Assignment Code: MDV-111/TMA/2021-22

Course Code: MDV-111

Assignment Name: Local Self Governance and Development

Year: 2021-22

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Marks: 100

Q1) Define decentralization. Discuss at least three merits and limitations of democratic decentralization.

Ans) Scholars and institutions have defined decentralisation in various ways. In terms of definitions, there is no agreement. Decentralization ideas and explanations are largely derived from the basic discipline of public administration. Although some of the definitions and explanations appear to be identical, they are not. As a result, adequate comprehension is required; otherwise, you will become lost in the jungle of expressions and explanations. In the case of decentralisation, there are a few push factors at work. As a result, some of the definitions supplied by decentralization-promoting entities must be understood.

The World Bank defines decentralisation in the following ways. "The transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the central government to intermediate and local governments, quasi-independent government organisations, and/or the private sector" is defined as "the transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the central government to intermediate and local governments, quasi-independent government organisations, and/or the private sector." It is a multifaceted and sophisticated idea. There are several forms of decentralisation that should be defined since they have diverse characteristics, policy ramifications, and success requirements.

Political, administrative, fiscal, and commercial decentralisation are all examples of decentralisation. The essential part, though, remains intact. The UNDP has since defined it as well. According to the UNDP, decentralisation is a reorganisation of authority based on the principle of subsidiarity, resulting in a system of co-responsibility between institutions of government at the central, regional, and local levels. Functions (or tasks) are delegated to the lowest institutional or social level capable (or theoretically capable) of executing them, based on this idea. Decentralisation refers to the role and connection of central and subnational institutions, whether public, private, or municipal in nature.

Merits

1. Deepening of Democracy: Democracy and its practises must become ingrained in the culture of the greater society. It extends beyond the national and state legislatures. There will be a unit for governance in each residential unit. There will be a process of mutual discussion and consideration, and a consensus conclusion will be reached based on the above. It is a way of life in which everyone is respected and treated equally. All institutions involved in practising democracy in taking collective decisions through a process of discourse, from the grassroots to the national parliament. As a result, decentralisation is a process that broadens and deepens democracy.

2. Ensuring People’s Participation: Until now, beneficiaries and petitioners have been treated as proud citizens and stakeholders, allowing them to engage in the decision-making process and feel as if they are in control of their own destiny on problems that touch their lives. Participation in the decision-making process will be based on the opportunity, skill, and capacity of the stakeholders. When powers are decentralised, every social section will have a chance to participate in decision-making bodies.

3. Using Local Skills and Knowledge: Decentralization allows development to become more localised and in the hands of local people. As a result, community participation will be used to harness the knowledge and skills of the locals. Skill upgradation will take place in order to make use of local talents and knowledge for the market. Appropriate technologies are also used to manufacture marketable goods and articles by utilising people's skills and knowledge. As a result, by adopting newer technology to the global market, local talents and knowledge would be utilised. By adopting newer technology to the global market, local talents and knowledge will be utilised.

Demerits

1. Substitute Creation: Decentralisation is seen as little more than a form of substitute creation at the grassroots, while political institutions at the top have failed to meet expectations. Instead of reorienting the delivery mechanism, the federal government invests heavily in institutional mechanisms.

2. Enabling Elites to Capture Power: Decentralisation allows the grassroots elites to seize power and act as friends of the central authority. People who are unable to be accommodated in apex entities find opportunity at the grassroots, where they act as supporters to the ruling elites at the top.

3. Shifting the tasks: The federal government delegated tasks and obligations that it deemed too costly and difficult to carry out at the local level. It shifts the blame in this way. When services are not given adequately, it now slips the balance of the people.

Q2) What do you understand by people’s participation in governance and development? In what ways it is better for grassroots development?

Ans) Simply said, participation means taking part in something. In the framework of development theories, participation refers to all those who are directly involved in the decision-making process that will have an impact on their life. "How participation is defined is mainly determined by the context and setting in which it is used. While the Economic Commission for Latin America regards people's contributions to public programmes to be participation to the exclusion of any engagement in the decision-making process. According to Cohen and Uphoff, participation entails people's involvement in the entire decision-making process. FAO emphasises people's involvement in all decision-making processes, but through their own organisations and self-organized actions. As the ultimate goal of involvement, Paul presents the concept of enhancement of well-being in terms of values treasured by communities."

