73rd Constitutional
Amendment - Compulsory and voluntary provisions
A. Compulsory
Provisions
- Organization of
Gram Sabha in a village or group of villages.
- Establishment of
panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels.
- Direct elections
to all seats in panchayats at the village, intermediate and district
levels.
- Indirect
elections to the post of chairperson of panchayats at the intermediate and
district levels.
- 21 years to be
the minimum age for contesting elections to panchayats.
- Reservation of
seats (both members and chairpersons) for SCs and STs in panchayats at all
the three levels.
- Reservation of
one-third seats (both members and chairpersons) for women in Panchayats at
all the three levels.
- Fixing tenure of five years for panchayats at all levels and holding fresh elections within six months in the event of supersession of any panchayat.
- Establishment of
a State Election Commission for conducting elections to the panchayats.
- Constitution
of a State Finance Commission after every five years to review the
financial position of the panchayats. Hence statement 1 is correct.
B. Voluntary
Provisions
- Giving representation to members of the Parliament (both the Houses) and the state legislature (both the Houses) in the panchayats at different levels falling within their constituencies.
- Providing
reservation of seats (both members and chairpersons) for backward classes
in Panchayats at any level.
- Granting powers
and authority to the panchayats to enable them to function as institutions
of self-government (in brief, making them autonomous bodies).
- Devolution of
powers and responsibilities upon panchayats to prepare plans for economic
development and social justice; and to perform some or all of the 29
functions listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
- Granting
financial powers to the panchayats, that is, authorizing them to levy,
collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls, and fees.