Panchayat Raj System in Karnataka: Recent Issues and Trends

The Panchayats are expected to play an important role in rural development in India, particularly after independence. Plan documents of both the central and state governments and various committees have emphasized the importance of these bodies in the polity. Five-year plans, especially the second five-year plan, laid special emphasis on the role of Panchayats in rural developments. Panchayati Raj Institutions have always been considered as a means to good governance and 73rd Constitutional Amendment was effected in the hope that it would lead to better governance and provide political space to the disadvantaged sections of the society like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women. The paper contains need and importance of the recent issues and trends of panchayat raj reforms in Karnataka specially focused on Ramesh Kumar Report on Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act amendment committee 2014 and Panchayat Raj System in Karnataka.