RAS question
District Planning Committee under 74th Amendment is constituted under:
Correct answer: (D) Article 243ZD.
A District Planning Committee under the Seventy-fourth Amendment is constituted under Article 243ZD of the Constitution of India.
Explanation
Article 243ZD is the specific constitutional provision titled "Committee for district planning". It says that, in every State, a District Planning Committee must be constituted at the district level to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole. This is why the answer is Article 243ZD: the article does not merely mention local bodies; it creates the district-level planning mechanism and defines its core planning role. The surrounding provisions also show the distinction: Article 243ZE deals with metropolitan planning, while Article 243G concerns Panchayat powers, so the district committee is anchored in 243ZD.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 243G deals with the powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats, including planning by Panchayats, but it does not constitute the district-level committee that consolidates Panchayat and Municipality plans.
- (B) Article 280 establishes the Finance Commission and sets out its recommendation functions, so it is not the provision constituting the District Planning Committee.
- (C) Article 243ZE is for a Metropolitan Planning Committee and a draft development plan for a metropolitan area, not for district planning at the district level.
Concept
This tests local self-government under Part IXA, especially the planning link between Panchayats, Municipalities and district-level development. It recurs because the nearby articles look similar, but 243ZD is the district provision and 243ZE is the metropolitan one.