AP Polity and Panchayati Raj Notes for APPSC & SI

Local administration is a favourite topic for AP Police SI and Constable papers and for APPSC general studies, because it tests whether you can match a problem to the right institution. A blocked drain, a land-record error, a missing pension and a village road each belong to a different office. These AP polity and Panchayati Raj notes summarise the framework found in our Reading Room book AP Polity, Panchayati Raj and Local Administration, and this revision checks every article number and Act reference against the Constitution and the Acts as published.

Institutions and constitutional articles change slowly, but district boundaries, election schedules, ward rosters, reservation rules and office names do not. Statements about current status carry "as on October 2026" and should be verified against official notifications before your exam. For the larger exam picture, see the Andhra Pradesh government exams 2026 guide and the Andhra Pradesh hub.

1. Where local government fits in the Constitution

Parts IX and IXA of the Constitution create the framework for elected rural and urban local bodies. The 73rd Amendment (1992) inserted Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule for panchayats and came into effect on 24 April 1993. The 74th Amendment (1992) inserted Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule for municipalities and came into effect on 1 June 1993. Part IX begins at Article 243 and Part IXA at Article 243P.

A local body is not a sovereign third legislature. Article 243G says the State Legislature may by law endow panchayats with powers and authority to function as institutions of self-government, including preparation of plans for economic development and social justice and implementation of schemes, including those in the Eleventh Schedule. The words "may by law" are the heart of the matter: the Schedules list possible subjects, not automatic transfers of staff, funds or functions. Article 243W does the same for municipalities and the Twelfth Schedule.

The definitions in Article 243 are also examinable. A "Gram Sabha" is a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of a Panchayat at the village level (Article 243(b)). Article 243A then says the Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the State Legislature provides by law. "Panchayat" means an institution of self-government constituted under Article 243B for rural areas, and the "intermediate level" is the level between village and district that the Governor specifies by public notification.

Article 243B requires panchayats at village, intermediate and district levels in every State, with one exception: a State with a population not exceeding twenty lakh need not constitute the intermediate tier. Andhra Pradesh has all three tiers.

2. The rural ladder in Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (Act 13 of 1994) provides the rural framework. The Governor reserved the Bill for the President, who assented on 21 April 1994, and it was first published in the Gazette the next day. Its long title speaks of the constitution of Gram Panchayats, Mandal Parishads and Zilla Parishads. Note the statutory names: the Act text says "Mandal Parishad" and "Zilla Parishad", while "Mandal Praja Parishad" (MPP) and "Zilla Praja Parishad" (ZPP) are the names in common use, and the Praja forms also appear in Section 23 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, which amends the Fourth Schedule of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. If an exam gives only the Praja forms, accept them as correct usage.

The Act extends to the whole State except municipal corporations, municipalities, notified areas declared under Section 389-A of the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965, mining settlements and cantonments (Section 1(2)). In Scheduled Areas it applies subject to Part VIA of the Act.

Gram Panchayat

• Gram Sabha (Section 6): every village has one, consisting of all persons whose names are on the electoral roll of the Gram Panchayat. It must meet at least twice a year to consider the annual accounts and audit report, the administration report, the works programme, proposals for fresh taxation, and selection of schemes, beneficiaries and locations. Meetings are convened and presided over by the Sarpanch, or in his absence the Upa-Sarpanch.
• Gram Panchayat strength (Section 7): from five members for a village up to 300 people, rising through seven, nine, eleven, thirteen, fifteen and seventeen, to between 19 and 21 members where the population exceeds 15,000, the number including the Sarpanch. The Mandal Parishad territorial member is a permanent invitee with a right to speak but not to vote, and self-help group representatives can be co-opted without voting rights.
• Members (Section 8): elected by the registered voters of the ward by secret ballot.
• Sarpanch (Section 14): elected by the persons on the Gram Panchayat electoral roll from among themselves, which means directly by the voters, with a minimum age of twenty-one years. The term is five years from the first meeting after the election. The Upa-Sarpanch is a different office, elected by the members of the Gram Panchayat from among themselves.
• Duties (Section 45): roads and culverts vested in the panchayat, street lighting, drains, cleaning of streets, public latrines, cremation and burial grounds, epidemic and malaria measures, wells, tanks and water works, manure and compost, registration of births and deaths, and cattle ponds.

