Question

Which Committee recommended Constitutional status to the Panchayats?
1. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee
2. Ashok Mehta Committee
3. L. M. Singhvi Committee
4. Thungon Committee

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : L. M. Singhvi Committee

The correct answer is L. M. Singhvi Committee.

• L. M. Singhvi Committee recommended Constitutional status to the Panchayats.

•  L. M. Singhvi Committee:
  • The committee was appointed by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1986 in order to prepare a concept paper on ‘Revitalisation of Panchayati Raj Institutions for Democracy and Development’ under the chairmanship of L.M. Singhvi.
  • Its recommendations were:
    • The Panchayati Raj institutions should be constitutionally recognised, protected and preserved.
    • Nyaya Panchayats should be established for a cluster of villages.
    • The villages should be reorganised to make Gram Panchayats more viable.
      • It also emphasised the importance of the Gram Sabha and called it the embodiment of direct democracy.
    • The Village Panchayats should have more financial resources.
    • The judicial tribunals should be established in each state to adjudicate controversies about the election to the Panchayati Raj institutions, their dissolution and other matters related to their functioning.

 

• Balwant Rai Mehta Committee:
  • In 1957, the Government of India appointed Balwant Rai Mehta Committee to examine the working of the Community Development Programme (1952) and the National Extension Service (1953) and to suggest measures for their better working.
  • The chairman of this committee was Balwant Rai G Mehta.
  • The committee recommended the establishment of the scheme of ‘democratic decentralisation’, which came to be known as Panchayati Raj. 
• Ashok Mehta Committee:
  • It was appointed by the Janata Government in December 1977 under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta.
  • Its recommendations were mostly to revive and strengthen the declining Panchayati raj system in the country.
• Thungon Committee:
  • In 1988, a sub-committee of the Consultative Committee of Parliament was constituted under the chairmanship of P.K. Thungon.
  • Its aim was to examine the political and administrative structure in the district for the purpose of district planning.
  • This committee also suggested the strengthening of the Panchayati Raj system.