Who is considered as the “ Architect of Panchayat Raj “ in India ?

Correct answer: C, B.R. Mehta (Balwant Rai Mehta). He chaired the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957), set up under the Community Development Programme to check why it was not reaching people. It recommended a three-tier structure: Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and Zila Parishad at the district level, with elected bodies given real powers and resources. Rajasthan adopted the system first on 2 October 1959, which is why Mehta is called the architect of Panchayati Raj.

• A) Acharya Narendra Deo: a socialist leader and educationist, not associated with the Panchayati Raj design.
• B) G.V.K. Rao: his committee (1985) recommended regular elections and better planning and administration for PRIs, but it did not create the system.
• D) L.M. Singhvi: his committee (1986) pressed for constitutional recognition of PRIs. That demand led to the 73rd Amendment (1992), which took effect in 1993 and added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule.

Mains connection: this is the base of grassroots decentralisation under Article 40 (DPSP) and Part IX of the Constitution, and it often comes up in questions on local governance and fiscal devolution.

Trap: aspirants pick G.V.K. Rao or Singhvi because those committees are tied to the constitutional status of PRIs. The system's origin is Mehta's 1957 report; the later committees strengthened it.