A committee constituted in 1957 by the National Development Council which was headed by Balwant Rai Mehta suggested a three-tier PRIs, namely, Grama Panchayats (GPs) at the village level, Panchayat Samiti (PSs) at the block level, and Zilla Parishad (ZPs) at the district level.
L.M.Singhvi committee in 1986 recommended constitutional status to the panchayats.
The Panchayat Raj System was first established in the state of Rajasthan in Nagaur district on 2nd Oct 1959 while the second state was Andhra Pradesh.