{{Short description|Rural local government body in India}} {{other uses|Panchayat (disambiguation)}} {{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}} {{Politics of India}} '''Panchayat samiti''' or '''block panchayat''' is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate block level or tehsil (taluka/mandal) level in India. It works for the villages of the block that together are called a development block. It has been said to be the "panchayat of panchayats".<ref>A textbook: {{cite book|author=Sudeshna Sengupta|title=History & Civics 9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJL5Rk6aHYUC&pg=PA51|year=2008|publisher=Ratna Sagar|location=Delhi|isbn=978-81-8332-364-2|page=51|quote= The Panchayat Samiti [...] is also referred to as the Community Block and is in fact the Panchayat of Panchayats.}}</ref> {{Infobox political system | name = Block Panchayat | native_name = पंचायत समिति | native_name_lang = hi | government = Local self-government, | type = Intermediate-level administrative body | legislature = Block-level council (elected members) | part_of = Panchayati Raj System (along with Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad) | background_color = LightGreen | formation = 1959 (formal system strengthened after 73rd Amendment, 1992) | title_leader = President ({{small|''Chairperson''}}) | cabinet_appointer = District Panchayat Officer (varies state to state) | courts = Nyaya Panchayat (under certain states) }}
The 73rd Amendment defines the levels of panchayati raj institution as :<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncert.nic.in/ncerts/textbook/textbook.htm?keps2=8-10|title=National Council Of Educational Research And Training :: Home}}</ref>
* District level * Intermediate level * Base level
The panchayat samiti is the link between the gram panchayat (village council) and the zila parishad (district council).<ref name="Sarkar">{{Cite book|last=Sarkar |first=Siuli|year=2010|chapter=7.3.3 Panchayat Samiti|title=Public Administration In India|location=New Delhi|publisher=PHI Learning Private Ltd.|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=smahlYxg-8YC|page=178}}|pages= 178–180|isbn=978-81-203-3979-8}}</ref> The name varies across states: ''mandal parishad'' in Andhra Pradesh, ''taluka panchayat'' in Gujarat, and ''mandal panchayat or taluk panchayat'' in Karnataka, ''block panchayat'' in Kerala, ''panchayat union'' in Tamilnadu, ''janpad panchayat'' in Madhya Pradesh, ''Panchayat Samiti'' in Rajasthan, ''anchalik panchayat'' in Assam.
In India, local self-government bodies exist at intermediary level and are known by different names in different states. For example, in Kerala, they are called "block panchayats," while in other states, they may be referred to as "panchayat samiti," "mandal parishad," "taluka panchayat," "janpad panchayat," "panchayat union", or "anchalik panchayat." These bodies are responsible for providing various services to the people in their respective areas, such as sanitation, healthcare, education, and infrastructure.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Block Panchayaths {{!}} CRD |url=https://rdd.lsgkerala.gov.in/en/blocks/58 |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=rdd.lsgkerala.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Panchayat institutions in Tamilnadu |url=https://www.tnrd.tn.gov.in/pract/chapter_III.htm#15 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Panchayati Raj {{!}} Panchayat & Rural Development {{!}} Government Of Assam, India |url=https://pnrd.assam.gov.in/information-services/panchayati-raj-0 |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=pnrd.assam.gov.in |archive-date=4 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504073628/https://pnrd.assam.gov.in/information-services/panchayati-raj-0 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Panchayat Samiti in Maharashtra |url=https://rdd.maharashtra.gov.in/en/Panchayat-Samiti-And-Zilla-Parishad |access-date=4 May 2023 |archive-date=5 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705121816/https://rdd.maharashtra.gov.in/en/Panchayat-Samiti-And-Zilla-Parishad |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Composition == The Panchayat Samiti is divided into territorial constituencies, each represented by a directly elected member, who collectively form the Panchayat Samiti council. The samiti is elected for five years and is headed by a chairperson/president and deputy chairperson/vice president elected by the members of the panchayat samiti.<ref name="Singh-265" />
The Block Development Officer / Secretary is the executive officer of the Panchayat Samiti, appointed by the state government, and is assisted by sectoral development officers.<ref name=":0" />
It acts as a coordinating body between district panchayat and gram panchayat.
