Decentralisation and other institutions

The editor in the introduction of this book admits there is more to local governance than decentralisation. But the two terms, decentralisation and local governance, are not clearly distinguished. In India, democratic decentralisation is the focus, which is different from fiscal and administrative decentralisation. It succeeded in achieving more democratisation through representation and voice for disadvantaged groups, as reflected in large numbers of SC, ST and OBC members and women in panchayats, but not necessarily more participatory development, due to lack of fiscal and administrative decentralisation. According to Prof Niraja Gopal Jayal, decentralisation in its present form, as implemented over a decade, is an unfulfilled promise because it is minimalist in conception and design, incapable of larger achievements, and has enormous regional variations in its design and implementation as seen in the institutional structure and functioning of the panchayati raj institutions (PRI). Local governance in the form of parallel organisations, though, is prolific in the number and variety of actors involved at local levels, according to her. There are arguably multiple criteria by which particular institutions of local governance can be evaluated. Therefore, no institution of local governance, be it PRI or parallel organisations, can be proved to be better than others.

Local governance interpreted as decentralisation, at a theoretical level, has normative and instrumental appeal. Through local political participation, it ensures inclusion and promotes efficiency and equity of service, assuring accountability to the people served. But the essays do not clearly link ground observations to the theory.

The book is a collection of field-based research, capturing dimensions of local governance, including less-known aspects of the interface between the panchayats and other institutions of local governance. The case studies are thorough, empirically grounded and very well-researched. They are broadly divided into four types. The first studies the interface and tension between traditional institutions of local governance that have evolved in management of natural resources and the panchayats. The second and third review tension between the PRI and bureaucracy in the implementation of poverty alleviation programmes and social and economic infrastructure development initatives. Section four is on urban governance and the relationship between the parastatals and urban local bodies in the context of social welfare schemes like physical infrastructure development and targeting the poor. The common thread is the continued domination of bureaucracy and party elites over elected local institutions. Also, the inability of the power devolution process to keep rural development free of corruption and capture by interest groups.

While the Introduction bemoans the "unfulfilled promise of decentralization", seen at a plateau in the process, the essays indicate no such pattern. The 15 essays highlight ways in which the dynamics of interaction between parallel institutions and institutions of governance""legalised and formalised by a constitutional amendment""manifest themselves in rural and urban India. No clear pattern emerges.

Except one essay on "Developing a quantitative framework", none assumes a target-driven approach to decentralisation. They describe the lively process of negotiation between the different parallel institutions grounded in legitimacy provided by the community within which they originate, and other institutions blessed by the organs of Indian statehood.

In fact, what the papers capture rather succulently is the persistence of locally grounded institutions""they not only survive, but emerge stronger in their struggle of having it their way.

The minister for PRI, in his book release speech, highlighted six failed attempts during colonial rule at decentralisation to villages in India. Post-1947, the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments took on the task as a matter of political reform ""aimed at funds, functions and functionaries. He said India's PRI empowerment process was very different from the administrative decentralisation of the 1980s and 1990s in the West. This is about the devolution of funds to the PRIs first. Once the panchayat knows how much money it has and for what, it will use micro level planning to determine priorities. Other rural organisations are expected to help in articulating the local priorities through negotiations. The "voice and space" created within PRIs for representatives of marginal groups, as some essays highlight, would be used more frequently where these groups are successful in organising parallel institutions for addressing their concerns.

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LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN INDIA

Niraja Gopal Jayal et al. (ed)
Oxford University Press
Price: Rs 695; Pages: 426