Question

Which committee recommended three tier panchayati raj system in India?
1. Balwant Rai
2. Ashok Mehta
3. Hanumant Rao
4. G.B.K. Rao

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Balwant Rai

The correct answer is Balwant Rai.

• Balwant Rai Mehta Committee:
  • In 1957, the National Development Council constituted a committee headed by Balwant Rai Mehta to look into the working of the community development program.
  • The team observed that the major reason for the failure of the CDP was the lack of people’s participation.
  • The committee suggested three-tier PRIs, namely, Gram Panchayats (GPs) at the village level, Panchayat Samiti (PSs) at the block level, and Zilla Parishad (ZPs) at the district level.
  • As a result of this scheme of democratic decentralization was launched in Rajasthan on October 2, 1959.
  • In Andhra Pradesh, the scheme was introduced on 1st November 1959.
  • The necessary legislation had also been passed and implemented in Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, and Punjab, etc.

• Ashok Mehta:
  • The committee was appointed in 1977 to suggest measures to revive and strengthen the declining Panchayati Raj system in India.
  • The key recommendations are:
    • The three-tier system should be replaced with a two-tier system: Zila Parishad (district level) and the Mandal Panchayat (a group of villages).
    • The district level is the first level of supervision after the state level.
    • Zila Parishad should be the executive body and responsible for planning at the district level.
    • The institutions (Zila Parishad and the Mandal Panchayat) have compulsory taxation powers to mobilize their own financial resources.
• G V K Rao Committee:
  • The committee was appointed by the planning commission in 1985.
  • It recognized that development was not seen at the grassroots level due to bureaucratization resulting in Panchayat Raj institutions being addressed as ‘grass without roots’.
  • Hence, it made some key recommendations which are as follows:
  • Zila Parishad to be the most important body in the scheme of democratic decentralization.
  • Zila Parishad to be the principal body to manage the developmental programs at the district level.
• Hanumant Rao Committee:
  • The Hanumantha Rao Committee (1984) on District Planning has enumerated the following factors for peoples participation at the local level:
    • To take note of the felt needs of the population.
    • To mobilize local resources for plan implementation.
    • To decrease the level of conflict during the planning the implementation stages.
    • To increase the speed of implementation by securing the co-operation of the people.