There are two extremes to participation. It can start with passive participation, in which people are told what will happen or has happened. People are simply objects at the mercy of action. Self-mobilization, on the other hand, is when people participate in system change without relying on external institutions. Participation begins with the product's conception and continues through its delivery and consumption. The procedure entails making decisions at various levels that are not influenced by external factors. Participation can be divided into stages, each with a different level of involvement.

Ways for Better Grassroots Development

"Participation of the people is the essence of development." Money, material, resources, technology, and people are only a few of the factors that go into development. Human factors are the most important of all the social components. The pivot around which the entire development process is supposed to revolve is people."

The above phrase emphasises the importance of people's involvement in the development process. The means of development have been hotly disputed since cultures began to strive for progress. The top-down approach to development, based on the trickle-down hypothesis, was emphasised in the early stages of development. During this phase, the emphasis was on planning at the top with focus on achieving higher growth rate. This strategy was founded on the idea that centralised planning generates greater growth, which then cascades down to the grass roots. "Modernisation theories were so ubiquitous in the 1950s and 1960s that it was nearly impossible to distinguish modernisation from development tied to capitalism and economic growth."

However, the knowledge collected during this period revealed that these development policies were failing to combat poverty and hunger. Even a faster pace of growth was insufficient to assure equal development, and discrepancies in development levels remained or widened. Participation as a concept and a development strategy arose from the post-Industrial Revolution period's severe disenchantment with the established development plan. The experiences of the Fifties and Sixties have highlighted the fundamental weakness of the Top down, GNP focused, growth-oriented approach of development based on professional skills and modernised technologies. During this time, the development strategy stressed economic expansion and industrialization in the setting of increased centralised planning and control over resource distribution.

People no longer get development as a favour or a privilege. It has to be centred on them. Because they are weak and un-endowed, they cannot be viewed as mute observers, objects, or passive receivers. They are believed to be the driving forces behind progress at any particular period. While the FAO emphasises the importance of citizen participation in government and development, it also lists a number of measures to improve citizen participation.

1. Participation by information - a unilateral means of providing information

   to people without seeking their response.

2. Participation in information giving – people do not participate in process

   of decisions making but are encouraged to share their views.

3. Consultation – People participate by being consulted; – Programs and plans are subject to change based on public feedback and input. The same is, however, not required.

4. Joint Planning – People take part in collaborative planning, analysis, and development of new approaches. Local groups have authority over local decisions; therefore they have a vested interest in keeping institutions and practises in place.

5. Decision making - When a group decides to act on a consensus, it signifies the beginning of shared responsibilities for the results that may ensue.

6. Empowerment - The ultimate goal of participation is for the local community to have the right and ability to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

Q3) Describe important features of Kerala model of democratic decentralization planning.

Ans) Salient features of Decentralized Planning of Kerala are as follows:

Transparency and Accountability

Because significant tasks have been delegated to local governments, accountability systems have taken on a new significance. In keeping with local government functioning and participatory budgeting, new forms of downward accountability to the people have been built in, in addition to established systems of checks and balances. The following are the main accountability systems:

Committee System of Decision making

Local governments are required to make all decisions by consensus or by vote. Individuals do not hold all of the power.

Right to Information

The right to information is a democratic right that assures information accessibility and is one of the best measures of a society's democratisation. This is one of the byproducts of Kerala's democratic decentralisation process. The people's impotence and the bureaucracy's mystification of administration never yield the fruits of democratic decentralisation. People have the right to know about development decisions and how public funds are used when the right to information is in place. The ability to be scrutinised by the public leads to increased accountability and responsiveness. It is required that all panchayat records be made available to the public for inspection, note-taking, and copying. Penal provisions have also been incorporated in the act to punish citizens who are denied this important right.

Participatory Budgeting

A budget, particularly for development projects, evolves through a multi-stage planning process that allows for community participation and intervention, expert engagement, and final budgeting before being approved by elected officials. This is sufficient protection against arbitrary decisions.

