Q. With reference to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Consider the following statements:
1. Rajasthan was the first state to establish Panchayati Raj after independence.
2. The subject of ‘Local Government’ is mentioned in the Concurrent List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
3. The institution was constitutionalized through 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, passed under the Prime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi.
How many statements given above are correct?
Exp) Option a is the correct answer
Panchayati Raj Institutions has taken a long journey postindependence from the first PM itself to its constitutionalized version through 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. Some of facts and features are as follows:
Statement 1 is correct – Rajasthan was the first state to establish Panchayati Raj. The scheme was inaugurated by the prime minister on October 2, 1959, in Nagaur district. Rajasthan was followed by Andhra Pradesh, which also adopted the system in 1959. Thereafter, most of the states adopted the system.
Statement 2 is incorrect – The subject of ‘Local Government’ is mentioned in the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Statement 3 is incorrect – The Act was passed under the government of P V Narsimha Rao and not under Rajiv Gandhi Government. Although Rajiv Gandhi introduced the 64th Amendment Bill to constitutionalize the PRIs, it was passed only in Lok Sabha and not Rajya Sabha. The bill was vehemently opposed by the Opposition on the ground that it sought to strengthen centralisation in the federal system.
