SIZE AND AREA OF GRAM PANCHAYAT IN INDIA

S.P. Jain
The issue of size of Panchayats has not really receive the desired attention so far. The size has generally been
decided on the basis of the population of revenue villages or consideration, which were not rational or scientific.
Since the Panchayats are going to be ultimately entrusted with a wide ranging functions along with funds and
functionaries, the time has come to give a serious thought to the issue of size. It must agreed to that a Panchayats
without financial or administrative viability will not be able to perform the assigned tasks fully.

In accordance with the provisions embodied under the Directive Principles of State Policy of
the Constitution of India (Article 40) every state shall take steps to organize village panchayat
and endow them with such authority as may enable them to function as units of local selfgovernment. Accordingly, provisions for compulsory establishment of village panchayats were
made in different states so that each and every village in the country is covered by a village
panchayat. Following the recommendations of the Mehta Committee, a three tier system of
Panchayati Raj was introduced in different states. The village Panchayats were accordingly
included in the system.
In the next phase, although the Constitution 73rd Amendment also provided for the
establishment of a village panchyat at the local level, it did not stipulate any consideration for its
size and area. According to article 243(G) of the Amendment a village panchyat has to be
constituted as follows: Subject to the provisions of this part, the legislature of a state may, by
law, make provisions with respect to the composition of panchayats: Provided that the ratio
between the population of the territorial area of a Panchayat at any level and the number of seats
in such Panchayat to be filled by election shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the
state.
The question of deciding the size and area of a village Panchayat was thus left to the state
legislature. In accordance with the provisions, different states adopted different norms for carving
out its area and population. These provisions, in essence, provided a wide latitude to the states in
matters of establishing a village panchayat in a revenue village or a part thereof, or a group of two
or more villages or selecting a geographical area. A study of the provisions in different Panchayati
Raj Acts shows that the selection of a panchayat area is generally based on village basis. Since
a large number of states have larger number of small villages with a population of less than one
thousand each, grouping of two or more villages for purposes of constituting a panchayat became
necessary. Some of the Panchayati Raj Acts have specifically laid down the minimum of
population for a village panchayat in a given local area. For example, the Punjab and Tamil Nadu
Acts have placed a minimum population at 500 as against 1500 in Orissa and 2000 in Karnataka.
Although a number of states have not prescribed any specific population, but have provided for
the establishment of a village panchayat for every revenue village or a group of adjoining villages.
The 73rd Amendment has thus accorded a village panchayat not only a constitutional status
but also assigned a number of functions to be discharged at the local level. It also stipulates
Specific role for Panchayat in planning and development and implementation of various rural
development programmes (Article 243 G). Since these provisions have generally taken into
account size of population and area proximity of village as the basis of determination of the
jurisdiction of a village panchayat, important sociological aspects such as face to face relationship,
homogeneity and intimate interaction at community level have not been given any consideration.
Further factors such as the capacity of a panchayat to carry out the mandated functions in an
efficient and effective manner have also not been taken in to account. Also, the factor of its
administrative, financial and geographical viability has not been taken into consideration. It needs
to be remembered that the performance of a panchayat depends on its administrative and financial
viability to a great extent. The present paper attempts to examine the issue of size and area of
village panchayat in the light of the available experiences and reference material.

