Polity, Local Government & Administration of Chhattisgarh — CGPSC GS Paper I Part 2 and Prelims Paper I

Weightage: GS Paper I Part 2 names "Chhattisgarh governance structure" and "Chhattisgarh administrative structure", and the Prelims Chhattisgarh section lists administrative structure, local government and Panchayati Raj. This is the state-specific layer that sits on the national polity chapters aliased from UPSC CSE, and it is answered with counts, dates and institutions.

1. The constitutional position of the state

Chhattisgarh was created by the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 and came into being on 1 November 2000 as the 26th state, with Raipur as its capital. The Act divided the assets, the services and the High Court, and gave the new state its own legislature, judiciary and bodies.

Scheduled Areas. A large share of the state, especially the Bastar and Surguja regions, is a Fifth Schedule area, where the Governor has special powers over tribal administration and a Tribes Advisory Council advises on tribal welfare. This is the constitutional reason that Chhattisgarh's governance is tied to tribal questions, and the reason PESA matters here.

2. The legislature

The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) is unicameral, with 90 members, of whom 10 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 29 for Scheduled Tribes. The term is five years.

In Parliament the state sends 11 members to the Lok Sabha, of which four (Bastar, Kanker, Raigarh and Surguja) are reserved for STs and one (Janjgir-Champa) for SCs, and 5 members to the Rajya Sabha.

Under Article 164(1A), the council of ministers cannot exceed 15 per cent of the Assembly's strength, which is 13 members for a 90-member house. The Governor is a nominal head, and the executive power rests with the Council of Ministers led by the Chief Minister.

The seat of government is at Raipur, with the administrative complex being developed at Naya Raipur. Confirm the current name and status of the buildings from a live source.

3. The judiciary

The Chhattisgarh High Court was established on 1 November 2000 by the Reorganisation Act and sits at Bilaspur. It has jurisdiction over the whole state, and it supervises the district and subordinate courts.

The legal-aid and Lok Adalat system follows the national pattern under the state legal services authority.

4. The administrative structure

Districts. The state began with 16 districts, and reached 33 in September 2022 with the addition of five (Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur and Sakti). District boundaries change, so quote the number with its year and confirm it before the exam.

The Collector is at once the revenue head, the district magistrate and the coordinator of development, as in other states.

5. Local government

Rural bodies. Chhattisgarh follows the three-tier Panchayati Raj system of the 73rd Amendment: Gram Panchayat, Janpad Panchayat and Zila Panchayat. The framework is the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam, 1993, which the state inherited from Madhya Pradesh and has amended since. The Gram Sabha is the basic forum. A State Election Commission conducts panchayat and urban body polls.

PESA. The central PESA law of 1996 gives Gram Sabhas in Scheduled Areas special powers over land, forest produce, water bodies and local resources. It requires that at least half the seats and all chairperson posts in panchayats in these areas be reserved for STs.

Chhattisgarh's PESA rules were published in August 2022, after a long gap between the central law and state rules. They spell out the Gram Sabha's role over natural resources, and their implementation is often a subject of debate.

Urban bodies. The 74th Amendment structure applies: Municipal Corporations (Nagar Nigam) for large cities, Municipalities (Nagar Palika Parishad) for smaller towns and Nagar Panchayats for transitional areas. The state's municipal laws were also inherited from Madhya Pradesh.

6. State commissions and service-delivery laws

• Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC): conducts recruitment to state services, including this examination.
• State Information Commission: hears appeals under the RTI Act.
• Human Rights Commission: became functional on 16 April 2001.
• Lokayog (Lokayukta): set up under the Chhattisgarh Lok Ayog Act, 2002, to investigate complaints of corruption.
• Chhattisgarh Lok Sewa Guarantee Act, 2011: guarantees delivery of notified public services within fixed timelines, with penalties for defaulting officers. It came into force in December 2011.

Worked example 6.1 (an 8-mark answer, ~100 words). "Describe the structure of local government in Chhattisgarh."

Model answer. Local government in Chhattisgarh follows the 73rd and 74th Amendments.

In rural areas there are three tiers under the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam, 1993: Gram Panchayat, Janpad Panchayat and Zila Panchayat, with the Gram Sabha as the base. Since much of the state is a Fifth Schedule area, PESA applies, and the state's PESA rules of 2022 give Gram Sabhas powers over natural resources.

In urban areas there are Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats.

A State Election Commission conducts elections to both sets of bodies.

Common traps CGPSC sets here

• Placing the High Court at Raipur. It sits at Bilaspur.
• Quoting an outdated district count. The state had 16 districts at formation and 33 after September 2022. Always give the year.
• Mixing up reserved seats. The Assembly has 10 SC and 29 ST seats, and the Lok Sabha has 4 ST and 1 SC seat.
• Treating PESA as a state law. It is a central law of 1996, and the state framed rules in 2022.
• Naming a current office-holder. Governors and Chief Ministers change, so learn the institutions, not the names.

Memory aids

• "90 = 10 + 29 + 51": SC seats, ST seats and general seats in the Assembly.
• "11 and 5": Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members.
• "Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bastar, Surguja": the five divisions.
• "16 to 33": districts at formation and in 2022.

Summary

Chhattisgarh was created under the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 and has a 90-member Assembly with 10 SC and 29 ST seats, 11 Lok Sabha and 5 Rajya Sabha seats, and a High Court at Bilaspur. Much of the state is a Fifth Schedule area where PESA applies.

The state has five divisions and 33 districts. Rural local government follows the 1993 Adhiniyam and urban bodies follow the 74th Amendment. Commissions and the Lok Sewa Guarantee Act support accountability and service delivery.

Exam protocol

• Give every count with its year.
• Link the Fifth Schedule and PESA to tribal administration.
• Name institutions and laws rather than office-holders.