GSIAS BLOGS: Indian Polity Notes

District Magistrate
However, it is the District Magistrate who is in-charge of the whole district administration. This post is also named as Deputy Commissioner, District Collector or Upayukta. He/She belongs to the Indian Adminstrative Service (IAS). District administration is responsible to implement the policies and programmes of the State and Central governments. Especially after independence, the district administration is responsible not only for collection of revenue or taxes and maintenance of law and order, but is also for various activities related to welfare and socio-economic development of the district.

District had been an important unit of administration since long. During the British colonial period, it was mainly responsible for maintaining law and order and collection of revenues. But at present, state administration has been decentralized and the district administration is playing multi-faceted role. The District Magistrate, therefore, has been assigned various important powers and functions to perform on behalf of the State government. The main functions of District Magistrate are as follows:

1. maintaining law and order and ensuring peace in the district;
2. implementing various policies and programmes of the State government and the
Central government;
3. acting as the main link between State government and district level institutions and offices;
4. co-ordinating the activities of different departments such as education, health,welfare, land management, police, jail and culture;
5. taking adequate and appropriate measures during emergencies and disasters and
conducting relief work;
6. ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections for various representative bodies,such as Lok Sabha,Vidhan Sabha, Block Samities, Zila Parishad, Municipalities,etc.;

7. managing collection of the revenue and other taxes;
8. performing judicial functions and deciding various disputes and even imposing penalties and fines;
9. listening to the grievances of the people and redressing them.

Sub Divisional Officer
For better administration each district is divided into smaller units called Sub Divisions. Although the sub divisions of the district are under the District Magistrate, an officer called the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) is made in-charge of this unit. The SDO is there to assist the District Magistrate in the field of administration and also works as his/her representative.

The SDO belongs to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or to the cadre of State Civil Service. He/She keeps the land records and collects land revenue. He/She has the power to issue licenses for armed weapons like guns and pistols, and is also authorized for the issuance of Driving License, Certificates regarding the domicile, Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes and other Backward Classes.

The Block Development Officer
The Block is the unit of administration at the lowest level. The officer in-charge of the Block is called Block Development Officer (BDO). He/She belongs to State Civil Service cadre and looks after various activities of the Block. The BDO is linked with the middle tier of Panchayati Raj as he/she is the ex-officio Secretary of the Panchayat Samiti and keeps the record of the meetings, prepares budget and coordinates various developmental activities.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF MUNICIPAL COUNCILS AND NAGAR PANCHAYATS

Composition

Cities which do not have very large population have Municipalities known as Municipal Councils to look after the local cities, their problems and developmental work. After the 74thAmendment, the constitution of Municipalities is obligatory for every concerned city. Every Municipal Council has Councillors who are elected by the adult voters of the city for 5 years. Only those persons can be elected as Councillors who fulfill the conditions laid down by the State Election Commission. If in any case, the Municipal Council gets dissolved before completing the full term of 5 years, the elections for a new Municipal Council will have to be held within six months.

Chairperson or President of the Municipal Council is elected by the Councillors from among the elected members. Chairperson holds the office till he/ she enjoys the confidence of the majority of the elected members. Every Municipal Council has an Executive Officer who is appointed by the State government. He/She looks after the day-to-day work and also the administration. The Health Officer, Tax Superintendent, Civil Engineer are the other important officers.

Functions of the Municipal Council
Functions of the Municipal Council are as follows:

1. Health and Sanitation - Managing cleanliness of the town, disposal of garbage,prevention of sale of unhygienic and adulterated food items, and maintenance of dispensaries or hospitals;

2. Electricity and Water Supply - Ensuring supply of electricity and safe drinking water, maintaining water tanks and also water tankers;

3. Education - Maintaining and running of primary schools and literacy centres.

4. Birth and Death Records - Keeping the records regarding registration of birth and deaths in the city/town and also issuing the certificates for the same;

5. Public Works - Paving of streets, repairing and maintenance of municipal roads,
construction and maintenance of Barat Ghars, Community Halls, Markets, Public facilities etc.

