What is the system of governance in the Panchayat Raj set-up ?
Three tier structure of local self government at the village, block and district levels
Panchayati Raj is a three-tier system — option 1.
The constitutional provision. Article 243B, inserted by the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992, requires every state to constitute panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels — with one exception: a state with a population not exceeding twenty lakh need not constitute panchayats at the intermediate level.
| Tier | Body | Head |
|---|---|---|
| Village | Gram Panchayat, with the Gram Sabha of all voters | Sarpanch or Mukhiya |
| Intermediate (block) | Panchayat Samiti or Janpad Panchayat | Pramukh or Block Pramukh |
| District | Zila Parishad | Adhyaksha |
Where the design came from. The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee of 1957 recommended “democratic decentralisation” through exactly this three-tier structure, and Rajasthan was the first state to adopt it, at Nagaur on 2 October 1959, followed within days by Andhra Pradesh. The Ashok Mehta Committee of 1977 proposed a two-tier system instead, but it is the three-tier form that the Constitution finally adopted.
What the 73rd Amendment fixed. Elections every five years, conducted by a State Election Commission under Article 243K; reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to population and not less than one-third of seats for women under Article 243D; a State Finance Commission every five years under Article 243I; and the Eleventh Schedule, listing 29 subjects that may be devolved.
Why option 2 is wrong in principle. Panchayati Raj is local self-government; the state level is not a tier of it but the government above it. Adding the state would confuse two different levels of the federal structure.
A note on Bihar. The state was the first in India to provide 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats, by an Act of 2006 — a measure several other states then copied.
Hence, the answer is the three tier structure at the village, block and district levels.
Similar Questions
Under Article “243J” which of the following can make provisions to the maintenance of accounts by Panchayats ?
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- Which of the following statements about the Gram Sabha is correct?
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