RAS question
Reservation for SC/ST in Panchayati Raj institutions is provided in proportion to their:
Correct answer: (D) Population in the respective Panchayat area.
Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Panchayati Raj institutions is provided in proportion to their population in the respective Panchayat area.
Explanation
Article 243D of the Constitution provides reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in every Panchayat. The number of reserved seats must, as nearly as possible, bear the same proportion to the directly elected seats in that Panchayat as the SC or ST population in that Panchayat area bears to the area's total population. This is why the basis is the respective Panchayat area, not a uniform statewide or national figure. The same provision also requires that at least one-third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs be reserved for women belonging to those categories.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) State-level average population is not the basis because Article 243D links the reservation ratio to the population of SCs or STs in that specific Panchayat area.
- (B) A fixed 25% quota is wrong because the reserved seats vary with the local SC/ST population proportion in each Panchayat area.
- (C) Total national population is irrelevant because the constitutional formula compares the SC/ST population of the Panchayat area with the total population of that same area.
Concept
This tests constitutional provisions on democratic decentralisation under Part IX, especially Article 243D. It recurs in RAS because Panchayati Raj reservations connect constitutional law with local governance in Rajasthan.