Functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India: A Status Paper

Abstract

Good governance is considered as the control idea of Development. A system of structured governance empowers the government to deliver services to the citizen and to mobilize resource and revenue for the societal development. And it can only be achieved by participation of the different stakeholders of the development process. Because of its size and its relatively ambitious efforts to decentralize government, India provides an important context for understanding the ways in which decentralization can improve the performance and accountability of local government. Indeed, there is lot to be done towards improving village infrastructure and it should be done in a fairly participatory manner so that people’s aspirations can also get their space. In this study, different structural and functional aspects related with panchayats at grassroots level have been analysed. Development of villages depends heavily on Panchayati Raj Institutions and their effective functioning that is why five better considered states in terms of PRI functioning have been selected and a comparative analysis based on different parameters has been done. Findings show that panchayats are running inefficiently and there is total lack of people’s participation. There is urgent need of removing the legislative and procedural problems that constrain the Gram Sabha, greater devolution of funds, functions and functionaries, putting in place mechanisms of audit and accountability and streng-thening the participation of women for improving governance and functioning of panchayats. Indeed, measures are needed whereby the poor can participate more effectively through PRIs and local informal groups and people’s movements.

Full text

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Functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India: A Status Paper
Authors
Dr. Ritesh Dwivedi,
Assistant Professor, Amity Business School, Amity University UP, NOIDA Email: ri-
tesh_hariom@rediffmail.com, Mobile: 0-9415576820
Author has nine years of working experience with various CSOs / Funding Agencies / Government
Projects / Universities in different positions. He has administered and monitored the functioning of Ru-
ral Development projects at state, district and community level. He has written different articles for De-
velopment Magazines and his papers have been published different reputed Social Research & Man-
agement Journals.
Krishna Mohan Poddar, PSI, Tehari,
Author is development professional and continuously working with PRIs. He has also worked in a
project relating with Planning Commission of India and was involved in different other assignments re-
lated with PRIs.

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Abstract
Good governance is considered as the control idea of Development. A system of structured governance
empowers the government to deliver services to the citizen and to mobilize resource and revenue for the
societal development. And it can only be achieved by participation of the different stakeholders of the
development process. Because of its size and its relatively ambitious efforts to decentralize government,
India provides an important context for understanding the ways in which decentralization can improve
the performance and accountability of local government. Indeed, there is lot to be done towards improv-
ing village infrastructure and it should be done in a fairly participatory manner so that people’s aspira-
tions can also get their space.
In this study, different structural and functional aspects related with panchayats at grassroots level have
been analysed. Development of villages depends heavily on Panchayati Raj Institutions and their effec-
tive functioning that is why five better considered states in terms of PRI functioning have been selected
and a comparative analysis based on different parameters has been done. Findings show that pan-
chayats are running inefficiently and there is total lack of people’s participation. There is urgent need of
removing the legislative and procedural problems that constrain the Gram Sabha, greater devolution of
funds, functions and functionaries, putting in place mechanisms of audit and accountability and streng-
thening the participation of women for improving governance and functioning of penchayats. Indeed,
measures are needed whereby the poor can participate more effectively through PRIs and local informal
groups and people’s movements.
****

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Introduction
Assertions in favour of democratic decentralization are often founded upon the notion that the democra-
tization and empowerment of local political bodies will create institutions that are more accountable to
local citizens and more appropriate to local needs and preferences. However, international experience
has shown that even the most ambitious attempts at decentralization have failed to overcome regional
and local dimensions of poverty and inequality. Moreover, the power to decide local development initia-
tives is often highly dependent on a state apparatus that respects the autonomy of local political institu-
tions.
After the independence, Panchayats were included in the Article 40 of the Indian Constitution which
reads,” The states shall take steps to organize village Panchayat and endow them with such power and
authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government”. Many commit-
tees including the committee headed by Balvant Ray Mehta in 1957, Ashoka Mehta in 1978, G V K
Rao, L M Singhvi in 1986 observed the absence of local self governance and need of strengthening it
further. Hence in 1992, 73rd amendment of the Indian Constitution was done to revive the Panchayati
Raj Institution and it was implemented by other successive Governments.
Economic reforms and setting up and strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions have been the two major
policy level achievements since the early 1990s. Both of these are very crucial for development in each
perspective as both are moving towards reform process and contributing towards easy access of services
by the common people. For a long time our planning has been done in the headquarters and office rooms
far away form grassroots level conditions. That is why, local self governance is badly needed in today’s
environment. We have adopted this structure way back through the 73rd and 74th constitutional
Amendments.
Any development process can take it due course in systematic governance structure which is already
envisioned through our three tiers of governance structure at – Centre, State and local level. In last 20
years so much has been said or committed for strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) but only
cosmetic developments are there; decentralization of power has not been done in true letter and spirit.

