Under the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015, a candidate must satisfy certain conditions to be eligible to contest Panchayat elections in Haryana: (1) have a functional toilet at home, (2) possess payment slips or proof of payment of electricity bills with no outstanding dues, (3) not be a defaulter of cooperative loans, and (4) have studied at least up to the matriculation level irrespective of category. Which of the above conditions are actually required under the Act?

Introduction / Context:
The Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 introduced a set of eligibility criteria for candidates contesting Panchayat elections in Haryana. These criteria attracted significant public debate because they linked eligibility to factors such as education, financial discipline and sanitation. This question asks you to identify which of the listed conditions are actually required under the Act and which one is not accurately stated.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- Condition 1 requires that the candidate have a functional toilet at home, reflecting a sanitation related requirement.
- Condition 2 requires that the candidate have payment slips or proof of paying electricity bills, implying no major arrears of power dues.
- Condition 3 requires that the candidate not be a defaulter on cooperative loans, indicating financial discipline.
- Condition 4 states that the candidate must have studied at least up to the matriculation level irrespective of category, implying a uniform education requirement.
- The task is to identify which combination accurately reflects the actual statutory conditions.

Concept / Approach:
The Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 introduced a set of social and economic criteria. These included having a functional toilet at home, clearing electricity bills and not being a defaulter of cooperative loans. The Act also introduced minimum educational qualifications, but these varied by category and level of Panchayat, with different standards for general category men, women and Scheduled Caste candidates. Therefore, the phrase irrespective of category in Condition 4 does not reflect the actual law. The approach is to check each condition against this framework and then choose the option that excludes the inaccurately worded condition.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Evaluate Condition 1: The Act did require candidates to have a functional toilet at home as part of promoting sanitation and Swachh Bharat type objectives. Therefore, Condition 1 is accurate. Step 2: Evaluate Condition 2: The Act required that candidates should not be in arrears of electricity bills and should possess proof of payment, making this condition consistent with the law. Hence, Condition 2 is accurate. Step 3: Evaluate Condition 3: The Act specified that candidates should not be defaulters of cooperative loans, linking eligibility to financial discipline and repayment behaviour. Thus, Condition 3 is also accurate. Step 4: Evaluate Condition 4: While the Act introduced minimum educational qualifications, it did not prescribe the same standard for all categories. For example, matriculation might have been the requirement for certain categories and levels, whereas lower educational standards such as middle school or primary education applied to others. The phrase irrespective of category is therefore not correct. Step 5: Since Conditions 1, 2 and 3 are correct and Condition 4 is inaccurately worded, the correct combination of required conditions is 1, 2 and 3 only.

Verification / Alternative check:
Reviewing summaries of the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 in legal commentaries and current affairs notes confirms that the Act indeed required functional toilets, cleared electricity dues and non default status on cooperative loans as eligibility conditions. These sources also describe how minimum educational qualifications varied by gender, social category and level of Panchayat, rather than being uniformly matriculation for everyone. This confirms that the description in Condition 4 is not accurate and should be excluded when forming the correct combination.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B (1, 2 and 4 only) is wrong because it includes Condition 4, which incorrectly states a uniform matriculation requirement irrespective of category, and it omits Condition 3, which is actually one of the real conditions in the Act.
Option C (1, 2, 3 and 4) is wrong because it treats all four conditions as correct, including the inaccurately worded Condition 4.
Option D (3 and 4 only) is wrong because it omits Conditions 1 and 2, which are genuine requirements, and it includes Condition 4, which is not correctly stated.

Common Pitfalls:
A common pitfall is to assume that there is a single minimum educational requirement for all candidates and to overlook the fact that the Act differentiated between categories. Another mistake is to focus only on the controversial education clause and forget about the sanitation and financial criteria, which were also part of the amendment. Candidates should carefully read the precise wording of such Acts and distinguish between simplified exam summaries and the exact statutory language, especially when phrases like irrespective of category are used, because they may not reflect the actual legal text.

Final Answer:
The conditions that are actually required under the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 are 1, 2 and 3 only.