Question

A Gram Sabha consists of ______________-.
A.All the members elected by the people of the village.
B.All the people of the village who are not less than 21 years of age.
C.All the persons of a panchayat area who are not less than 18 years of age.
D.All the elected members of the Panchayat area who are not less than 25 years of age.

Answer 1

Hint: The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 envisages Gram Sabha as the foundation of the Panchayati Raj system in rural areas. It is the deliberative and decision-making body of decentralised governance. Above the Gram Sabha, panchayats will be constituted at intermediate block and district levels.

Complete answer: Option A: is incorrect. Members elected by the people of the village via direct elections formed the Gram panchayat, a smaller executive body of the Gram Sabha. The mode of election of the chairperson of the Gram panchayat or the Sarpanch was left to the state governments to decide.

Option B: is incorrect as the cut off age is not 21 years.

Option C: is correct. Gram Sabha consists of all people of a village, who have attained the age of 18 years and their name is entered in the voter list. The Gram Sabha offers the benefits of direct democracy, namely, a flatter power structure wherein there is hardly any distance between the representative and represented, empowerment through participation and effective utilisation of community resources.

Option D: is incorrect because the cut off age is not 25 years.

Note: The matters where the Panchayati Raj institutions exercise power in their area of jurisdiction are mentioned under the 11th Schedule of the Constitution. In order to enable the Panchayati Raj institutions to carry out their responsibilities, the state government under Article 243G of the Act shall by passing a law authorise a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate tax, duties, tolls and fees as required for the purpose.