Village & Panchayats

Gram Panchayats or Village (Dweep) Panchayats in Lakshadweep are responsible for preparation of their annual budgets for the schemes entrusted to them by the U.T Administration for operation and also for preparations of its own Development Plan. The annual budget and the Development Plan of the Village Panchayats and the District Panchayats are presented om the District Panchayat meeting and with the recommendation of the District Panchayat.

The Lakshadweep Panchayats Regulation, 1994 was promulgated by the President of India on 23rd April, 1994 and the provisions of the Regulation were brought in to force in the union Territory of Lakshadweep on 23.5.1995. As per the first schedule of the Regulation there has to be 10 village(Dweep) Panchayats, one in each of the inhabited ten islands and a District Panchayat for the whole of lakshadweep. The first Village (Dweep) Panchayats were constituted in December 2002 and District Panchayat in the month of January 2003.

Panchayat Raj Institutions in Lakshadweep:
No. of Village(Dweep) Panchayats – 10
No. of District Panchayat – 1
No. of Members of the Village (Dweep) Panchayats – 79

Constitution of District Panchayat
No. of Directly elected members – 22
No. of Chairpersons of the Village(Dweep) Panchayats – 10
Member of Parliament representing Lakshadweep – 1

Women Participation in Panchayat Setup
No. of Women members in the Village (Dweep) Panchayats – 30
No. of Women chairpersons in the Village (Dweep) Panchayats – 4
No. of Women members in the District Panchayat – 12