LG Merge

HSS F362: Local Governance and
Participation
Lecture 1 : 30-8-2022
Mohan Kumar Bera

BITS Pilani Goa Campus
Difference between government and Governance
• The words ‘government’ and ‘governance’ are

often used interchangeably, though they are not
the same.
• (a) Government is a group of people who rule or

run the administration of a country.
– It is the body of representatives that governs and
controls the State at a given time. It is the medium
through which the power of the State is employed.
• Governance, is the act of governing or ruling.
– It is the set of rules and laws framed by the government that are to
be implemented through the representatives of the State.
– Governance is the physical exercise of the polity while the
government is the body through which this is done.
• (b) Government includes the regularised body of people who

run the administration of a country.
– There can be various forms of government like, democracy, autocracy
etc., they all serve the same purpose i.e., to drive the national wheel
• Governance is the act of ruling that comes after the

government is formed. It is a function of a government.
• (c) A government is a body entrusted with the power to

make and enforce laws to govern a country.
• Governance has features such as efficiency, accountability,

transparency, responsiveness, and equity
• (d) According to Rosenau, government and governance refer

to purposive behaviour, to goal-oriented activities, to system
of rule of law.
– Government suggests activities that are backed by formal authority,
by police powers to ensure the implementation of duly constituted
policies
– Governance refers to activities backed by shared goals that may or
may not derive from legal and formally prescribed responsibilities
and that do not necessarily rely on police powers to overcome
defiance and attain compliance.
Concept of Governance
• The concept of governance had been in France in

fourteenth century. It meant ‘seat of government’.
• It has been derived from Greek word ‘Kybernan’ which

means ‘to steer and to pilot or be at the helm of things’
(Medury, 2010).
• Governance, in simple terms, means “the process of

decision-making and the process by which decisions are
implemented (or not implemented)”.
• The term ‘governance’ was first used by Harland Cleveland
(1972) as an alternative to public administration.
• According to Harland Cleveland, what people want is ‘less

government and more governance’.
• According to him “the organisations that get things done will no longer be
hierarchical pyramids with most of the real control at the top. They will be
systems – interlaced webs of tension in which control is loose, power
diffused and centres of decision plural…. Because organisations will be
horizontal, the way they are governed is likely to be more collegial,
consensual, and consultative. The bigger the problems to be tackled, the
more real power is diffused and the larger the number of persons who can
exercise it – if they work at it” (Frederickson, 2008).
• World Bank explained three aspects of governance:

– The form of a political regime (parliamentary or
presidential, military, or civilian, and authoritarian or
democratic);
– the processes by which authority is exercised in the

management of a country’s economic and social
resources; and
– the capacity of governments to design, formulate, and

implement policies, and, in general, to discharge
governmental functions.
• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) denotes “the use of political authority and exercise
of control in a society in relation to the management of its
resources for social and economic development”.
• The OECD mentioned following components of

governance:
– Legitimacy of government;
– Accountability of political and official elements of government;
– Competence of governments to make policy and deliver
services; and
– Respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Six sources of legitimacy
• As per the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) (1997) “the exercise of economic, political, and
administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs at all
levels. It is the complex mechanisms, processes and
institutions through which citizens and groups articulate
their interests, exercise their legal rights and obligations, and
mediate their differences”.
• UNDP has mentioned the characteristics of good

governance viz., participation, rule of law,
transparency, responsiveness, consensus
orientation, equity, effectiveness and efficiency,
accountability, and strategic vision.
• United Nations Education and Social Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO) (1997) mentioned
governance as … “a process whereby citizens’ needs, and
interests are articulated for the positive social and economic
development of the entire society and in the light of a
perceived common good. Governance means more than
government: it refers to a political process that encompasses
the whole society and contributes to the making of citizens,
active contributors to the social contract that binds them
together. Their sense of political efficacy is one of the
indicators of democratic governance”.
Contexts of governance
• Governance as the Minimal State
– In this sense, governance redefines the extent and
form of public intervention and the use of markets
and quasi-markets to deliver ‘public’ services.
• The size of government was reduced by privatisation and

cuts in the size of the civil service
• Government creates major regulatory bodies

• Governance as Corporate Governance
– In this context, governance refers to “the system by which organisations

are directed and controlled” (Cadbury Report, 1992).
– It is the structure and the functioning of corporate policies.
– It is the mechanism by which corporations and managers are governed

(Holmstrom and Kaplan, 2001).
– The governance role is not concerned with running the business of the
company, per se, but with giving overall directions to the enterprise, with
overseeing and controlling the executive actions of management and with
satisfying legitimate expectations for accountability and regulation by the
interests beyond the corporate boundaries
– All companies need governing as well as managing (Tricker, 1984).

Corporate governance ensures business flexibility, market transparency,
corporate ethics and maintaining the monitoring standards.
• Governance as ‘Good Governance’
– The World Bank (1992) popularised the phrase ‘good governance’, which includes an
efficient public service, independent judicial system and legal framework and
accountable administration.
– good governance is a combination of the efficiency concerns of public management

and the accountability concerns of governance thereby enhancing the quality of
governance through empowerment, participation, accountability, equity, and justice
– The good governance agenda advocates freedom of information, a strong legal system
and efficient administration to help the underprivileged sections’ claim to equality;
but these have been most successful when backed up by strong political mobilisation
through social movements or political parties with a clear-cut mission.
– Good governance means bringing about goodness in all the three sectors:
government, civil society and corporate world including transnational corporations.
– Good governance is a tryst with trust, a commitment of the people for the people, a
social contract for the greatest good, the collective conscience of the community
Forms of governance
• Political
• Due to the global political and economic shifts, the nation states’ capacity to govern has been limited.
• There is a general feeling that there is a ‘hollowing out’ of the State.
• This has resulted in shifting of the power outwards to international financial markets, to global
companies to be able to move capital and other resources from one site of investment to another, and
to supra-national entities such as the World Bank or European Union.
• Power has also percolated downwards to the sub- national level of regions and cities.
• As a result of these changes, a series of reforms have taken place resulting in reduction in the size of
the machinery of government and its fragmentation.
• Under the new model of governance, the State is one of the actors in the process of governance along
with civil society, NGOs, and private sector. New strategies based on informal influence, enabling and
regulation have grown in importance.
• The State is now the ‘enabler’ rather than ‘doer’ and is being reinvented through reducing welfare
expenditure, retrenching public services, and contracting out functions to private agencies
Forms of governance
• Economic
• A central theme in the governance literature is the idea that markets,
hierarchies, and networks form alternative strategies of coordination.
• The governance, including those based on markets, hierarchies, and network,

are likely to coexist, with different institutional combinations in specific nations,
but with networks becoming increasingly significant (Newman, 2001).
• The neo-liberal political/economic regime of the 1980s and 1990s partly

dismantled the conception of the State as a direct service provider.
• The introduction of market mechanisms has led to a more fragmented and

dispersed pattern of service delivery and regulation that required new forms of
coordination.
• The states can no longer provide traditional public goods. Where the states
were once the masters of markets, now it is the markets which, on many crucial
issues, are the masters of the governments of the states (Strange, 1996).
Forms of governance
• Social
• Another form of analysis of governance is responding to complexity, diversity, and
dynamic changes in society.
• Kooiman and Van Vliet (1993), link governance to the need for an interactive form of
governing.
• The purpose of governance in our societies can be described as coping with the
problems but also the opportunities of complex, diverse, and fragmented societies.
• Governing in an interactive perspective is directed at the balancing of social interests

and creating the possibilities and limits of social actors and systems to organise
themselves.
• There seems to be a shift away from more traditional patterns in which governing was
basically seen as a ‘one way traffic’ from those governing to those governed, towards a
‘two way traffic’ model in which aspects, qualities, problems, and opportunities of both
the governing system and the system to be governed are taken into consideration.
Participation
Lecture 1 : 30-8-2022
Mohan Kumar Bera