The problem of economic and political viability of Panchayats has all along been agitating the
minds of planners and administrators for sometime now. This is evident from the statement which
was made in early sixties by Asoka Mehta, the then Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, in
his inaugural address, at the Annual Conference of Community Development and Panchayati Raj
in July, 1965. He pointed out that any workable system of a real and decentralised planning in our
country has to start with a clear conception of the ideal size of the village communities with which
it has to deal. Unfortunately the basic task of finding the right size for a village community has
not even begin in this country. He stated that to attempt it, would call for the greatest ingenuity
in social engineering.1 Although the statement was made three decades back and the system of
Panchayati Raj has since them undergone significant phases of growth and development, the
position has not changed much except some ad hoc experimentation here and there.
Some Significant Features of size of Village Panchayats
It is evident from the data given in Table I that the number of the panchayats has increased
from 2,17,300 to 2,32,332 over the years. The population covered by the different levels of
Panchayats varies not only within a state but also across the States. For instance, the average
population covered by a Gram Panchayat in Arunachal Pradesh and Punjab is 655 and 1108
respectively while in West Bengal and Kerala, it is 11945 and 20512 respectively. Likewise, there
is a variation in average number of villages per village panchayat across the states. It ranges from
11.7 (in the case of Orissa and West Bengal) to 1.2 in Haryana. The position in the UTs is
different because of their peculiar position.
It is thus apparent that the size and area of villages and the panchayats greatly vary from state
to state and there are variations even within the state. In such a situation it is indeed difficult to
examine the issue within the framework of an all India model.
Recommendations of Important Committees
A number of Committees appointed by the Government of India and the State Governments
from time to time have gone into the question of viability of village panchayats. An overview of
some of the important Committees reveals some useful leads which can be helpful in examining
the issue meaningfully.
The Report of the Committee on Panchayati Raj appointed by the then Government of
Mysore (1963) recommended that regrouping of villages for purposes of constituting panchayats
factors like geographical contiguity, facility of communication and the physical jurisdiction of the
revenue village should be taken into account. It may be ensured that no separate Panchayat is
formed for any revenue village with a population less than 500.2
The study Team appointed by the Administrative Reforms Commission on District
Administration (1967) observed that in constituting gram panchayats, a minimum population
range of 3,000 to 5,000 should be aimed at. Economic viability of the unit, financial resources as
compared with administrative costs, homogeneity and distances between constituent villages
should also be kept in view.3
The Ram Murti Study Team on Panchayati Raj appointed by the Government of Uttar
Pradesh (1965) expressed the view that there should be no panchayat with population of less than
1,000 excepting in hill districts and in very sparsely populated areas.4
The Administrative Reforms Commission (1973) in Tamil Nadu opined that each village
panchayat should have a population of about 5,000 and an annual tax demand of the order of Rs.
5,000. It should be co-terminous with the new enlarged revenue village group envisaged in the its
Report on District Revenue Administration.5
The study Team appointed by the Planning Commission (Tamil Nadu) suggested that the
existing Panchayats in the state be merged into compact units to ensure effective supervision and
control over budget, increse in revenue and tax collection and better audit of expenditure. It thus
concluded that the Panchayats need to be made viable units both in population and revenue.6

The Committee in Andhra Pradesh (1981) laid down the following recommendations for the
formation of separate panchayats for villages which are already grouped with some other villages
or for bigger hamlets included in a panchayat along with the main village keeping in view the
following :
1.

Where the population of a revenue village is about 1000 and its anticipated income is not less
than Rs. 1000 per annum, it might be constituted into a separate panchayat.

2.

Where the population of a revenue village or a hamlet which is distinctly away from the main
village is less than 1000 but the estimated income is about Rs. 3,000 per annum, irrespective
of its population, such a village or hamlet might be constituted of separate panchayat as
recommended by us. It will ensure greater attention to their local needs and also better
harmony in their working.

3.

In the case of health resorts, industrial townships and large educational campuses and pilgrim
centers away from the existing municipalities / townships might be constituted.7

