In December 1977 , the Janata Government appointed a committee on Panchayati Raj institutions under the chairmanship of Ashoka Mehta. The committee submitted its report in August 1978 and made 132 recommendations to revive and strengthen the declining Panchayati Raj system in the country. It recommended that the 3 -tier system of Panchayati Raj should be replaced by the 2-tier system: Zilla Parishad at the district level, and below it, the Mandal Panchayat consisting of a group of villages covering a population of 15000 to 20000 .