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58. In Bijit Saikia (supra), this Court has held that not only the Panchayats have received constitutional recognition and status, they have been mandated with a vast range of activities to ensure that there is devolution of powers in real sense so that governance reaches the last person at the grass root. In view of the large array of functions of the Panchayats which are statutorily and constitutionally recognized and mandated and having regard to the views expressed by the Supreme Court in Bhanumati (supra) in no uncertain terms, it is necessary that the Panchayats must be made functional and effective. Therefore, Panchayats must have adequate staff and infrastructure to ensure that they can perform and discharge the duties assigned to them. In the absence of adequate manpower and infrastructure, it will not be possible on the part of the Panchayats to discharge their statutory and constitutional obligations. It is for this purpose that the Assam Panchayat Employees (Provincialisation) Act, 1999 has been enacted to provincialise the services of all the employees working in the Panchayats at all levels without any classification. The objective of the said Act is to bring the serving employees of the Panchayats under the control of the State Government so that they are conferred the status of Government employees; with their services secured, the employees can then devote themselves fully in the working of the Panchayats. The purpose of the aforesaid Act is thus intended to make the Panchayati Raj Institutions functioning in the State of Assam more meaningful and effective.