Mandal Parishad and Zilla Parishad

• The Mandal Parishad is constituted for a mandal with territorial constituencies of roughly three to four thousand population (Section 150). Its President and Vice-President are elected by and from among the elected members by show of hands, obeying the whip of the recognised party (Section 153). The Mandal Parishad Development Officer is the executive officer. Sarpanchas and the Collector are among the permanent invitees (Section 158).
• The Zilla Parishad is constituted by the Government for a district as a body corporate (Section 177). It consists of members elected from territorial constituencies (every mandal is a constituency), the MLAs, MPs and Rajya Sabha members connected to the district with the voting and committee rules stated in the Act, and two co-opted persons from minorities. Its Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson are elected by and from among the elected members (Section 181). The Chief Executive Officer is the executive head (Section 186).
• A motion of no confidence against an Upa-Sarpanch, President, Vice-President, Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson requires written notice signed by at least one-half of the members, cannot be moved within two years of assuming office, and cannot be moved twice against the same person (Section 245). These are the rules in the copy of the Act as amended up to 2002 that we read; later amendments may have changed details, so check the latest consolidated text for current figures.

Reservation in the rural tiers follows Article 243D: seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, not less than one-third of all seats for women, and offices of Chairpersons reserved by rotation. Article 243D(6) lets the State make provision for backward classes. In the Act as amended up to 2002, Sections 9, 15, 152 and 181 contain a Backward Classes component of not less than 34 per cent. Treat the percentage as a feature of that text; court orders and later amendments govern the current reservation, so check the latest notification when a number is asked.

3. The urban ladder

Article 243Q provides for three kinds of municipality: a Nagar Panchayat (by whatever name called) for a transitional area, that is an area in transition from rural to urban; a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area; and a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area. The Governor specifies by public notification which area falls in which category, having regard to population, density, revenue, share of non-agricultural employment and economic importance. An industrial township run by an industrial establishment may be left outside.

In Andhra Pradesh the main laws are the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965 (Act 6 of 1965) and the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1994 (Act 25 of 1994). The Panchayat Raj Act itself refers to the 1965 Act, which is one reason the question "which law covers a municipality" has the answer "not the Panchayat Raj Act". Article 243S requires Wards Committees in a municipality with a population of three lakh or more, with the member of the ward as chairperson of a single-ward committee. The Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) supervises urban local bodies at State level but does not replace a city's elected body.

Direct election of the head: a recent change

Until recently the Mayor of a corporation and the Chairperson of a municipality were elected indirectly by the elected and ex-officio members. As on September 2026, reports on the State's statutory rules for urban local body elections state that Mayors of Municipal Corporations and Chairpersons of Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats will be elected directly by voters for a five-year term, with the directly elected head becoming a member of the council. The Deputy Mayor and Vice-Chairperson remain indirectly elected by the elected and eligible ex-officio members, and the number of deputies was reduced from two to one. The same reports describe a voter-identification exercise for reservation categories across 59 urban local bodies from 8 to 21 September 2026, with some delimitation matters before the High Court. These are 2026 developments, so read the Act amendment and rules for exact wording before answering a question that begins "as on today".

4. Constitutional articles at a glance

Topic	Rural (Part IX)	Urban (Part IXA)
Constitution of bodies	243B	243Q
Composition	243C	243R
Reservation	243D	243T
Duration (five years)	243E	243U
Disqualifications	243F	243V
Powers and responsibilities	243G	243W
Taxes and funds	243H	243X
Finance review	243I (State Finance Commission)	243Y
Audit	243J	243Z
Elections	243K (State Election Commission)	243ZA
Schedule	Eleventh, 29 subjects	Twelfth, 18 subjects

Some details that examiners like:

• Duration: five years from the date appointed for the first meeting. If a body is dissolved early, an election must be completed within six months of dissolution, unless the remaining term is under six months (243E and 243U). A body formed after dissolution continues only for the remainder of the term.
• Disqualification (243F): a person is disqualified if disqualified under the law for elections to the State Legislature, but no one is disqualified for being under twenty-five if he has reached twenty-one. This is why a Sarpanch can be twenty-one.
• Women's reservation: not less than one-third of the seats, including the seats reserved for women of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The words "not less than" make one-third a floor, not a ceiling.
• Finance Commission (243I): the Governor constitutes the State Finance Commission within a year of commencement and every fifth year after that. Article 243Y extends its remit to municipalities. It is different from the Union Finance Commission under Article 280.
• District Planning Committee (243ZD): consolidates the plans of panchayats and municipalities into a draft plan for the district. At least four-fifths of its members are elected by and from the elected members of the district panchayat and the municipalities, in proportion to rural and urban population. Article 243ZE gives the equivalent body for metropolitan areas.
• Areas excluded (243M and 243ZC): Part IX does not apply to Scheduled Areas and tribal areas under Article 244 unless Parliament extends it by law. The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 is that law, which is why the ordinary three-tier answer is incomplete for Scheduled Areas in Andhra Pradesh and the Panchayat Raj Act has a separate Part VIA.

