The recent flood in the valley of Manipur really played much spoilsport to the people. Even now, in some areas people are still reeling under the havoc created by flood. But in-spite of the loss and damages, the flood of the September month failed to dampen the election fever that had gripped the entire valley earlier from the moment of announcement of the election notification of the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad.

The flood, on the contary had served an opportunity to those contesting candidates of the said election. They found a moment to show that they are always concerned for the people in their areas. They rolled up the sleeves of their shirts and made all efforts to show that they are born only to serve the people.

In fact, the sky of Manipur always cloud over with election and people are always under the spell of what we can call election mania or election fever. We can formulate a ready reckoner or election time table taking into account the frequencies of election in the past one decade or so. First, the Assembly election was held in February this year, now the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad election falls on the coming 19th. In the year 2009 the General Election of the Parliament is due if the present Lok Sabha complete its term. If there will be a mid-term poll due to the parting of ways amongst the constituents and partners of the present UPA Govt at the Centre, then the election will be held in the last part of 2007 or in the early 2008. In the midst of these there are also Municipal and Nagar Panchayat elections from time to time.

Though the institution of Gram Panchayat is the established school of self-governance and a forum of administration in the villages by the elected or nominated members of the village practised in India from ancient times, it is only a decade since Gram Panchayats were made institution of self Government. The passage of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment was a new chapter in the political history, in the parliamentary democracy of India. It was a first step of the transition of political power to the grassroot or power to the village. This Amendment grants the Constitutional status to the Panchayat Raj institution under a different schedule that is known as the 11th schedule.

During the time of Rajiv Gandhi, the motion to get the Constitution Amendment of the empowerment of the Gram Panchayat was discussed, even BJP dismissed the idea of Gram Panchayat by saying a ‘foolish and hasty endeavour’. There was no dearth of people who ridiculed Panchayat and local Government as Utopian. But it has become a reality and now every one is keen to give more fiscal and administration power to the Panchayat. Many political parties began to see Gram Panchayat as the basic training school of the electoral politics of higher kind.

Power to the Panchayat means more chance of tussle in the matter of power sharing between the Gram Panchayat and the MLAs and MPs. The empowerment of the Panchayat has created a lot of heartburn among the MPs and MLAs. Nearly all the political parties in power or in opposition cutting across ideological spectrum have sought to use Panchayat to consolidate their hold on power.

The Panchayat have been empowered by the 11th schedule to prepare plans and schemes in respect of 29 subjects for the economic, development while ensuring social justice and implementation of various programmes.

Karnataka is the only state that has delegated all the 29 subject to the Panchayat. Kerala has given away 26 subjects. In West Bengal, Panchayat (Amendment) Act 2003 has established an organic link between the three tiers of Panchayats but in reality it has rendered Panchayat as an elected agencies of State administration.

In Manipur, the Manipur Panchayat Raj Act 1994 was passed and came into force from the 23rd April 1994. The Act provides for a two-tier sy-stem; the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad. From 1995 Zilla Parishad election was held along with Gram-Panchayat election to take part in the local self-Government institution.

As required by the Constitution State Govt have to constitute District Planning Committees (DPCs) to facilitate decentralised planning. In section 35 and section 61 of the Manipur Panchayat Raj Act 1994, there is a long list of functions of the GPs and ZPs. But in the Amendment Act of 1996, Gram Panchayats and Zilla Parishads shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as may be specified by the Govt by notification in the gazette.

Here lies the root of the tussle between the two representative bodies. If all the powers of implementation of schemes included in the 29 lists are transferred to the Panchayats, then what will the MLAs and Ministers do then? So, the law makers of the State have just given the wings to the Gram Panchayat but not the power to fly. This makes people to believe that Panchayat Institution are the rubber stamp of the political parties in power.

Power to the Panchayat actually means the Govt whether the Centre or the States, the governance should be more horizontal. Before the inclusion of the 11th Schedule to the Constitution, powers of the MLAs and MPs were almost vertical to them that means power and authority fall on their shoulder vertically. Now they should hold this rod of power horizontally to reach the grassroot level with the decentralization of power to the elected representatives of Members of Gram Panchayat, Pradhans and Zilla Parishad.

So it is must for the Panchayat members and Zilla Parishad members to know their role and duty. If not, the election of the Gram Panchayat will always remain a mock exercise of the election to the Assembly and Parliament which the voters enjoy most as that of the festive days. Let the Gram Panchayat setups in the State perform the functions entrusted to them under the law so that the slogan ‘Power to the people’ should not be mere shibboleth.