Gram Sarkar Act drafted to gear up grassroots governance

The government is preparing to reintroduce the ‘Gram Sarkar’ system, which is almost dysfunctional now, to strengthen grassroots governance and ensure greater public participation in rural administration.

The Local Government Division has recently finalised the draft of the ‘Gram Sarkar Act 2026’, proposing a 17-member Gram Sarkar in every union parishad ward. The proposed body will function as an auxiliary organisation of respective union parishad, with a five- year tenure starting from the date of its first meeting.

The division has sought opinions from relevant stakeholders on the draft before proceeding with the next steps. 

According to the proposed law, the elected union parishad member of the respective ward will serve as Gram Sarkar chief, while the reserved-seat female member will act as adviser.

The remaining 15 members will include two respected local personalities or social workers, two trained Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) members (one male and one female), two farmers, and representatives of a range of professions and social groups. These will include a Nikah Registrar, cooperative society member, rural medical practitioner, teacher, businessperson, professional, labourer, youth representative and, where applicable, an ethnic minority community member, according to the draft law. If representatives from any category are unavailable, additional members will be selected from the respected local personalities or social workers category.