The Report of the Democratic Decentralisation Committee, Government of Gujarat,

observed that the villages with a population of 250 or less can easily be amalgamated with
neighbouring villages or two or four villages linked to get modern facilities, in a group. The
Committee stated that it is difficult to provide modern amenities and conduct administration
efficiently in village panchayats of villages having a population of 500 and specially of villages
having population of less than 250. And therefore, attempts should be made by persuading the
villagers to group such villages with adjoining villages for purposes of establishing village
panchayats and thus form efficient units.8
The Asoka Mehta Committee, (1977), is the only Committee which studied the pattern in a
number of states, made the following observations: the present Panchayat is not able to function
effectively due to dearth of resources. This is due not only to the poverty level in the villages but
also due to the size of the resources base. It is therefore, argued that the Government should
transfer considerable resources to the Panchayats. It has also been brought out by some that the
weakness of ineffective functioning sue to the paucity of resources is mainly due to the size of the
present panchayat. Generally, they pointed out that the present panchayat are not viable. The
position of Kerala illustrates the point. The total income of 974 large-sized panchayats is about Rs
10.6 crores, with an average of over one lakh. They are able to meet most of the municipal and
welfare requirements, take up schemes such as housing on behalf of Government, as also attract
institutional finance.
This point has been examined by us in depth from various angles, and needs considerable
elaboration here. As has been indicated earlier, the present dynamics of development the methods
for transfer to technology, and the group action required for many projects, give rise to misgivings
about the ability of the existing Panchayats to effectively function in the present context. An
analysis of the villages according to population indicates that, out of the 5,75,936 inhabited
villages, 26 per cent come under less than 200 category; 29.3 per cent under 200 to 459; 23 per
cent come under 500 to 999; 14.2 per cent under 1.00 to 1,999 6.3 per cent under 2,000 to 4,999;
0.9. per cent under5,000 to 9,999; and those with a population of 1000 and above account for
nearly 2 percent. In the very nature of their composition, about 78.4 per cent of the villages (if we
include the grey category of 1,000 to 1,999, it would be 92.6 per cent) would not be able to
effectively discharge any of the functions which we are separately indicating that they should. At
the best, some of them may be able to tackle the traditional, attenuated civic and welfare
functions.
Further, increasingly activities organized on the basis of occupational groups will cover more
than one village. Most of the agricultural programmes are not being taken on the basis of the
village but on the number of families to be covered by a particular functionary. The size of the
area is therefore, relevant for the effective transfer of technology. Besides, with time, people
would want higher forms of services and of quality, at lower levels. Health, education, agriculture

and allied sector extension, agro-servicing units etc. examples. Obviously, they cannot be
provided to every village at it exists today.
In many of the States, the present trend as also the past experience points to the size of
panchayat (now Panchayat) is round about 15,000. In Assam, it is between 15,000 to 20,000 and a
slight reduction is being advocated. In Kerala, where the situation is slightly different, the average
is round about 19000 per Panchayat. In Punjab, the present trend of integrated rural development
is to establish and develop focal points in a planned manner, the State has been divided into 500
units within the area of 100 sq. miles each, with approximately about 20 to 25 villages in each
unit. In the first instance, a cluster of five continuous villages will be taken as a unit for planning
and development. The number of villages around will gradually be increased in each focal point
and each year more and more clusters will be formed so that in a period of five years, 500 units
will be organized. Punjab Government, however, have not yet contemplated setting up of a
Panchayati Raj tier at this point. But a number of services are being organized or regrouped; in the
first phase each focal centre will have a market yard and allied facilitates, a consumer store, a
retail outlet for agriculture inputs, welfare amenities like a dispensary, school as also veterinary
service centre.
The need for a re-organized panchayat has been perceived. Some have even mentioned that
many of the present villages have ceased to be economic and social entries. Others have indicated
that while for municipal functions individual Village Panchayats would be appropriate, for village
development cluster approach will have to be considered. Yet another suggestion is that 15,000
to 20,000 acres may be taken as a unit for panchayat, as this would be a good unit for economic
development. It was also brought out that even where Panchayats by present standards are large
with a population of about 5,000 these will have to be evolved into a more compact unit, with a
focal village where all the services will be available. The overall impression was that a single
village, or a small population in a panchayat, will not be suitable entry either as an administrative
or economic unit; that the viability criteria should include economic activities.
All the informed opinion, as also an aseptic analysis of the economic forces and welfare
possibilities point out the necessity for having Panchyats covering a larger number of villages. The
size should permit of the effective discharge of the functions decentralised by Government; it
should present a viability criterion which will include harnessing of the several economic flows
that are becoming patent, and also facilitate the satisfaction of the welfare requirements.9
It is thus evident that though there is a difference of opinion about the ideal size of a village
panchayat but all of them have emphasized the need to consider the aspect of viability in some
way or the other. This is probably because of the fact that the village is not a uniform concept in
the country nor is it the basic unit of habitation everywhere. Traditionally, the revenue village has
acquired and retained an identity of its own just like the revenue district. The revenue village,
however, can, in several States, comprise of many habitations each of which may itself have a
substantial population and the habitation may be quite some distance for each other. In several
cases, each habitation has its own social complexion. At the same time, many revenue villages are
of a size that would nor permit a proper administrative infrastructure being provided for a
panchayat at that level.
Whether there should be a Panchayat for each revenue Village or for each habitation of a
minimum population and with a minimum distance from other nearest habitations, or, in fact,
whether it should be for a group of revenue villages together in order to make it economically
viable are questions that have been addressed in different manners in different States.
The issue of size of village Panchayats in the present context is considered most relevant on
following considerations:
1.

