With reference to the recommendations of the Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) on Panchayati Raj, which of the following statement/s is/are correct? (1) The three tier system of Panchayati Raj should be replaced by the two tier system. (2) A block should be the first point for decentralization under popular supervision below the state level. Select the correct answer using the code given below -
- (a)Only 1
- (b)Both 1 and 2
- (c)Only 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — A, Only 1. The Ashok Mehta Committee (appointed 1977) recommended replacing the existing three-tier Panchayati Raj (village–block–district) with a two-tier system — Zilla Parishad at the district level and Mandal Panchayat below it — so Statement 1 is correct. However, it held that the DISTRICT (not the block) should be the first point of decentralization under popular supervision below the state level; Statement 2 wrongly says 'block', so it is incorrect. Hence only Statement 1 is correct.
- (b)Both 1 and 2 — Statement 2 is wrong — the committee named the district, not the block, as the first point of decentralization below the state level — so both cannot be correct.
- (c)Only 2 — Statement 2 is the incorrect one (it should read 'district', not 'block'), while Statement 1 (two-tier replacing three-tier) is correct — so this is reversed.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Statement 1 is genuinely a committee recommendation (two-tier system), so 'neither' is wrong.
The Ashok Mehta Committee (1977, report 1978) was set up to revive Panchayati Raj, which had declined after the Balwant Rai Mehta era. Its landmark structural idea was a two-tier system — Zilla Parishad at the district level and Mandal Panchayat (a group of villages, ~15,000–20,000 population) below it — with the district treated as the first point of decentralization under popular supervision below the state level.
Both statements sound like plausible committee recommendations, so the discriminator is precision. Statement 1 (two-tier) is the committee's flagship idea and is true. Statement 2 flips one word — it says 'block' where the committee actually said 'district' — and that single swap makes it false, giving 'Only 1'.
- The Ashok Mehta Committee recommended a two-tier system: Zilla Parishad (district) and Mandal Panchayat (group of villages).
- It named the district as the first point of decentralization below the state level.
- It favoured official participation of political parties in panchayat elections.
- It recommended reservation for SCs/STs, compulsory taxation powers for panchayats, and a Minister for Panchayati Raj in the state council of ministers.
Statement 1 (two-tier replacing three-tier) is correct; Statement 2 wrongly says 'block' — the committee named the district — hence 'Only 1'.
- Mixing up the Ashok Mehta (two-tier) and Balwant Rai Mehta (three-tier) recommendations
- Accepting 'block' as the first point of decentralization when the committee said 'district'
- Confusing committee recommendations with what the 73rd Amendment finally enacted (a three-tier model)
UPSC/UPPSC test Panchayati Raj committees by matching each committee to its signature recommendation, or by statement-based questions that swap a single detail (tier, unit, or level).
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The two-tier Panchayati Raj model recommended by the Ashok Mehta Committee consisted of which two levels?
- (a)Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti
- (b)Mandal Panchayat and Zilla Parishad
- (c)Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad
- (d)Gram Sabha and Nyaya Panchayat
Answer(b) Mandal Panchayat and Zilla Parishad — the committee's two-tier structure.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which committee is associated with the introduction of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system and the concept of 'democratic decentralization'?
- (a)Ashok Mehta Committee
- (b)Balwant Rai Mehta Committee
- (c)L.M. Singhvi Committee
- (d)G.V.K. Rao Committee
Answer(b) Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) — it recommended the three-tier system and 'democratic decentralization'.