Local Administration and Panchayati Raj in Rajasthan and India
Local Administration and Panchayati Raj in Rajasthan and India
This domain tests constitutional local government, the three-tier structure, and Rajasthan's pioneering role.
Core rules and concepts
- The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule, making Panchayati Raj Institutions constitutional bodies.
- Three tiers: Gram Panchayat at village level, Panchayat Samiti at block level, Zila Parishad at district level. The Gram Sabha consists of all registered voters in a Gram Panchayat area.
- State Election Commission conducts panchayat elections; State Finance Commission recommends devolution; District Planning Committee consolidates plans. Reservation for SCs, STs and women is mandatory.
- Rajasthan pioneered Panchayati Raj on 2 October 1959 in Nagaur district; the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 governs the present system.
- Functions include civic services, local infrastructure, welfare scheme implementation and participatory planning, subject to state law and funds.
Worked example
A village wants a drinking-water pipeline. The Gram Sabha discusses it; the Gram Panchayat passes a resolution and sends it to the Panchayat Samiti; the Zila Parishad coordinates district-level approval and funds. The State Election Commission is irrelevant to this service decision because it conducts elections, not project approvals.
Traps
Do not call the Gram Sabha a fourth tier; it is a body of voters. Do not say panchayats have unfettered autonomy; state law and finance shape their powers. Do not place Rajasthan's first panchayat launch in 1992; that is the constitutional amendment year.