How many of the above Committees is/are related to the Panchayat Raj system?

Question

Consider the following Committees:

1. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee

2. Ashok Mehta Committee

3. L M Singhvi Committee

4. Santhanam Committee

How many of the above Committees is/are related to the Panchayat Raj system?

1. A. Only one
2. B. Only two
3. C. Only three (Correct answer)
4. D. All four

Correct Answer

Option C — Only three

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only three.

Key Points

• Three of the four committees listed relate directly to Panchayati Raj:
  • Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) — recommended democratic decentralisation, which came to be called Panchayati Raj, in a three-tier structure: Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and Zila Parishad at the district level. Rajasthan was the first state to implement it, at Nagaur on 2 October 1959, followed by Andhra Pradesh.
  • Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) — recommended replacing the three-tier system with a two-tier structure: the Zila Parishad at the district level and the Mandal Panchayat below it. It also urged constitutional status for the bodies, an open role for political parties, and compulsory powers of taxation.
  • L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986) — recommended that Panchayati Raj be recognised and protected in the Constitution, with a separate chapter, and proposed Nyaya Panchayats and the reorganisation of villages to make Gram Panchayats viable. Its recommendation led directly to the 73rd Amendment.
• The Santhanam Committee (1962–64) is the exception. It was appointed on prevention of corruption, and its recommendations led to the Central Vigilance Commission (1964).

Additional Information

• Other committees in this chain: the G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985), which found the system had been reduced to "grass without roots" and recommended a key role for the District Development Commissioner; and the Thungon Committee (1988) and Gadgil Committee (1988), both of which supported constitutional status and a fixed five-year term.
• The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 came into force on 24 April 1993 and inserted Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects). Its compulsory provisions include a three-tier system in states with a population above 20 lakh, elections every five years, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to population, one-third reservation for women, and a State Election Commission and State Finance Commission.
• Gram Sabha — the body of all registered voters in a village — is the constitutional foundation of the system, though its powers are left to the state legislature.
• PESA, 1996 extended Part IX to the Fifth Schedule areas, with wider powers for the Gram Sabha over land, minor minerals and local plans.

Exam Tip

• K. Santhanam's name appears in two different contexts, which is what makes this question work: the well-known Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962), and a lesser-known committee on Panchayati Raj finances (1963). In an exam, the unqualified name means the anti-corruption committee — that is the association being tested here.