<P> Sar, meaning head, and panch meaning five, gives the meaning head of the five decision makers of the gram panchyat of the village . He is elected by all the people of the village . </P> <P> Although panchayats have been in existence in India since antiquity, in post-Independence India, most of the rural development and community development projects have been sought to be executed through panchayats . In the federal Indian policy, different states had different laws governing the powers of the gram panchayats and sarpanches . </P> <P> In many states, elections were not held for decades and instead of the elected sarpanches, the gram panchayats were run by bureaucratically appointed administrators . However, with the passage of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1992, a number of safeguards have been built in, including those pertaining to regular elections . However, even the constitutionally mandated devolution of the functions of 29 core subjects remains a distant dream in most states of India . "Power to the people" remains more of a rhetorical slogan than an actual practice . In Punjabi communities abroad the title of Sarpanch is bestowed upon people who solve the general population's situations and problems . Almost like an informal judiciary . One example is Sarpanch of County Court Brampton, Jagdeep Singh Dhamrait . </P> <P> Nowadays, there are instances of women also being elected to post of sarpanch and they are called sarpanchni . This follows legislative reform in which reservations or minimum quotas are set for sarpanch positions to be held by females . 1 / 3rd of the seats are reserved for the female contestants as per the constitutional requirement under Article 243D . </P>

What is the salary of sarpanch in maharashtra