=== Elected Members ===
* Chairperson / President of the Panchayat Samiti (directly or indirectly elected) * Vice Chairperson / Vice President of the Panchayat Samiti * Chairpersons of the various standing committee * Elected members from constituencies
=== Ex-Officio Members === Typically, a block panchayat is composed of elected members of the area: the block development officer, members of the state's legislative assembly, members of parliament belonging to that area, otherwise unrepresented groups (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women), associate members (such as a farmer, a representative of the cooperative societies and one from the agricultural marketing services sector) and the elected members of that panchayat block (tehsil) on the zila parishad (district board), chairpersons/presidents of gram panchayats in the block.<ref name="Singh-265">{{Cite book|last=Singh |first=Singh Vipul|year=2010|chapter=Section II Civics: Chapter 8 Rural Local Self-Government|title=Longman History & Civics ICSE 9|location=Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India|publisher=Dorling Kindersley (India) Private Ltd.|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=EXPouL4BYTMC|page=265}}|page= 265]|isbn=978-81-317-2041-7}}</ref>
One sarpanch samiti supervises the other gram panchayats.
=== Composition of mandal parishads in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana === A coterminous mandal parishad is constituted for each revenue mandal. A mandal parishad is composed of:
* Mandal parishad territorial constituency members * Members of the state legislative assembly having jurisdiction over the mandal * Members of the House of the People having jurisdiction over the mandal * Members of the Council of States who are voters in the mandal * One co-opted member, belonging to minorities
Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) members are directly elected by the voters, whereas the mandal president is elected by the MPTC members. The members are elected for a term of five years. The election to MPTCs is done on a party basis. The elections are conducted by the state election commission.
The ''sarpanch'' are permanent invitees to the mandal parishad meetings.
== Departments == The most common departments found in a panchayat samiti are:<ref name="Sarkar" /> {{div col}} * Administration * Finance * Public works (especially water and roads) * Agriculture * Health * Education teacher list * Social welfare * Information technology * Women & child development * ''Panchayat raj'' (''mandal praja parishad'') {{div col end}}
Each department in a panchayat samiti has its own officer. Most often these are state government employees acting as extension officers, but occasionally in more revenue-rich panchayat samiti, they may be local employees. A government-appointed Block Development Officer (BDO) is the supervisor of the extension officers and executive officer to the panchayat samiti and becomes, in effect, its administrative chief.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Arora |first1= Ramesh Kumar |last2=Goyal |first2=Rajni |author-link2=Rajni Goyal|year=1995|chapter=Chapter 17 Panchayat Raj: Struggle For Effectiveness |title=Indian Public Administration: Institutions and Issues|edition=second|location=New Delhi|publisher=Wishwa Prakashan|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=nvzcy7o4sgAC|page=298}}|pages=298–300|isbn=978-81-7328-068-9}}</ref>
== Functions == The panchayat samiti collects all the prospective plans prepared at gram panchayat level and processes them for funding and implementation by evaluating them from the angles of financial constraints, social welfare, and area development. It also identifies and prioritizes the issues that should be addressed at the block level.
== Sources of income == The income of the panchayat samiti comes from:<ref name="Singh-264">{{harvnb|Singh|2010|page={{google books |plainurl=y |id=EXPouL4BYTMC|page=264}}|p= 264}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|year=2011|chapter=Section A Civics: Chapter 7 Local Self-Government|title=History & Civics IX|edition=eighth|location=New Delhi|publisher=Rachna Sagar Private Ltd.|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=LI8TT1gK5DAC|page=67}}page=67|isbn=978-81-8137-083-9}}</ref><ref name="Madan">{{Cite book|author=Madan, G. R.|year=1990|chapter=Chapter 16 Panchayati Raj|title=India's Developing Villages|edition=second|location=New Delhi|publisher=Allied Publishers|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=FQbujJdepwkC|page=343}}|page= 343]|isbn=978-81-7023-281-0}}</ref> * Land and water use taxes, professional taxes, liquor taxes and others * Income-generating programmes * Grants-in-aid and loans from the state government and the local zila parishad * Voluntary contributions
For many panchayat samiti, the main source of income is state-aid. For others, the traditional taxing function provides the bulk of revenues. Tax revenues are often shared between the gram panchayats and the panchayat samiti.<ref name="Singh-264" /><ref name="Madan" />
== References == {{Reflist|2}} {{-}}
{{Local government in India}}
Category:Panchayati raj (India)