what are the functions of a gram panchayat ? state the sources of funds for the panchayat ,

The Village Panchayat is the main institution of running the administration of local affairs of the village. In the past also Panchayats were attached with great importance. The village administration was run by these Panchayats. The Panchayats performed their functions efficiently even in small villages. With the advent of Bruisers, the Panchayats got a setback. After 1880 the British rule in India made efforts to revive the local self-government system. It was only in cities that local self government paid special attention towards this end. Eighty percent of Indians live in the village unless the condition of villages does not improve the country cannot make any progress. Mahatma Gandhi stressed the need of establishment of panchayats of giving more powers to them.

Composition The Gram Panchayat consists of one or a group of villages. In Orissa the Grampanchayat is organized by the people of 2000 to 6000. The size of the membership of the Gram Panchayat varies from State to State. In Orissa the membership of a Panchayat is between 11 to 25 members. The membership of a Panchayat is fixed on the basis of the population of a village. There is a provision for the reservation of seats for scheduled Casts in the Panchayat. A specified number of seats are reserve for women in all the states. Every adult who is a resident of the village has got the right to vote in the Panchayat election. Any voter who is 25 years of age can contest the election become a member of the village Panchayat. The Gram Panchayat is divided into various wards and one representative is directly elected by the people on the basis of adult franchise.

Administrative Functions

• It maintains peace order in the village.
• It helps the police in the prevention of crimes and in the arrest of criminal.
• It can oppose the sale of wine in its jurisdiction by passing a resolution of 2/3^rdmajority.
• It keeps a watch on the work of the Government official in the village. The Panchayat can lodge a complaint to the District Collector against the Patwari, Lambardar Chowkidar if they do not perform their duties properly.

Functions for Public Welfare

• It makes sanitary arrangement in the village.
• It makes arrangements for pure drinking water and of pouring medicine in the wells, tanks etc.
• It makes arrangements for street road lights.
• It opens libraries reading rooms in the village.
• It gets trees planted looks after them.
• It tries for the promotion of animal husbandry.
• It tries for the development of cottage industry so that unemployed villages get employment.
• It helps people economically in case of floods, famine drought.
• It makes arrangements for fairs, exhibition, wrestling matches kabaddi matches for providing recreation to the people.
• It constructs maintains stress, road bridges in the village.