Question

Which of the following is the lowest unit of Panchayati Raj in Haryana ?
1. Zila Panchayat
2. Panchayat Samiti
3. Gram Panchayat
4. None of the above

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Gram Panchayat

The correct answer is Gram Panchayat.

• The Haryana Panchayati raj Act 1994 came into force on 22nd April 1994.
• The Panchayati Raj system in Haryana has three levels:
  1. Gram Panchayat (village level)
  2. Mandal Parishad or Block Samiti or Panchayat Samiti (block level).
  3. Zila Parishad (district level).
• Gram Panchayat is the lowest unit of the Panchayati Raj system in Haryana.
  • Gram Panchayat” means the Panchayat constituted at village level.
  • Every Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, and Zila Parishad unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer.
  • The Gram Sabha prevents the Panchayat from illegal activities. 
  • The main functions of Gram Panchayat are:
    • The construction and maintenance of water sources, roads, drainage, and other common property resources.
    • Levying and collecting local taxes.
    • Providing an adequate number of street lights and paying electricity charges regularly.
    • Establishment and maintenance of local markets.
    • Prevention of contagious diseases.
• History of Panchayati Raj in the Haryana:
  • After Independence with the enactment of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 gram panchayats were set up at the village level on a mandatory basis.
  • It was amended in the year 1960.
  • Haryana became an independent state in 1966 and the local government institutions operating in the stale divided into three tiers.
  • These included the gram panchayats panchayat samitis and Zilla parotids formed under the 1961 Punjab panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishad Act.