Importence Of Information And Technology In Indian Panchayati Raj System

Abstract

The panchayats represent democratic decentralized governance in India. The lowest tier of the panchayats – the gram panchayats – were envisioned to provide opportunities to the rural grassroots for participation in the governing process from taking decisions to preparation, implementation and supervision of various development programs. To strengthen the grassroots democratic process gram sabhas (under the 73rd constitutional Amendment Act, 1992) were formed as nodal bodies for approval and sanction of work done by the gram panchayats. The gram sabha provides a platform to the villagers to meet and discuss their problems and also ensure accountability of gram panchayats. The functioning of these gram sabhas has, however, not been smooth and they have come under much flak due to lack of regularity and transparency. There have been various suggestions and efforts to improve the participation of the grassroots in the panchayat process but conventional methods have not been very successful. The concept of e-Panchayats and the endeavor to use information and communication technologies to allow for e-Governance at the grassroots level has been gaining ground in these circumstances. The objective of this paper is to explore the use of Information and Communication technology (ICT) tools in the panchayats especially at the elementary level for better governance, participation and development. The paper will investigate the tools that are being used for the invoking of digital panchayats, their effectiveness and will also suggest alternative tools that can be used for the above purpose.