Explain the structure of rural local government in India.

1. The rural local government is often also referred to as the Panchayati Raj. It is a three-tier system and consists of the Gram Panchayat at the village lever, The Panchayat Samiti at the block level and the Zila Parishad at the district level.

2. The main motive behind the Panchayati Raj was to establish and retain the essence of democracy at even at the grassroots level.

3. The Gram Sabha or the general body consists of all the individuals above 18 years of age.

4. The Gram Panchayat or the first tier of the Panchayati Raj consists of one or more villages, and the elected head is known as the Sarpanch. Meetings are held two or three times a year to take a collective decision on matters.

5. The Panchayat Samiti or the second tier of the Panchayati Raj consists of one or more blocks whose elected head is known as the Chairman /President or the Pradhan. One of the functions includes processing the plans made by the Gram Panchayat and evaluating them.

6. The Zila Parishad of the third tier of the Panchayati Raj is organized at the district level and consists of the Pradhans, local MLAs, MPs and MLAs and the chairperson of the Zila Parishad. The Zila Parishad acts as the bridge between government its people from the rural areas. In addition to this, it acts as the advisory body to the Panchayat Samiti.