Panchayati Raj & Local Government: previous-year questions

Answer: (D) 73rd Amendment

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 (in force April 1993) added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule, giving constitutional status to Panchayati Raj. The 74th Amendment, not the 72nd, did the same for municipalities; the 65th and 68th amendments deal with unrelated matters.

Answer: (B) persons who are registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village.

Article 243(b) defines the Gram Sabha as the body of all persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village within the area of a Panchayat. It is the whole electorate, not just elected representatives, officials or nominees of the Sarpanch.

Answer: (D) Gadgil Committee

The Gadgil Committee (1988), on policy and programmes, recommended constitutional status for Panchayati Raj, a three-tier structure, a five-year term and a State Finance Commission to allocate finances to Panchayats. The Hanumantha Rao and Dantwala committees dealt with district and block-level planning, and the L. M. Singhvi Committee (1986) mainly recommended constitutional recognition and Nyaya Panchayats.

Answer: (A) Thungon Committee

The P. K. Thungon Committee (1988) recommended constitutional recognition of Panchayati Raj and reservation of seats in Panchayats in proportion to the SC/ST population, including reservation for women. The G. V. K. Rao Committee (1985) dealt with administrative arrangements for rural development, and the L. M. Singhvi Committee with constitutional recognition and Nyaya Panchayats.

Answer: (C) 1957

The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee was appointed in January 1957 to study the Community Development Programme (1952) and the National Extension Service (1953); it reported in November 1957 recommending three-tier Panchayati Raj. The other years are before or after its appointment.

Answer: (B) 243

Article 243 is the definitions clause of Part IX, defining terms such as Gram Sabha, Panchayat, Panchayat area and village. Article 243A deals with the Gram Sabha's powers, 243I with the State Finance Commission and 243O with the bar on courts interfering in electoral matters.

Answer: (C) P.V. Narasimha Rao

The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, giving constitutional status to Panchayats and municipalities, were passed in 1992 under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. Rajiv Gandhi's 64th Amendment Bill (1989) failed in the Rajya Sabha, so (B) is the tempting wrong option.

Answer: (A) L. M. Singhvi Committee

The L. M. Singhvi Committee (1986) recommended that Panchayati Raj institutions be constitutionally recognised, protected and preserved. Balwant Rai Mehta (1957) proposed the three-tier system, Ashok Mehta (1977) a two-tier system, and the Santhanam Committee dealt with Panchayat finances and corruption.

Answer: (B) M. K. Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi championed village self-government ('gram swaraj') with Panchayats as the basis of Indian democracy, and his ideas shaped Article 40 of the Directive Principles. Nehru inaugurated Panchayati Raj in Nagaur in 1959 and V. K. R. V. Rao worked on rural development, but the advocacy is credited to Gandhi.

Answer: (D) Arunachal Pradesh

Article 243D requires seats in panchayats to be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population. Arunachal Pradesh, being wholly tribal, has no Scheduled Castes, so the 83rd Amendment (2000) inserted Article 243M(3A), exempting it from the reservation for Scheduled Castes. The 73rd Amendment (1992) added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects) and came into force on 24 April 1993, now observed as National Panchayati Raj Day. Part IX as a whole does not apply to Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Rajasthan was the first State to introduce Panchayati Raj (Nagaur, 2 October 1959).

Answer: (C) Democratic decentralisation

While people's participation and accountability are important outcomes, the core constitutional and administrative rationale for the Panchayati Raj system is "democratic decentralisation" — devolving governmental power and decision-making down to elected local bodies.

Answer: (C) three tiers

The 73rd Amendment established a uniform three-tier Panchayati Raj structure across India: the Gram Panchayat at the village level, the Panchayat Samiti (or Block/Mandal) at the intermediate level, and the Zilla Parishad at the district level.

Answer: (A) Article 40

Article 40, a Gandhian Directive Principle in Part IV, asks the State to organise village panchayats and give them the powers needed to work as units of self-government; it was given effect by the 73rd Amendment (1992). The neighbouring articles: Article 41 - right to work, education and public assistance; Article 42 - just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief; Article 43 - living wage and cottage industries.