RAS question
Under the 73rd Amendment, which of the following is NOT a mandatory provision?
Correct answer: (D) Reservation for OBCs.
Under the 73rd Amendment, reservation for OBCs in Panchayats is not mandatory; it is an enabling provision left to the states.
Explanation
Reservation for OBCs in Panchayats is the non-mandatory provision. The Constitution's Part IX, inserted through the 73rd Amendment, makes several Panchayat features compulsory: Panchayats have a five-year duration, seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, and Panchayat elections are placed under a State Election Commission. The key contrast is in Article 243D: SC/ST reservation is framed as a duty, while clause 243D(6) says nothing prevents a state legislature from making reservation for backward classes. That wording makes OBC reservation permissive, not compulsory. So a state may provide it by law, but the 73rd Amendment itself does not mandate it.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A five-year term is mandatory because Article 243E fixes the duration of every Panchayat at five years from its first meeting.
- (B) Reservation for SC/ST is mandatory because Article 243D requires seats to be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Panchayats.
- (C) A State Election Commission is mandatory because Article 243K vests Panchayat electoral-roll preparation and election conduct in such a commission.
Concept
This tests the mandatory-versus-voluntary provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. RAS repeatedly asks this because Panchayati Raj questions often turn on exact constitutional wording, especially where state discretion begins.