Question

The Panchs and the Gram Panchayat are answerable to the ___
A.Gram Sabha
B.Nagar Panchayat
C.Nagar Palika
D.State Assembly

Answer 1

Hint:Panchayati Raj is one of the oldest systems of governance in India. In 1992, it was officially established as a part of federal structure by the Indian Constitution through the seventy third amendment which aimed to strengthen democracy at grass root level. The Panchayati Raj System has three levels- Gram Panchayat at the village level, Block Panchayat or Panchayat Samiti at the intermediate level and Zilla Panchayat at the district level.

Complete answer:
Traditionally, Panchayats consisted of elderly and wise people chosen by the local community and headed by the village Sarpanch.
After the 1992 Amendment, Panchayats were given the responsibility of preparing plans for economic development and social justice, which also extends to the various levels of Panchayat including the subjects as mentioned in the Eleventh Schedule (Article 243G).
It has many features to it.
The Gram Sabha is the smallest and permanent unit of the system. The powers of it are fixed by the state as per the law.
Gram Panchayat has a village or a group of villages divided into smaller units called ‘Wards.’ Each war selects a representative called Panch or ward member. They have direct elections and the Sarpanch is elected by the wards for five years.
A Nagar Panchayat or Notified Area Council is an urban political unit formed under the Panchayati Raj administrative system. It is often labeled as ‘town panchayat‘.
Nagar Palika Parishad is an urban local body which is responsible for a population of one lakh or more. It interacts directly with the state government.
The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, is a legislative body of a respective state. The members of Vidhan Sabha are elected for five years and represent a single member constituency.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note:As per January 2019, there are 630 Zilla Panchayats,6614 Block Panchayats and 253,163 Gram Panchayats in India. There exist more than 3 million elected representatives (of which more than 1 million are women) for panchayats at all levels.