District council (India)

The Zila Panchayat or District Development Council or Zilla Parishad or District Panchayat or is the third tier of the Panchayati Raj system and functions at the district levels in all states. A Zila Parishad is an elected body representing the entire rural area of a district. A District Panchayat is headed by a President, who is an elected member. Block Pramukh of Block Panchayat are also represented in Zila Parishad. The members of the State Legislature and the members of the Parliament of India are members of the Zila Parishad. The Zila parishad acts as the link between the state government and the village-level Gram Panchayat.