The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee recommended which one of the following “anchayati Raj structures ?

The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, appointed in 1957 to examine the Community Development Programme, recommended the establishment of a three-tier Panchayati Raj system to achieve 'democratic decentralization' [t3, t5]. This structure consists of the Gram Panchayat at the village level, the Panchayat Samiti at the block level, and the Zilla Parishad at the district level [c3, c5, t4]. The committee suggested that the village level body should be constituted with directly elected representatives, while the block and district levels should consist of indirectly elected members [c1, t3]. The Zilla Parishad was envisioned as the planning and development agency for the district, with the District Collector as its chairman [t3]. These recommendations were accepted by the National Development Council and first implemented in Rajasthan in 1959 [t3, t4].

Sources

1. [1] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 39: Panchayati Raj > Balwant rai Mehta Committee > p. 383
2. [2] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 39: Panchayati Raj > Thungon Committee > p. 387
3. [3] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 15: Regional Development and Planning > 5. The Panchayat-Level Planning > p. 58
4. [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balwantrai_Mehta_Committee