Government
• No state is possible without a government which not only provides
security to the people, but also looks after their basic needs and
ensures their socio-economic development.
• A government is a set of institution that exercises control through legal

devices and imposes penalties on those who break the law
• Social acceptance of the power of the government to control people

must be accepted by the people voluntarily and recognised by them.
• A government normally functions by dividing its functions between its

organs. Each organ perform some specific functions.
• It primarily performs three main functions : making of laws, enforcing

the laws, and adjudicating disputes.
Organs of government
• There are three organs of a government: the legislature – which makes the
laws; the executive – which implement them; and the judiciary – which
interprets law and decides disputes.
• This system of dividing powers among the three organs of a government is

called 'separation of powers’.
• Organs of government: the Legislature
• Legislature in the field of comparative politics is technically known as rule

making department.
• Legislature most commonly known by the name of parliament forms, the first
important organ of a political organisation.
• Framing the law is the most important function of the Legislatures
• The legislature should comprise the people's representatives, since they

perform the duty of making the laws by which the people are to be governed.
• Organs of government: the executive
• The executive implement the laws made by legislature.
• The judiciary interprets the laws and decides cases in accordance with the laws
and the constitution.
• The executive is the implement various policies of government .
• The nominal executive may be either a monarch or an elected President. What

makes him a 'nominal' executive is the fact that he docs not enjoy any real
powers.
• He is just a constitutional figure head perfuming some ceremonial duties but

enjoying little or no powers though the centric administration is carried on in
his or her name.
• Organs of government: the executive
• The monarch may assume office in hereditary succession as in U.K. or through

direct or indirect election as in Malaysia.
• not all existing monarchs in the world are figureheads : there are still some
monarchs who enjoy absolute power as they do in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
• Such monarchs may be placed in the category of 'real' executives, since they
enjoy absolute and limited powers.
• The real executive may also be divided into two categories - singular and plural.
• A singular executive is one that is headed by a single leader who does not share
his powers with others. A plural executive, all powers are vested in a group of
ministers.
• Organs of government: the Judiciary
• Judiciary, also known as the rule-adjudication department of the government,

concerned with the job of doing justice.
• It interprets law and awards punishments for the violation of laws.
• The primary objective of any political system is to protect the rights of the
individual, and this work is done by the judicial organ of the government.
Classification of government
• In Republic, Plato discusses five types of regimes: aristocracy, timocracy,

oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny.
• Aristotle elaborates on Plato's five regimes discussing them in relation to the

government of one, of the few, and of the many.
• Classification of forms of government according to which people have the

authority to rule: either one person (an autocracy, such as monarchy), a select
group of people (an aristocracy), or the people as a whole (a democracy, such as
a republic).
• Autocracy
• An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is

concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to
neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control.
• Absolute monarchy is a historically prevalent form of autocracy, wherein a

monarch governs as a singular sovereign with no limitation on royal
prerogative.
• Most absolute monarchies are hereditary, however some, notably the Holy
See, are elected by an electoral college (such as the college of cardinals, or
prince-electors).
• Other forms of autocracy include tyranny, despotism, and dictatorship.

• Aristocracy
• Aristocracy is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small,

elite ruling class, such as a hereditary nobility or privileged caste.
• This class exercises minority rule, often as a landed timocracy, wealthy

plutocracy, or oligarchy.
• Many monarchies were aristocracies, although in modern constitutional

monarchies the monarch may have little effective power.
• The term aristocracy could also refer to the non-peasant, non-servant, and non-
city classes in the feudal system.
• Democracy
• Democracy is a system of government where citizens exercise power by voting

and deliberation.
• In a direct democracy, the citizenry as a whole directly forms a participatory

governing body and vote directly on each issue.
• In indirect democracy, the citizenry governs indirectly through the selection of

representatives or delegates from among themselves, typically by election or,
less commonly, by sortition.
• These selected citizens then meet to form a governing body, such as a

legislature or jury.
• Democracy
• Some governments combine both direct and indirect democratic governance,

wherein the citizenry selects representatives to administer day-to-day
governance, while also reserving the right govern directly through popular
initiatives, referenda (plebiscites), and the right of recall.
• In a constitutional democracy the powers of the majority are exercised within

the framework of a representative democracy, but the constitution limits
majority rule, usually through the provision by all of certain universal rights, e.g.
freedom of speech, or freedom of association.
• Republics
• A republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public

matter", not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of
states are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than
inherited.
• The people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the
government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people.
• The head of state is not a monarch.
• Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in
rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies, where only some of the people rule, as
republican forms of government.
• Different republics include democratic republic, parliamentary republic, semi-

presidential republic, presidential republic, federal republic, people's republic,
and Islamic republic.
• Federalism
• Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound

together by covenant with a governing representative head.
• The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in

which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing
authority and constituent political units, variously called states, provinces or
otherwise.
• Federalism is a system based upon democratic principles and institutions in

which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state
governments, creating what is often called a federation.
• Proponents are often called federalists.

