Due to centralised and infl exible infrastructures of state care involving upper-level bureaucratic decision-making and heavy reliance on documentary modalities, even the radically decentralised states such as Kerala are underperforming in their welfare responsibilities. A greater role for local governments needs to be re-envisioned.
The recent large-scale rejection of the devolution recommendations of the Fifth State Finance Commission by the Kerala government reflects a reversal of past progress, and a move towards fiscal centralisation.
Contrary to popular belief, there has not been a unilinear displacement of customary panchayats by the formal structures of local governance such as gram panchayats. Rather there is evidence to suggest that customary institutions both influence and adapt to the existence of formal structures. The interface between customary panchayats and gram sabhas and its implications for participatory governance. A study in Mysore and Dharwad districts of Karnataka.
The Madhya Pradesh Panchayat Raj Adhiniyam, 1997 was enacted by the state assembly, delineating the powers and functions of panchayat raj institutions in scheduled areas. Four years on, this article looks at the effectiveness of the new system, and attempts to shed light on the working of the gram sabha in scheduled areas.
Status of Panchayati Raj in the States and Union Territories of India, General Editor George Mathew; Concept Publishing Company for Institute of Social Sciences, 2000; pp 516, Rs. 1000
Non-participation of the rural people has hobbled the development of the gram sabha, denying the true benefits of this institution to the people. The concept of gram sabha has also not been grasped clearly, right from the policy-makers to the villagers. A gram sabha needs to generate a feeling of belonging. The real challenge now is to 'reconnect' the sabha, by communicating clearly its function and purpose both at the individual and public levels
