Partner Institutions: Jawaharlal Nehru University, Centre for Political Studies, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance and Centre for the Study of Regional Development
The System of Local Government in India
Asha Sarangi and Lipika Ravichandran, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Types of Local Governments
In India, institutions of local government exist at two levels, local panchayats or councils in the rural areas and municipalities in the urban areas. At the rural level, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) consist of three levels: gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads.
A gram panchayat can be translated as village council or jury as it is the only grassroots-level institution of PRIs’ formalized local self-governance system in India at the village or small-town level. It consists of an elected sarpanch (head) and five to twelve elected members. The gram panchayats are responsible for the creation of annual development plans, the budget for construction, repairs and maintenance of community assets, khadi and village industries[1], adult and non-formal education, public health, poverty alleviation, education, cultural activities, rural housing and electrification, promoting agriculture, social welfare and public distribution scheme.
At the intermediate level, the panchayat samitis (block panchayats) operate. They work at the tehsil or taluka level[2] known as development block and provide a crucial link of communication between gram panchayat and district administration. They are also known as mandal parishad, mandal panchayat and taluka panchayat and are primarily made of four-member ex officio bodies bringing together all sarpanchas of the development block, the members of parliament (MPs) and MLAs (members of legislative assembly) of the area, and sub-divisional officer (SDOs).[3] The functions of the panchayat samitis are agricultural and land improvement, establishment of primary health centers and primary schools, water and sanitation, village infrastructure (construction of roads etc.), establishment of cooperative societies, water and irrigation management, promotion of animal husbandry, dairy and poultry, social welfare, social activities, technical training, poverty alleviation, promotion and development of cottage and skill industries.
The third level is the zilla parishad (district council). Zilla parishad or the district council is an elected body consisting of members from state legislatures and the Parliament as explained later. The ex officio chief executive officer of the zilla parishad is the additional deputy commissioner who is either from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS)or Provincial Civil Services (PCS) appointed in the state. The zilla parishad consists of mainly elected members from demarcated constituencies, the chairpersons of panchayat samitis, MPs and MLAs. The member of the zilla parishad also acts as chairperson of the parishads (councils) that fall in their constituencies from which they are elected for a term of five years. The functions of the zilla parishad are planning and administration of development projects for the district, delivery of services and facilities to the village, promotion of agricultural projects such as training new techniques of farming, horticulture, rural housing, electrification, animal husbandry and dairy, promotion of small-scale industries, health and hygiene, education and social welfare. In all the levels of local governments, there are reserved seats for women, scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
All the institutions of local self-government operate under the principle of democratic decentralization. The rationale of democratic decentralization was to create PRIs in a multi- level framework of governance which are autonomous, democratic and financially strong. It was a step away from a top- down approach to local governance in order to provide self-administration to people in the rural areas. The twenty-nine functions and responsibilities of the PRIs which have been stated above are all enshrined in the Indian Constitution in the Article 243G. The functions are listed in the eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
At the urban level, there are three types of local bodies, the nagar nigam (municipal corporation), nagar palika (municipality) and nagar panchayat (town panchayat). The status of an area decides the provision and implementation of urban local bodies. For an area transitioning from rural to urban, a city council is required. In small urban areas a municipality is required and in large urban areas a municipal corporation.[4] The functions and powers of urban local bodies vary from state to state. Municipal corporations work and directly interact with the state governments. The head of the corporation is the mayor and the principal executive officer is the municipal commissioner. Municipalities interact with the respective state government through the district collector. The head of the municipality is the president elected by the members of the palika. The state government appoints officers such as health or sanitation Inspectors to provide assistance to the president. City councils have a chairman and ward members. The functions assigned to urban local bodies are urban planning and management, provision of health services, education, water management, waste disposal and sanitation, public infrastructure, birth and death registrations, poverty alleviation and delivery of social services.
Legal Status of Local Governments
To realize the goals of democratic decentralization, the government amended the Constitution and passed the 73rd and 74th Amendment Act in 1992. The important aspects of the act were the three-tier system of panchayati raj for all states exceeding the population of two millions, the holding every five years of Panchayat elections, the reservation of seats for women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the appointment of a state finance commission to make recommendations in cognizance with the financial powers of the panchayat and the establishment of district planning committees (DPCs) to prepare development plans for the district as a whole. It also foresaw the establishment of a state election commission to help state governments conducting periodic elections to the PRIs. Similarly, for urban local governments, the 74th Amendment provides a three-tier structure of governance with the municipal wards as the territorial constituencies forming the basic unit of urban local governance.
