Which committee recommended constitutional recognition to local self-government institutions?

The correct answer is Option (B).

The P.K. Thungon Committee, appointed in 1988, strongly recommended that constitutional recognition should be accorded to Panchayati Raj institutions (Local Self-Governments). This vital recommendation eventually paved the way for the historic 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts of 1992, which successfully granted them constitutional status. (Note: The L.M. Singhvi Committee in 1986 also recommended constitutional status, but among the given options, the Thungon Committee is the correct choice).

Recommendations of other major committees: To fully grasp the evolution of the Panchayati Raj system, it is essential to know the key contributions of the other administrative committees mentioned in the options:

• (A) Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957): Recommended the establishment of the scheme of 'democratic decentralization', which came to be known as the three-tier Panchayati Raj system (Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and Zila Parishad at the district level).

• (C) G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985): Recommended making the district the basic unit of planning. It highlighted the excessive bureaucratization of development administration, famously criticizing the system as "grass without roots".

• (D) Ashok Mehta Committee (1977): Recommended replacing the existing three-tier system with a two-tier system and strongly advocated for the official participation of political parties at all levels of Panchayat elections.