Q.31) Answer (d)
Cases that are pending in regular courts can be transferred to a Lok Adalat if both the parties agree. These are usually presided over by retired judges, social Activists, or other members of the legal profession. Lok Adalats can deal with any matter falling within the jurisdiction of civil, criminal etc.
Q.32) Answer (c)
The Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court includes dispute between the Government of India and one or more States, and dispute between two and more States.
Q.33) Answer (c)
Both are correct. Hence the option (c) is right.
Q.34) Answer (a)
1st and 3rd are correct statements thus option (a) is right.
Q.35) Answer (c)
The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society and to organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. In every state, State Legal Services Authority has been constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to give free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State.
Q.36) Answer (b)
The term Panchayati Raj in India signifies the system of rural local self-government. It has been established in all the states of India by the Acts of the state legislatures to build democracy at the grass root level. It is entrusted with rural development. It was constitutionalised through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992.
Q.37) Answer (b)
Option B: Decentralization and grass roots empowerment are the core guiding principles of local self-government as under 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment. For e.g. Gram Panchayats can sanction sanitation and welfare projects on their own.
Option A: Local bodies are not federal entities as is the position of states in India.
Option C: This isn’t administrative delegation because local self-government bodies are political entities that are elected directly (or indirectly) by people and managed by their representatives.
Option D: Since it involves election and indirect decision making by people’s representatives, there can be no direct democracy (where all decisions are made directly by the people).
Q.38) Answer (b)
No person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than 25 years of age if he has attained the age of 21 years. Further, all questions of disqualifications shall be referred to such authority as the state legislature determines.
Option (2) is correct.
Q.39) Answer (d)
The state legislature may (a) authorise a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees; (b) assign to a panchayat taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the state government; (c) provide for making grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state; and (d) provide for constitution of funds for crediting all moneys of the panchayats.
Q.40) Answer (c)
Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram The Panchayat Raj system exists in all the states except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram and in all the Union territories except Delhi.
Q.41) Answer (a)
The state legislature may endow the Panchayats with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government. Such a scheme may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats at the appropriate level with respect to (a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice; (b) the implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them, including those in relation to the 29 matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
Q.42) Answer (b)
The subject of ‘Local Government’ is mentioned in the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Q.43) Answer (d)
The system of urban government was constitutionalised through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. At the Central level, the subject of ‘urban local government’ is dealt with by the following three ministries:
- Ministry of Urban Development, created as a separate ministry in 1985
- Ministry of Defence in the case of cantonment boards
- Ministry of Home Affairs in the case of Union Territories
Q.44) Answer (c)
Lord Mayo’s Resolution of 1870 on financial decentralisation visualised the development of local self-government institutions.
Lord Ripon’s Resolution of 1882 has been hailed as the ‘Magna Carta’ of local self-government. He is called as the father of local-self-government in India.
The Royal Commission on decentralisation was appointed in 1907 and it submitted its report in 1909. Its chairman was Hobhouse.
Q.45) Answer (d)
74th Constitutional Amendment Act has added a new Part IX-A to the Constitution of India. This part is entitled as ‘The Municipalities’ and consists of provisions from Articles 243- P to 243-ZG.
Three Types of Municipalities
The act provides for the constitution of the following three types of municipalities in every state.
- A nagar panchayat (by whatever name called) for a transitional area, that is, an area in transition from a rural area to an urban area.
- A municipal council for a smaller urban area.
- A municipal corporation for a larger urban area.
Q.46) Answer (a)
The 74th CA act provides for the reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes in every municipality in proportion of their population to the total population in the municipal area.
Further, it provides for the reservation of not less than one-third of the total number of seats for women (including the number of seats reserved for woman belonging to the SCs and the STs).
The state legislature may provide for the manner of reservation of offices of chairpersons in the municipalities for SCs, STs and women. It may also make any provision for the reservation of seats in any municipality or offices of chairpersons in municipalities in favour of backward classes. [F]
Q.47) Answer (b)
Disqualifications
A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as or for being a member of a municipality if he is so disqualified (a) under any law for the time being in force for the purposes of elections to the legislature of the state concerned; or (b) under any law made by the state legislature. However, no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than 25 years of age if he has attained the age of 21 years. Further, all questions of disqualifications shall be referred to such authority as the state legislature determines.
The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to the municipalities shall be vested in the state election commission.
Q.48) Answer (a)
A notified area committee is created for the administration of two types of areas—a fast developing town due to industrialisation, and a town which does not yet fulfil all the conditions necessary for the constitution of a municipality, but which otherwise is considered important by the state government. Since it is established by a notification in the government gazette, it is called as notified area committee. Though it functions within the framework of the State Municipal Act, only those provisions of the act apply to it which are notified in the government gazette by which it is created.
It may also be entrusted to exercise powers under any other act. Its powers are almost equivalent to those of a municipality. But unlike the municipality, it is an entirely nominated body, that is, all the members of a notified area committee including the chairman are nominated by the state government. Thus, it is neither an elected body nor a statutory body.
Q.49) Answer (b)
Features of administration contained in the Fifth Schedule are as follows:
Declaration of Scheduled Areas: The president is empowered to declare an area to be a scheduled area. He can also increase or decrease its area, alter its boundary lines, rescind such designation or make fresh orders for such redesignation on an area in consultation with the governor of the state concerned.
Q.50) Answer (a)
A 216-foot tall statue of Vaishnavite saint Sri Ramanujacharya is set to be unveiled in Hyderabad soon.
It will become the world’s second tallest statue and will be called as Statue of Equality, after the statue of the Great Buddha of Thailand (302 feet).