Sources of Income
No work can be done without money. Municipal Councils have got different sources of income. These sources can be grouped as under:

Taxes: Taxes on properties, vehicles, entertainment and advertisement;

Rents and fees/charges: Charges for water supply, sewer system; Licenses fees, Rents of the community Halls, Barat Ghars and Shops etc.;

Grants from the State government;

Fines: Fines from the tax offenders, law breakers, on encroachments etc.

Nagar Panchayats
An urban centre with more than 30,000 and less than 100,000 inhabitants has a Nagar Panchayat. However, there are some exceptions. All the previous Town Area Committees (urban centres with a total population of more than 5,000 and less than 20,000) are designated as Nagar Panchayats. It is composed of a Chairperson and Ward Members. It may have a minimum of ten elected Ward Members and three nominated Members. Like other municipal bodies, Nagar Panchayat is responsible for

(a) Cleanliness and disposal of garbage;

(b) Supply of drinking water;

(d) Setting up and maintaining fire services; and

(e) Registration of deaths and births. Its sources of income are: Taxes such as house tax, water tax, toll tax; License fees and fee for approving building plans; Rents collected by renting Barat Ghars and other properties; and Grant-in- Aid from the State government.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS

Composition

Municipal Corporations are established in big cities according to the provisions made in the Acts enacted by the State Legislatures. The Councillors of Municipal Corporations are elected for 5 years. The elected Councillors elect one of them as Mayor annually. The Mayor is known as the first citizen of the city. The 74th Constitutional Amendment has provided for reservation of not less than 1/3rd of the total seats for women.

There is also a provision of reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections in proportion to their population. Out of these reserved seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, one-third would be reserved for women belonging to these communities. In the event of dissolution of Municipal Corporation, the elections will be held within six months. There is an official post of Municipal Commissioner, who is the Chief Executive Officer and is appointed by the State government. In case of Union Territories like Delhi it is done by the Central government.

Municipal Corporation

Functions of the Municipal Corporations

The main functions of the Municipal Corporation are as follows:
1. Health and Sanitation: Responsible for cleanliness of the city, disposal of garbage; maintenance of hospitals and dispensaries; promoting and conducting vaccination drives; checking of adulteration etc.

2. Electricity and Water Supply: Provision and maintenance of street lights, supply of electricity, supply of safe drinking water; construction of infrastructure and providing facilities for water supply, maintenance of water tankers etc.

3. Educational: Establishment of primary schools, provision of mid-day meals and other facilities for the children.

4. Public works: Construction, maintenance and naming of roads; framing rules for the constructions of houses, markets, restaurants and hotels; removing of encroachments and demolition of dangerous buildings.

5. Miscellaneous functions: Maintaining record of Births & Deaths; provision and
maintenance of cremation grounds/burial grounds, night shelters; making arrangements of scooter & taxi stands and public facilities.

6. Discretionary functions:
(a) Entertainment: Provision of parks, auditoriums etc.;

(b) Cultural: Organizing music, dramas, painting and other art shows; and
activities like maintaince of libraries and museums;

(c) Sports Activities: Provision of play grounds for various games and also
arranging sports competitions & tournaments;

(d) Welfare Services: Setting up and maintaining Community halls; running
public distribution system; implementing family welfare schemes and also
schemes for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes &
backward classes.

Main Functions of Mayor
Mayor is the elected as the head of the Municipal Corporation and performs the following important functions:

presides over the meetings of the Corporation and maintains decorum and discipline in the meetings;

acts as a link between Councillors and the State government;

receives foreign dignitaries visiting the city.

Sources of Income of Municipal Corporation

Like Panchayati Raj System, Muncipal System also requires funds for the development

and welfare activities in its area. Provision is made in the Municipal Act for generating
the required funds. Some of the sources of income are as follows:

Income from taxes: Municipal Corporation imposes taxes on various items such

as – house tax, entertainment tax, tax on hoardings and advertisements,

registration fees, tax on building plans etc.

Other fees and charges: These include water supply charges, electricity charges,
sewer charges, license fee from shop keepers, and toll tax and octoroi duty.

Grants-in-Aid: State government and Union government provide grants-in-aid
for various projects and programmes related to development.

Income from Rents: Corporations rent out the properties and get rent for various
shops, kiosks, community centres, Barat Ghars and various sites for fairs,
marriages or other exhibitions.

WHAT IS URBAN LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND EXPLAIN 74TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ACT 1992

As Panchayati Raj System is meant for rural area, similarly there are institutions of urban
local government. There are three types of urban local bodies –

(a) Municipal Corporations for the big cities,

(b) Municipal Councils for all other cities with smaller population and

But a significant difference between Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and the urban local bodies is that while the PRIs are closely linked with one another, the urban local bodies are independent. In one State there may be all the three types of urban local bodies: in one big city a Municipal Corporation, in another small city a Municipal Council and in yet another small town a Nagar Panchayat. But they are not linked with one another.

It was during the British colonial rule that the first urban local government came into
existence in 1688 when a Municipal Corporation was formed in the city of Madras (now known as Chennai). Later on, similar bodies were formed for the administration at Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay (Mumbai). At that time these municipalities were formed to help in the matter of sanitation and prevent epidemics. These Local bodies also had a few civic functions like managing water supply and drainage.

But theses bodies were not given the required powers, finance and authority. Initially most of the members were nominated. Our national leaders also had felt the importance and need of such an organization for the local administration and linked these bodies to the planned development of the country. But nothing fruitful could be achieved without finance and the finance was missing. But even then this system proved to be an effective tool of administration. During the British rule many changes were made in urban local bodies. Gradually certain structural changes were made, powers of the local bodies were enhanced and some funds were also provided.

After independence four types of urban local bodies were functioning:
(i) Municipal Corporations, (ii) Municipalities, (iii) Town Area Committees and (iv) Notified Area Committees.

But the 74th Constitutional Amendment 1992 brought about major changes in the system of urban local government. Now three types of urban local governments are functioning:

(a) Municipal Corporations for the big cities,
(b) Municipal Councils for smaller cities and
(c) Nagar Panchayats for those areas that are in transition from rural areas to urban areas.

The 74th Constituional Amendment 1992

As stated above, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act 1992 brought about significant changes in the structure and functioning of urban local government. The following points are noteworthy:

Constitution of urban local bodies (namely, Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, and Nagar Panchayat) in every Indian State;

Constitution of Wards Committees within the territorial area of a municipality, to ensure people’s participation in civic affairs at the grass-root level;

Regular and fair conduct of municipal elections by State Election Commissions; provision for supersession of municipal governments for not more than 6 months;

Adequate representation of weaker sections (i.e., Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes) of the society and women in municipal governments through reservation of seats;

Specification by law, through the State Legislatures, of the powers (including financial) and functional responsibilities to be entrusted to municipalities and wards committees;

Constitution of State Finance Commissions, once in every 5 years, to review the financial position of municipalities and to make recommendations on the measures needed to improve their financial position; and

Constitution of a District Planning Committee at the district level and a Metropolitan Planning Committee in metropolitan areas of every State, for the preparation and consolidation of development plans.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF ZILA PARISHAD

Composition

Zila Parishad is at the apex, being the third tier of Panchayati Raj System. It is situated at the district level. Zila Parishad also has a term of 5 years. Some of its members are directly elected and the Chairpersons of the Panchayat Samitis are ex-officio members. MPs and MLAs belonging to the district are also the members of Zila Parishad. Chairperson of the Zila Parishad is elected from the directly elected members. Not less than 1/3rd of the offices and seats are reserved for the women members. Seats are also reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Functions of the Zila Parishad

The following are the major functions of the Zila Parishad, though you may find some
variations across the States:

1. providing essential services and facilities to the rural population, planning and executing the development programmes for the district;

2. supplying improved seeds to farmers, informing them of new techniques of farming, undertaking construction of small-scale irrigation projects and percolation tanks, and maintaining pastures and grazing lands;

3. setting up and running schools in villages, executing programmes for adult literacy, and running libraries;

4. starting Primary Health Centers and hospitals in villages, managing mobile hospitals for hamlets, conducting vaccination drives against epidemics and family welfare campaigns;

5. executing plans for the development of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes,
running ashram for adivasi children, and setting up free hostels for scheduled caste
students;

6. encouraging entrepreneurs to start small scale industries like cottage industries,
handicrafts, agriculture products, processing mills, dairy farms, etc., and implementing rural employment schemes; and

7. constructing roads, schools and also taking care of the public properties;

Sources of Income of Zila Parshad
As you have seen, the Zila Parishad performs a number of important functions. For exciting them it needs money. This is arranged through its sources of income that are as follows:

1. income from taxes levied by Zila Parishad, license fees and market fees;

2. a share is given to Zila Parishad from the collected land revenue;

3. income from various properties of Zila Praishad;

4. grants from the State and Central governments; and

5. funds allotted by the State for developmental activities.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS AND COMPOSITION OF PANCHAYAT SAMITI

Composition
Panchayat Samiti is the intermediate or the middle tier of the Panchayati Raj System. These are named differently in different States. Its organization and functions also vary as these are determined by the Act passed by the concerned State. It coordinates all the activities of the Panchayats in a Block. A Panchayat Samiti is constituted by the following members:

All the Sarpanches (Mukhias) or Chairpersons of the Gram Panchayats within the Block
MPs, MLAs and MLCs of that Block
Some directly elected Members
The elected Members of Zila Parishad from that Block
Some Officers of that Block

NOTE: A Panchayat Samiti is created at the Block level. Each Block consists of the areas of several Panchayats. In different States it is known by different names:
in Andhra Pradesh Mandal Praja Parishad, Assam the Anchalik Panchayat, Gujarat the Taluka Panchayat, Karnataka the Mandal Panchayat, Madhya Pradesh the Janapada Panchayat, Tamil Nadu, the Panchayat Union Council, and Uttar Pradesh the Kshetra Samiti. However, its most popular name happens to be Panchayat Samiti.

The term of each Panchayat Samiti is five years in all States. In its very first meeting,
each Panchayat Samiti elects two of its members as Chairperson and ViceChairperson. Chairpersonships of at least 1/3rd Panchayat Samities stand reserved for women members. Likewise, some of the offices of Chairperson are reserved for members belonging to Scheduled Castes. The tenure of the Chairperson is coterminous with the tenure of the Panchayat Samiti. The members of a Panchayat Samiti can remove the Chairperson by passing a resolution supported by 2/3rd majority. A Panchayat Samiti usually meets at least six times in one year. There cannot be a gap of more than two months between its two meetings. A meeting of Panchayat Samiti is either ordinary or special. The date of every meeting is fixed by the Chairperson of the Panchayat Samiti and in his/her absence by the Vice-Chairperson. Its chief administrative officer is Block Development Officer popularly known as BDO.

Functions of Panchayat Samiti

Panchayat Samiti performs a number of functions. Some important functions are:
agriculture, land improvement, watershed development, social and farm forestry, and technical and vocational education. Besides, the Panchayat Samiti implements certain
schemes and programmes for which specific funds are allocated by the State
government or Central government. It promotes and coordinates different development
programmes of its areas. It also has the responsibilities like
(a) provision of drinking water in the villages,
(b) development and repair of rural roads,
(c) framing of rules and regulations for the markets,
(d) provision of improved seeds and chemical fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural tools and implements,
(e) promotion of cottage industries such as handlooms, handicrafts, traditional art and artisans,
(f) the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Tribes and other backward classes, and
(g) promotion of the self employment schemes in the rural areas.

Sources of Income

The main source of income of Panchayat Samiti is the Grants given by the State
government. Besides, it also levies taxes, levies and receives a fixed percentage of
land revenue.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS AND SOURCES OF FUNDS OF GRAM PANCHAYATS

A. Organisation
Village Panchayat also called Gram Panchayat is the grass root institution of Panchayati Raj System. At village level there is a Gram Sabha or Village Assembly and a Gram Panchayat having a Chairperson known as Gram Pradhan or Sarpanch (Mukhia), a Vice Chairperson and some Panches. In fact, the Village Panchayats are organized and they function according to the Act passed by every State government. That is why, you may find variations in different States. But mostly, the Panchayati Raj Institutions are organized and they function as follows:

A Gram Sabha or Village Assembly consists of all the adults i.e. voters (persons above the age of 18 years) living in the area of a Gram Panchayat i.e., village or a group of small villages. The Gram Sabha has now been recognized as a legal body. It acts like the legislative body. In one year at least two meetings of the Gram Sabha are held. In its first meeting the Gram Sabha considers the budget of the Gram Panchayat. In its second meeting it considers the reports of the Gram Panchayat. The main functions of Gram Sabha are to review the annual accounts of Panchayat, discuss audit and administrative reports and the tax proposals of its Panchayat and accept community service, voluntary labour and schemes for Panchayat. The members of Gram Sabha elect the members and also the Chairperson of Gram Panchayat. The States have to ensure that all the Gram Sabhas in their respective areas are functional.

The Village Panchayat or Gram Panchayat is the executive committee of Gram Sabha. It is the most important unit of rural local self-government. As we have seen, all the members of each Gram Sabha are voters who elect the members of the Panchayat by a secret ballot. In most of the States, a Village Panchayat has 5 to 9 members who are called Panches. In every Panchayat, one-third of the seats are reserved for women. However, there are States where the percentage of seats reserved for women is even more. Seats are also reserved for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Sarpanch (Mukhia) of the Panchayat is directly elected by all the voters of the village. Some offices of Sarpanches are now reserved for women, and some for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Sarpanch calls the meetings of the Panchayat and presides over those meetings. He/She is to call at least one meeting of the Panchayat per month.
The Panches can also request him/her for calling a special meeting. He/She has to
call such special meeting within three days of the request. Sarpanch keeps the records
of the meetings of Panchayat. The Panchayat can assign any special function to him/
her. A Vice Chairperson is elected by the members of the Panchayat. The tenure
of the Village Panchayat is of 5 years.

B. Functions of Gram Panchayats
All the major functions of Gram Panchayat are related to the welfare and development of the village. With a view to fulfill the needs and requirements of the villagers every Gram Panchayat has to perform some important functions such as provision of safe drinking water, paving of streets, developing and maintaining good drainage system, ensuring cleanliness of the village, upkeep of street lights, dispensary, etc. These functions are known as obligatory functions. Some other functions are discretionary and can be performed, if the Panchayat has the resources and funds. These are plantation of trees, setting up and maintenance of insemination centre for cattle, developing and maintaining play ground for sports and setting up and running the library. From time to time some other functions can be assigned to Panchayats by the State government or Union government. But along with these functions of Panchayats, every member of the village also has the duty towards his/ her village. One should keep the surroundings of his /her home clean, not waste drinking water and plant more and more trees.

C. Sources of Income of Gram Panchayats
Financial resources are essential for performance of the functions by Panchayats, whether these are obligatory functions or developmental work. Gram Panchayats can work better, if they have adequate funds to spend. Over and above the Grants-inaid, State governments have empowered Panchayats to levy taxes and collect funds. Some of the sources are as follows:
1. taxes on property, land, goods and cattle;
2. rent collected for facilities like Barat Ghar or any other property of panchayat;
3. various types of fines collected from the offenders;
4. grants-in- aid from the State government and Union government;
5. a part of the land revenue collected by the State government given to the Panchayats; and
6. donations collected from the villagers for some common cause.

WHAT IS PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM AND EXPLAIN ABOUT THE 73RD CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ACT 1992

PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM

Panchayats used to be the seat of justice.Local disputes and other problems were referred to Panchayats and their decisions used to be respected by one and all. Our national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi had a firm faith in this system. The Constitution makers also considered this system to be very important and made provisions for it in the Directive Principles of State Policy. The Constitution states that the State shall take steps to organize Village Panchayats and empower them with such powers and authorities as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of local self government.

As a follow up, the present day Panchayats began functioning under the Community Development Programme introduced during the first Five year Plan. To make the system more effective a Committee was formed under the Chairmanship of Balwant Rai Mehta that went into its details.

The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee in its report submitted in 1957 recommended the establishment of a three-tier Panchayati Raj System: Gram Panchayats at the village level, the Panchayat Samitis at the block level or intermediate level and the Zila Parishad at the district level. In 1958, the National Development Council also recommended a similar structure of local government where village was at the bottom of the system and district at the top. However, it is the 73rd Constitutional Amendment 1992 that provided the present shape to the Panchayati Raj System. Now the Panchayati Raj Institutions in most of the States have been set up at three levels, village, intermediate and district levels. But in smaller States having a population of less than 20 lakh, there are only two tiers, the village level and the district level

The three tier structure of Panchayati Raj System

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment 1992
The passage of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 marks a new era in the federal democratic set up of the country and provides constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The main features of the Act are:

