In this article you will learn about the 11th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
11th Schedule of Indian Constitution
The 11th Schedule of the Indian Constitution pertains to the Panchayats, which are local self-government bodies in rural areas of India. The 11th Schedule was added to the Constitution by the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992, which aimed to strengthen and empower these local governance institutions.
This Schedule covers 29 important subjects which are to be within the purview of the Panchayats. All the subjects come in the category of subjects connected with Agriculture, Rural Development, Improvement of Irrigation and Land Health, Animal Husbandry, Social Forestry, in fact almost everything deemed vital for social, economic and cultural development of the rural people.
In fact, the entire 73rd amendment was governed by the objective of implementing the letter and spirit of Article 40 (Directive Principles of State Policy Part IV) of the Indian Constitution which states, “State shall take steps to organise village panchayat and endow them with such powers and authorities as may be necessary to enable them the function as units of self government.” As part of chapter IV, this directive to the state was non-justiciable. After 73rd Amendment Act it became justiciable as it required each state government to bring 29 subjects listed in the 11th Schedule of the constitution within the purview of the Panchayats - the basic local unit (working at the Village level) of the Panchayati Raj.
The objective of empowering the Village Panchayats, as directed by Article 40, got a concrete shape with the 73rd Amendment Act 1992 and the 11th Schedule of the constitution that got enlisted in the Constitution as a part of this important Constitutional Amendment.
Subjects of 11th Schedule of Indian Constitution (Article 243G)
- Agriculture, including agricultural extension.
- Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land consolidation, and soil conservation.
- Minor irrigation, water management, and watershed development.
- Animal husbandry, dairying, and poultry.
- Fisheries.
- Social forestry and farm forestry.
- Minor forest produce.
- Small-scale industries, including food processing industries.
- Khadi, village, and cottage industries.
- Rural housing.
- Drinking water.
- Fuel and fodder.
- Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways, and other means of communication.
- Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.
- Non-conventional energy sources.
- Poverty alleviation programs.
- Education, including primary and secondary schools.
- Technical training and vocational education.
- Adult and non-formal education.
- Libraries.
- Cultural activities.
- Markets and fairs.
- Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres, and dispensaries.
- Family welfare.
- Women and child development.
- Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and mentally ill.
- Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
- Public distribution system.
- Maintenance of community assets.
This article on 11th Schedule of Indian Constitution is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.