Study of the pattern of Panchayati Raj in India.

This handbook examines 25 years of decentralised governance and development in India. It provides a historical overview of developments since the introduction of decentralisation reforms (73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts) and critically assesses the measures initiated to strengthen decentralised institutions and deepen grassroots democracy. It also discusses the status of service delivery and identifies the issues and challenges involved in achieving development at the local level. The volume studies themes such as the devolution of powers in India, administrative and fiscal decentralisation, decentralised planning, Panchayats in scheduled areas, the sociological aspects of decentralisation, caste, gender and local democracy, capacity building, ICT for local governance, urban local governance, workfare and decentralisation, and decentralised natural resource management. It also looks at Panchayati Raj institutions from a Gandhian perspective. The first of its kind, this handbook will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of decentralisation and development, development studies, fiscal decentralisation, political studies, political sociology, Indian politics, Indian government, public policy and governance, political economy, South Asian studies, and South Asian politics.

Exploring the capacity and impact of decentralization within European health care systems, this book examines both the theoretical underpinnings as well as practical experience with decentralization.

Papers presented at the National Workshop on Decentralised Democracy and Planning, held at Newman College, Thodupuzha on Dec. 19, 2003.

This is a study of issues in good governance in South Asia, viz. in the countries of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The focus is on the interconnections between governance, decentralization (of authority and decision making) and poverty eradication. The book submits a stratagem to turn South Asia's greatest handicap, poverty, into a source of strength, in which the poor contribute directly to growth. The key to this pro-poor growth strategy, according to the authors, is community mobilization through social movements and non-governmental development initiatives. The book is divided into three parts, the conceptual framework, illustrative case studies and lessons for macro/microeconomic policy. Part I critically evaluates conventional developmental thinking and suggests the outline of an alternative pro-poor developmental strategy. Part II, the backbone of the volume, is a collection of six case studies from selected locations in south Asia, covering both rural and urban experiences. Part III draws lessons from these studies for a value-driven policy with both short-term and long-term implications. The book is a first of its kind, examining in-depth issues of vital importance to the development of the South Asian region. The importance of this volume lies in the synthesized lessons for policy and implementation drawn from cases where new ground has been broken in the conceptualization of social mobilization and pro-poor growth.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment is a milestone in the modern history of India and it has taken democracy to the grassroots. It aims to transform the characteristics of our democracy from representative to representative and participatory democracy. Before going into the details of the process of decentralization of powers in the states over a period, it is necessary to explain the basic framework of decentrali­zation of powers.To operationalise the basic framework – both letter and spirit – the state governments have to take an array of steps that are fundamental and basic for the establishment of a local governance system.By keeping the above framework, in the last twenty years how decentral­ization took place in south Indian states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala has been evaluated in this volume. The four chapters have been written by G. Palanithurai, M. Gobinath Reddy, M. Sivanna and Jos Chathukulam. Along with the above state-specific chapters, there are a few chapters covering Panchayat finance in South Indian States and democratiza­tion in this volume written by B. DevendraBabu and G. Palanithurai, respec­tively. S. N. Sangita has written a chapter on Political regime, Decentralized Governance and social security in south Indian states. It is also included in this volume. Further the chapter written by V. N. Alok on “Devolution of Powers to Local Bodies” has been incorporated in the present work. Finally yet another paper on “Decentralization of Powers: Acceleration and Deceleration” by G. Palanithurai for a different journal has also been included. Thus totally nine papers have been accommodate

Study conducted in the Bīrbhūm District of West Bengal, India.

More than 1.3 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity. Although extension of the electricity grid remains the preferred mode of electrification, off-grid electrification can offer a solution to such cases. Rural Electrification through Decentralised Off-grid Systems in Developing Countries provides a review of rural electrification experiences with an emphasis on off-grid electrification and presents business-related aspects including participatory arrangements, financing, and regulatory governance. Organized in three parts, Rural Electrification through Decentralised Off-grid Systems in Developing Countries provides comprehensive coverage and state-of-the art reviews which appraise the reader of the latest trend in the thinking. The first part presents the background information on electricity access, discusses the developmental implications of lack of electricity infrastructure and provides a review of alternative off-grid technologies. The second part presents a review of experiences from various regions (South Asia, China, Africa, South East Asia and South America). Finally, the third part deals with business dimensions and covers participatory business models, funding challenges for electrification and regulatory and governance issues. Based on the research carried out under the EPSRC/ DfID funded research grant for off-grid electrification in South Asia, Rural Electrification through Decentralised Off-grid Systems in Developing Countries provides a multi-disciplinary perspective of the rural electrification challenge through off-grid systems. Providing a practical introduction for students, this is also a key reference for engineers and governing bodies working with off-grid electrification.

The entire book's thread remained district administration and around district level, with some of the Chapters covering subjects like rehabilitation of the oustees from big dams and Administrative Law and Tribunals. The narratives are interwoven with interesting personal experiences which could fit in easily with the text of a particular chapter.