Local Self-governments in India: Drivers of Decentralised Governance

Decentralisation of power is a hallmark of democratic governance. Local self-governments in India have emerged as crucial instruments of decentralised governance by empowering the local stakeholders at the grassroots. The 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendments serve as key legislative instruments that have facilitated this remarkable transition over the past three decades. These amendments, passed in 1993, made it mandatory to constitute rural and urban local governments while also establishing a structured mechanism to fund them. They prescribed a three-tier system of governance — the village, block, and district at the rural level and the town panchayats, municipalities, and corporations in the urban areas. Each of these was fixed for a term of five years (subject to a new body being elected in six months in case of dissolution). This institutionalisation of rural and urban local bodies has ensured a much-needed relative uniformity in their structure and functioning across the country.

Local self-governments in India have emerged as crucial instruments of decentralised governance by empowering the local stakeholders at the grassroots.

More importantly, it has also ensured that these local governance structures are inclusive. It provided representation to SC/STs through reservation and also ensured that one-third of the seats were reserved for women. Further, the 11th Schedule of the Indian Constitution specifically lists the 29 subjects that could be devolved to the local bodies. The PESA or Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act of 1996 brought local self-government rules to the areas listed under the 5th Schedule of the Constitution to empower the Adivasi (tribal) communities. Approximately 30 lakh elected representatives from over two lakh rural panchayat bodies and about 4,000 urban municipal bodies have been empowered to participate in local governance. Out of 3.1 million elected representatives, 1.3 million are women. The constitutional amendments have not only facilitated political empowerment at the grassroots but have also encouraged women to participate in public life and positively impact governance, which warrants a closer inquiry.

Empowered Institutions at the Grassroots

The legislation on local self-government, to ensure institutional autonomy at the grassroots, requires states to vest panchayats and municipalities with the authority “to enable them to function as institutions of self-government”. The Gram Sabhas play a crucial role in fostering self-sufficiency and sustainable development at the grassroots by leveraging local resources through transparent financial management and inclusive participation. Additionally, an amendment to the 1973 Panchayat Act was passed in 2003 to establish the Gram Unnayan Samiti, a statutory village-level standing committee of the Gram Sansad (the lowest level of the panchayat system). The Gram Unnayan Samiti ensures active participation of the people at the grassroots in the implementation, maintenance, and equitable distribution of welfare benefits. Broadly, four key elements that define the success of local self-governments are efficient welfare delivery, a bottom-up approach to governance, women's empowerment, and innovative governance initiatives.

Efficient Welfare Delivery

A review of the functioning of local governments in India highlights their positive developmental impact. They promote local economic development, socio-economic emancipation, and social justice through various governmental initiatives. It includes preparing localised developmental plans for the areas they serve; implementing a wide variety of schemes at the urban and rural levels across health, education, poverty alleviation, housing, among others. Their administrative activities, including the maintenance of village records and construction, maintenance, and repair of roads, tanks, and wells, also play a crucial role in rural development. They also dispense justice through their judicial functions to address citizens’ grievances and try petty civil and criminal cases, performed either by separate Adalati or Nyaya Panchayats or Gram Panchayats (village councils).

Bottom-up Approach

This bottom-up approach of local government plays a pivotal role in mitigating unforeseen crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, during which top-down models of governance proved to be inadequate. It not only ensured essential leadership at the local level but also helped reduce risks and offered swift medical assistance. Local governments undertook both regulatory and welfare functions. During the lockdown, they set up containment zones, arranged transportation, identified buildings to quarantine people, and provisioned food for the migrant workers. They also organised community-based surveillance systems comprising village elders, youth, and self-help groups (SHGs) to keep a strict vigil in quarantine centres and monitor symptoms in households. Further, their sustained efforts to implement welfare programmes and schemes such as MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) 2005 helped support the vulnerable population during the crisis. The role of the Gram Sabhas in ensuring adherence to pandemic norms and the regular engagement with frontline workers like ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers through committees ensured effective public service delivery.

A local self-government system has not only deepened the roots of democracy by enabling more meaningful public participation in the decision-making process but has also extended a platform of representation to the marginalised sections of the citizenry

Women Empowerment

Staying true to the spirit of democracy, local governments have empowered marginalised women from the grassroots and granted them adequate representation to engage, voice, and participate in decision-making processes. Local self-governments assist in implementing several welfare programmes for women. For example, Kudumbashree in Kerala is a comprehensive, women-centred, participatory programme aimed at eradicating poverty, and it has proven highly effective in making a significant impact. Owing to the reservation provisions, women have become an extremely crucial actor in grassroots-level governance institutions. They constitute almost 37 percent of all those elected and have even risen to 50 percent in a few states. There have been innumerable stories of effective political participation of women leaders that have resulted in a remarkable impact on local governance. This includes bringing widespread improvement in public infrastructure and service delivery, especially strengthening health and education infrastructure and creating long-term social transformation by ensuring higher enrolment of girls in schools and improving the sex ratio in many remote regions in the country.

Innovative Governance Initiatives

There are several innovative models of good governance at the local level. For instance, the Ainkhan Bhimnichak Gram Kachcheri (village court) in Bihar delivers timely justice to resolve a wide range of local disputes amicably, and is credited with resolving more than 100 cases in the past few years. Interestingly, women file more complaints in the village about issues such as illegal sale of liquor or domestic disputes, believing that the system offers an effective path to justice. Another interesting example is the Gram Panchayats of two villages in Karnataka, which adopted an innovative framework for functional street lights, a more efficient Public Distribution System (PDS), more toilets, among other things, with a monthly monitoring system for better public service delivery for the citizens, which other village councils in the state are planning to emulate. Notable self-governance initiatives were taken by the villagers of the tribal village, Barkheda, in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh to prevent the neglect and degradation of common resources. The villagers, with the aid of experts, brought about a positive change in a more responsible use of the commons for the benefit of the community, with the help of the village council.

The creation of democratic, autonomous, financially sound local institutions promises stronger democratic governance through a bottom-up approach.

Imperative of Decentralised Governance

A local self-government system has not only deepened the roots of democracy by enabling more meaningful public participation in the decision-making process but has also extended a platform of representation to the marginalised sections of the citizenry. Their effective administration and functioning have moreover brought about substantial socio-economic development and welfare. Local self-governments face ongoing challenges that require targeted solutions for effective mitigation. It includes the need to ensure greater autonomy from excessive control of state governments, removing hurdles in greater substantive women's participation, stronger emphasis on decentralised planning and addressing the limitations in the PESA Act. The creation of democratic, autonomous, financially sound local institutions promises stronger democratic governance through a bottom-up approach. It also ensures a responsive local administration to the people in the spirit of participatory governance. Hence, an empowered local governance architecture is an imperative for decentralised governance.

Ambar Kumar Ghosh is an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.

Aazeen Waquar is a Research Intern at the Observer Research Foundation.

• Domestic Politics and Governance
• India
• decentralised governance
• decentralization of governance
• local government in india gram sabha
• local self government
• local self government in india
• pesa act

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