The scope of powers and functions enshrined in the Constitution envision PRIs to function as institutions of local self-government and to operationalize the devolution of powers which is central to the principle of democratic decentralization. The scope and powers entrusted to PRIs base themselves in the ideals of economic development and social justice. In accordance with the constitutional amendment, the state governments repealed the then existing acts. The 73rd Amendment Act was further extended to the scheduled areas and areas predominantly occupied with tribal population. It was extended through the provisions of Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996.
For the urban local bodies, 74th Amendment Act was adopted in 1992 enjoining the government of the day to ensure continuity of the municipalities through a periodic five-year election. Similar to the Panchayati Raj System, the urban local bodies have a three-tier system, including the above-mentioned municipal corporations, municipalities and town panchayats. The composition of these councils is decided by state governments respectively. There are reservations of seats for women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
(A)Symmetry of the Local Government System
The rural and urban government bodies do not have exactly similar scopes of responsibilities. The former are more entrusted with tasks of being regulators, administrators and providers of various services at the local level. The latter have two sets of parts to play. One, the municipal corporation must deliberate on matters related to budget, taxation, pricing of services and others, and two, the municipal commissioner is the executive head and exercises control on various departments such as finance, health etc. For example, the urban local bodies have to look at the jurisdictional domain of various urban areas, their judicial powers, implementation of policies and plans as per the 74th Constitutional Amendment. Despite their differences regarding modes of functioning and the devolution of the powers and authority, both rural and urban local bodies aim at enabling people’s participation as a sign of democratic citizenship.
Political and Social Context in India
India has a multiparty parliamentary system of democracy with representatives at the local, state and national levels contesting elections and participating in democratic decision- making process. Both national and state level political parties are involved in the local level governance through their elected representatives in both rural and urban forms of local government. Local government in India is a state subject, however, the central government holds a supervisory role to guide, encourage, engage and assist the states to promote local government and development. Political participation in panchayati raj elections has a long tradition of great leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhash Chand Bose who took active leadership in municipal politics. Thus, politics at local government provides a gateway to national level politics and thereby initiates an active involvement of national and regional parties. The presence of national, state and regional parties at the level of local government maintains a strong party presence which has its bearing on national and state level politics. Political parties are the essence of parliamentary democracy and their role in local governments strengthens the roots of democratic decentralization. According to the World Bank report, in India 65.97 per cent live in rural areas[5] and 34.03 per cent of the population lives in urban areas.[6]
Local governments have had a tremendous effect in the realization of democracy at the grassroots and at the level of municipalities in the urban areas. Conducting elections at the lowest tier of government has added to the vibrant political culture of India. The trickling down of democratic decentralization and power has entrenched the roots of democracy, however, its substantive realization has many hurdles to cross.
References to Scientific and Non-Scientific Publications
Aijaz R, ‘Form of Urban Local Government in India’ (2008) 43 Journal of Asian and African Studies 131
Bhagat RB, ‘Rural‐Urban Classification and Municipal Governance in India’ (2005) 26 Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 61
Chaudhuri S, ‘What Difference Does a Constitutional Amendment Make? The 1994 Panchayati Raj Act and the Attempt to Revitalize Rural Local Government in India’ (typescript, Columbia University 2003)
Ghosh B and Kumar G, State Politics and Panchayats in India (Manohar 2003)
Kundu A, Bagchi S and Kundu D,‘Regional Distribution of Infrastructure and Basic Amenities in Urban India: Issues Concerning Empowerment of Local Bodies’ (1999) Economic and Political Weekly 1893
Maddick H, Panchayati Raj: A Study of Rural Local Government in India (Harlow and Longmans 1970)
Mitra SK, ‘Making Local Government Work: Local Elites, Panchayati Raj and Governance in India’ (2001) 6 The Success of India’s Democracy 103
Vaidya C, ‘Urban Issues, Reforms, and Way Forward in India (Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance 2009)
[1] Village and khadi industries are based on the concept of Swadeshi wherein the use of labour is central and the use of capital is limited, underlying the concept of self-reliance in the economy. These industries rely on local raw materials and local production at small scale.
[2] There are two constitutional amendments, 73rd and 74th passed in 1992 which provide a whole scenario of the different levels of local governments at rural and urban level. The 73rd amendment states a three-tier system of panchayati raj at the village panchayat (gram), block (intermediate) level (panchayat samati) and district levels (zilla parishad) for a population of more than 20 lakh (2 million). Gram or village panchayat consists of gram sabha and members of the village panchayat directly elected by the people and headed by the pradhan (elected head) village council (gram sabha) consist of all the members of the village. Each gram panchayat is assisted by four committees that is samata samiti (committee for welfare of women and children, scheduled caste and tribes and other backward classes) vikas samiti (committee for development in agriculture), shiksha samiti (education) and lokhit committee (public health and public works). In between gram panchayat and zilla panchayat is panchayat samiti (committee) which forms the main chain of communication between the two. The next level of local government is zilla parishad, consisting of all the elected representatives of gram panchayat and elected representatives from territorial constituencies in the panchayat, members of legislative assembly and legislative council
The 74th Amendment consists of three bodies of urban governments – nagar panchayat which is primarily constituted when the village transitions from rural to urban, municipal council for smaller urban areas, municipal corporations for larger urban areas. Municipal committees are also assisted by ward committees which makes a two-tier system.
[3] The districts in a state are divided into sub-divisions and the sub-divisional officer (SDOs) oversees these divisions. The SDO is responsible for the administration of these divisions in the districts. There can be two kinds of roles. One in which they are in charge of office work and another, in which they are not bound in an office but are overseeing a range of works such as communicating with people, overlooking implementation of government schemes.
[4] Transitioning areas are defined based on how fast a town is developing due to industrialization or agricultural growth or secondary services. The criteria of population and the level of administrative functions is considered too, as big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and others will have a municipal corporation and smaller towns will have municipalities.
[5] ‘Rural Population (% of Total Population)’ (The World Bank, 2018) <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.RUR.TOTL.ZS>.
[6] ‘India – Urban Population (% Of Total)’ (Trading Economics, 2020) <https://tradingeconomics.com/india/urban-population-percent-of-total-wb-data.html>.
Local Responsibilities and Public Services in India: An Introduction
Asha Sarangi and Lipika Ravichandran, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) are responsible for urban and rural local governments, respectively. For the efficient delivery of services and to oversee civic affairs, various reforms have been introduced to strengthen the work of urban local governments. These reforms are introduced from time to time by successive governments in power. These various reforms are decentralization of authority, power, functions and finances to lower levels of government. This leads to democratic decentralization of local governments providing them greater autonomy in their everyday functions and duties.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is responsible for the holistic development of urban areas and it primarily looks over issues of governance and infrastructure. One of the major responsibilities of MoHUA has been the reform of public services so as to ensure the smooth functioning of the projects and their sustainability once they are completed. Two prominent urban missions are Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) which is responsible for urban planning, implementation and governance for improving service delivery and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) which is an initiative to ensure affordable housing for all. Missions mean initiatives and projects that have clearly defined objectives, timeline for their completion, set targets, expected outcomes and delivery mechanisms well in place before the completion of the missions.
According to the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment acts, there are compulsory and voluntary provisions which have to be followed by the state governments, while formulating their own local self-government acts. These variations could be related to subjects like the constitutional provisions related to the reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women.
Municipalities have the power to draft by-laws for better implementation of administrative functions. The various responsibilities and provision of public services by local urban bodies are public health and sanitation, medical relief, public works, education, development and administration.
Local governments are solely responsible for the delivery of services to a range of citizens with the collaboration of various organizations. These could be voluntary organizations, self-help groups of various kinds funded by the government or non-government organizations funded privately or through large national and international organizations and donor agencies.
The national and state level governments have also started smart cities initiatives which consider the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and use of special purpose vehicles (SPVs). Smart Cities programs focus on the central role of local government as important decision makers in implementing projects based on planning and growth of cities and their connectivity issues pertaining to the road and transport infrastructure. This involves connecting rural and urban cities and towns through projects like National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
The rural local governments have the same structure except in scheduled and tribal areas which are legally exempted from the implementation of the Panchayati Raj Act. The Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996 with few modifications is also applicable in tribal areas. Regional or district councils have been mandated to officiate work and protect indigenous customs and traditions.
Local responsibilities and public services differ from state to state. The fundamental responsibilities and services that the state is responsible for is the provision of infrastructure facilities like the sanitation, management of waste, building of roads and public conveniences, projects to alleviate poverty and distress, economic development and growth. At the grass root level, it involves participation from the local communities, especially women. Programs involving the community participation like the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) have been to some extent a success.
To achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the central government started – with a role of the states in implementation – the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) which was responsible for the completion of seventeen SDGs in August 2017 including a wide range of responsibilities for Urban Development and Panchayat Raj Ministries., the latter dealing with the local self-government in the rural areas administered under the Ministry of Local Self-Government known as panchayati raj as stated above.
References to Scientific and Non-Scientific Publications
—— ‘Second Administrative Reforms Commission: Reports’ (Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, 2020) <https://darpg.gov.in/arc-reports>
Aijaz R, ‘Challenges for Urban Local Governments in India’ (Working Paper 19, LSE Asia Research Centre 2007)
Besley T and others, ‘The Politics of Public Good Provision: Evidence from Indian Local Governments’ (2004) 2 Journal of the European Economic Association 416
Chhibber P, Shastri S and Sisson R, ‘Federal Arrangements and the Provision of Public Goods in India’ (2004) 44 Asian Survey 339
Kochar A, Singh K and Singh S, ‘Targeting Public Goods to the Poor in a Segregated Economy: An Empirical Analysis of Central Mandates in Rural India’ (2009) 93 Journal of Public Economics 917
Mathur OP, ‘Fiscal Innovations and Urban Governance’ in Patricia L McCarney and Richard E Stren (eds), Governance on the Ground: Innovations and Discontinuities in Cities of the Developing World (Woodrow Wilson Center Press 2003)
Rao G and Singh N, ‘How to Think about Local Government Reform in India: Incentives and Institutions’ (revised version, Second Generation Indian Economic Reforms Conference, Chennai, December 1999) <http://southasia.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/shared/events/2007_Indian_Democracy/nirvikar_singh-3.pdf>
Savage D and Dasgupta S, ‘Governance Framework for Delivery of Urban Services’ in Rastogi A (ed), India Infrastructure Report 2006 (3i Network 2006)
Local Financial Arrangements in India: An Introduction
Asha Sarangi and Lipika Ravichandran, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
In India, local financial arrangements at the level of local self-governments are a complicated system as there are institutional differences at urban and rural levels. Local authorities in India are responsible for state owned projects, wherein they use their resources for the operation of these projects. It is an important imperative on the part of the local governments for the development of municipal bodies and districts. In the domain of financial functionality, rural and local governments have a similarity in the pattern of expenditures for civic and social services, however the degree of expenditure varies. The varied expenditure depends on the revenue generation and the needs of the rural and urban population. The urban local bodies have more revenue sources and they collect more taxes as they have a larger population to take into consideration. Whereas the rural local bodies have less revenue due to smaller population. But the services provided by both the bodies are almost similar but different in scale. For example, the urban local body caters till tertiary health care whereas the rural local body provides only primary health care. The estimate for expenditure is included in the five-year plans which show both planned and unplanned expenditures for each state and its local population. For example, during the 2016-17 cycle, in Tamil Nadu, the urban local bodies spent Rs. 13,301 crores (approximately €2 billion), while Panchayat Raj Institutions spent Rs. 4,960 crores (approximately €0.7 billion).[1]
The ICRIER report states that, ‘municipal revenues/expenditures in India have been stagnating at around 1 per cent of the GDP for over a decade.’[2] The report further states that finance and expenditure have been a reason of contestation as the constitutional provisions on the devolution of power has been feeble and there are administrative failures in its implementation.
References to Scientific and Non-Scientific Publications
Jha S, ‘Strengthening Local Governments: Rural Fiscal Decentralisation in India’ (2002) Economic and Political Weekly 2611
Mohanty PK and others, ‘Municipal Finance in India: An Assessment’ (Development Research Group Study 26, Reserve Bank of India 2007)
Rao MG, ‘Changing Contours in Federal Fiscal Arrangements in India’ in Amaresh Bagchi (ed), Readings in Public Finance (Oxford University Press 2005)
—— and Bird RM, ‘Urban Governance and Finance in India’ (working paper 1568858, Rotman School of Management 2010)
Thavaraj MJK, ‘Finances of Local Governments in India’ (1978) 24 Indian Journal of Public Administration 617
[1] Kumarapalayam R Shanmugam, ‘Tamil Nadu State Government Finances’ (Madras School of Economics 2018) <https://fincomindia.nic.in/writereaddata/html_en_files/fincom15/StudyReports/24.pdf>.
[2] Isher J Ahluwalia and others, ‘State of Municipal Finances in India’ (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations 2019) 2.
The Structure of Local Government in India: An Introduction
Asha Sarangi and Lipika Ravichandran, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
The term panchayati raj in India signifies the system of rural self-government. It has been established in all the states of India by the acts of the state legislatures to build a grass root democracy in independent India. It is entrusted with the task of developing rural development in different sectors directly accountable to the district and sub-district level administration. It was constitutionally mandated as per the provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. The act provides for a three-tier system of panchayati raj in every state that has gram panchayat at the village level, panchayat samiti at the block level and zilla parishad at the district level. All the members of panchayats at the village, intermediate and the district level shall be elected directly by the people. Further, the chairperson of panchayats at the intermediate and district levels shall be elected indirectly by and from the elected members of the intermediate and district levels.
However, the chairperson of a panchayat at village level shall be elected in such a manner as the state legislature determines. The act provides for the reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in every panchayat in proportion of their population to the total population in the panchayat area. The act provides for the reservation of not less than one third of seats for women. The act provides for a five-year term of office to the panchayat at every level.
Municipal corporations are created for the administration of big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and others. They are established in the states by the acts of the concerned state legislatures, and in the union territories by the acts of the Parliament of India. A municipal corporation has three authorities, namely, the council, the standing committees and the commissioner.
The council is the deliberative and legislative wing of the corporation. It consists of the councilors, directly elected by the people, as well as a few nominated persons having knowledge or experience of municipal administration. The council is headed by a mayor. He is assisted by a deputy mayor. The standing committees are created to facilitate the working of the council, which is too large in size. They deal with public works, education, health, taxation, finance and so on. They make decisions in their fields. The municipal commissioner is responsible for the implementation of the decisions taken by the council and its standing committees. Thus, he is the chief executive authority of the corporation appointed by the state government.
Municipality
The municipalities are established for the administration of towns and smaller cities. Like the corporations, they are also set up in the states by the acts of the concerned state legislatures and in the union territory by the acts of the Parliament of India. They are also known by various other names like municipal council, municipal committee, municipal board, borough municipality, city municipality and others.
Like a municipal corporation, a municipality also has three authorities, namely, the council, the standing committees and the chief executive officer. The council is the deliberative and legislative wing of the municipality. It consists of the councilors directly elected by the people. The council is headed by a president/chairman. He is assisted by a vice-president/vice-chairman and presides over the meetings of the council. The standing committees are created to facilitate the working of the council. They deal with public works, taxation, health, finance and so on. The chief executive officer/chief municipal officer is responsible for day-to-day general administration of the municipality. He is appointed by the state government.
Notified Area Committee
A notified area committee is created for the administration of two types of areas—a fast developing town due to industrialization, and a town which does not yet fulfill all the conditions necessary for the constitution of a municipality, but which otherwise is considered important by the state government. Since it is established by a notification in the government gazette, it is called a notified area committee. Though it functions within the framework of the State Municipal Act, only those provisions of the act apply to it which are notified in the government gazette by which it is created.
Its powers are almost equivalent to those of a municipality. But unlike the municipality, it is an entirely nominated body, that is, all the members of a notified area committee including the chairman are nominated by the state government. Thus, it is neither an elected body nor a statutory body.
Town Area Committee
A town area committee is set up for the administration of a small town. It is a semi-municipal authority and is entrusted with a limited number of civic functions like drainage, roads, street lighting, and conservancy. It is created by a separate act of a state legislature. Its composition, functions and other matters are governed by the act. It may be wholly elected or wholly nominated by the state government or partly elected and partly nominated.
Cantonment Board
A cantonment area is a delimited area where the military forces and troops are permanently stationed. A cantonment board is established for municipal administration for civilian population in the cantonment area. It works under the administrative control of the Defense Ministry of the central government. A cantonment board consists of partly elected and partly nominated members.
The military officer commanding the station is the ex-officio president of the board and presides over its meetings. The vice-president of the board is elected by the elected members from amongst themselves for a term of five years. The sources of income include both tax revenue and non-tax revenue. The executive officer of the cantonment board is appointed by the President of India. He implements all the resolutions and decisions of the board and its committees.
Township
This type of urban government is established by the large public enterprises to provide civic amenities to its staff and workers who live in the housing colonies built near the plant. The enterprise appoints a town administrator to look after the administration of the township. He is assisted by some engineers and other technical and non-technical staff. Thus, the township form of urban government has no elected members. In fact, it is an extension of the bureaucratic structure of the enterprises.
Port Trust
The port trusts are established in the port areas like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and so on for two purposes: (i) to manage and protect the ports; and (ii) to provide civic amenities. A port trust is created by an Act of Parliament. It consists of both elected and nominated members.
Special Purpose Agency
In addition to these seven area-based urban bodies (or multipurpose agencies), the states have set up certain agencies to undertake designated activities or specific functions that ‘legitimately’ belong to the domain of municipal corporations or municipalities or other local urban governments. In other words, these are function-based and not area-based. They are known as ‘single purpose’, ‘uni-purpose’ or ‘special purpose’ agencies or ‘functional local bodies.’ Some such bodies are:
- town improvement trusts;
- urban development authorities;
- water supply and sewerage boards;
- housing boards;
- pollution control boards;
- electricity supply boards;
- city transport boards.
References to Scientific and Non-Scientific Publications
Aijaz R, ‘Form of Urban Local Government in India’ (2008) 43 Journal of Asian and African Studies 131
Maddick H, Panchayati Raj: A Study of Rural Local Government in India (Longman 1970)
Sharma MP, Local Self Government in India (Kitab Mahal 1960)
Intergovernmental Relations of Local Governments in India: An Introduction
Asha Sarangi and Lipika Ravichandran, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
India follows a devolved system of decentralization in which the states are responsible for the devolution of powers to the urban and rural local authorities. At the local level, intergovernmental relationships exist between different tiers of local rural government. The administrative units at each state level have their own historical trajectory and a uniform pattern does not exist for each state. Each state has its own administrative units and structures. Therefore, a certain amount of friction is bound to arise over operational guidelines and implementation for different projects and delivery of services. The state government looks over various projects and plans and decides on the devolution of powers and functions for these activities and projects. A three-tier system works at the local levels which are accountable to state government.[1]Similarly, the decentralization of power and decision-making works at all levels from the center to the states.
There are several federal bodies and inter-governmental organizations such as inter-state councils, district boards and committees of various kinds which have been formed from time to time to work towards establishing the intergovernmental relations between the lower and higher levels of administration. In doing so, regional development boards and units are also set up by different states from time to time. With the rapid urbanization that the Indian cities are experiencing, it is imperative that cities act as the main catalyst of development. This level of coordination between center, state and local government is crucial for the development and growth of large cities.
Thus, for the cities to generate ‘agglomeration economies’, the imbalance between responsibilities and finances must be worked out.[2] The relationship between panchayats, urban local units and government departments has been a domain of contestation and messy politics.
References to Scientific and Non-Scientific Publications
Bird R and Wallich C, ‘Fiscal Decentralization and Intergovernmental Relations in Transition Economics: Toward a Systematic Framework of Analysis’ (working paper no 1122, The World Bank 1993)
Saxena R, Situating Federalism: Mechanisms of Intergovernmental Relations in Canada and India (Manohar Publishers 2006)
—— ‘Intergovernmental Relations in India’ in Meghna Sabharwal and Evan M Berman (eds), Public Administration in South Asia (Routledge 2017)
Stein M and Turkewitsch L, ‘Similarities and Differences in Patterns of Intergovernmental Relations in Parliamentary and Presidential Federations: A Comparative Analysis’ (International Political Science Association (IPSA) 21st World Congress of Political Science, Santiago, July 2009)
People’s Participation in Local Decision-Making in India: An Introduction
Asha Sarangi and Lipika Ravichandran, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
In the context of urban local government, community participation started around the early 1970s when the Urban Basic Service Program was launched by the central government with assistance from UNICEF. Community participation was ensured for the implementation of projects and reduction of operational costs. There are various programs which involve people’s participation. In rural local governance, gram sabha ensures public participation in terms of budgetary discussion and other infrastructural and service needs of the people. Urban local governance also makes people’s participation an important aspect for service delivery. But people’s participation in deliberative decision-making can be more clearly seen in rural than urban local governance through gram sabhas in every village.
The setting up of gram sabha at village level has strengthened the people’s direct involvement in their affairs. Gram sabha is the lowest level in the hierarchy of rural self-government and has been set up in each village to discuss the grievances of the people. The gram sabha consists of all members of the village who are eligible to vote in elections. Gram sabha is empowered to look after all the developmental issues of a village and has a binding duty to discuss them in meetings to obtain consensus of its members. Gram sabha is recognized as the assembly of panchayati raj. All the members of the panchayats at the village intermediate and district levels are elected directly by the people, and this gives way to representative democracy.
Most states have constituted social audit units (SAU) under gram sabha to audit various schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005 (MGNREGA), the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the public distribution system, or the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for the housing purposes.
In the first meeting of the gram sabha generally following issues are discussed:
- the annual statement of accounts;
- the report on the administration of the preceding financial year;
- the development and other programs proposed for the financial year;
- the last audit report.
In the meeting held in the last quarter of the year, the following issues are generally discussed:
- the statement of expenditure incurred during the year;
- the physical and financial programs taken during the year;
- proposals for any changes in the program;
- budget of the panchayat and tax proposals of the panchayat.
Rural people’s participation can be further seen in the Water Users Associations, Joint Forest Management, Watershed Association, Village Education Committee. Urban local governance ensures people’s participation in Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) or Neighborhood User Groups (NUGs). Both urban and rural participation can be seen in Self-Help Groups (SHGs) – Micro Credit.
A number of programs that clearly bring out the interesting relationship between rural-urban dynamics are listed below:
- The 73rd Amendment Act has ensured the participation of people in development activities. People can participate in the local decision-making, monitoring and implementation of plans and rural development projects through gram sabhas and panchayats.
- The gram sabha through their elected representatives ensures a vivid participation for people in their various community development programs such as water and irrigation, roads, schools etc.
- Non-governmental organizations and civil society groups play an important role in the facilitation of participation by people for various developmental projects as well as rights-based acts such Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005 popularly known as MGNREGA.
- In MGNREGA, social audit over all the works covered under the act plays a powerful role for rural transformation and development. Moreover, it ensures steady participation of people and accountability on the side of the local government.
- Along with the Right to Information Act (RTI) of 2005, transparency and accountability have been ensured by the government to facilitate people’s participation in the process of governance and decision-making.
References to Scientific and Non-Scientific Publications
——‘Building Capacities for Empowerment: The Missing Link Between Social Protection and Social Justice: Case of Social Audits in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India’(Social Protection for Social Justice Conference, Brighton, April 2011)
Abbott J, Sharing the City: Community Participation in Urban Management (Routledge 2013)
Alam SM and Alam MN, ‘Good Governance and Employment Generation through MGNREGA’ (2014) 2 International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management 1
Breitkreuz R and others, ‘The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: A Policy Solution to Rural Poverty in India?’ (2017) 35 Development Policy Review 397
Desai S, Vashishtha P and Joshi O, ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation’ (working paper no 7259, National Council of Applied Economic Research2015)
GaventaJ and Valderrama C, ‘Participation, Citizenship and Local Governance’ (background note, Strengthening Participation in Local Governance Workshop, vol 21, University of Sussex 1999)
Haque T, ‘Socio-Economic Impact of Implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India’ (2011) 41 Social Change 445
Vij N, ‘Collaborative Governance: Analysing Social Audits in MGNREGA in India’ (2011) 42 IDS Bulletin 28
[1] Shri H Ramachandran, ‘Vision 2020. Governance and People’s Participation’ (2020) <https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov.in/docs/reports/genrep/bkpap2020/15_bg2020.pdf>.