5. Schedules: what to memorise

The Eleventh Schedule (Article 243G) has 29 subjects, in this order of rough themes: agriculture and land (1 to 3), animal husbandry, dairying, poultry and fisheries (4 and 5), forestry (6 and 7), industries (8 and 9), housing, water, fuel and fodder (10 to 12), roads and electricity (13 to 15), poverty alleviation (16), education and training (17 to 21), markets and fairs (22), health and family welfare (23 and 24), women, child and social welfare (25 to 27), public distribution system (28) and maintenance of community assets (29).

The Twelfth Schedule (Article 243W) has 18 subjects: urban planning including town planning; regulation of land use and building construction; planning for economic and social development; roads and bridges; water supply; public health, sanitation and solid waste management; fire services; urban forestry and environment; safeguarding weaker sections; slum improvement; urban poverty alleviation; parks, gardens and playgrounds; cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects; burial grounds and crematoriums; cattle pounds and prevention of cruelty to animals; vital statistics including registration of births and deaths; public amenities such as street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences; and regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.

Notice the overlaps and the traps. Registration of births and deaths appears in both the Gram Panchayat's duties and the Twelfth Schedule; fire services appear only in the Twelfth. Minor irrigation (item 3) and fisheries (item 5) belong to the rural list, and a classic distractor places minor irrigation in an urban-list question. Primary and secondary education is item 17 of the Eleventh Schedule, but nothing in the Twelfth Schedule corresponds.

6. The State Election Commission and other constitutional offices

State Election Commission. Article 243K vests superintendence, direction and control of electoral rolls and elections to panchayats in a State Election Commission headed by a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor, who cannot be removed except in the manner and on the grounds on which a High Court judge is removed. Article 243ZA gives the same commission charge of municipal elections. The Panchayat Raj Act's Section 200 constitutes an Election Commission for Local Bodies and says the appointee must hold or have held an office not less than the rank of Principal Secretary to Government. The Commission can direct the Commissioner, the Collector and any government or panchayat officer to ensure efficient conduct of elections (Section 201), allots symbols (Section 202), and can adopt voting machines (Section 201-A). Party symbols are not allotted for Gram Panchayat elections but are for Mandal and Zilla Parishad elections. A source describing the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission states that a reconstituted commission was set up for the present State on 30 January 2016, which fits the post-bifurcation position, but check an official page if a date is asked. It is not the Election Commission of India, which works under Article 324 and conducts Parliament and State Legislature elections.

Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission. Part XIV, Articles 315 to 323, provides for the commissions. Members of a State commission are appointed by the Governor (Article 316). A member holds office for six years or until the age of sixty-two, whichever is earlier, and cannot be reappointed after the term. The Chairman or a member can only be removed by the President on grounds of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court, on a reference, reports that removal is justified (Article 317), apart from the grounds of insolvency, outside paid employment or infirmity. Article 320 gives the commission the duty to conduct examinations for State services and requires consultation on recruitment methods, promotions, transfers and disciplinary matters. Under Section 83 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the existing State's commission became the commission for the State of Andhra Pradesh. See the AP Reorganisation Act explainer for that provision and the APPSC Group 1, 2, 3 and 4 comparison for how recruitment is organised.

Lokayukta. The Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act, 1983 created the State ombudsman institution for inquiry into allegations of administrative action and corruption. A 2024 amendment (cited as Act 16 of 2024, in a legal database we could read) provides that the Lokayukta must be a retired Chief Justice or retired High Court judge and the Upa-Lokayukta a retired District Judge of the State, appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a selection committee headed by the Chief Minister, for a term stated in the appointment order that does not exceed five years. Because this is a recent amendment and we could not open the primary Gazette text, treat the details as "check the Act" material and the 1983 Act as the foundation.