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The actual progress of decentralisation has been uneven across States. In the absence of adequate finan-
cial clout, functioning of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been severely constrainedi.
In the absence of measures to strengthen public systems at the local level, panchayats are facing an
uphill task of promoting development due to existing malaise of bureaucracy and politics which hinders
effective implementation of programmes. Role of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) becomes very
important because they can provide an opportunity to villagers to participate in their own development
as well as implement different welfare and poverty alleviation programmes in coordinated action at the
grass root level for the benefit of the disadvantaged sections of society.
The success of local democracy depends upon the removal of prevailing problems and constraints. The
linkage between political, financial and economic decentralisation is the key to successful local self go-
vernance. For looking deeply into the current status of PRIs and their various aspects, a study based
upon the secondary data has been conducted.
Study
In this study, different aspects related with panchayats at grassroots level have been analysed. Develop-
ment of villages depends heavily on Panchayati Raj Institutions and their effective functioning that is
why five better considered states in terms of PRI functioning have been selected and structural and func-
tional aspects of these state’s PRIs have been analysed and findings have been presented in the end.
Five states are Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujrat, Andhra Pradesh and Assam and analysis on certain
performance indicators as Election, devolution of function, reservation for women, resource mobiliza-
tion (own financial resource, State Finance Commission, Audit), Governance (Gram Sabhas and social
Audit) has been done. Performance of these all states have been compared with each other and analysed
on different parameters. This analysis will present a clear picture of PRIs in our most efficient states and
also reflect the shortcomings of our PRI system and governance.
Several initiatives including reservation for women, conducting social audit, micro-planning at gras-
sroots level, etc have been taken to strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions by the state and central
government as well. But still many of these initiatives have not been implemented in true letter and spi-
rit.
iDecentralisation in India, Challenges & Opportunities, Discussion Paper Series-1, UNDP, available at
http://data.undp.org.in/hdrc/dis-srs/Challenges/DecentralisationCO.pdf

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1. Election:
In India Panchayat is the major tool of decentralized structure of governance. We can understand it in
different terms as listed below:--
1) Political decentralisation transfers policy and legislative powers from central government to auto-
nomous, lower-level assemblies and local councils that have been democratically elected by their consti-
tuencies.
2) Administrative decentralisation places planning and implementation responsibility in the hands of lo-
cally situated civil servants and these local civil servants are under the jurisdiction of elected local gov-
ernments.
3) Fiscal decentralisation accords substantial revenue and expenditure authority to intermediate and local
governments.
Source: World Bank (2000a: 3)
Panchayati Raj Institutions became important after the recommendation of Balvant Rai Mehta Commit-
tee, 1957. After 1957 and before 73rd, only 3 states out of 5 selected states, immediately initiated for
election which can be seen in below fig.1. Frequency of Elections after 1957 should be at least 7 on the
basis of every 5 years period (1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, and 1989). From the below given
table 1, it can be observed that no state had shown this performance. This was primarily because consti-
tution and Election of Panchayat was not mandatory. So, the states don’t show their willingness to hold
election on regular intervals.
Table1: Frequency of Election since 1957 and after 73rd Amendment till 2010
S.N.
States
Frequency of Election Since
1957 and before 73rd Amend-
ment
Frequency of Election Since 73rd
Amendment
1.
Andhra Pradesh
5
3

6
2.
Assam
NA
3
3.
Gujarat
6
3
4.
Haryana
NA
4
5.
Madhya Pradesh
4
4
Figure 1: Comparative graphical representation of Election during different years
After 73rd amendment, till 1995, 80% of the sates conducted Election of PRIs due to mandatory provi-
sion of Constitution of PRIs and conduction of election. After amendments frequency of Election till
2010 should be 4 (1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010). Some of the states also conducted their election in 1994.
Only 2 states out of 5 selected states conducted their election as per schedule.
2. Devolution of Functions:

