Which of the following is not a recommendation of the Ashok Mehta Committee on Panchayati Raj ?

The Ashok Mehta Committee, appointed by the Janata Government in 1977, submitted its report in 1978 with 132 recommendations to revitalize the Panchayati Raj system [1][c1]. A core recommendation was the replacement of the existing three-tier system with a two-tier structure, consisting of the Zila Parishad at the district level and the Mandal Panchayat for a group of villages [c1][t1]. Therefore, the 'Creation of a three-tier system' was not its recommendation; rather, that was the hallmark of the Balwantrai Mehta Committee (1957) [c3][c5]. The Ashok Mehta Committee did recommend the official participation of political parties in panchayat elections, the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes based on their population, and granting compulsory powers of taxation to these institutions to ensure financial viability [c1][t2][t4].

Sources

1. [1] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 39: Panchayati Raj > Ashok Mehta Committee > p. 385