Two Decades of Panchayat Raj in India : Experiences, Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

Contents: 1. Introduction/Yatindra Singh Sisodia, Ashish Bhatt and Tapas Kumar Dalapati. I. 73rd Constitutional Amendment and Status of PRIs: 2. Theoretical Nuances of Democratic Decentralisation in India/G. Palanithurai. 3. Two Decades of Democratic Decentralisation in India/S.K. Singh. 4. Two Decades of Democratic Governance at Local Level/Yatindra Singh Sisodia. 5. Decentralisation and the Empowerment of Women and the other Marginalised Groups/Nayanatara S. Nayak and Narayan Billava. II. Devolution of Funds, Functions and Functionaries in PRIs: 6. Fiscal Decentralisation and Panchayati Raj Institutions/Neeta Tapan. 7. How Inclusive are the Panchayats/Nupur Tiwari. 8. Mainstreaming Youth in Local Governance/K. Gireesan. III. Changing Power Structure and Empowerment of Marginalised Groups: 9. Governance and Multidimensional Poverty/D.C. Sah and Ashish Bhatt. 10. Decentralised Governance through (PESA) Act and Tribal Development/S.N. Tripathy. 11. Impact of Decentralised Governance on the Implementation of MGNREGS in Scheduled Areas of Odisha/Nilakantha Panigrahi. 12. Pattern of Local Governance for Tribes in Maharashtra/S.T. Shirsath. 13. A Decade of Change through Dalit Leadership/Ramkumar G. IV. Gender Issues and Empowerment of Women through PRIs: 14. Decentralisation and Women s Development in India/V. Rama Krishna. 15. Empowerment of Women through Participation in Local Government in Maharashtra/Ruby Ojha.16. Dalit Women in Power Politics/S. Satyam. 17. Women s Empowerment through Panchayati Raj Institutions/Gadadhara Mohapatra. 18. Representation, Inclusion and Empowerment of Women through Panchayati Raj Institutions/Anuja. V. State Specific Experiences in Structure and Functions in PRIs: 19. Status of Devolution of the Funds, Functions and Functionaries in United Andhra Pradesh/M. Gopinath Reddy. 20. Accountability of Mukhiyas/Smita Agarwal. 21. Rhetoric of Participatory Development/Alaknanda Shringare. 22. Maharashtra Model of Panchayati Raj/Jitendra Wasnik. Decentralisation is a much-debated issue in India and other countries with federal system of governance. The enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1993 and the subsequent state wise panchayat raj acts in India brought to frontline significance of grassroots democratic processes. After two decades, panchayat raj in India has been a matter of debate and speculation about its performance and impact. All the major states have completed at least four rounds of panchayat elections. Almost three million people including more than one million women and a sizeable number of SCs/STs took part in these elections. The experiences of the states are extremely rich and provide vital insights into the process of institutionalising panchayat raj. This volume strives to encompass all these issues related to panchayat raj in India. Besides a crisp introduction by the editors, the book is thematically divided in five parts, viz. 73rd Constitutional Amendment and Status of PRIs; Devolution of Funds, Functions and Functionaries in PRIs; Changing Power Structure and Empowerment of Marginalised Groups; Gender Issues and Empowerment of Women through PRIs; and State Specific Experiences in Structure and Functions in PRIs. The book promises to be a valuable reference for all concerned researchers, bureaucrats, policy makers, planners, practitioners and those concerned with the decentralised governance. (jacket).…