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The commission on Scottish Devolution defines devolution as “a process of decentralization in which
power and responsibility is moved outwards and downwards and hence to the people”. This definition is
nearest to the Indian pattern of Governance in the form of Union and States and then constructing three
tier structure of governance as in the form of Panchayati Raj. It is a way to decentralize the power to
local people as in the way of Gram Sabha which deliberates on every single issue concerning the public
issue of their village- Governance, development and services etc.
The 73rd Amendment, 1992, U/A 243G, 11th Schedule gives 29 functions/ subjects which should be
devolved to the PRIs. As per the guidelines issued by the Planning Commission on 25/08/06, activity
mapping of functions should be undertaken before the commencement of the Eleventh Plan. Here anal-
ysis has been done whether states have devolved all the functions or not as it is very important for the
effective local self governance. Devolution shows the willingness of the specific state to decentralize its
power to speed up the village level development.
Table2: Devolution of functions
S.N.
Name of the States
No. of Devolved functions
1.
Andhra Pradesh
Not every (10)
2.
Assam
Not every (23)
3.
Gujarat
Not every (19)
4.
Haryana
All(29)
5.
Madhya Pradesh
Not every (20)

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Figure 2: No. of Devolved Functions
From the above figure and table, it is very clear that 80% states didn’t devolve all functions to the PRIs.
This shows lack of activity mapping. Only 3 states out of selected 5 states have devolved 20 or more
functions / subjects. Until and unless, devolution of these functions to the PRIs have been done, actual
purpose of constitutional amendment act will not be achieved.
3. Representation of Women: The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution’s
Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Constitution not only
grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in
favour of women. Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, Plans
and programmes have aimed at women’s empowerment and development. Also, according to the 73rd
amendment, PRIs have 33% mandatory reservation for women and it has been implemented in all over
states.
Table 3: Women Representatives at different level
S.N.
States
Women Representative ( in percentage)
Village
Panchayat
Intermediary
Panchayat
District Pan-
chayat

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1.
Andhra Pradesh
53.4
33.07
33.54
2.
Assam
39.20
36.83
34.62
3.
Gujarat
33
33
33
4.
Haryana
37
34
35
5.
Madhya Pradesh
33.9
33.4
34.4
Source: The States of Panchayats: 2007-08, Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Figure 3: Women Representatives at each level of Panchayats
This section deals with reservation for women , whether the states have successfully implemented it or
not and if yes, whether they have worked beyond this provision? The 73rd amendment provides not less
than 33% reservation for women. According to above figure and table it is observed that 80% states
have gone beyond the 33% reservation. In Andhra Pradesh at Village Panchayat, it is more than 50 %(
53.4%). But it is widely observed that despite all this reservation, the ground level condition is not as
good as it should be. In our male dominated society, husbands are influencing their wife’s working as
PRI representative and sometimes openly exercising power’s of their wives. The problem of Pati-
Representative is widely seen because these female PRI representatives are still untrained, illiterate and
unaware about their rights etc.

10
4 Own Financial Resources:
The states have been given certain taxation power, to mobilize their own financial resources. The power
of Panchayats to impose taxes was considered imperative to enshrine in the constitution under article
243H, to impart certainty, continuity and strength to Panchayats. The Union Minister of State for rural
development, G Venkat Swami said while moving the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Bill in Parlia-
ment,
‘Constitution (73rd Amendment) Amendment cast a duty on the centre as well as the states to
establish and nourish the village Panchayats so as to make them effective self-governing institu-
tions….We feel that unless the Panchayats are provided with adequate financial strength, it will be im-
possible for them to grow in nature.’
Table4: Own Revenue of Panchayats (All tiers) (Rs. Crore)
S.N.
States
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
Annual Growth in 2005-08 (%)
1.
Andhra Pradesh
363.7
386.8
495.7
36.29
2.
Assam
9.4
13.1
16.7
77.65
3.
Gujarat
86.0
106.5
142.2
65.35
4.
Haryana
260.2
280.6
270.3
3.88
5.
Madhya Pradesh
66.0
47.5
55.8
-15.45

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Figure 4: Own Revenue of Panchayats (All tiers) (Rs. Crore)
Figure 5: Annual Growth in 2005-08