The work load of the Panchayats is gradually increasing with the progress of devolution
process. If the Panchayats have to successfully perform the assigned and expected functions,
they will have to be viable.

2.

Most of the fund for the implementation of various centrally sponsored schemes or going to
be transferred to the Panchayats. These funds can be properly only through strong and viable
Panchayats.

3.

Devolution of function, funds and functionaries can be meaningful only when the Panchayats
are viable. Smaller Panchayats with meager in revenue base and adequate administrative
support will not be able to make use of the devolution process.

Keeping in view the overall thrust of development, it is expected that each and every village
should have basic facilities such as a school, a dispensary and a community centre besides
provision of water supply, communication the roads connecting the villages, supply of electricity
for cottage and other industries. What should be the minimum population and size of a village to
which these facilities can be provided is a question which also needs to be taken into account
while considering the question of viability.
For the purpose of establishing a village panchayat, a village or a group of villages has to be
considered as a village. Whether the village is small or big, once a village panchayat is
established it is quite natural for that body to provide basic facilities within its jurisdiction. They
may provide one of the many such facilities but it will not be possible for them for a long time to
provide all of them. Administratively also, it would be difficult and expensive for the village
panchayats for small villages to accomplish this task. From this stand point, it is desirable to
constitute a village panchayat for a village where it would be possible to provide at least basic
facilities and to administer it efficiently.
Easy accessibility is also an important consideration in determining the size of the Panchayat
area. No village in a panchayat area should ordinarily be more than five miles away from the
panchayat headquarters. In the sparsely populated districts or in hilly areas the distance could be
little more, say, upto 15 Kms. Since the approach is to develop village panchayat as the basic unit
of panchayati raj system responsible for planning and implementation of development programme,
it is necessary that its headquarter is not cut off from the people because of long distances. The
facilities which a Panchayat can afford to people should be easily available without much trouble
and expense in travelling long distances. The relationship between the representative body and the
people at the village level should be as close as possible.
The other important factor which has to be considered in connection with determination of
the size of a panchayat circle is the economic viability of the unit. It may be stated here that no
economic viability in the sense of financial freedom at the village level is possible. It cannot be
achieved even if the Panchayt area is enlarged. But still economic considerations have to be kept
in view.
In the foregoing pages an attempt was made to put the issue of size and area of a Village
Panchayat in a logical perspective from the point of view of the population factor, as well as
functionality. In doing so, the recommen-da-tions of the various Committees had also been
referred to in order to know their findings and recommendations. Although each one of the
Committees has given its own verdict on the subject there appears to be a consensus on the need to
rationalise the size and area of village Panchayats. along with rational for retaining the present
system or enlarging the size of the village panchayat.
It is however difficult to arrive at a definite conclusion except that the size of a village
panchayat needs to be determined keeping in view the local politico-administrative system as well
as prevailing pattern of village settlements. No specific criterion which may be considered purely
as scientific and rational from the point of view of economic and functional viability can be
considered for purposes of uniformity all over.
There are instances where the aspect of economic and functional viability have been taken
into account but these have certainly receded in the background in view of the socio-economic
changes which are taking place at a fast rate in the villages. The social structure or the economic

