Importance Of Local Self Government

1.1 Introduction
Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by such local bodies who have been elected by the local people. An elementary level of local self-governments was operative in the Vedic times. With the passage of time, the nature, character and role of the Local Self Governments have undergone sea changes, so much so that the Panchayat of today owes very little to the local government of the past. Now, the Constitution of India provides that the state would take steps to establish autonomous bodies in the form of village panchayats. This level of local government is now recognized by the people as they are close to the citizens and involve them in the decision making process. Decentralization of powers is a pre-requisite …show more content…
However after Independence, the Constitution of India as framed on federal principles, divided the functions of the government into three lists such as Central, State and Concurrent lists. The local bodies come under the State List and in case of Union territories under the Central List. These local bodies provide services to the local community as well as act as an instrument of democratic self-government. Local self-governing institutions may be called the cradle for democracy. They provide the best training in good citizenship. They are primary schools for the future parliamentarians and national leaders. In the complicated political structure of today, the three vital organs of the Government remain burdened with duties of different types. Local problems demand on the spot enquiry and quick solutions. This demand is best met best by the local institutions. Besides relieving the pressure on the Government, the local bodies serve some other useful purposes. They bring about awakening the people of the locality and arouse their active interest in problems which concern them vitally. They moreover, make the citizens feel actively associated with the administrative machinery of their …show more content…
There cannot be true federalism without the local people having near-complete control over their destinies through their elected governments or empowered stake-holders’ groups over all matters of day-to-day concern to them. The locally elected governments at all levels, viz., village, town, city, sub-district or district must be completely autonomous and must be recognized as tiers of self-governance on par with the Union and the States. They must have their own local legislatures to deal with subjects under their jurisdiction and their own elected executives. The local bureaucracy must be totally responsible to the local elected governments alone. Just as the Union-State relations are highly skewed, local self-governance has been either non-existent, or where it exists, has been severely eroded by