RAS question
Match List-I (Panchayati Raj body) with List-II (its head/presiding officer) in Rajasthan: List-I: (a) Gram Panchayat (b) Panchayat Samiti (c) Zila Parishad (d) Gram Sabha List-II: (1) Pradhan (2) Zila Pramukh (3) Sarpanch (4) Village voters (no elected head)
Correct answer: (B) a-3, b-1, c-2, d-4.
In Rajasthan, the Gram Panchayat is headed by the Sarpanch, the Panchayat Samiti by the Pradhan, the Zila Parishad by the Zila Pramukh, and the Gram Sabha consists of the registered village voters rather than having its own elected head.
Explanation
The correct matching is a-3, b-1, c-2, d-4. Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj structure uses different heads at the village, block and district tiers: the Gram Panchayat has a Sarpanch, the Panchayat Samiti has a Pradhan, and the Zila Parishad has a Zila Pramukh. The cited Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act provision defines the chairperson offices in the same sequence, using Sarpanch for a Panchayat, Pradhan for a Panchayat Samiti, and Pramukh for a Zila Parishad. Gram Sabha is different: it is not another elected executive body with a separate head. It consists of persons registered in the electoral rolls for the village or group of villages in the Panchayat area, so the matching points to village voters.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Option A wrongly assigns Pradhan to the Gram Panchayat, although Pradhan belongs to the Panchayat Samiti and the Gram Panchayat is headed by the Sarpanch.
- (C) Option C swaps the block and district heads by giving Zila Pramukh to the Panchayat Samiti and Pradhan to the Zila Parishad.
- (D) Option D puts Zila Pramukh at the Gram Panchayat level and Sarpanch at the Zila Parishad level, reversing the village and district offices.
Concept
This tests the three-tier Panchayati Raj structure and the distinct legal character of the Gram Sabha. It recurs in RAS because local self-government questions often check precise office names across village, block and district institutions.