12
The above figure 4 shows that Andhra Pradesh has show consistency in collecting own revenue with
highest in terms of revenue among the above five states and figure 5 shows Assam with highest revenue
growth % (77.65%) and on the other hand Madhya Pradesh with negative revenue growth % (-15.45%)
in during 2005-08 which is lowest among the studied five states. This strength is very crucial for effec-
tiveness of PRI as it can implement some schemes and also improve functioning of other schemes at its
own level. Andhra Pradesh has achieved good local self governance largely due to PRIs own financial
resources.
5. State Finance Commission:
Panchayats rely more on fiscal transfer from the state government in the form of shared taxes and grants.
State taxes are shared according to the recommendations of the State Finance Commission (SFC). Con-
stitution of SFC at a regular interval of five years is a mandatory requirement for states. Beside tax shar-
ing, the SFC is assigned the task of reviewing the financial position of Panchayats and making recom-
mendations on the assignment of various taxes, duties, tolls, fees and grants in aid to be given to Pan-
chayats from the consolidated fund of the states.
Table 5: Date of Constitution and Submission of Reports by SFCii
S.N.
States
Date of Constitution of SFC
Date of Submission of Re-
port to SFC
Time Gap between
Constitution and
Submission(Yr.)
1st SFC
2nd
SFC
3rd
SFC
1st SFC
2nd
SFC
3rd
SFC
1st
SFC
2nd
SFC
3rd
SFC
1.
Andhra
Pradesh
22.6.94
8.12.98
29.12.0
4
30.5.97
19.8.02
31.12.0
9
3
3.5
5
2.
Assam
23.6.95
18.4.01
6.2.06
29.2.96
18.8.03
27.3.08
1
2.5
2
ii If months are more than 6 months, it is counted as whole year and less than 6 months counted as half year.

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3.
Gujarat
15.9.94
19.11.0
3
iii
13.7.98
June 06
iv
4
3.5
v
4.
Haryana
31.5.94
6.9.200
0
22.12.0
5
31.3.97
30.9.04
31.12.0
8
3
4
3
5.
Madhya
Pradesh
25.02.9
5
17.06.9
9
19.7.05
20.4.96
Dec.03
1.11.08
1
4.5
3.5
The above table shows that no state constituted their respective SFCs on scheduled time intervals and
accordingly submission of report had also been delayed. Due to the delay in submission of SFC Report
on time, Central Finance Commission provides ad-hoc fund to the bodies. So, the exact requirement of
fund at the level of PRIs was very hard to be estimated and PRIs always got ad-hoc grant. In case of Gu-
jarat, Third Finance Commission has not been constituted and therefore, as above discussed, PRIs do not
get required grant.
Figure 6: Comparative Analysis of Period Taken for Submission of Reports by different SFCS
iii 3rd SFC not constituted
iv 3rd SFC not constituted
v 3rd SFC not constituted

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From fig. 6, it can be observed that no SFC has given its report within a yearvi.
6. Audit of Panchayat:
Audit is the verification of the accuracy and correctness of the books of accounts by an independent
person qualified for the job and not in any way connected with the preparation of such accounts. So, it
can be said that audit is one of the most important part for functioning of Panchayats. Panchayats at all
level have different source of funds but these bodies don’t follow standard audit procedures, in return
there is no accountability. Government should strengthen the institutional framework for conduct of
prudent and accountable fiscal policy and pave the way for promoting greater transparency is utilization
of funds. There is no legal and institutional framework to bring fiscal accountability and transparency in
panchyats.
Table 6: Audit
S.N.
States
Audit
1.
Andhra Pradesh
Yes
2.
Assam
Yes
3.
Gujarat
Yes
4.
Haryana
Yes
5.
Madhya Pradesh
Yes
Every states has implemented audit to the Panchayats. But still there is no proper utilization of the funds
at all tiers of panchayats. Audit had been conducted to check fund utilization only and also to ensure the
release of next fund installment.
7. Panchayat Window (Allocation of fund) in State Budget:
vi The specific time period of submission of report of SFC could not be found.

15
It is well known that local development is primary responsibility of PRIs but they have been established
only to fulfill 73rd constitutional amendment mandate. There are no dedicated resources for these bodies
and they are dependent entirely upon government grants and allocation. This section discusses whether
states have separate provision for Panchayats in their state budget or not. This dedicated fund allocation
mechanism is very crucial for proper functioning of PRIs. Panchayat window shows the state’s willing-
ness to resolve the financial crisis in PRIs. It should be noted that bodiesvii have the limited sources to
cater their financial needs and hence they have to be dependent on State.
Table 7: Panchayat Window (Allocation of Fund) in State Budget
S.N.
States
Panchayat Window
1.
Andhra Pradesh
No
2.
Assam
NA
3.
Gujarat
NA
4.
Haryana
Yes(Under consideration)
viii
5.
Madhya Pradesh
Yes
The table-7 shows that only just one state (Madhya Pradesh) has given separate provision for PRIs and
one state (Haryana) has done it partially. One state (Andhra Pradesh) does not have separate window for
Panchayats. The information of rest two states could not be found
8.1 Gram Sabha Meetings:
Meetings of the Gram Sabha are convened to ensure the development of the people through their partic-
ipation and mutual co-operation. The annual budget and the development schemes for the village are
placed before the Gram Sabha for consideration and approval. The Sarpanch and his associates answer
the questions put by the people. The different problems and difficulties of the people are also discussed
vii Bodies mean PRIs i.e. Local Bodies.
viii The departments concerned have also been advised to create a Panchayat Window in budget of the department; however,
the progress is slow.

