the functioning of the three-tier panchayat system. The repeated attacks on the CPI(M) workers in the rural areas by lumpens of the right and ultra left groups have not deterred the CPI(M) and the Left Front from being on rails while running the panchayat system in a pro-people and pro-poor manner. Nadia provides an excellent example of the success that the panchayati raj in Bengal under Left Front governance.