Consider the following statements : I. Panchayats at the intermediate level exist in all States. II. To be eligible to be a Member of a Panchayat at the intermediate level, a person should attain the age of thirty years. III. The Chief Minister of a State constitutes a commission to review the financial position of Panchayats at the intermediate levels and to make recommendations regarding the distribution of net proceeds of taxes and duties, leviable by the State, between the State and Panchayats at the intermediate level. Which of the statements given above are not correct?
- (a) I and II only
- (b) II and III only
- (c) I and III only
- (d) I, II and III ✓ UPSC's answer
Why the answer is (d)
• The question asks which statements are NOT correct; all three are inaccurate.
• Statement I is wrong: Article 243B provides that Panchayats at the intermediate level need not be constituted in a State with a population not exceeding twenty lakh (e.g. Goa, Sikkim).
• Statement II is wrong: under Article 243F the minimum age for membership of a Panchayat is twenty-one years, not thirty.
• Statement III is wrong: it is the Governor, not the Chief Minister, who under Article 243-I constitutes the State Finance Commission every five years to review the financial position of Panchayats and recommend the distribution of taxes between the State and Panchayats at all levels.
• Hence I, II and III are all not correct, option (d).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) I and II only
- Statement III is also incorrect: the Governor, not the CM, constitutes the Finance Commission.
- (b) II and III only
- Statement I is also incorrect: small States need not have intermediate Panchayats.
- (c) I and III only
- Statement II is also incorrect: the minimum age is 21, not 30.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on 25 May 2025. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.