VIJAY SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are matters which relate to Panchayats and Municipalities subjects as referred to in the Constitution of India under heads Panchayats and Municipalities in Part IX and Part IXA of the Constitution. Not to be ignored are the eleventh and the twelfth schedule of the Constitution of India. The court has mentioned these even before and is doing so again.

(2.) THE Eleventh and the Twelfth Schedules of the Constitution refer to powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats and Municipalities (Article 243G and Article 243W).The Eleventh Schedule contains 29 items and the twelfth Schedule contains 18 items.

(3.) IN Bihar, unfortunately the platform for planning seems to be continuing as it had been laid out more thirty years ago. And, with the supercession of Panchayats and Municipalities without elected representatives the content and spirit of self government was lost. There may be stray and rare case of enlightened Administrators; but that is not democracy. Apparently, no attempt has been made to fall in line with the new concept of planning for the people, by the people, which self government is about. A dedicated exclusive ministry catering to local self government institutions is missing in Bihar. A department here and there is lip service to the Constitution of India, which demands more and exclusive attention to institutions of local self government. The message is very clear for anyone to see in the Constitution itself that any structure of the government must now bend towards the mandate of the Constitution and the philosophy that these institutions of self government have been reckoned as independent institutions like any other institution working in a parliamentary democracy. The Panchayats and the Municipalities have also been endowed with powers to impose tax {Article 243 H and Article 243 X). The subjects and spheres of Panchayats and Municipalities have been specified in the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedule.