Local Self Governance and Decentralized Planning In India Part - 2

This post gives an overview of Local Self-Government and Decentralized Planning (LSG&DP) in India and explains why it is important. It also takes a critical look at how LSG&DP is being used at the local level. Also, it shows the steps that need to be taken in order for LSG&DP to be put into place properly.

Content

  1. Introduction
  2. Importance of Local Self Governance & Decentralized Planning
  3. Dimensions at grassroots level – A critique
  4. Suggestions for effective Local Self Government & Decentralized Planning
  5. Summary

Introduction

Communities all over the world are looking more and more to democratic decentralization, participatory local government, and citizen-centered service delivery for new ways to solve their complex problems and achieve fair and sustainable growth. Mahatma Gandhi said that these ideas are the best way for people to take control of their own lives and destinies and find swaraj (swa- "self", raj "rule"1 ).

It is widely agreed that a new wave of decentralization has emerged in the nineties globally, characterized by
  • (i) local democracy with focus on devolution of powers and resources to elected local bodies enjoying relative autonomy 
  • (ii) local governance based on participation of the marginalized and downtrodden, transparency and downward accountability 
  • (iii) local economic development focusing on pro-poor decentralized delivery of basic social services 
  • (iv) administrative reforms for efficient and cost effective civil services to support decentralization (Unnikrishnan, 2016).
At the time of independence, M.K. Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had different ideas about Panchayati Raj, which led to a lot of talk and debate about it. But from their own points of view, both were realistic. Gandhi saw a way to make a fair society, and Ambedkar saw how things were in the real world. As a result, Article 40 of the Indian Constitution says that the State Government is in charge of local governance.

With the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, which added Part IX to the Constitution and made state legislatures responsible for giving power and authority to Panchayat Raj Institutions, India joined this new wave of decentralization and took on all of its features (PRIs). This was supposed to help them do their jobs as outlined in Schedule XI of the Constitution by making it easier for them to carry out plans for economic growth and social justice. In the Indian Constitution, the transfer of power from the state legislature to the Panchayats is described as "discretionary." This means that the implementation of the key parts of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment will depend a lot on how the state laws are written and how strong they are (Unnikrishnan, 2016).

In India, people have talked about and made guesses about how well and what effect Panchayati Raj has. Nearly three million people took part in the elections, including one million women and a large number of SC/ST people. Reservations at grassroots political institutions have made it possible for a large number of poor people, women, and people with less education to serve as people's representatives. This is a major change in the rural politics of the country. This important change is especially important because these groups were kept out of public life and politics in most rural areas of India a decade ago. How these left out groups can use their power to change local power dynamics and set the development agenda is something that needs to be studied. But their entry has made sure that they are part of politics at the local level (Puri, 2015).

If you look at the profiles of the states, you can see that Panchayati Raj reforms have definitely happened with vigor and zeal in some western and southern parts of the country that are relatively stable economically, have active civil societies, and have strong social life. On the other hand, the northern states with the most poverty, inequality, and slow government had the least Panchayati Raj (Jain, 2005). After the 73rd Amendment Act went into effect, strong political will on the part of the political leaders in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh led to great changes. People in Kerala who were planning campaigns counted on a high level of popular mobilization, which was made possible by a high level of literacy and professional support, as well as a large number of people who were involved in social movements. According to the Devolution Index Report 2015-16, the best performing states are Kerala, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, and Gujarat. The States that do the worst are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Jharkhand. Andaman Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep do better than other Union Territories, while Pondicherry and Dadra and Nagar Haveli do not (Unnikrishnan, 2016). But many reports from committees set up to figure out how democratic decentralization works have said that the Panchayati Raj needs help right away to deal with the problems it faces.

As the 74th constitutional amendment in many states shows, local governments became weak and ineffective for a number of reasons, such as not holding regular elections, staying in power for too long, and not giving local governments enough of their powers and duties. Because of this, Urban, Local Bodies can't work well as strong, democratic units of self-government. Because of these problems, it is thought to be necessary to add provisions about Urban Local Bodies to the constitution. In the past few years, the panchayats have become more and more known as the institutions that carry out the plans of the line ministries. The most important of these is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Under this law, the panchayats at the district, intermediate, and village levels have been given specific roles and responsibilities as the main authorities for planning and implementation, and panchayats are to carry out 50% of the work in terms of funds. Since then, many programs have started giving the panchayats a wide range of tasks and relying on them to get things done on the ground. Also, the Union has a number of important flagship programs that use the panchayats to provide basic services to everyone in the country. Institutional mechanisms are supposed to give the panchayats a central role in planning and carrying out their plans.

Importance of Local Self Governance & Decentralized Planning

Several academics, scholars, and researchers said that Local Self-Government is an important part of establishing democracy at the local, state, and union levels because local government is close to the people who can take part in running it.

The 73rd and 74th Amendments to India's Constitution have made it possible for people who have been left out or mistreated to move into positions of power at the local level. These two changes have a lot of potential to change the way things are run and how people interact (G. Palanithurai & V. Ragupathy , 2008). To make these changes, the state must play a key role in making sure that weaker and more marginalized groups are included.