(i) establishment of a three-tier structure: Village Panchayat (Gram Panchayat); intermediate panchayat (Panchayat Samiti; and the district panchayat (Zila Parishad);

(ii) regular elections, every five years;

(iii) reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population;

(iv) not less than one-third reservation of seats for women at three different levels of PRIs;

(v) establishment of State Finance Commissions to recommend measures to improve the finances of panchayats;

(vi) establishment of State Election Commissions to conduct election to the PRIs;

(vii) establishment of District Planning Committees to prepare development plans for the districts;

(viii) preparation of plans for economic development and social justice and their execution concerning 29 subjects listed in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution;

(ix) establishment of Grama Sabha (village assemblies) and their empowerment as a decision making body at the village level; and

(x) rotation in accordance with the reservation of seats for women and the Scheduled Castes in the PRIs.

By the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been given such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function. It contains provisions for devolution of powers and responsibilities related to

(a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice; and

(b) the implementation of such schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them.

NOTE: Consequent upon the enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, almost all the States/UTs, except J&K, NCT Delhi and Uttaranchal have enacted their legislation. Moreover, almost all the States/UTs have held local body elections. As a result, 2,32,278 Panchayats at village level; 6,022 Panchayats at intermediate level and 535 Panchayats at district level have been constituted in the country. These Panchayats are being manned by about 29.2 lakh elected representatives of Panchayats at all levels. This is the broadest representative base that exists in any country of the world.

Thursday, 21 January 2016

THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

A more direct activist role of the state in bringing forth socio-economic transformation was
assigned by the Constitution of India through Directive Principles of State Policy. These
principles are not directly enforceable by the law courts. But the courts, while interpreting the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights, are to be guided by them. The Constitution enjoins the state to regard them as fundamental in governance and to apply them when making laws.

Common Good and Life of Dignity
The most fundamental directive to the state is to strive to secure a social order in which justice,social, economic and political shall inform all the institutions of their national life. The state shall, in particular, strive to minimise inequalities in income and eliminate inequalities of status,facilities and opportunities not only among the individuals but also among groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations (Article 38). In particular the state shall direct its policies toward securing adequate means of livelihood for all citizens, men and women equally, distribution of ownership and control to best serve the common good, preventing concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment, ensuring equal pay for equal work for both men and women, protection of the health and strength of the workers,men and women, prevention of the abuse of the children, and facilitation of the children to grow in a healthy manner and with freedom and dignity (Article 39).

In the Sphere of Law
Most other Articles in this part of the Constitution (Part IV) are elaborations of these basic
objectives. The state shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on
a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic and other disabilities (Article 39A, added in 1977 by the 42nd amendment to the Constitution). The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India (Article 44). The state shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the state (Article 50).

The state shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers
and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government
(Article 40).

In the Economic Sphere
There is a more guarded promise in the economic sphere. The state shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to
work, to education and to public assistance in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and
disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want (Article 41). The right to work as such
cannot be granted by any liberal democratic state simply because it does not control all the
means of production. The system of social insurance is also provided by only developed
industrial countries though its operation is unstable. For a developing country like India the
promise of universal right to work and/or social insurance is obviously too ambitious.
The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of the
people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular,
endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of
intoxicating and harmful drugs (Article 47).

Rights of Workers
The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for
maternity relief. The state shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic
organisation or in any other way, to all workers, industrial, agricultural or otherwise, a living
wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and
social and cultural opportunities and, in particular, the state shall endeavour to promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas (Article 43). By the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, the State was enjoined to take steps, by suitable legislation or any other way, to secure the participation or workers in the management of undertakings,establishments of other organisations engaged in any industry (Article 43A)

For Children and the Weaker Sections
The state is directed to provide, within a period of ten years (from the proclamation of the
Constitution) to all children up to the age of fourteen years (Article 45).
The state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Article 46).

In the Sphere of Agriculture and Environment
The state shall endeavour to develop agriculture and industry along modern scientific lines
(Article 48).

It is the obligation of the state to protect every monument or place or object of historic interest declared by the Parliament to be of national importance from spoilation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be (Article 49).
Article 48A, incorporated by the 42nd amendment in 1977 enjoins the duty to protect and
improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.