India believed it could take development closer to its people, make the government more accountable, and empower women and oppressed communities through decentralisation—the provision of political and financial autonomy at the local level through the three-tier Panchayati Raj structure.

Fifteen years after the 73rd and 74th Amendments that brought in this innovation, what is the performance of the local government in India? Decentralisation, Governance and Development provides a comprehensive assessment that answers this question.

Drawing from the examples of the two states where decentralisation has been most successful—Kerala and West Bengal—this volume explores the causes and effects of failures in implementation and issues of governance. These essays by scholars from diverse disciplines, as well as policymakers and practitioners, will equip readers with both a theoretical understanding of the issues concerning local government, and the practical problems of designing and implementing policy framework in the field.

This book will be useful to students and scholars of development studies, economics, political science and sociology, and public servants and policymakers.

Pranab Kumar Das is Associate Professor of Economics, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta.

Foreword by Dilip Mookherjee
Introduction by Pranab Kumar Das

part i | macro policy environment

1. Decentralisation in India: Understanding its Nature and Problems by Buddhadeb Ghosh
2. Empowering Local Government in India through the  Pattern of Statutory Transfers by Indira Rajaraman
3. Monitoring a Rural Decentralisation Programme: A Review of Concurrent Evaluation Issues by Marine Mukherjee and Dilip Ghosh
4. Fiscal Decentralisation and Decentralised Financing by Sugata Marjit and Vivekananda Mukherjee

part ii | micro level studies

1. Do Gram Panchayats Get their Money? An Analysis of the State of Fiscal Devolution in Birbhum, West Bengal by Ambrish Dongre, Yamini Aiyar and Anirvan Chowdhury
2. By-laws and User Charges at the Panchayat Level: A Case Study of West Bengal by Polly Datta and Saibal Kar
3. Politics of Human Development Planning: The Case of West Bengal by Manabi Majumdar
4. Decentralisation and Health in West Bengal: A Study with Reference to Community Health Care Management Initiative by Achin Chakraborty and Subrata Mukherjee
5. Civil Registration, Local Governments and the Public Health Challenge in Kerala by D. Narayana

part iii | performance appraisal and electoral outcome

1. The ‘Information Paradox’ in Democratic Decentralisation: Some Reflections on Rural West Bengal by Dipankar Sinha
2. Decentralisation in Rural West Bengal: Reflections on Functioning, Governance and Election Outcome by Pranab Kumar Das
3. Economic Development and Political Stability: Evidence from Two Panchayat Elections in West Bengal by Chiranjib Neogi and Abhirup Sarkar

Notes on contributors
Index