Principles and Techniques of Veterinary and AH Extension

INTRODUCTION

Panchayati Raj (Democratic Decentralization)

• The word democracy is derived from the Greek roots - cracy meaning 'rule of' and demo meaning 'the people'.
• It is governance of the people, by the people and for the people. The emphasis is on the people distinct from officers.
• The rule is by consultation between the people’s representatives on one hand and with officers on the other.
• It is pooling the intelligence and the experience of all concerned with the administration.
• Decentralization means devolution of central authority among local units close to the area served. Where authority devolves by this process on people’s institution, it is called democratic decentralization.

Need for democratic decentralization

• Our administration was described as democracy at the top and dictatorship at the bottom because the people were not associated with the administration on the lower tiers from the district downwards.
• Hence the study team on Community Development headed by B.R.Mehta recommended democratic decentralization.

Implementation

• The study team’s recommendations was approved by National Development Council and communicated to the states for implementation in 1958.
• Madras State started as an experiment in a pilot block as early as 1957.
• Andra Pradesh State started in July 1958, twenty pilot blocks more or less on the same lines of the recommendations of the study team.
• Inspired by this, the state of Rajasthan became the pioneer in bringing the whole of Rajasthan under democratic decentralization on October 2, 1959.
• On November 1, 1959, Andra Pradesh State introduced this scheme of democratic decentralization in the entire state.