7. The Sachivalayam system, as renamed in 2026

This is a good example of a recent change that an up-to-date aspirant should know. The original statute is the Andhra Pradesh Grama Sachivalayams and Ward Sachivalayams (GSWS) Act, 2023 (Act 23 of 2023), a statutory framework for the Village and Ward Secretariats first set up in 2019 by government orders. The 2026 steps are:

Step	Date	What it did
Ordinance No. 2 of 2026	Promulgated 12 January 2026; Gazette 13 January 2026	Amended the 2023 Act while the Legislature was not in session
L.A. Bill 11 of 2026	Introduced 26 February 2026	Bill to replace the Ordinance
Act 17 of 2026	Governor's assent 2 April 2026; Gazette 10 April 2026	Amendment Act, deemed in force from 13 January 2026; repeals the Ordinance, actions under it deemed taken under the Act

Act 17 of 2026 substitutes "Andhra Pradesh Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu (SGSW)" for "Andhra Pradesh Grama Sachivalayams and Ward Sachivalayams (GSWS)" throughout. Village Secretariats and Ward Secretariats are renamed Swarna Gramam in rural areas and Swarna Wardu in urban areas, and are deemed to have been organised under the Act. The Department becomes the Department of Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu (SGSW), with a Commissioner or Director, the Director of the State Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (APSIRDPR) among its constituents, a District Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu Officer for each district, and a Mandal Swarna Gramam Officer or Urban Swarna Wardu Officer at mandal and urban local body level. The Act's Statement of Objects records that the Government had established 15,004 Village and Ward Secretariats under 2019 orders and a three-tier structure under orders of 25 January 2025 and 28 August 2025.

Three details are good for objective questions. Services delivered through Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu, once approved by the competent authority under the relevant law, are treated as valid in law, and certificates issued have legal validity under the concerned enactments. The Government can categorise the units and decide the number of functionaries. And an explanatory note states that the Mahila Police functionary shall not be a "Police" within the meaning of the Police Act, 1861, which separates the secretariat staff from the police force. An earlier 2025 amendment (Act 25 of 2025) changed functionary positioning, for example by separating education subjects in ward secretariats, which shows that the staffing pattern is adjusted by law and by government order from time to time.

The point to remember: a Swarna Gramam is a service-delivery and welfare-implementation office of the State Government, not a constitutional local body. It does not replace the Gram Panchayat and has no place in Part IX. A scheme question may therefore have the Swarna Gramam as the delivery point and the Gram Panchayat as the elected authority. See the AP schemes notes for how benefits are delivered through them.

8. The State-level frame in brief

For completeness, local bodies sit under a State structure that the Reorganisation Act fixed: the Assembly has 175 seats (Section 17), the Legislative Council has 58 seats after the 2015 amendment, the State sends 25 members to the Lok Sabha and 11 to the Rajya Sabha, and the separate High Court of Andhra Pradesh has functioned from 1 January 2019 with its principal seat at Amaravati. The Governor appoints the State Election Commissioner and the members of the Public Service Commission, and lays the State Finance Commission's recommendations and the commission reports before the Legislature, which is why the Governor appears in so many local-body articles. See the Reorganisation Act post for the seat table.

9. The revenue and district line

This is a separate chain from the elected ladder: Collectorate, Revenue Divisional Officer (often a Sub-Collector or Deputy Collector rank, who may act as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate), Tahsildar (Mandal Revenue Officer) and village records. Land-record corrections follow this revenue route. Police and judicial institutions sit beside these trees, not inside them: a Sarpanch cannot order an arrest, and police do not decide mutation or tax rates. The Collector is a permanent invitee to the Mandal Parishad (Section 158) and a key official for the Zilla Parishad, but the Collector is not the Zilla Parishad and the Zilla Parishad is not the Collectorate.

District maps need dates. At bifurcation the State had 13 districts, a 2022 reorganisation made 26, and Polavaram and Markapuram were added at the end of 2025, giving 28 (as on October 2026, per the State Cabinet decision of 30 December 2025; check the Gazette for the exact effective date, which reports give as 31 December 2025 or 1 January 2026). See the district fact sheet and the reorganisation notes for background.

10. A four-question method for jurisdiction problems

The book's field guide gives a method that works for both objective questions and real complaints. Ask four things: the subject (land, policing, water, waste, welfare or planning), the territory (rural gram panchayat, urban local body, revenue mandal or Scheduled Area), the power (which law or order authorises the decision) and the record (which document would prove the step occurred).

