RAS question
The District Planning Committee (DPC) in Rajasthan is chaired by:
Correct answer: (C) Zila Pramukh.
In Rajasthan, the District Planning Committee is chaired by the Pramukh of the concerned Zila Parishad, that is, the Zila Pramukh.
Explanation
The District Planning Committee sits at the point where district-level planning connects Panchayati Raj institutions and municipalities. In Rajasthan, the DPC is chaired by the Zila Pramukh, the elected head of the Zila Parishad, and has 25 members, including 20 elected from rural and urban local bodies. Rajasthan District Gazetteers, Hanumangarh, Chapter 13: Local Self Government states that the District Planning Committee prepares a draft development plan for the district and that the chairperson of such a committee is the Pramukh of the concerned Zila Parishad. This makes option C the substantive answer, not the MP, Collector, or a minister nominated by the Chief Minister.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) An MP may represent a constituency that falls within the district, but the chairpersonship belongs to the Pramukh of the concerned Zila Parishad, not to the MP.
- (B) The District Collector may be associated with district administration, but the Rajasthan DPC chair is identified as the Zila Parishad Pramukh rather than the Collector.
- (D) A minister nominated by the Chief Minister is not the Rajasthan DPC chair because the provision places the chairpersonship with the Pramukh of the concerned Zila Parishad.
Concept
This tests local self-government and district planning under Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj framework. RAS repeats it because DPCs link constitutional decentralisation with district-level development planning.