situation is no more the same as it used to be earlier. Also, there is a phenomenal change in the
size of the villages because of a variety of demographic factors.
Operationaliasation of 73rd Constitution Amendment, it may be mentioned, can not be
successful unless it is accompanied by appropriate structural changes in the system about which
no specific guidelines on the issue of the size of the Village Panchayat were prescribed in order to
provide ample freedom to the state governments to decide about the area and size keeping in view
its social system, demographic pattern, and politico-administrative structure. Accordingly,
different state governments either continue to follow the same standards for a size and area of a
village panchayat as they were having earlier or made minor adjustments while constituting these
bodies. As a matter of fact, there are cases such as Karnataka where the exercise of reducing or
increasing the size of the village panchayat has been carried out a number of times. While the
considerations for having a small, medium or large size panchayat will continue to be debated as
each one of the system has its own merits and demerits, the need for a rational criteria based on
economic, administrative and locale viability can not be denied. This is because of the simple
reason that successful operationaliazation of the Constitution 73rd Amendment will be based on the
consideration of viability of panchayats than anything else.
Options :
As stated earlier, the retention of the small, medium and large size village panchayats have
their own merits and demerits. At the same time, it is necessary to have a re-thinking on the whole
issue so that the Panchayats as the basic unit of planning and implementation of development
programmes may not have any in-built handicap. From this angle, it is necessary to emphasize that
the question of viability can not be ignored any more from this angle. It is felt that the size of
village panchayat area must be large enough to afford it to have the minimum required
administrative support and economic viability in terms of revenue collection as well as allocation
of funds. If the village panchayats are allowed to be constituted with a smaller population, it will
hardly be possible to provide them the necessary administrative infrastructure which is so
necessary for the efficient discharge of their functions and also they will not be having adequate
resources or generate or carry out resource mobilization at local level. In the absence of which the
performance will again be affected. If the panchayats are of bigger size, the possible advantages
will be as follows:
I)

Better Administrative Infrastructure;

II) Convergence of Services;

III) Better technical and administrative capability,
IV) Better capacity to perform planning and implementation functions;
V) Availability of better resources.
Moreover, in having larger population the question of efficient management system at the
local level can be ensured which may not be possible if the Panchayats of a smaller size.
One of the arguments which has been put against the large size panchayat is that people will
not be able to participate in its activities through the institution of Gram Sabha or by any other
means. It has also been argued that enlargement of size and area of village panchayat might also
affect the easy accessibility of the people to the panchayat functionaries and the other
representatives. In this connection, it can be pointed out as far as the participation is concerned an
alternative via media can be attempted by way of establishing and strengthening Ward
Committees or Habitation Committees for a smaller population in each panchayat area. These
committees will, because of small size, be able to provide greater interaction among the people
and participation in matters of community interest. For example, the habitation committees in
Kerala because of their small size have been able to enthuse people to participate in the
programmes for local development. The linkage between the habitation committee and the Village
Panchayat will have to be essentially organic because in this scheme the President of each of the
Committee will be a member of the Village Panchayat. Moreover, such committees can be formed

for small size villages having population below 500. In other words, it would mean that about half
of the Indian village communities will straightaway have the advantage of having direct
participation in matters of their own welfare and development.
It can be concluded that the issue of size of Panchayats has not really received the desired
attention so for. The size has generally been decided on the basis of the population of revenue
villages or consideration, which were not rational or scientific. Since the Panchayats are going to
be ultimately entrusted with a wide ranging functions along with funds and functionaries, the time
has come to give a serious thought to the issue of size. It must agreed to that a Panchayats without
financial or administrative viability will not be able to perform the assigned tasks fully. This has
been confirmed by a number of Committees from time to time. Viability factor will have to be
decided by taking into account critical elements such as economic, administrative, geographical
and social system. Besides, the aspect of technology and markets will also have to be considered.
The state governments will to well to look into this issue afresh and work out a more rational and
broad based approach for deciding of a Panchayat. This will of course require bold initiatives.
References :
1.

Government of India, Planning Commission, Proceedings of Annual Conference of Community Development

and Panchayati Raj, New Delhi, July,1965.

2.

Government of Mysore, Development and Cooperation Department, Report of the Committee on Panchayati
Raj, Banglore,1963.

3.

Government of India, Administrative Reforms Commission (Report on District Administration), New

Delhi,1967, Pp 32-35

4.

Government of U.P., Report of the Study Team on Panchayati Raj, Lucknow, 1965, Pp 6-8

5.

Government of Tamil Nadu, Report of the Administrative Reforms Commission, Madras,1973.

6.

Government of Tamil Nadu, State Planning Commission Report, Madras,1976.

7.

Government of Andhra Pradesh, Report of the Study Team on Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad,1981, Pp. 27-29

8. Government of Gujarat, Report of the Democratic Decentralisation Committee, Ahmedabad,1960, Pp, 47-55.
9.
Government of India, Report of the Committee on Panchayati Raj Institutions, New Delhi,1971, Pp 2541.