Due Process in Selection of Beneficiaries

This is ensured through the following steps:

1. Clear enunciation of eligibility criteria and prioritization criteria at the time of scheme formulation.

2. Assigning weightages to each prioritization criterion.

3. Calling of application in writing.

4. Enquiry process into applications with awarding of marks to each criterion.

5. Reading out of marks in grama sabha/ward sabha.

6. Opportunity to each applicant to see all records including application forms of others.

Technical Sanction

The process of granting technical approval has been removed from the technical hierarchy of the department. At the block/municipal/corporation/district level, technical committees comprised of engineering specialists from governmental, academia, and nongovernmental sources have been formed. This provides some protection against estimate inflation and technical standard dilution.

Audit System

With the accountant general's technical assistance, the traditional audit system through the local fund audit department has been enhanced. A specific concurrent audit system has been devised, which will be staffed by surplus personnel from the panchayat and urban affairs departments and led by an official from the Indian audit and accounts service. Performance audit is an online remedial method that assists local governments in putting their systems in appropriate working order. All municipal governments conduct a performance audit twice a year. The accountant general audits grant-in-aid, including village panchayats, because the minimum grant-in-aid to a grama panchayat is Rs.25 lakhs. At the state level, a technical audit team was formed, consisting primarily of senior engineers from outside government who were chosen for their honesty. This group investigates complaints about public works projects.

Social Audit

The community can use social audit as a control tool to monitor the functioning of local governments and how public funds are spent. Grama sabhas are a useful tool for conducting social audits. The performance and use of financial resources can be examined by citizens' representatives in the social auditing system, and it can be reported to Grama Sabha meetings, with suggestions for corrective steps given to the LSGIs in the case of failures. The experience of several Panchayats demonstrates that it is a powerful tool for community accountability and control over LSGIs.

Citizens’ Charter

A provision for citizens' charter has been inserted in the Kerala panchayat raj act to ensure an ensured standard of service to the people and to lead the LSGIs towards performance improvement. As a result, each panchayat must issue a citizens charter outlining the service standards that it would provide to all citizens. This provision's operational benefit is that it will increase transparency and is the best safeguard against corruption and nepotism. This instrument can be used by local governments to assess the performance of various transferred entities. This will also serve to improve officials' accountability to the local government and the general public.

Ombudsman

The Ombudsman is a cost-effective method for preventing corruption in local governments' administration and development functions. Even the government can entrust the investigation of complaints against LSGIs to the ombudsman. The ombudsman system extends beyond the court process to guarantee that grievances are resolved quickly and that the system is improved. The Ombudsman will keep a constant eye on the administrative process and will be able to spot wrongdoing early on (Report of the Committee on Decentralization of Powers, 1997). Originally, there was a seven-member team, but the act was revised in 2001, and the ombudsman's size was reduced to one. It has been demonstrated that the ombudsman is one of the most efficient, cost-effective, and authoritative grievance redress methods available, and that it is useful in ensuring responsible local administration.

Appellate Tribunals

This is yet another tool that citizens can utilise to prevent local governments from making arbitrary decisions. Citizens have the right to appeal judgments made by local governments when exercising regulatory responsibilities such as issuing licences, permits, and certificates. The appellate tribunal is a district judge-level judicial officer. Appeals against LSGI decisions, as well as revision applications, are heard by the appellate tribunal. Citizens can come before the tribunal themselves to ensure informality and save money for both the Panchayat and the citizens.

Q4) Discuss the key features of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment and its implementation process.

Ans) The main feature of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment are:

1. The establishment of a three-tier organisation consisting of a village panchayat (gramme panchayat), an intermediate panchayat (panchayat samiti), and a district panchayat (zilla parishad).

2. Elections are held every five years;

3. Seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be restored in proportion to their numbers.

4. At each of the three levels of the PRIs, at least one-third of the seats must be reserved for women.

5. Establishment of State Finance Commissions to make recommendations on how to enhance panchayat finances;

6. Elections to the PRIs will be conducted by state election commissions.

7. Establishment of District Planning Committees to draught district-level development plans;

8. Preparation of economic development and social justice plans, as well as implementation of 29 subjects stated in the Constitution's 11th Schedule;

9. grama sabhas (village assemblies) should be established and empowered as a decision-making body at the village level.

10. In the PRIs, rotation is done in compliance with the allocation of seats for women and Scheduled Castes. The main characteristics are envisioned in the 73rd constitutional amendment.

Q5) What do you understand by PESA? What are the mandatory powers of Gram Sabha or Panchayats in PESA Act, 1996?

Ans) According to the 73rd amendment, implementing Part IX for a panchayat structure in the country does not apply immediately to these places; instead, unique rules and amendments would be introduced by following legislations. Parliament passed an Act titled "The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996; number. 40 of 1996" on December 24, 1996, to accomplish this. PESA is the acronym for the Protecting Environmental Standards Act.

Tribes will be granted self-governance under this Act. Tribal customary laws, social and religious rituals, and traditions are all carefully preserved. It also allows tribes to govern their own affairs. This is a piece of legislation that has a long history. It has some distinguishing characteristics. Mandatory and general provisions are the two types of provisions that can be found. The mandatory provisions must be followed.

Mandatory Powers

1. Any legislation relating to Panchayats in tribal areas must be consistent with customary law, social and religious norms, and traditional community resource management techniques.

2. A village is made up of a habitation, a group of habitations, a hamlet, or a collection of hamlets that make up a community and manage its affairs according to traditional and customary practises.

3. Every village should have a Gram Sabha made up of people whose names appear on the electoral rolls.

4. Empowering the gramme sabha to protect and preserve the people's traditions, customs, and cultural identity, as well as community resources and traditional means of resolving local conflicts.

5. Beneficiaries for poverty alleviation and other programmes should be identified and selected by the gramme sabha.

6. Every village panchayat must get a certificate of use of funds from the gramme sabha for social and economic development projects and programmes funded by the state's poverty alleviation and other programmes.

7. Acquisition of land for development projects, as well as rehabilitation or resettlement of people displaced by such projects in scheduled areas, must be done in collaboration with the appropriate gramme sabha or panchayat. The projects' planning and implementation will be coordinated at the state level.

8. Minor water bodies in these areas must be managed and planned by panchayats at the appropriate level.

9. Only on the recommendations of the gramme sabha or panchayat at the appropriate level can a prospecting licence or land lease for minor mineral mining be granted.

10. Concessions for the exploitation of minor minerals by auction must be granted based on the recommendations of the appropriate gramme sabha or panchayat.

11. Apart from these powers and functions, the gramme sabha or panchayats at the appropriate level shall have the following mandatory powers: to enforce prohibition or to regulate and restrict the sale and consumption of any intoxicant; to own minor forest produce and manage all types of village markets; to prevent land alienation and to take appropriate action to restore any unlawfully alienated land of a scheduled tribe in scheduled areas; to exercise c

12. Seats reserved for scheduled tribes at all tiers of panchayats shall not be less than one-half of the total number of seats, and seats reserved for other communities listed in Part IX of the constitution shall be based on their population share.

13. At all panchayat levels, the role of chairperson would be reserved for scheduled tribes.

14. In the event of scheduled tribes that do not have representation at the intermediate or district level panchayats, the state government must propose someone to represent them, however the number of people nominated cannot exceed one-tenth of the total elected members in the panchayat.

15. When delegating powers and authority to panchayats, it's important to make sure that higher-level panchayats don't take over the powers and authority of lower-level panchayats or the gramme sabha.

16. When developing the administrative arrangements for the district level panchayat, the sixth schedule of the constitution must be followed.

According to the Act, every village must have a Gram Sabha made up of people whose names are on the village Panchayat electoral lists. Furthermore, a village is made up of a habitation or group of habitations, or a hamlet or group of hamlets, all of which form a community and manage its affairs according to traditions and customs. The Act includes a definition of village that is not included in the 73rd amendment. It's worth noting that the Gram Sabha has been given significant power. The main 73rd Act makes no mention of the Gram Sabha's unique role. As a result, it is critical that decision-making rests with the people, and that it serves as a platform for deliberative democracy.

The Gram Sabha has been assigned with the following functions:

1. Before plans, programmes, and initiatives for social and economic development are taken up for implementation by the panchayat at the village level, they must be approved.

2. Be in charge of identifying and selecting people to be beneficiaries of poverty alleviation and other programmes.

3. Every village should have a Gram Sabha made up of people whose names appear on the electoral rolls.

4. Empowering the gramme sabha to protect and preserve the people's traditions, customs, and cultural identity, as well as community resources and traditional means of resolving local conflicts.

5. Acquisition of land for development projects, as well as rehabilitation or resettlement of people displaced by such projects in scheduled areas, must be done in collaboration with the appropriate gramme sabha or panchayat. The projects' planning and implementation will be coordinated at the state level.