Decentralised Governance in India: An Evaluation in Context of Panchayati Raj Institutions
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561231177038 |
| Author | Rajbir Singh Dalal,Sandeep Dhilon |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Decentralised
Governance in India:
An Evaluation in
Context of Panchayati
Raj Institutions
Rajbir Singh Dalal1 and Sandeep Dhilon2
Abstract
The world’s largest democratic system of governance is a main feature of India.
Democracy requires that there should be public participation, transparency and
accountability in governance. Governance is a process in which ‘full benefit of demo-
cratic government could not be realized unless the society admits and believes that all
problems in their incidence require decision at the place and by the people, by whom
the incidence is most deeply felt’. The process of ushering in social change and economic
development in a developing country like India requires adequate dissemination so that
local committees and individuals could participate and bring local energy, enthusiasm,
initiatives and resources under ideal local conditions to work out local developmental
activities. The form of democratic decentralisation in India is visible in Panchayati Raj
Institutions (PRIs). These institutions have been given a constitutional form by the 73rd
Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992. The Panchayati Raj (PR) system in its present
form has been in operation for the last over 70 years which is sufficient time to evaluate
the objectives of its implementation. Therefore, it is pertinent and necessary to do an
analysis of democratic decentralised governance in India in respect of PRIs. The present
paper is an effort to highlight and understand constitutional provisions vis-a-vis reality
of democratic decentralisation and PRIs in India. What are the main constraints in reali-
sation of the constitutional obligations before these bodies of democratic governance
and how can these be overcome?
Keywords
73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, local administration, development,
Panchayati Raj Institutions, democratic decentralisation
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
69(3) 638–650, 2023
© 2023 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561231177038
journals.sagepub.com/home/ipa
1 Department of Public Administration, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India.
2 Department of Political Science, Central University of Haryana, JantPali, Haryana, India.
Corresponding author:
Rajbir Singh Dalal, Department of Public Administration, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa,
Haryana 125055, India.
E-mail: rajbirsinghdalal@gmail.com
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