The Panchayats are one of the oldest local governance institutions in rural Karnataka. This age old system of governance at the local level has gained much popularity in the current time. The Karnataka government is laying more and more importance on the Panchayati Raj, as it is often called. They believe that the local community should be provided with the recognition and the opportunity to set their own priorities as well as make their own strategies and implement them.

In the state of Karnataka, the chief responsibility of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department lies in the implementation of the provisions of the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993. This act aims at the achievement of the democratic decentralization especially for the rural areas.

Panchayat Raj in Karnataka have a three-tier structural constitution:

the Zilla Panchayats at the district level
the Taluka Panchayats at the sub-district level
the Gram Panchayats at the village level

In Karnataka you will get 27 Zilla Panchayats, 175 Taluka Panchayats, and 5659 Grama Panchayats. The Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 deals with the services such as :

drinking water
sanitation
streets
street lights

The Gram Panchayats in the last few years have been made more efficient to take responsibilities for the development of the community. Thereby, a pilot CRC (Citizen Report Cards ) study was performed in four talukas in Tumkur district of Karnataka to assess the services like:

drinking water at home as well as public sources such as public taps, hand pumps and mini water sanitation-individual or public toilets
drainage and garbage disposal
streetlights
roads development schemes

Last Updated on 26^th March 2013

Government and Politics