RAS question
Who is the head (Chairperson) of a Gram Panchayat in Rajasthan?
Correct answer: (C) Sarpanch.
In Rajasthan, the chairperson and elected head of a Gram Panchayat is the Sarpanch.
Explanation
The Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 makes the answer explicit: for a Panchayat, Chairperson means the Sarpanch and Deputy Chairperson means the Up-Sarpanch. The same Act says every Panchayat consists of a Sarpanch and directly elected Panchas, and Section 26 provides that every Panchayat must have a Sarpanch elected by the electors of the whole Panchayat Circle. That is why, in a Gram Panchayat question, the head is not just any ward member but the Sarpanch. The Up-Sarpanch is a separate deputy post, elected from among the elected Panchas, so it does not displace the Sarpanch as chairperson.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A Panch is a member of a Panchayat other than the Sarpanch, so a Panch is a ward representative and not the chairperson.
- (B) Zila Pramukh belongs to the Zila Parishad tier, whereas the chairperson of a Gram Panchayat is the Sarpanch.
- (D) Pradhan is the chairperson of a Panchayat Samiti, not of a Gram Panchayat.
Concept
This tests the Panchayati Raj office hierarchy: Sarpanch for Gram Panchayat, Pradhan for Panchayat Samiti, and Pramukh or Zila Pramukh for Zila Parishad. RAS asks this because local self-government questions often hinge on matching each institution to its chairperson.