16
in the Gram Sabha. All decisions of community development are bound to be discussed in Gram Sabha
meetings only.
Figure 7: Frequency of Gram Sabha Meetings in Year
Gram Sabha provides a platform for Participatory Democracy which ensures mobilization of people col-
lective decision making. In the above figure we can find there is no uniform frequency of meetings.
Worrying side of this fact is that meetings are mostly on paper, very few villagers actually participate in
these meetings. Sometimes, people are not informed about holding of meeting. In this way Sarpanch do
whatever they want to do without actual consent of villagers. This trend in almost in all panchayats and
due to this corruption is spreading and villagers are losing their faith towards the system.
8.2 Mahila Sabhas
The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental
Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to wom-
en, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. With-
in the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, Plans and programmes have
aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres. Therefore it is important to organize meetings for
resolving the matter related to women. The meeting should be called on suitable time so that larger no.
of women can participate in it. So, constitution of Mahila Sabh within Gram Panchayat is crucial.

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Table 8: Constitution of Mahila Sabha
S.N.
States
Constitution of Mahila Sabha
1.
Andhra Pradesh
No
2.
Assam
No
3.
Gujarat
No
4.
Haryana
No
5.
Madhya Pradesh
No
It is clear from above table that no states have constituted Mahila Sabhas.
8.3 Ward Sabhas:
Before holding a meeting of Gram Sabha, due to lack of publicity made, it is not possible for people to
attend the meeting of Gram Sabha. It is not feasible for every person to attend the meeting of Gram Sab-
ha. So, there should be holding of meetings at ward level also, it will help in exploring different devel-
opment needs.
Table 9: Constitution of Ward Sabha
S.N.
States
Constitution of ward Sabha
1.
Andhra Pradesh
No
2.
Assam
No
3.
Gujarat
No
4.
Haryana
No
5.
Madhya Pradesh
No

18
It is clear from above table that no states have initiated to constitute a ward Sabha. Surely, it is very sad-
dening because these ward sabhas are important forum for people mobilisation.
9. Social Audit:
Social Audit is part of checks and balances of Democratic Local Governance ensuring the say of all
concerned (i.e. all stakeholder of the concerned programme). Social audit is a way of measuring, under-
standing, reporting and ultimately improving an organization’s social and ethical performance. It is a
technique to understand, measure, verify, report on and to improve the social performance of the organi-
zation. Social auditing creates an impact upon governance. It values the voice of stakeholders, including
marginalized/poor groups whose voices are rarely heard. Social auditing is taken up for the purpose of
enhancing local governance, particularly for strengthening accountability and transparency in local bo-
dies.
Table 10: Status of conduction of Social Audit
S.N.
States
Status of Social Audit
1.
Andhra Pradesh
No
2.
Assam
Yes
3.
Gujarat
No
ix
4.
Haryana
No
x
5.
Madhya Pradesh
Yes
xi
It is very important to note whether the states have established mechanism to conduct social audit or not.
Only 3 out of 5 studied states have not established mechanism to conduct social audit which shows their
ix There is no provision for the Social Audit. Government misinterprets the social audit i.e. it causes problem for public.
xThere is no special provision for Social Audit. But it is found only in MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Em-
ployment Guarantee Act).
xi Provision for Social Audit based on the Annual Accounts.

