Panchayati Raj and Public Policy - 1

Duration of panchayats is five years. Fresh elections to constitute a panchayat are held before the expiry of its term; or in case of its dissolution, before the expiry of a period of 6 months from the date of its dissolution.

Panchayati Raj was first introduced in Nagaur district of Rajasthan on October 2, 1959 followed by Andhra Pradesh in 1959.

In 1688, the first Municipal Corporation of India was set up in Madras.

According to 73^rd Amendment Act, 1993, under Article 243D, not less than 1/3^rd i.e. 33% seats should be reserved for women in local bodies.

Name in the voters' list is the important condition.

District Planning Committee comes under 74^th Amendment not in 73^rd Amendment.

(4) is not an objective of CACP.

The Water (Cess) Act, 1977 is related to water and irrigation and does not deal with the protection of the environment.

This question tests knowledge of local government bodies in Indian states as of 1999. The correct matching is: Zila Parishads at sub-divisional level existed in Assam (2), Mandal Praja Parishad system was in Andhra Pradesh (1), Tribal Councils were prominent in Mizoram (3), and Meghalaya (4) was known for absence of village panchayats with its unique autonomous district council system.

The main purpose of these committees is to provide a forum for informal discussions between the Government and Members of Parliament on policies and programmes of the Government and the manner of their implementation.

The Indian Constitution provides for the establishment of a Consolidated Fund and a Public Account under Article 266 and a Contingency Fund for each State under Article 267.
Disbursements from Public Accounts of India are not subject to the vote of the Parliament.

PESA Act does not identify the freedom of tribal people from exploitation as its objective, but it automatically becomes a byproduct of its objectives.

Section C of the Forest Dwellers Act provides a transparent three-step procedure for deciding on who gets rights.
Firstly, the Gram Sabha makes a recommendation, i.e. who has been cultivating land for how long, which minor forest produce is collected, etc. The Gram Sabha plays this role because it is a public body where everyone can participate and hence, is fully democratic and transparent. The Gram Sabha’s recommendation goes through two stages of screening committees - the Taluka and the District level.

According to Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, Gram Sabha has all the mentioned powers.

The committee consists of 15 members of Lok Sabha and not 25 members.
The function of the committee is to examine the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the expenditure of the Government of India and such other accounts laid before the House as the committee may think fit.
Apart from the Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on appropriation accounts of the Union Government, the committee also examines the various Audit Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General on revenue receipts, expenditure by various Ministries/Departments of Government and accounts of autonomous bodies.

Lok Adalats are held for all of the given cases.

Statement 1 is incorrect as equal pay for equal work for both men and women is provided under Article 39 (d) in Directive Principles of the State Policy under Part IV of the Constitution.

NCLP is run by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment.