Local Government in India: Policy and Practice With Special Reference to a Field Study of Decentralization in Kerala - Hardcover

Rashmi Sharma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8173048053 ISBN 13: 9788173048050

Publisher: Manohar Publishers, 2009

Synopsis

This book examines the development of panchayati raj policy in India and analyses the actual functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). In this analysis, panchayati raj is seen, not as a stand alone, static phenomenon, but is understood, on the one hand against the unique Indian sociopolitical context that has shaped it, and on the other, as a dynamic process that varies spatially and temporally. The scrutiny is comprehensive: it includes the dynamics of policy formulation, i.e. the stated and unstated reasons for decentralization, as well outcomes, i.e. the organizational characteristics of PRIs and their larger impact. On the basis of this analysis, an attempt is made to assess the potential of decentralization in India, and the way in which it can be maximized. There is a special focus on the experiences of states that have been leaders in decentralization, i.e. in the pre-Seventy Third Constitutional Amendment scenario, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and West Bengal, and in the post-constitutional amendment setting, the experience of Kerala, the most extensive so far in terms of financial devolution and highly 'evolved' in terms of processes. The analysis of Kerala's decentralization is based on a detailed field study undertaken 2003-4, which goes beyond the initial policy initiative phase (which has formed the subject of other books about Kerala), and looks at the actual functioning on PRIs in the field eight years later.

About this edition

• Publisher: Manohar Publishers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 8173048053
• ISBN 13: 9788173048050
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 277