Which of the following was NOT a condition introduced for panchayat candidates by the Haryana amendment of 2015?
- A.A functional toilet at home
- B.No arrears of electricity dues or cooperative loans
- C.A minimum educational qualification
- D.Ownership of agricultural land in the village
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, Ownership of agricultural land in the village. The amendment never made landholding a condition for contesting; such a requirement would have excluded landless villagers altogether and was not part of the law that the Supreme Court examined.
Option A was a condition: a candidate had to have a functional toilet at the house, a provision tied to the sanitation drive of those years. Option B was also a condition, since a candidate was not to be in arrears of electricity dues or of loans from a cooperative bank or a cooperative society, the idea being that a person seeking to handle public money should have cleared dues to public bodies. Option C was the best known condition, the minimum educational qualification of matriculation in general, with relaxation for women, Scheduled Caste candidates and Scheduled Caste women contesting as panch. All three were upheld in Rajbala versus State of Haryana, which is why the question is usually set in this negative form.
Read the full article: Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies of Haryana: Acts and Articles
Practice Questions
View allPanchayati raj in Haryana is governed today by which state law?
- A.The Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952
- B.The Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994
- C.The Haryana Municipal Act, 1973
- D.The Haryana Panchayat Samiti Act, 1966
Show answer
After the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 every state had to bring its own law in line with Part IX of the Constitution, and Haryana did so with the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, which still governs the gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads of the state.
Read the full explanation →In Haryana, the directly elected head of a Gram Panchayat is called the:
- A.Mukhiya
- B.Sarpanch
- C.Pramukh
- D.Mayor
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Under the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 a gram panchayat is headed by a Sarpanch, who is elected directly by all the voters of the panchayat area, with an Up-Sarpanch as deputy and panches elected from the wards of the village.
Read the full explanation →The Supreme Court case Rajbala versus State of Haryana (2015) dealt with which subject?
- A.Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes in municipalities
- B.Minimum qualifications prescribed for contesting panchayat elections
- C.Delay in holding panchayat elections
- D.Powers of the State Finance Commission
Show answer
Haryana amended its Panchayati Raj Act in 2015 to add conditions for candidates, including a minimum educational qualification, no outstanding arrears of electricity dues or cooperative loans, and a functional toilet at home.
Read the full explanation →Under the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015, the minimum educational qualification fixed for a general category male candidate was:
- A.Class 5 pass
- B.Class 8 pass
- C.Matriculation
- D.Graduation
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The amendment required a general category candidate to have passed matriculation, that is Class 10, while a relaxation was given to women and to Scheduled Caste candidates, who needed Class 8, and to Scheduled Caste women contesting a panch seat, for whom Class 5 was enough.
Read the full explanation →The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which gave panchayats constitutional status, came into force on:
- A.2 October 1959
- B.24 April 1993
- C.1 June 1993
- D.15 August 1994
Show answer
The 73rd Amendment Act was passed in 1992 and was brought into force on 24 April 1993, observed every year since as National Panchayati Raj Day.
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