Previous Year Question
With reference to Panchayati Raj Institutions in India which of the following statements is/are correct?
Tenure of Panchayati Raj Institutions shall be of 5 years.
In Panchayati Raj Institutions, out of the seats reserved, 1/4 of the seats shall be reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
Code:
Only 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Both 1 and 2
Only 1
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. Under Article 243E(1) of the Constitution, every Panchayat, unless sooner dissolved according to law, continues for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting.
The five-year tenure is not merely an administrative convention; after the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, it became a constitutional mechanism for ensuring the continuity of Panchayats and regular elections. Article 243E also provides that, in the normal course, an election to constitute a new Panchayat must be completed before the expiry of the existing Panchayat's term. Where a Panchayat is dissolved prematurely, the Constitution generally provides for an election within six months.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Under Article 243D(1), seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in every Panchayat broadly in proportion to their population in the concerned Panchayat area. Article 243D(2) further provides that not less than one-third (1/3) of the seats so reserved for SCs/STs shall be reserved for women belonging to those categories—not one-fourth (1/4).
Further, under Article 243D(3), not less than one-third of the total number of seats filled by direct election in every Panchayat must be reserved for women. This one-third includes the seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Thus, two separate “one-third” provisions are useful to remember—
Of SC/ST reserved seats, ≥ 1/3 → SC/ST women
Of all directly elected seats, ≥ 1/3 → women overall, including SC/ST women.