Social & Political Life (Civics) • Topic 2 of 4

Local & State Government

Local self-government brings decision-making close to the people. In rural areas this is the Panchayati Raj system, organised in three tiers: the Gram Panchayat at the village level, the Panchayat Samiti (also called Block or Mandal) at the intermediate level, and the Zila Parishad at the district level. The Gram Sabha is the foundation — it is the general meeting of all adult voters of a village (the entire electorate), and it elects and keeps a check on the Gram Panchayat. The Gram Panchayat, headed by the Sarpanch (Panchayat President) with elected Panchs (ward members), looks after local needs such as water, roads, sanitation and street lighting, and is helped by an appointed Panchayat Secretary. In towns and cities, local government takes the form of a Municipality (smaller towns) or a Municipal Corporation (large cities). At the district level, administration is run by the Collector (or District Magistrate), who is in charge of revenue collection and land records, while the police, headed at the district level by the Superintendent of Police, maintain law and order and register complaints through the FIR.

✅ Solved examples

1. Name the three tiers of the Panchayati Raj system from the lowest to the highest level.
Gram Panchayat (village level), Panchayat Samiti / Block (intermediate level), and Zila Parishad (district level).
2. The general meeting of all adult voters of a village, which elects and checks the Gram Panchayat, is the:
Gram Sabha. It includes every voter in the village and is the foundation of village democracy.
3. The elected head of a Gram Panchayat is known as the:
Sarpanch (or Panchayat President). The other elected members of the Panchayat are called Panchs or ward members.
4. In a district, who is mainly responsible for revenue collection and maintaining land records?
The Collector (also called the District Magistrate / Deputy Commissioner). Law and order in the district is handled separately by the police.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. The local self-government body in a large city is called a:
Bigger than a municipality.
Found in metros like Delhi and Mumbai.
Municipal Corporation
2. Which body is the foundation of the Panchayati Raj system, made up of all the voters of the village?
It elects the Gram Panchayat.
A general assembly, not a council.
Gram Sabha
3. A written record of a complaint registered at a police station is known as an:
Three-letter abbreviation.
The first step in a police case.
FIR (First Information Report)
4. The intermediate (middle) tier of the Panchayati Raj, between the village and the district, is the:
Also called the Block.
Made up of several Gram Panchayats.
Panchayat Samiti / Block (Mandal)

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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