3 Review(s)

Acquiring a Constitutional status in 1993, the Panchayati Raj Institutions in India gave the vision of a democratic governance down even to village level (the Gram Sabha) by decentralizing State’s developmental functions, finance and functionaries to PRIs, granting them autonomy so that they function as institutions of self-government, securing people’s participations in local development and ensuring accountability and transparency of the government to the people. It is not only a system of participative self-governance but it ensures political empowerment to the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed. The Constitution (73rdAmendment) Act has made Panchayats instruments of local governance with potential space for women and marginalised groups in the federal set-up. It has perceptually widened the democratic base providing the potential for local level planning and implementation of development programmes. These potentialities include the participation and self-governance by ensuring political empowerment to the poor, marginalized and oppressed — Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women — at the grassroot level. The present volume attempts to address the issues pertaining to rural governance, people’s participation, financial inclusion, environmental sustainability and watershed development initiatives. The volume contains twenty two research papers and articles contributed by senior academics, administrators and rural development activists with rich experience on the core areas of the study. In their submissions, the authors have tried to explore the existing problems faced by rural development in the aforesaid areas and present solid suggestions to revamp the system.