Q1. [4]
Local Self Government
The local government structure goes right up to the district level. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area. All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad. Most members of the zilla parishad are elected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. Zilla parishad chairperson is the political head of the zilla parishad.
Similarly, local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Municipalities are set up in towns. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations. Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people's representatives. Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality. In a municipal corporation, such an officer is called the mayor.
This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world.
Read the following source and answer the questions that follow :
- 36.1 Explain the relationship between gram panchayats and panchayat samitis. [1]
- 36.2 How is the structure of municipal corporation different from municipality ? [1]
- 36.3 How does the local government structure promote democracy ? Examine. [2]
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2025 32/4/1 Q36
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:00 · grounding stimulus
Model Answer
36.1 A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form a panchayat samiti (block/mandal). The members of the panchayat samiti are elected by all the panchayat members in that area.
36.2 Municipalities are set up in towns and are headed by a Municipal Chairperson. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations, which are headed by a Mayor instead of a chairperson.
36.3 Local government promotes democracy in the following ways:
- Representatives at all levels — panchayat samiti, zilla parishad, municipalities, and municipal corporations — are elected by the people.
- It ensures people's participation in governance at the grassroots level.
- Both rural and urban areas have their own elected bodies, making democracy inclusive and widespread.
- It is described as the largest experiment in democracy in the world, showing its vast democratic reach.
Source: Democratic Politics, Chapter – Federalism (Local Self Government)
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Explanation
- 36.1 is a direct 1-mark factual question — one line on how panchayat samiti is formed from gram panchayats suffices.
- 36.2 asks for difference — focus on the two key distinctions: area (town vs. big city) and head (chairperson vs. mayor).
- 36.3 is a 2-mark "examine" question — give 2–3 points grounded in the passage. Examiners look for: elected bodies, people's representatives, grassroots democracy, and the "largest experiment" claim from the passage. Don't go beyond the passage for a source-based question.
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