Concept:
- Every option contains three statements, so finding the single false statement is enough to decide the answer.
- The false one will be the statement that contradicts the very idea of decentralisation.
Step 1: Recall what decentralisation is meant to achieve.
Power is moved downwards so that the people of a locality choose their own representatives and hold them answerable. Any statement that takes that choice away from the village cannot be true.
Step 2: Scan the four statements against that test.
Statement iii says the panch and sarpanch are
selected by the Election Commission. That would mean the village does not choose its own leaders, which defeats the purpose of local self-government.
Statement iii is the false one.
Step 3: Note what the Election Commission actually does.
It conducts elections, prepares the voter list and enforces the rules of the campaign. It has never chosen candidates or appointed office holders. The panch and sarpanch are elected directly by the adult residents.
Step 4: Eliminate every option containing iii.
Options (A), (C) and (D) all include statement iii, so all three fail. Only option (B) leaves it out.
Step 5: Confirm the three that remain.
Rural local government is called Panchayati Raj, each village or group of villages has a Gram Panchayat, and the panchayat works under the supervision of the Gram Sabha, which is made up of all the voters of the village.
Final Answer: (B) only i, ii and iv are correct.