Under Article “243J” which of the following can make provisions to the maintenance of accounts by Panchayats ?
State Legislature
Article 243J empowers the Legislature of a State to make provisions for the maintenance and auditing of Panchayat accounts — option 2.
The text of the article. It provides that the Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the maintenance of accounts by the Panchayats and the auditing of such accounts.
Why the State Legislature and not Parliament. Local government is Entry 5 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule. The 73rd Amendment of 1992 inserted Part IX into the Constitution to give panchayats a constitutional basis, but it deliberately left the working detail — powers, finances, accounts, audit — to be filled in by each state through its own Panchayati Raj Act. That is why so many articles in Part IX are framed as “the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide…”.
| Article | Subject |
|---|---|
| 243B | Constitution of Panchayats at village, intermediate and district levels |
| 243D | Reservation of seats for SCs, STs and women |
| 243E | Five-year term of a Panchayat |
| 243G | Powers and responsibilities — the Eleventh Schedule’s 29 subjects |
| 243H | Power to impose taxes and the funds of a Panchayat |
| 243I | State Finance Commission, constituted by the Governor every five years to review Panchayat finances |
| 243J | Maintenance of accounts and their audit |
| 243K | State Election Commission for Panchayat elections |
Why option 4 is the sharpest distractor. The State Finance Commission is created by the immediately preceding article, 243I, and its business is money — the distribution of taxes between the state and the panchayats and measures to improve their finances. But it recommends; it cannot legislate. Making provisions requires a law, and only the legislature can make one. The District Collector, option 3, is an executive officer with no legislative power at all.
Hence, the answer is State Legislature.
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