Which one of the following statements in relation to Panchayats is NOT correct?

Under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Panchayats is mandatory and must be in proportion to their population to the total population in the Panchayat area [2]. This applies to all three levels of the Panchayati Raj system. Regarding other options, Article 243C empowers the State Legislature to make laws regarding the composition of Panchayats [5]. Article 243 defines 'Panchayat area' as the territorial area of a Panchayat [5]. Furthermore, the Gram Sabha is defined as a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village comprised within the area of a Panchayat at the village level [4]. Therefore, statement 4 is incorrect because it falsely claims that reservation has nothing to do with the proportion of the population.

Sources

1. [1] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 39: Panchayati Raj > Salient Features > p. 389
2. [2] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 39: Panchayati Raj > Salient Features > p. 389
3. [5] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 92: World Constitutions > PANCHAYATS > p. 702
4. [3] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 39: Panchayati Raj > Salient Features > p. 388
5. [4] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 8: LOCAL GOVERNMENTS > Three Tier Structure > p. 183