Justice A Muhammed Mustaque of the Kerala High Court suggested scrapping the Panchayati Raj system, stating decentralization has failed and governance needs centralization to address complex challenges like waste management.
Kerala: Kerala High Court judge Justice A Muhammed Mustaque on Monday suggested scrapping the Panchayati Raj system envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi, arguing that governance today is far more complex and requires greater centralization.
Speaking in open court, Justice Mustaque emphasised that decentralisation has failed to yield the expected results and stressed the need for a centralised authority to oversee governance.
“It is my personal view that the kind of idea of a village that Gandhiji envisaged, which is now incorporated constitutionally, should be scrapped because there is more complexity in governance. Back then, only small things needed to be done. But the challenge is much bigger now for local authorities,”
he stated.
Citing waste management in Ernakulam district as an example, he pointed out the inefficiency of decentralised governance.
“Every panchayat cannot undertake waste management; we should have a larger body to manage the entire district or larger areas. Different local bodies handle waste management in Kakkanad, Thrikakkara, and Ernakulam city, even though they are in the same vicinity. As a result, we are not able to solve issues like waste management,”
he said.
He further added that revenue collection, such as property and building taxes, also suffers due to excessive localisation.
Justice Mustaque argued that the Grama Swaraj system (village self-rule) is outdated and needs reform.
“Back then, Gandhiji envisaged small issues being solved by Grama Swaraj. That has changed now, we need to change these things… Governance has become a big challenge…. I don’t think in some remote village in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar, those who get elected would provide such services properly. I don’t think what we envisaged in the 1950s should remain the same in 2025,”
he remarked.
The judge made these observations while a bench comprising him and Justice P Krishna Kumar was hearing appeals filed by the Kerala government against a 2024 ruling that had declared illegal the delimitation of eight municipalities and one panchayat.
The single-judge ruling had also struck down the Kerala Municipality (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, and the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, stating that the increase in local body seats based on outdated 2011 census data was improper.
The matter remains under judicial review, with several related petitions also pending before the Court.
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