Worked examples:

• Forged land entry. Subject: land; territory: revenue mandal; power: the revenue Acts and mutation rules; record: the revenue register. The police may investigate any criminal forgery, but they are not the mutation authority.
• Disputed municipal charge. Subject: municipal tax; territory: urban local body; power: the Municipalities or Corporations Act and the council's rate resolution; record: the demand notice and appeal order. A police report is the wrong route.
• Pensioner missing from a list. Subject: welfare; territory: village or ward; power: the pension scheme order; record: the beneficiary list. The Swarna Gramam or Swarna Wardu functionary receives the application and the scheme authority decides eligibility.
• Village drain and street light. Subject: sanitation and lighting; territory: Gram Panchayat; power: Section 45 of the Panchayat Raj Act. The Sarpanch and Gram Panchayat are the first stop, not the Collector.
• Election of a Sarpanch challenged on age. Subject: election; power: Section 14 (twenty-one years) and Article 243F; authority: the election machinery under the Act, not the police.

Finance follows a similar logic: budget provision, release, receipt, estimate, measurement and payment are separate facts, and a grant received does not prove a drain was built.

11. Common exam traps

• Gram Sabha equals Gram Panchayat. It does not: the Sabha is all voters on the roll, the Panchayat is the elected body.
• The Sarpanch is directly elected by the voters; the Upa-Sarpanch is elected by the members.
• The Mandal Parishad (Mandal Praja Parishad) is not the mandal revenue office; the Tahsildar belongs to revenue administration.
• The Zilla Parishad is not the Collectorate and the Collector does not head it.
• The Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules do not automatically transfer every function; State law, staff and finance decide (243G, 243W).
• Treating the one-third women's reservation as a maximum.
• Confusing the State Election Commission (243K, 243ZA) with the Election Commission of India (324), and the State Finance Commission (243I) with the Union Finance Commission (280).
• Saying Part IX applies to Scheduled Areas without the Part IXA and PESA qualification (Article 243M).
• Calling Swarna Gramam a constitutional local body.
• Giving "Sachivalayam" as the current statutory name after Act 17 of 2026, or giving the wrong date of deemed effect (13 January 2026).
• Assuming a budgeted work is complete, or that an old 13- or 26-district map is current.

12. How to revise this in 7 days

1. Day 1: Constitutional frame, Parts IX and IXA, 73rd and 74th Amendments, definitions in Article 243.
2. Day 2: Rural tiers, Gram Sabha, Sarpanch and Upa-Sarpanch rules, Mandal and Zilla structure.
3. Day 3: Urban bodies, Mayor, Chairperson and Commissioner, the 2026 direct-election change.
4. Day 4: Article matrix, duration, reservation, disqualification, commissions.
5. Day 5: Both Schedules, grouped by theme, with the overlap and distractor list.
6. Day 6: SEC, APPSC, Lokayukta, the Swarna Gramam change, revenue line, police separation, Scheduled Areas.
7. Day 7: Jurisdiction puzzles, then a timed mock test.

Key facts for exams

• 73rd Amendment: Part IX (Articles 243 to 243O) and the Eleventh Schedule, effective 24 April 1993. 74th Amendment: Part IXA (243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule, effective 1 June 1993.
• AP Panchayat Raj Act, 1994: Act 13 of 1994; assent 21 April 1994; Gram Panchayat, Mandal Parishad (Mandal Praja Parishad in usage), Zilla Parishad.
• Sarpanch: directly elected, minimum age 21, five-year term (Section 14).
• Gram Sabha meets at least twice a year (Section 6).
• Eleventh Schedule: 29 subjects. Twelfth Schedule: 18 subjects.
• 243K: State Election Commission for panchayats; 243ZA: municipalities; 243I and 243Y: State Finance Commission; 243ZD: District Planning Committee.
• AP Municipalities Act, 1965 (Act 6 of 1965); AP Municipal Corporations Act, 1994 (Act 25 of 1994).
• Act 17 of 2026: GSWS Act 2023 amended to the Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu (SGSW) names; assent 2 April 2026; deemed in force from 13 January 2026.
• State PSC members: six years or age 62; removal only by the President after a Supreme Court inquiry (Articles 316 and 317).

10 practice MCQs

1. Which article concerns the Gram Sabha? a) 243A b) 243G c) 243K d) 243Q Answer: a.

2. How many subjects does the Eleventh Schedule contain? a) 18 b) 29 c) 24 d) 12 Answer: b. The Twelfth Schedule has 18.

3. Panchayat elections are supervised by: a) Election Commission of India b) State Finance Commission c) State Election Commission d) District Collector Answer: c. Article 243K.

4. The minimum age for a Sarpanch candidate under Section 14 of the AP Panchayat Raj Act is: a) 18 b) 21 c) 25 d) 30 Answer: b.

