Which state became the first one to accept the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta committee?

Option 4 : Rajasthan

The correct answer is Rajasthan.

• Rajasthan became the first state in India to accept the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta committee.
• The committee's recommendation led to the creation of the Panchayati Raj system.
• Rajasthan in 1959 became the first state in India to launch the Panchayati Raj. It was inaugurated on October 2, 1959, in Nagaur district, Rajasthan by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
• On October 11, 1959, Andhra Pradesh became the second state to launch Panchayati Raj at Shadnagar near Hyderabad.

• The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee was appointed by the Government of India on 16 January 1957 to examine the working of the Community Development Programme.
• The Community Development Programme was formed in 1952 for the development of rural areas.
• The programme was developed to provide an administrative framework through which the government might reach the rural areas.
• The committee submitted its report on 24 November 1957.
• The committee led to the formation of the Panchayati Raj system.
• Given below are the recommendations of the  Balwant Rai Mehta Committee:

1. Establishment of a 3-tier Panchayati Raj system - Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and District Parishad at the district level.
2. Directly elected representatives would be constituted in the village Panchayat, while indirectly elected representatives would be constituted under the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad.
3. All development plans should be entrusted to these bodies.
4. The Panchayat Samiti ought to be the manager body whereas the Zilla Parishad ought to be the consultative, coordinative and superordinate body.
5. The District Collector should be the Chairman of the Zilla Parishad.
6. There ought to be a real transfer of power and responsibility to those democratic bodies.
7. Sufficient resources should be available to these democratic bodies.
8. A system ought to be evolved to result in additional devolution of authority in future.
9. Elections should be held every 5 years.

1. Balwantrai Mehta was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat on 19 February 1900. He passed away on 19 September 1965.
2. He was the second Chief Minister of Gujarat. He held office from 25 February 1963 – 19 September 1965
3. He founded Bhavanagar Praja Mandal in 1921 for carrying out freedom activities in the state.
4. He died when the aircraft he was travelling was shot down by the Pakistani Airforce on September 19, 1965, at the height of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war.