Gadgil Committee
Topic: Panchayati Raj: Rural Local Government · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Gadgil Committee (1988) was a committee of the Congress party, not of the government, chaired by V.N. Gadgil. It looked at how to make panchayati raj work better. It recommended three tiers of panchayats, direct elections, a fixed five-year term and reservation of seats. Its ideas fed into the Rajiv Gandhi government's 64th Amendment Bill (1989) and later the 73rd Amendment.
Example
Three tiers, direct elections, a five-year term and reservations are now compulsory features of Part IX under the 73rd Amendment (1992). So the Gadgil Committee's ideas became part of the Constitution.
Don't confuse with
- P.K. Thungon Committee (1988-89): a committee linked to Parliament with similar aims (constitutional status, periodic elections, a five-year term). The Gadgil Committee was a party body.
Related concepts
- Ashok Mehta Committee
- G.V.K. Rao Committee
- L.M. Singhvi Committee
- P.K. Thungon Committee
- Constitution (64th Amendment) Bill 1989