This Book Brings Together A Number Of Research Papers On The Working Of Local Bodies In The Wake Of The 73Rd And 74Th Amendments.

Dr. D. Sunder Ram Is A Founder And Director Of Academy Of Grassroots Studies And Research Of India (Agrasri); Secretary- General Of Rajiv Rural Development Foundation (Rrdf); And Editor Of The Grassroots Govenance Journal (Tggj) And Grama Sabha (Gs) Magazine, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh). Prior To Joining The Academy Of Grassroots Studies And Research Of India, He Taught Political Science And Public Administration Disciplines At Sri Venkateswara University..

This book approaches grassroots governance and democracy from a sociological perspective, focusing on the interaction between the community and the State. It explores the interrelationship between state, governance and community and demonstrates the performativity aspects of both political actors and citizens in various elections in India. It also highlights the need to understand the dynamics of governance in a multi-ethnic society and democracy like India both at the micro and macro levels. Offering detailed explanations of formal and informal governance in people’s everyday lives, it reviews some of the key debates on governance with respect to the engagement of the community. This book is intended for academics, researchers, activists, planners and policymakers from a range of disciplines, such as sociology, public policy, social anthropology, development studies, politics and regional development, interested in governance and development in India.

India is basically an agrarian country the two-thirds population of which lives in rural areas. The quality of national life is ultimately determined by the standard of life in village. Thus, development at the grass-root level is imperative to the overall development of the country. But over the years it is observed that rural development is difficult to be realised by the government’s initiative from above. In fact, the initiative needs to come from the bottom. Here comes the importance of the Panchayat system in general and Gaon Sabha in particular. Gaon Sabha provides an ideal forum for participation of any ordinary villager in the process of development. It is the ideal manifestation of decentralised planning by which the people at the lowest rung of our democracy may ventilate their hopes and aspirations. It ensures sustainable development and finds solutions to the problems of poverty and under development in rural India. The 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, 1992 (received the assent of the President on April 20, 1993 and published in the Gazette of India, Part II, Section I, dated 20 April, 1993) for the first time created a statutory imperative for the establishment of a legally empowered Gaon Sabha. Gaon Sabha means a body of all persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village falling within the jurisdiction of a village panchayat. It is designed to ensure participation of people in the three stages of planning i.e., plan formulation, plan implementation and plan evaluation at the grass root level. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts have provided an opportunity for the persons registered as voters in the village to directly participate in the decision making process. Gaon Sabhas thus serve as the basis of decentralised planning and help to ensure a transparent and accountable administration through Gaon Panchayat. It monitors the functioning of the Gaon Panchayat. While the elected representatives take policy level decisions on behalf of the people, the registered voters in the village discuss and take part in the decisions relating to the development of the village. The Assam Panchayat Raj Act 1994 also empowered the Gaon Sabha to discuss, plan and formulate policies for rural development.

This edited volume focuses on the issues and strategies of good governance. It takes up the problems and strategies pertaining to the delivery of public services in India. The emphasis is on how to make the public service delivery in India, efficient and effective. The questions of accountability, transparency, equity, efficiency, effectiveness, participation responsiveness, decentralisation, and ethics are first dealt with, being of vital importance in today's governance of public service delivery. The book then discusses a threefold strategy to address these issues: The first is based on reforming administration, which involves restructuring, reinvention, realignment, reengineering, and rethinking. The second is based on the application of Information and Communications Technology and e-governance in public service delivery. The third strategy is based on decentralisation through people's participation, interactive policy making, and privatisation.In addition, the book highlights various initiatives undertaken in India for effective public service delivery and proposes an action plan for an effective and responsive government. The book will be of immense use to the students, teachers, and practitioners of public administration, and to a large number of government departments at the union and state levels.