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Class 6 History & Civics — Panchayati Raj

Name the three tiers of the Panchayati Raj system, say who the Gram Sabha and the Sarpanch are and who assists them, and describe what these institutions are for.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

The three-tier system, drawn as the chapter draws it.

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  1. 1. District
  2. 2. Block
  3. 3. Village

The widest block is at the bottom, and it is the one closest to the people. Read the diagram from the bottom up and you are reading the system the way it is built: village, then block, then district. The Panchayat Samiti in the middle is the link between the other two. The three tiers, bottom to top, are the Village Parishad or Gram Panchayat, the Block Panchayat or Panchayat Samiti, and the District Panchayat or Zila Parishad.

  1. 1.Match each body or officer to what the chapter says they are.

    • Gram Sabha
    • Sarpanch
    • Panchayat Secretary
    • Patwari
    • maintains the villagers' land records
    • calls meetings and maintains records
    • the elected head of a Gram Panchayat
    • the adults of a village who are enrolled as voters

  2. 2.What did Sangkhu Radhu Khandu Gram Panchayat in west Sikkim do to earn its child-friendly declaration?

    • a) Built compound walls to make schools safer, and kitchens so mid-day meals are hygienically cooked
    • b) Set up a Bal Panchayat that meets each month
    • c) Reserved a third of its seats for young people
    • d) Brought children who had dropped out back to school

  3. 3.Why does the chapter say the structure and functions of Panchayati Raj institutions differ a little from State to State?

    • a) Because the institutions were set up at different times
    • b) Because the Central Government leaves rural matters unregulated
    • c) Because the States have authority over those institutions
    • d) Because each State has a different number of villages

  4. 4.In Maharashtra, what have a few Bal Panchayats worked to do?

    • a) Eliminate child labour and child marriage, and bring children back to school
    • b) Build compound walls around the village schools
    • c) Collect the village's development plans
    • d) Maintain the land records of the village

  5. 5.What is the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana a scheme for?

    • a) Supplying drinking water to rural households
    • b) Building schools in villages that have none
    • c) Reserving seats for women in the Panchayats
    • d) Building roads in rural areas that stay usable in any weather

  6. 6.Kauṭilya's Arthaśhāstra sets out headquarters for larger and larger numbers of villages. Put them in order, starting from a sangrahaṇa, to each 10 villages.

    • A sthānīya, to each 800 villages
    • A kārvaṭika, to each 100 villages
    • A droṇamukha, to each 400 villages
    • A sangrahaṇa, to each 10 villages

  7. 7.The Child-Friendly Panchayat Initiative exists because Panchayats are supposed to listen to whose voice as well?

    • a) Neighbouring villages'
    • b) The Patwari's
    • c) Children's
    • d) The State government's

  8. 8.Put the three tiers of the Panchayati Raj system in order from the bottom up, starting from the village level.

    • The district level
    • The village level
    • The block level

Answer key — Class 6 History & Civics — Panchayati Raj

  1. 1. Gram Sabha → the adults of a village who are enrolled as voters; Sarpanch → the elected head of a Gram Panchayat; Panchayat Secretary → calls meetings and maintains records; Patwari → maintains the villagers' land records
  2. 2. a) Built compound walls to make schools safer, and kitchens so mid-day meals are hygienically cooked
  3. 3. c) Because the States have authority over those institutions
  4. 4. a) Eliminate child labour and child marriage, and bring children back to school
  5. 5. d) Building roads in rural areas that stay usable in any weather
  6. 6. 1. A sangrahaṇa, to each 10 villages 2. A kārvaṭika, to each 100 villages 3. A droṇamukha, to each 400 villages 4. A sthānīya, to each 800 villages
  7. 7. c) Children's
  8. 8. 1. The village level 2. The block level 3. The district level