Local Government — Set 4

Correct Answer: A. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee

• **Democratic Decentralization** = the central recommendation of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957); it called for transfer of power, resources, and responsibility from the central/state governments to elected local bodies. • **Term coined here** — 'Democratic Decentralization' is directly associated with the Balwant Rai Mehta report; the three-tier structure (Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, Zila Parishad) was its operational framework. • 💡 Option B (Sarkaria Commission) dealt with Centre-State relations — unrelated to Democratic Decentralization or Panchayati Raj; Option C (Kothari Commission) was on education reforms — not Panchayati Raj; Option D (Mandal Commission) dealt with OBC reservations — entirely separate from local self-government.

Correct Answer: A. 6 months

• **6 months** = if a Panchayat is dissolved before the expiry of its 5-year term, elections to constitute a new Panchayat must be held within 6 months of the date of dissolution (Article 243-E). • **Remaining term only** — the newly constituted Panchayat after mid-term elections serves only for the remainder of the full 5-year term, not a fresh 5-year term from the election date. • 💡 Option B (3 months) is stricter than the constitutional provision — the Constitution provides 6 months, not 3; Option C (1 year) is longer than constitutionally allowed — elections must be held within 6 months, not one year; Option D (2 months) is shorter than the constitutional provision — 6 months is the maximum allowed gap.

Correct Answer: C. Areas designated by government notification

• **Notified Area Committee (NAC)** = created for a fast-developing town or an area that does not yet fulfil all conditions for a Municipality; it is established by a notification in the government gazette. • **Entirely nominated** — unlike a Municipality whose members are elected, the NAC members are entirely nominated by the state government; it functions under the Municipal Act of the state. • 💡 Option A (Scheduled tribal areas) is served by Tribal Councils and PESA-enabled Gram Sabhas — not Notified Area Committees; Option B (large metropolitan cities) are governed by Municipal Corporations — not NACs; Option D (rural villages) fall under Panchayati Raj institutions — not urban local bodies like NAC.

Correct Answer: B. Municipal Commissioner

• **Municipal Commissioner** = the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a Municipal Corporation; appointed by the state government, usually an IAS officer; implements decisions taken by the elected council. • **Real executive power** — the Mayor is the ceremonial/presiding head of the Municipal Corporation, but the Municipal Commissioner holds the actual executive authority and runs the day-to-day administration. • 💡 Option A (Mayor) is the elected head of the Municipal Corporation — a ceremonial role, not the CEO; Option C (Chairman) is the head of smaller Municipal Councils or Nagar Panchayats — not the CEO of a Corporation; Option D (District Collector) is the district administrator under the state government — not the CEO of a Municipal Corporation.

Correct Answer: C. District Planning Committee

• **Article 243ZD** = mandates every state to constitute a District Planning Committee (DPC) at the district level to consolidate plans prepared by Panchayats and Municipalities and prepare a draft development plan. • **Composition ratio** — at least 4/5th of DPC members must be elected from elected members of Panchayats and Municipalities in proportion to their rural-urban population; the district collector often chairs it. • 💡 Option A (Block Development Committee) is a lower-level administrative body — not mandated by Article 243ZD; Option B (Village Health Committee) is a health sub-committee — not the body constituted by Article 243ZD; Option D (State Planning Board) is a state-level advisory body — not the district-level committee mandated by Article 243ZD.

Correct Answer: B. 24th April 1993

• **April 24, 1993** = the date on which the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act came into force; this day is now observed as National Panchayati Raj Day every year. • **Significance** — the 73rd Amendment granted constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions for the first time; the 74th Amendment (for urban bodies) came into force on June 1, 1993. • 💡 Option A (15th August 1993) is India's Independence Day — not related to the 73rd Amendment's enforcement; Option C (2nd October 1993) is Gandhi Jayanti — though Panchayati Raj was inaugurated on this date in 1959, the 73rd Amendment came into force on April 24; Option D (26th January 1993) is Republic Day — the Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950, not the 73rd Amendment.

Correct Answer: A. Ashok Mehta Committee

• **Ashok Mehta Committee (1977)** = recommended that the Zila Parishad should be the principal body for management of all developmental programmes at the district level; proposed shifting the planning unit from block to district. • **Two-tier system** — the committee's two-tier model had Zila Parishad at the top with executive power over development, and Mandal Panchayat at the grassroots; this made the district the focal point of decentralization. • 💡 Option B (G.V.K. Rao Committee, 1985) also recommended strengthening Zila Parishad but is known for 'grass without roots' observation — it was a review committee, not the one that first recommended Zila Parishad as principal body; Option C (Balwant Rai Mehta) recommended a three-tier structure with Panchayat Samiti as the main body at block level — not Zila Parishad as principal; Option D (Hanumantha Rao Committee) is a distractor not associated with this specific recommendation.

Correct Answer: A. Small towns

• **Town Area Committees** = established for small towns that do not qualify for full Municipal status; they are semi-municipal authorities with limited civic functions like street lighting, drainage, and road maintenance. • **Nominated body** — like Notified Area Committees, Town Area Committees are nominated (not elected) bodies created by the state legislature through separate legislation; they handle fewer functions than Municipalities. • 💡 Option B (port areas) are administered by Port Trusts — not Town Area Committees; Option C (large cities) are governed by Municipal Corporations — far beyond the scope of a Town Area Committee; Option D (industrial townships) are managed by public sector enterprises as Township-type ULBs — separate from Town Area Committees.

Correct Answer: D. Twelfth Schedule

• **Twelfth Schedule** = added by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992; specifies 18 functional items (subjects) that can be entrusted to Municipalities by state legislatures. • **18 municipal functions** — include urban planning and regulation of land use, public health and sanitation, fire services, urban poverty alleviation, slum improvement, provision of public amenities, etc. • 💡 Option A (Tenth Schedule) is the Anti-Defection Law added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985 — unrelated to Municipalities; Option B (Thirteenth Schedule) does not exist in the Indian Constitution — a pure distractor; Option C (Eleventh Schedule) was added by the 73rd Amendment for Panchayats (29 items), not the 74th Amendment for Municipalities.

Correct Answer: C. Authority determined by State Legislature

• **Authority determined by State Legislature** = under Article 243-O, the State Legislature is empowered to determine the authority to which election disputes to Panchayats shall be referred; courts cannot directly entertain such disputes. • **Bar on court interference** — Article 243-O bars courts from interfering in electoral matters relating to Panchayats; election petitions must go to the authority prescribed by state law, not directly to courts. • 💡 Option A (Election Commission of India) handles Parliament and State Assembly elections — it has no jurisdiction over Panchayat election disputes; Option B (High Court) cannot be directly approached for Panchayat election disputes due to the bar under Article 243-O; Option D (State Governor) is the constitutional head of the state — not empowered to decide election disputes for Panchayats.