5. The Tahsildar belongs to: a) The Zilla Parishad b) Revenue administration c) The Mandal Parishad d) The State Election Commission Answer: b.

6. Who elects the Upa-Sarpanch of a Gram Panchayat? a) The voters of the village b) The elected members of the Gram Panchayat c) The Mandal Parishad d) The Collector Answer: b. The Sarpanch is elected by the voters.

7. Article 243Q provides for which of these? a) Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation b) Gram Panchayat, Mandal Parishad and Zilla Parishad c) District Planning Committee only d) Wards Committees only Answer: a.

8. Under Act 17 of 2026, the Village and Ward Secretariats are renamed: a) Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu b) Grama Mitra and Ward Mitra c) Praja Sevalayam d) Janmabhoomi Kendram Answer: a.

9. A member of a State Public Service Commission holds office for: a) Five years or age 60 b) Six years or age 62, whichever is earlier c) Until age 65 d) Four years, renewable Answer: b. Article 316(2).

10. The Wards Committee under Article 243S is required in a municipality with a population of: a) One lakh or more b) Two lakh or more c) Three lakh or more d) Five lakh or more Answer: c.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat? The Gram Sabha consists of all persons on the village electoral roll and meets at least twice a year; the Gram Panchayat is the elected executive body with a Sarpanch and ward members.

Is the Sarpanch elected directly? Yes, by the persons on the Gram Panchayat electoral roll from among themselves under Section 14 of the Act as we read it. The Upa-Sarpanch is elected by the members.

Which Act governs municipalities in Andhra Pradesh? The Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965 for municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, and the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1994 for corporations.

Are Mayors now elected directly? Reports as on September 2026 say statutory rules provide for direct election of Mayors and Chairpersons. Check the Act and rules for the exact provisions.

What did Act 17 of 2026 change? It renamed the GSWS Act's institutions to Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu, replaced the department and officer designations, and repealed the Ordinance of January 2026 with effect from 13 January 2026.

Who appoints the State Election Commissioner? The Governor (Article 243K), with removal only in the manner of a High Court judge.

Is the Lokayukta a constitutional body? No. It is a statutory body under the Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act, 1983, as amended.

Does Part IX apply to Scheduled Areas? Not directly. Article 243M excludes them unless Parliament extends it by law, and the Panchayat Raj Act has a separate Part VIA for them.

Related reading

• AP Reorganisation Act 2014 explained
• AP government schemes notes
• AP district-wise fact sheet, 28 districts
• AP Sachivalayam Secretary guide
• APPSC Group 1, 2, 3 and 4 comparison
• Telugu version of this post

Practise on pareeksha.in

Use the book AP Polity, Panchayati Raj and Local Administration for the full subject lists, worked jurisdiction cases and six practice sets, then attempt a mock test under timed conditions. The platform offers 10 Lakh+ MCQs, 100+ Exams and 5,000+ Full-Length Mocks. Check district notifications and election details with official sources close to your exam date.

Sources and verification

Pages opened for this revision:

• The Constitution of India, Legislative Department edition as on May 2022: Part IX and IXA (Articles 243 to 243ZG), Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules, Articles 170, 315 to 323.
• The Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (Act 13 of 1994), consolidated text as amended up to Act 22 of 2002 (Anantapur Zilla Parishad copy).
• The Andhra Pradesh Grama Sachivalayams and Ward Sachivalayams (GSWS) Act, 2023, with Act 25 of 2025 and Act 17 of 2026, Andhra Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary of 10 April 2026 (PRS Legislative Research copy); Andhra Pradesh Ordinance No. 2 of 2026 (Gazette of 13 January 2026); L.A. Bill No. 11 of 2026 (Gazette of 26 February 2026).
• The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 and Act 12 of 2015 (Gazette texts) for the legislature and Public Service Commission provisions.
• News on air and Deccan Chronicle reports on direct election of Mayors and Chairpersons (September 2026); Wikipedia page on the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (cross-check only); legal database page for the Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta (Amendment) Act, 2024; The South First report on the Swarna Gramam renaming; ETV Bharat report on the 28 districts; The News Minute report on the High Court notification.

Not verified and hedged in the text: the primary Gazette text of the 1983 Lokayukta Act and 2024 amendment; the text of the AP Municipalities Act and Municipal Corporations Act (names and numbers taken from the Panchayat Raj Act text and search listings); the latest consolidated Panchayat Raj Act text after 2002, including reservation percentages and no-confidence rules; the 2026 urban election rules in primary form; the effective date of the new districts; the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (named from general knowledge, not opened).