ACT APPRAISED: Members across the political spectrum participated in a constructive debate on the Panchayati Raj Act during the otherwise stormy monsoon session of parliament. They reviewed 10 years of the act's implementation.

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha was even asked to extend the day's sitting by two hours in view of the healthy response. Several suggestions were put forth on how the long-cherished dream of grassroots democracy could be realised. Some of these included granting of greater financial and administrative powers to village bodies and conducting direct elections for the post of chairperson of district council. "The government is ready to amend the Constitution to incorporate such recommendations,' stated Union minister for rural development Kashiram Rana.

It was on December 22-23, 2002, that India completed 10 years of adopting panchayati raj institutions as local bodies of self-governance through the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments (see: Bureaucratic coup, January 15, 2003). Yet the occasion was not commemorated in the winter session of parliament.