Page 209 - SST Class 06

duties, toll and fees, etc. which may be charged been playing an important role in several flagship
by the Panchayats. Normally, a Block Samiti has programmes of the Central and State govern-
the following sources of income : ments, perhaps more role in implementation and

g Taxes on houses, land and cattle, etc. monitoring.
g Income from lease of Samiti land for organ- Composition : The Zila Parishad is also an
ising fairs, etc. elected body. Chairpersons or Block Pramukhs of
Block Samitis are also represented in a Zila
g Grants and assistance from the State gov-
Parishad. As in the Block Samitis, members of
ernment.
the state Legislature (Vidhan Sabha and vidhan
It can also charge people for providing water and
Parishad) and members of Parliament (Lok
electricity. Part of the land revenue collected from
Sabha and Rajya Sabha) are also members of
a block is often passed on to the Samiti by the
the Zila Parishad. In addition, seats are reserved
State government. The number of taxes which a
for representatives of the Scheduled Castes (SCs)
Samiti may levy is large, but the yield is small.
and the Scheduled Tribes (STs). One-third of the
The Samiti depends largely on government
total number of seats are reserved for women.
grants and loans for its finances.
The members elect a President and Vice-
THE DISTRICT LEVEL
President from amongst themselves. If they do
Zila Parishad
not function satisfactorily, both can be removed
The District Panchayat also known as the District by a no-confidence motion. A majority vote is
Council or Zilla Parishad is the third tier of the required to take such a decision.
Panchayati Raj system. Like the Gram
Functions : The Zila Parishad is expected to
Panchayat, the District Panchayat is also an
give help and support to Gram Panchayats and
elected body. Chairpersons of Block Samitis also
Block Samitis. It informs the State government
represent the District Panchayat. Like the Block
about the work being done by the Gram
Panchayat, the MPs and MLAs are also members
Panchayats and Block Samitis. It also gives
of the district panchayat. The government
advice to these two bodies. The Zila Parishad
appoints the Chief Executive Officer to carry out
also supervises the implementation of the pro-
the administration of the district Panchayat along
jects under the Five-Year Plans. It monitors the
with the Chief Accounts Officer, the Chief
agricultural production and various developmen-
Planning Officer and one or more Deputy
tal works taken up under the Community
Secretaries who work directly under the Chief
Development Programme of the district. On the
Executive Officer and assist him/her. The Zilla
basis of plans prepared by Block Samitis, the Zila
Parishad chairperson is the political head of the
Parishad makes a plan for the whole district. It
District Panchayat.
also advises the State government on all matters
The primary objective of establishing the third relating to the development activities in the
tier of the government is to increase democratic district.
participation, better articulate local needs and
Sources of Income : As in the case of Block
priorities and to ensure a more efficient use of
Samitis, the Zila Parishad also collects funds by
local resources along with greater accountability
levying taxes assigned to it. But, the total yield is
and transparency. Accordingly, 29 functions have
small. It also raises money by renting out shops
been proposed to be transferred to local govern-
and houses that it owns. But, it depends mainly
ments in the rural area. These institutions have

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