The Balwantrai Mehta Committee occupies a landmark position in the evolution of democratic decentralisation and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India. The Committee was appointed by the Government of India in 1957 under the chairmanship of Balwantrai G. Mehta to examine the working of the Community Development Programme and the National Extension Service. It found that these programmes had not achieved their objectives because local people had insufficient participation in planning and implementation. The Committee therefore recommended greater decentralisation of administrative and developmental functions to elected local bodies. The most significant contribution of the Committee was its recommendation for a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj. It proposed Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and Zila Parishad at the district level. The Gram Panchayat was envisaged as the basic unit of local self-government, while the Panchayat Samiti was to function as the principal body for development administration. The Zila Parishad was expected to coordinate development activities at the district level. The Committee emphasised that these institutions should be based on democratic elections and should involve ordinary citizens in local decision-making. It recommended that Panchayati Raj should