Countdown to ZP polls

EDITORIAL

If empowered, Zilla P’yats can help improve governance; for now their functioning is limited

Zilla panchayats are in the news once again in Goa. The buzz is more because, for all political parties, the elections to the two, district-level, self-governing bodies are important, the reason being that the assembly polls are little more than a year away.

With the polls set for December 20, the contest will be for 50 seats unless some are elected unopposed. The model code of conduct has come into force. The polls will be like a warming-up exercise for political parties. For party leaders, it’s time to assess the situation and select their candidates. Selecting candidates is not as easy as it looks. There will be more than two aspirants, and some are bound to be left heartbroken. The implications may not be felt immediately, but to some extent, they could be felt in the next assembly polls.

The tenure of the current Zilla Panchayats ends on January 7, 2026. Two writ petitions were filed in the High Court challenging the seat reservation. The HC dismissed the petitions. Earlier, the election was scheduled for December 13. There was much noise over seat reservation as ruling party MLAs, like in the past, allegedly came up with a “winning plan” to strategically outwit rival candidates. BJP and AAP have declared their first and third list of candidates, respectively. The Congress is trying to stitch an alliance with regional parties. However, as per indications available, the RGP may go with AAP, and some “surprise news” is awaited. It will be a major setback to the Congress if the grand alliance their leaders have been talking about fizzles out, giving a big advantage to the BJP.

The history of Goa’s zilla parishads places the situation in context. For its first adult franchise-based election of 1962, Goa had only a single-tiered panchayati raj system. In 1994, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment made the three-tiered system of local self-government mandatory across India. Goa passed its Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, proposing a two-tiered system, with panchayats and ZPs. This excluded the Panchayat Samiti, or Block Panchayat, at the taluka or block level, which functions in all big states. In Goa, ZPs were not constituted until 25 years ago, and some saw in this a lack of political will. After a court petition by the All Goa Panchayat Parishad, the state government was compelled to act, and elections came about in 2000.

But since then too, the roles played by the ZPs have come in for some questioning. Power have not been fully devolved. ZPs are seen as having limited influence, with some calling the institution an “unnecessary financial burden”. Powers mostly remain with state-level legislators.

In theory, the ZPs can provide a link between village panchayats and the state government. Their core purpose is to plan, coordinate and supervise development across the district. This is especially for works related to rural infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, welfare schemes and poverty alleviation. But the question is: how much have they managed to — or been allowed to — achieve in Goa? Issues such as members holding ornamental posts and lacking financial autonomy have often been raised. But Goa has a small size, overlapping jurisdiction and weak devolution. This causes their drawbacks. Without doubt, ZPs often duplicate functions already handled by panchayats or state departments, lack meaningful financial powers and risk becoming another layer of political patronage. If empowered, ZPs can help in improved governance.

Deepening grassroots democracy is a good idea, but the road taking us there might be more complex than it seems in theory.