Previous Year Question

The correct answer is Part IX. Part IX — “The Panchayats” of the Constitution deals with Panchayats. It was inserted by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 and came into force on 24 April 1993.

Article 243B expressly provides the constitutional basis for the three-tier structure. It provides for Panchayats generally at the village, intermediate and district levels in every State. This is the three-tier system referred to in the question.

Its general structure is—

Village level → Gram Panchayat
Intermediate level → Panchayat Samiti/Block or Taluka level
District level → Zila Panchayat/Zila Parishad

There is an important exception. A State having a population not exceeding 20 lakh is not required to constitute Panchayats at the intermediate level. Thus, the constitutional model is three-tier, but smaller States are exempt from the compulsory intermediate tier.

Part IX contains provisions from Articles 243 to 243-O, covering the Gram Sabha, composition and duration of Panchayats, reservation, powers, finances, State Finance Commission and Panchayat elections. The Eleventh Schedule contains 29 subjects relating to Panchayats.

It should be distinguished from Part IX-A—Part IX deals with Panchayats (rural local government), while Part IX-A deals with Municipalities (urban local government).