Local Government of India refers to the government of the 28 Indian states and the 7 union territories. There are a total of 6,45,000 local governments of India. Local governments of the rural regions are termed as the Panchayats. The local government in the urban areas is referred to as the nagar panchayats and the municipalities.
The village panchayats basically refer to the councils of the local government of India, that take care of the various administrative affairs of the rural regions. Along with the independence of India, came the verdict from the Indian Constitution that all the panchayats will be chosen by the state and will be provided such powers so as to enable them function on their own. These local governments of India are self-sufficient and self-enabled units that work under the state government of India.
The 73rd Constitution Amendment Act, 1992 and the 74th Constitution Amendment Act, 1992 came into force in the year 1993. In this Act, the constitutional status was attached to the city as well as village councils in India. Some of the significant steps that were taken for the local government in India include regular elections, the fixed five-year term and the review and augmentation of the finances by the State Finance Commissions.
Functions of Local Government of India
All the local governments of India have to perform certain responsibilities, which are divided into two categories�obligatory functions and discretionary functions.
Some of the obligatory functions performed by the local governments are:
- Registration of births and deaths
- Supply of pure drinking water
- Construction and maintenance of public streets
- Lighting and watering of public streets
- Cleaning of public streets, places and sewers
- Naming streets and numbering houses
- Establishment and maintenance of primary schools
- Maintenance or support of public hospitals
