If you live in a village, find out the names of the following: your panch or ward member, your sarpanch, your panchayat samiti, the chairperson of your zilla parishad. Also find out when did the last meeting of the gram sabha take place and how many people took part in that.
Since the specific names depend on the actual village location, the answer describes the roles based on the context. The Panch or Ward Member is a member of the Gram Panchayat, directly elected by the adult population living in that ward. The Sarpanch is the president of the Gram Panchayat and presides over the council.
At the block level, a few Gram Panchayats are grouped to form a Panchayat Samiti or block. The Zilla Parishad constitutes the district level, and its Chairperson is the political head of the parishad.
The Gram Sabha comprises all voters in the village and acts as the supervisory body for the Gram Panchayat. It must meet at least twice or thrice a year to approve the annual budget and review the Gram Panchayat's performance. The specific date and number of participants for the last meeting depend on the local village records.
Explanation
The question asks for specific local information not contained in the textbook context. Therefore, the exam-ready answer focuses on defining the roles and structures of the Panchayati Raj institutions as described in the provided text. It identifies the Panch and Sarpanch at the village level, the Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and the Zilla Parishad Chairperson at the district level, along with the functional requirements of the Gram Sabha.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the village-level officials (Panch/Ward Member and Sarpanch) from the context regarding Gram Panchayat composition.
Step 2: Identify the block-level body (Panchayat Samiti) and district-level head (Zilla Parishad Chairperson) from the context on local government structure.
Step 3: Determine the meeting frequency and role of the Gram Sabha from the context to address the meeting-related part of the question.