Block pramukh


Block Pramukh is a term used in India to refer to the elected head of a Panchayat Samiti or Block Panchayat. The Panchayat samiti is a tier of the Panchayati raj system. It is a rural local government body at the Tehsil level in India. It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the gram panchayat and the zila parishad. There are a number of variations in the name of this institution in the various states. For example, it is known as Kshetra Panchayat in Uttar Pradesh, Mandal Parishad in Andhra Pradesh, Taluka Panchayat in Gujarat, Block Panchayat in Kerala, and Mandal Panchayat in Karnataka.
Block Pramukhs are Panchayats at the Apex or District Level in Panchayat Raj Institutions.
The 73rd Amendment is about Rural Local Governments Panchayat at District LevelPanchayat at Intermediate Level
  • ''Panchayat at Base Level''

Composition

Typically, a panchayat samiti is composed of elected members of the area, and the Block Development Officer, otherwise unrepresented members, associate members, and the elected members of that panchayat block on the zila parishad.
The samiti is elected for five years and is headed by a Block Pramukh elected by the members of the panchayat samiti.

Departments

The most common departments found in a panchayat samiti are:
  1. Administration
  2. Finance
  3. Public works
  4. Agriculture
  5. Health
  6. Education
  7. Social welfare
  8. Information Technology
  9. Women & Child Development
  10. Panchayat raj
Each department in a panchayat samiti has its own officer, most often these are state government employees acting as extension officers, but occasionally in more revenue-rich panchayat samiti, these may be local employees. A government appointed block development officer (BDO) is the supervisor of the extension officers, and executive officer to the panchayat samiti and becomes, in effect, its administrative chief over all operations.

Functions

Panchayat Samiti collects all the prospective plans prepared at Gram Panchayat level and processes them for funding and implementation by evaluating them from the angles of financial constraints, social welfare and area development. It also identifies and prioritizes the issues which need to be addressed at block level.