Panchayati Raj Experience in India [Hardcover]

Language: English. ABOUT THE BOOK: The Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have come to stay in India. Time has come to take stock of the experiences gained so far in the working of the PRIs in various states. Have we really achieved the goals set up by the 73rd constitutional Amendment while implementing the programme of 'democratic decentralisation'?, if not, what are the impediments in achieving the goals? How best can we remove them based on our experience so far? What corrective steps can we take to put the programme on the right track? Here some of the leading experts on Panchayati Raj in various states examines the achievements and failures of working the PRIs during the past fifteen years. Concrete suggestions are put forth for making the PRIs vibrant institutions for bringing about democratic decentralization in the truesense of the term. The scholarly papers on the 'state of art' of the PRIs in different states in India are presented systematically in this book. The articles broadly bring out the fascinating story of the working of PRIs in different states of India. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Prof. (Dr) K. Raman Pillai is former professor and Head, Department of Political Science, University of Kerala and was also the Dean, Faculty of Social Science. He has to his credit Nine books. His scholarly articles on National Politics and Foreign Policy has been published in National and International Journals. He is the editorinchief of the research journal Social Science in Perspectie published from Thiruvananthapuram. Prof. (Dr) R. K. Suresh Kumar is former Head, Department of Political Science, University College, Thiruvananthapuram. He is the editor of the academic journal Social Science in Perspective published by the C.Achutha Menon Foundation, Thiruvananthapuram. He has to his credit 9 books. Prof. (Dr) P. Sukumaran Nair is former Head, Department of Political Science, N.S.S.College, Pandalam, Kerala. He is the ViceChairman of Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) Kerala Regional Branch and also the Executive Editor of the journal Social Science in Perspective. He has to his credit 6 books and several articles on Foreign Policy and Public Administration. CONTENTS:List of Contributors. 7 Acknowledgement. 9 Introduction. 11 1. InterGovernmental Relations and Constitutional Governance. 17 —N.R. Madhava Menon 2. Decentralisation in Kerala: Opportunities and Challenges. 23 —V. Ramachandran 3. Local Democracy in Kerala: Retrospects and Prospects. 29 —M.A. Oommen 4. Institutionalising Panchayati Raj in Kerala: Some Reflections. 45 —K.P. Kannan 5. Local Governments and Socially disadvantaged groups Learning from the Kerala Experience. 55 —S.M. Vijayanand 6. Data Base for Decentralised Planning in Kerala. 67 —M. Kuttappan 7. Decentralised Planning in Kerala : Some Reflections. 75 —P. Sureshkumar 8. Kerala’s Decentralisation Experience and Women. 83 —P. P. Rajasekharan Pillai 9. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment guarantee Scheme Problems and Prospects. 101 —P. Rajendran Nair and N. Madhava Menon 10. Decentralised Rural Local Governance: Trends and Direction in Karnataka. 115 —B.S. Bhargava 11. Democratic Decentralisation: The Karnataka Model. 133 — Midatala Rani 12. New Panchayati Raj System in Tamil Nadu. 147 — G. Palanithurai 13. Continuity and Change in Panchayati Raj Institutions in Andhra Pradesh: An Appraisal. 167 —M.A. Hussain and A.R. Reddy 14. Decentralisation in West Bengal. 177 —P. Krishnakumar 15. Democratic Decentralisation in Bihar: A Historical Perspective. 187 —Manjula Bharathi 16. Panchayathi Raj System in Madhya Pradesh: Dynamics and Divergencies. 195 —R. Sreekantan Nair and Ashitha 17. Negotiating the Politics of Presence: Gendered Citizenship and Rural Local Governance in Maharashtra. 211 —Manjula Bharathy 18. Democratic Decentralisation in Rajasthan: A Historical Overview. 233 —Manjula Bharathi 19. Decentralised Local Governance : The Case of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 243 —S.S. Sreekumar 20. Demo.…