‘Panchayat’, being “Local government”, is a state subject and part of state list of Seventh Schedule of Constitution of India. Clause (3) of Article 243D of the Constitution ensures participation of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) by mandating not less than one- third reservation for women out of total number of seats to be filled by direct election and number of offices of chairpersons of Panchayats. According to the Ministry Panchayati Raj, 20 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have made provisions of 50 percent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
Number of Women Representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions
State / UTs
Total PRI representatives
Total women representatives in PRIs
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
858
306
Andhra Pradesh
156,050
78,025
Arunachal Pradesh
9,383
3,658
Assam
26,754
14,609
Bihar
136,573
71,046
Chhattisgarh
170,465
93,392
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
147
47
Daman & Diu
192
92
Goa
1,555
571
Gujarat
14,4080
71,988
Haryana
70,035
29,499
Himachal Pradesh
28,723
14,398
Jammu & Kashmir
39,850
13,224
Jharkhand
59,638
30,757
Karnataka
101,954
51,030
Kerala
18,372
9,630
Ladakh
NA
NA
Lakshadweep
110
41
Madhya Pradesh
392,981
196,490
Maharashtra
240,635
128,677
Manipur
1,736
880
Odisha
107,487
56,627
Puducherry
NA
NA
Punjab
100,312
41,922
Rajasthan
126,271
64,802
Sikkim
1153
580
Tamil Nadu
106,450
56,407
Telangana
103,468
52,096
Tripura
6,646
3,006
Uttar Pradesh
913,417
304,538
Uttarakhand
62,796
35,177
West Bengal
59,229
30,458
Total
31,87,320
14,53,973
Source: Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India
In terms of clause (4) of Article 243D of the Constitution, the offices of the chairpersons in the Panchayats at the village or any other level shall be reserved for the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes and women in such manner as the legislature of a state may, by law, provide, provided that the number of offices of chairpersons reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Panchayats at each level in any state shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of such offices in the Panchayats at each level as the population of the scheduled castes or the scheduled tribes in the state bears to the total population of the state, provided further that not less than one-third of the total number of offices of chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women.
