India, June 22 -- India added a third tier of governance by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, which, however, fell short of integrating PRIs with the federal structure. While the Union and State Governments derived their powers from the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, viz., the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists, the PRIs derived their powers from an Act of devolution by the State Governments. A simple reading of the Constitution makes it clear. Article 243G provides that ". a state may, by law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and authority.". The use of the word "may" in Article 243G, in contrast to the use of "shall" in Article 243B, that is, for the Constitution of Panchayat, debilitated PRIs from the inception. An a...