Rajasthan Quiz: Panchayati Raj and State Commissions of Rajasthan

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated panchayati raj at Nagaur on 2 October 1959, acting on the recommendation of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, and Rajasthan therefore became the first state in India to begin the three tier system of local self government.

This committee, which reported in 1957 after studying the working of the Community Development Programme, held that rural development could not succeed without participation, and recommended democratic decentralisation through elected bodies at three levels, the village panchayat, the panchayat samiti at the block and the zila parishad at the district.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 inserted Part IX with Articles 243 to 243O and the Eleventh Schedule, making regular elections, reservation and a fixed five year term binding on the states, and it came into force on 24 April 1993, now National Panchayati Raj Day.

The Eleventh Schedule, added by the 73rd Amendment, lists twenty nine subjects that a state may entrust to its panchayats, from agriculture, minor irrigation and rural housing to drinking water, primary education, health and the public distribution system; devolution of these subjects, along with funds and functionaries, is what decides…

The panchayat samiti is the middle or block level tier, and its elected members choose one of themselves as Pradhan, with an Up-Pradhan as deputy.

The Vikas Adhikari, known in general administration as the block development officer, is the government officer posted to a panchayat samiti to execute its resolutions, run the development schemes of the block and control its staff and accounts.

Article 243K requires every state to have a State Election Commission, headed by a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor, to superintend, direct and control the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to panchayats; Article 243ZA extends the same to municipal elections.

It requires the Governor of a state to constitute a State Finance Commission once in every five years to review the financial position of the panchayats and to recommend how the taxes, duties, tolls and fees of the state should be shared with them and what grants in aid they…

The Gram Sabha is the general body of voters, not a committee of representatives, which is why it is called the village counterpart of the legislature; it considers the annual accounts and audit report, approves plans and beneficiary lists and carries out the social audit of works.

The Rajasthan Public Service Commission, constituted in 1949 and working under Article 315 of the Constitution, has its headquarters at Ajmer, from where it conducts the examinations and interviews for the state services, including the Rajasthan Administrative Service and the state education and police services.

The Rajasthan Lokayukta and Up-Lokayuktas Act was passed in 1973, which places Rajasthan among the earliest states to set up the office after Maharashtra, and the Lokayukta inquires into allegations of corruption and abuse of office against ministers and other public servants, reporting to the Governor.

Article 243E fixes a term of five years for every panchayat, requires the election to be completed before the term expires, and provides that where a panchayat is dissolved early the fresh body holds office only for the remainder of the original five year period, so dissolution cannot be used…