What is Zilla Parishad?

Zilla Parishad is at the apex of the Panchayti Raj system. Zilla Parishad is established at the district level. It is known by different names. Zilla Parishads have been again revived in 1993.

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Composition

The District Advisory Council consists of the following members-

• Chairman of all Panchayat Samitis in the district.
• All the M.L.A.s and M.P.s of the district are the associate members of the Zilla Parishad. In some states they do not have the right to vote.
• Certain seats are reserved for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women candidates.
• Representatives of co-operative societies and municipalities of the district are also its members.
• The Deputy Commissioner of the district is the ex-officio members of the Zilla Parishad.

Tenure

The tenure of the Zilla Parishad is not the same in all the states. In the majority of the states the tenure of Zilla Parishad is five years.

Chairman

There is a Chairman of the Zilla Parishad who is elected by its members from among themselves. The members of the Zilla Parishad also elect Vice-Chairman.

Secretary

Each Zilla Parishad has a Secretary who runs the day to day administration of the Zilla Parishad. He is paid his salary every month. He is appointed by the Govt.

Meetings

The meetings will be held at least thrice in a year or once in a month. The quorum for holding the meetings of Zilla Parishad has been fixed at the presence of 1/3 members of its total membership.

Functions

• It tries to Conference-ordinate the working Panchayats and Panchayat Samiti in the district.
• The Panchayat Samiti passes their annual budget and sends it to the Zilla Parishad. The Zilla Parishad gives its approval to the budget after considering it thoroughly.
• If a Panchayat Samiti does not perform its functions properly, the Zilla Parishad can assist it in the performance of its duties.
• It makes effort to improve the living standard of the village life; it also tries for the development of village life.
• It can give suggestion to the Government regarding the development of villages.
• The Govt. can shift responsibility by making any plan or project in success on the Zilla Parishad.
• The Zilla Parishad with the approval of the government can collect money from the Panchayat Samitis.

Sources of Income

• The Zilla Parishad can collect some money from the Panchayats with the approval of the Government.
• The Property of Zilla Parishad is another important source of its income.
• It gets a share from the income from local taxes.
• Some part of the revenue goes to the Zilla Parishad.