19
lack of interest towards transparency and accountability in PRI. Wherever it is being implemented, vil-
lagers have come out in larger no. and expressed their complaints against various irregularities in devel-
opment works.
10. Regularity in Annual Report Making:
It is necessary to draft Annual Report at Panchayat level for promoting transparency, accountability and
understanding about working of Panchayat. In this study (see table no.11) no states have regularity in
Annual Report making, in other words one can say that it is ignored. Panchayati raj Department of con-
cerned States should enforce making and publishing of Annual report which should be focused on all
development work with detail on regular intervals.
Table 11: Regularity in Annual Report Making
S.N.
States
Regularity
1.
Andhra Pradesh
NA
xii
2.
Assam
No
3.
Gujarat
No
4.
Haryana
No
5.
Madhya Pradesh
No
Findings and Recommendations
1. The regular conduct of election in PRIs before 73rd Amendment and even after 73rd amendment is
not found. This shows that the states do not have willingness to conduct election on regular intervals. In
today’s scenario all villagers know the importance of panchayat elections but their major interest is to
have seat in Panchayat rather than good governance in Panchayats.
xii NA means Not Available.

20
Recommendation: There should be mandatory provisions for conducting Panchayat elections. To check
this trend, election process of Panchayats has to be drastically improved and strengthened. State Election
Commissions should be given more autonomy and powers to hold free and fare Panchayat elections.
2. However, 73rd Amendment provides 33% mandatory reservation for women. Few states have gone
beyond this and provide 50% reservation. Although every state has implemented mandatory reservation
criteria but the problem has been observed as Husband (Pati-Pradhan) Representation of women pan-
chayat representative. It negates overall process of women empowerment.
Recommendation: There should be an awareness drive at each Gram Sabha level and incentives should
be given to ensure physical representation of Women Representatives at every level of Panchayats with-
out their husband (Pati). Capacity building programmes for women panchayat representatives should be
planned and executed properly to ensure their greater participation.
3. Despite teething problems, PRIs have come to occupy an important role in the lives of the poorest.
We do have some very good examples of Panchayats that are functioning for inclusive development of
villagers.
Recommendation: So, it is obligatory for the states to move forward and devolve powers and duties
through legislative and administrative channels to local government to keep promises given under 73rd
amendment of Indian Constitution.
4. All levels of PRIs are dependent on state Government for their financial resource and they do not
have own structure to mobilize resources or levy taxes. PRIs are not utilizing their other resources avail-
able to improve employment in villages. Also, No efforts have been done to promote Khadi, Village and
cottage industries at village level. Revenue mobilization at the level of PRIs is negligible and nothing
has been done to give powers to Panchayats for mobilizing revenue through tax collection.
Recommendation: Some specific categories should be marked to Panchyats for tax collection as Jhark-
hand government has done for sand mining and some officers should also be appointed at Panchayat
level.
5. Many stakeholders are working for development of villages but everybody is working at their own
level only, there is lack of coordination and that is why development process is so transparent and effec-

21
tive as it should be. Very few efforts have been done to enlarge the livelihood basket of poor, unem-
ployed and vulnerable sections of society.
Recommendation: All stakeholders like private agencies / companies, NGOs, Co-operatives and Pan-
chayats should work in proper coordination to improve the development and infrastructure of villages.
They all should work in tandem to ensure better livelihood for villagers and this can be realized with the
introduction of PPCP (Public-Private-Community-Partnership) development model.
6. From the analysis, it is clear that Report Making is not been done on regular pattern, whether it is SFC
report, Annual Report and etc.
Recommendation: There should be administrative accountability mechanism to ensure completion and
submission of reports within time schedule. Report making and publishing in public domain is necessary
for promoting transparency at each and every level.
7. Very few Gram sabha meetings are conducted honestly and participation of villagers is very less due
to several factors. From th analysis it is clear that meetings have been organized but they are mostly on
paper. It is also another form of corruption and PRI representatives are misusing Gram Sabha meetings.
Recommendation: Conduction of Gram Sabha meetings is very crucial for the local self governance as
well as accountability of PRI representatives towards common villagers. There should be provision for
holding of Gram Sabha meeting in camera so that actual physical participation can be recorded.
At the end…
Clearly, measures are needed whereby the poor can participate more effectively through PRIs and local
informal groups and people’s movements. Measures are required for addressing the difficulties of insti-
tutionalising the participation of the poor in PRI functioningxiii. This involves removing the legislative
and procedural problems that constrain the Gram Sabha, greater devolution of funds, functions and func-
tionaries, putting in place mechanisms of audit and accountability and strengthening the participation of
women. For realising the progressive intent of national goals, elected local government institutions must
be helped to become vehicles for social transformation, articulating felt needs of the community, espe-
cially those of women and marginalised groups.
xiiiDecentralisation in India, Challenges & Opportunities, Discussion Paper Series-1, UNDP, available at
http://data.undp.org.in/hdrc/dis-srs/Challenges/DecentralisationCO.pdf

22
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