Question

Choose the correct statements given below:

(a) G.V.K. Rao Committee was appointed by the rural development ministry of the Government of India.

(b) G.VK. Rao Committee was constituted in 1985.

(c) This Committee criticized the then existing Panchayati Raj Institutes as 'grass without roots'.

(d) This Committee assigned a leading role to the Panchayati Raj in local planning and development.

1. (a) and (b)
2. (c) and (d)
3. (b), (c) and (d)
4. (a), (b) and (d)

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : (b), (c) and (d)

The correct answer is (b), (c) and (d).

• G V K Rao Committee:
  • The Committee to review the existing Administrative Arrangements for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Programmes under the chairmanship of G.V.K. Rao was appointed by the Planning Commission in 1985. Hence, (a) is incorrect and (b) and (d) are correct.
  • The Committee came to the conclusion that the developmental process was gradually bureaucratised and divorced from the Panchayati Raj.
  • This phenomena of bureaucratisation of development administration as against the democratisation weakened the Panchayati Raj institutions resulting in what is aptly called as ‘grass without roots.
• Committee made the following recommendations to strengthen and revitalise the Panchayati Raj system:
  • The district-level body, that is, the Zila Parishad should be of pivotal importance in the scheme of democratic decentralisation. It stated that “the district is the proper unit for planning and development and the Zila Parishad should become the principal body for the management of all development programmes which can be handled at that level.
  • The Panchayati Raj institutions at the district and lower levels should be assigned an important role with respect to planning, implementation and monitoring of rural development programmes. Hence, (c) is correct.
  • Some of the planning functions at the state level should be transferred to the district level planning units for effective decentralized district planning.
  • A post of District Development Commissioner should be created. He should act as the chief executive officer of the Zila Parishad and should be in charge of all the development departments at the district level.
  • Elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions should be held regularly. It found that elections became overdue for one or more tiers in 11 states.
  • Thus the committee, in its scheme of a decentralised system of field administration, assigned a leading role to the Panchayati Raj in local planning and development. It is in this respect that the recommendation of the G.V.K. Rao Committee Report (1986) differed from those of the Dantwala Committee Report on Block-Level Planning (1978) and the Hanumantha Rao Committee Report on District Planning (1984)