- Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957): Recommended the establishment of a three-tier Panchayati Raj system (village, block, and district levels) and suggested that the Panchayats should be given powers and functions related to local planning and development. These recommendations of the committee were accepted by the National Development Council in January 1958.
Rajasthan was the first state to establish Panchayati Raj. The scheme was inaugurated by the prime minister on October 2, 1959, in Nagaur district. Rajasthan was followed by Andhra Pradesh, which also adopted the system in 1959.
Community Development Programme (CDP) in India was launched on Oct 2, 1952 in the village of Etawah in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The National Extension Service program was formulated in April 1953 and it was inaugurated on October 2, 1953. It was formed after the Indian government realised that the Community Development Programme, which was formed in 1952, cannot be implemented all over India due to a shortage of funds.
- Ashok Mehta Committee (1978): Recommended that the Panchayats should be given constitutional status, and also suggested a two-tier system of Panchayati Raj (village and district levels). zila parishad at the district level, and below it, the mandal panchayat consisting of a group of villages with a total population of 15,000 to 20,000
- GVK Rao Committee (1985): was appointed by the Planning Commission. Recommended that the Panchayats should be given more powers and responsibilities, and also suggested the introduction of a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj (village, intermediate, and district levels).
The recommendation of the G.V.K. Rao Committee Report (1986) differed from those of the Dantwala Committee Report on Block-Level Planning (1978) and the Hanumantha Rao Committee Report on District Planning (1984)
- L.M. Singhvi Committee(1986): In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi government appointed a committee to prepare a concept paper on ‘Revitalisation of Panchayati Raj Institutions for Democracy and Development’ under the chairmanship of L.M. Singhvi
- Thungon Committee (1988):
- Gadgil Committee (1988): was constituted in 1988 by the Congress party under the chairmanship of V.N. Gadgil
Recommendations of the Gadgil Committee became the basis for drafting an amendment bill aimed at conferring the constitutional status and protection to the Panchayati Raj institutions.
67th BPSC
Q. In which year 'National Extension Service' launched?
A. 1953
B. 1955
C. 1957
D. 1959
66th [RE] BPSC
Q. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the code given below the lists :
List-I (Committees)
A. Balwant Rai Mehta
B. Ashok Mehta
C. L.M. Singhvi
D. G . V. K. Rao
List-II (Suggestion)
1. Two-tier system
2. Three-tier System
3. Improvement in representative character
4. Local Self-government System
63rd BPSC
Q. Which one of the following Committees/Commissions recommended the creation of Nyaya Panchayats?
A. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee
B. Ashok Mehta Committee
C. G.V.K. Rao Committee
D. None of the above
53-55th BPSC
Q. Ashok Mehta Committee recommended –
A. Three-tier Government of Panchayati Raj
B. Two-tier Government of Panchayati Raj
C. Single-tier Government of Panchayati Raj
D. None of the above
