Goa alongwith Daman & Diu was liberated on 19.12.1961 from Portuguese rule. After liberation, the President, of India promulgated the Goa Daman & Diu Village Panchayat Regulation, 1962 under Article-240 of the Constitution of India. The said Regulation provided for setting up of a single tier Panchayati Raj system in the Union Territory of Goa Daman & Diu. Thus, for the first time, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) came into existence in the Union Territory of Goa, Daman & Diu in the year 1962. As per the said Regulation, one seat was reserved for women in every Panchayat. There were three types of Panchayats having 5, 7 and 9 members depending upon the population. The term of the Panchayat was for four years. The Panchayati Raj (PR) system was functioning very well since its inception and elections were held regularly in Goa. However, in most of the States in India, the PR system which started in 1959, had totally collapsed. There was no uniformity in the PR system throughout India Elections to PRIs were not held regularly and in some States elections were not held for more than 30 years. Therefore, steps were taken to amend the Constitution and for that purpose the Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act was passed on 20th April, 1993, to lay a strong foundation for ‘Democratic Decentralization’ and pave the way for activating the planning process from the grassroots; a concept which has eluded the people ever since the beginning of the era of planned development.