All over the world, local bodies are getting the credit they deserve through a variety of ways that help them become legitimate institutions of government that work well with constitutional governments. India is not the only one. Globalization has brought both opportunities and problems, so decentralized planning has both good and bad things to worry about. You can't solve all problems by decentralizing and centralizing at the same time. At the right levels, both centralization and decentralization will work well together. Many people say that participatory democracy is the best way to run a country that people have ever come up with. Later, people said that participatory democracy would only work in small government units. In the context of globalization, however, participatory democracy was seen as one of the best types.

Dimensions at grassroots level – A critique

After independence, several large-scale projects taken up by the Indian Government to modernize the country. The assumption was that with development, the benefits would automatically percolate down to the poorest of the villages. Development does not mean merely the development of cities such as Delhi, Kolkata or Mumbai. 

With very few exceptions, decentralized planning has performed poorly, despite recurrent repetition of institutions and the creation of formal structures. The delayed rate at which infrastructure gains are being realized is another issue with decentralization. Despite the proliferation of several development programs in the recent time, there has been concern over the inadequate percolation of benefits to the poor and the socially disadvantaged parts. In the nation that needs to focus, urban decentralization has gotten significantly less attention.

Other issues with urban local self-government are also raised by (Goel, 2011), including a lack of perception, a positive attitude, sincerity, and the delegation of municipal responsibilities because the majority of elected members of municipal committees are not familiar with the art and science of urban development. Lack of knowledge and commitment within the municipal bureaucracy, despite the fact that the performance of personnel administration depends on the caliber of its members. It is also necessary to alter the municipal committee's attitude toward citizens. Multi-level planning is another important issue that requires improvement.

Suggestions for effective Local Self Government & Decentralized Planning

The Panchayats have begun to improve the poor's living conditions, according to (Palnithurai, 2009), who mentioned this in his book. Numerous individuals around the world have argued that local self-government with decentralized planning will only be successful if there is a significant middle class presence, a sizable NGO presence, a high literacy rate, activities are transparent, and local institutions have sufficient authority and funding. The implementation of capacity building initiatives is urgently required since the newly elected local government representatives require assistance in improving their capabilities. The state must play a significant role to enable the effective involvement of excluded groups, as noted in numerous books and reports. Every Gram Panchayat should have an administrative entity on the ground level to oversee growth as well as to manage data and track the advancement of undertaken operations. Due of the lack of a data base at the grassroots level, administration, allocation, and management are currently complicated. Measures relating to women's empowerment are also crucial for enhancing local self-governance. Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) must be connected to all offices at the community level (ICT).

The author S. L. Goel's book Urban Local Self-Government includes further recommendations. Without establishing an autonomous space for them, it is impossible to significantly reform local self-government institutions. This is because, as local governments at the local level, they are an essential component of the national governance system and, as such, must take the place of the current administrative structure in regard to the roles or responsibilities that have been delegated to them. Local government institutions should be autonomous and free from the bureaucratic control of the state governments in terms of their development-related duties. In order for devolution to be effective and meaningful, local governments must be given the authority they need to create rules, make decisions, and enact their own laws.

The committees established to study the operation of democratic decentralization made recommendations in a number of their reports for prompt action to address the problems the PR system was having. The findings have unmistakably shown that there are insufficient legal protections, a lack of resources, functions, and officials, a poor socioeconomic climate, vested political interests, and a lack of political will to manage this machinery. Based on the lessons learned over the previous two decades, it is necessary to critically evaluate and draw conclusions about the direction that grassroots democracy should take in order to improve its capacity to ensure inclusive development. The elected officials of the local self government require extensive training.

Summary

The Indian experience with local self-government and decentralized planning demonstrates that while there is still a long way to go, a number of milestones have been reached through various amendments, notably the 73rd and 74th. Numerous features, like the regularity of direct elections, reservations for underrepresented groups, and functions, etc., are actual. All states have met the 33% reserve for women. A few states have already begun implementing 50% municipal reservations for women. The local self-government structures must yet accomplish a lot more in order to solve their issues, such as the financial crisis and the devolution of authority, among others. Reviewing local self-past government's experiences is now necessary in order to improve the system.

Referemce

  1. Aslam, M. (2007). Panchayati Raj in India. New Delhi: National Book Trust. 
  2. G. Palanithurai & V. Ragupathy . (2008). Communities Panchayats and Governance at Grassroots. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. 
  3. Goel, S. L. (2011). Urban Local Self-Government- Administration snd Management in the 21st Century. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. 
  4. Hari K. Nagrajan, Hans P. Binswanger-Mkhize, S. S. Meenakshisundaram. (2015). Decentralization and Empowerment for Rural Development. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press. 
  5. Jain, L. C. (2005). Decentralisation and Local Governance: Essays for George Mathew. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan. 
  6. Kumar, P. (2009). Panchayati Raj Institution in India. New Delhi: Omega Publications

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