Which of the following statements about the term of panchayati raj bodies is correct?
- A.The term is four years and may be extended by the state government
- B.The term is five years, and a body dissolved early is reconstituted only for the rest of that term
- C.The term is six years, as for the Rajya Sabha
- D.There is no fixed term; elections are held when the state government decides
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B. 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 to buy extra time. Option A is wrong because neither the term nor any extension is in the hands of the state government; that discretion is exactly what the 73rd Amendment removed. Option C is wrong because six years is the term of a member of the Rajya Sabha, not of a local body. Option D describes the position before 1993, when many states simply postponed panchayat elections for years, and it is no longer constitutionally permissible.
Read the full article: Rajasthan Panchayati Raj and State Commissions Notes
Practice Questions
View allPanchayati raj was inaugurated in India for the first time on 2 October 1959 at which place?
- A.Nagaur, Rajasthan
- B.Jaipur, Rajasthan
- C.Shadnagar, Andhra Pradesh
- D.Wardha, Maharashtra
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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.
Read the full explanation →The three tier structure of panchayati raj was recommended by which committee?
- A.Ashok Mehta Committee
- B.Balwant Rai Mehta Committee
- C.L. M. Singhvi Committee
- D.G. V. K. Rao Committee
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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.
Read the full explanation →Which Constitutional Amendment Act gave panchayats a place in the Constitution of India?
- A.The 42nd Amendment
- B.The 44th Amendment
- C.The 73rd Amendment
- D.The 74th Amendment
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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.
Read the full explanation →How many subjects are listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution for devolution to panchayats?
- A.18
- B.21
- C.29
- D.31
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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…
Read the full explanation →In Rajasthan, the elected head of a Panchayat Samiti is called the
- A.Sarpanch
- B.Pradhan
- C.Pramukh
- D.Vikas Adhikari
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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.
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