Division of power as a the basis of
classification of government
• Modern political regimes are classified on the basis of territorial distribution of
powers also, i.e. how the powers of the government are distributed between
the centre and the various administrative regions.
• On this basis we can classify government as: Unitary government and Federal
government
• Unitary Government
• A political regime in which the entire power is centralised in one government is

a unitary government.
• It is based on the principle of geographical centralisation of power.

• The supreme authority is concentrated in a single organ or a set of organs

established at and operating from a common centre.
• In a unitary state, only the central body is legally independent and other
authorities are subordinate to the central government.
• The essence of a unitary state is that the sovereignty is undivided.
• The Constitution of a unitary state does not admit any other law-making body.
• It can legislate on all subjects and administer them without reservation. It does
not, however, mean that the government can take arbitrary decisions.
• Even in a unitary state system, the country is divided into several provinces for
the sake of administration but what is important to remember is that they do
not enjoy any autonomy.
• The powers of the provinces are delegated from the centre which can be taken
away whenever desired by the centre.
• Thus the two essential qualities of the unitary state are : the supremacy of the
central parliament, and absence of subsidiary sovereign bodies.
Division of power as a the basis of classification
of government
• Federal Government
• Federalism is a form of government where the powers are distributed
between the central and provincial governments and both have their
separate and well defined areas of authority.
• The totality of government power is divided and distributed by the

national constitution between a central government and those of the
individual states.
• A federal government has an agreement and there are certain essential

features that ensure its proper working. They are : i) a written
constitution, ii) division of powers, and iii) independence of judiciary.
• Firstly, the federal government is the creation of agreement which takes

place as a result of a constitution in which the powers of the federal
government and the federating units and the details of their rights are
listed.
• Federal Government
• Secondly, an indispensable quality of the federal government is the

distribution of powers of government between central government and
the federating units.
– The subjects of national importance such as defence, foreign affairs,
railways, communications, finance are entrusted to the central government
whereas subjects like education, health, agriculture etc. are looked after by
the provincial units.
• Thirdly, there should be an independent institution to settle the

disputes with regard to the jurisdiction of the centre and the units and
among the units.
– Such an institution can only be the Supreme Court whose function is to see
that the constitution is respected in so far as it distributes the governmental
powers between the contracting parties and the federal authority which by
their contract they establish authority to run the administration.
Legislative-Executive Relationship as the Basis of
Classification
• Political regimes have also been classified on the basis of-the relationship
between the legislature and executive departments of the government:
Parliamentary form of government and Presidential form of government.
• Parliamentary Government
• The parliamentary form of government is the result of historical evolution in
Great Britain. It is also known as 'Cabinet government', or even 'Prime
Ministerial government'.
• The chief characteristic of this type of government is that the executive is a part
of the legislature and is responsible to it for all its policies and acts.
• There are two types of executive in the parliamentary government : nominal

and the real.
Legislative-Executive Relationship as the Basis
of Classification
• Parliamentary Government
• The head of the state is the nominal head whose functions are chiefly formal
and ceremonial and whose political influence is limited. This head of the state
may be a monarch or a president.
• The real executive is the Prime Minister who together with his cabinet is a part
of the legislature, selected by the members of the legislature and can be
removed by the legislature through a motion of 'no confidence'.
• The real executive is responsible for the formulation of policies. It performs all
the administrative functions in the name of the titular head.
of Classification
• Presidential Government
• The presidential system is based upon the, doctrine of separation of

powers. It means that the legislature and the executive are kept apart.
• The chief executive is the real executive as well as the head of the
government.
– He is elected by the people for a definite period. Since the executive is not a
part of the legislature its cannot be removed from the office by the
legislature except through the legal process of impeachment.
• The executive Regimes cannot dissolve the legislature nor can it call for a
general election.
– Usually the executive and the legislature are elected for fixed terms.
– However, in order to keep the three organs of the government
interconnected, a device of checks and balances is adopted so that the
President may not become a dictator.
of Classification
• Presidential Government
• Constitutional devices are invented so that each organ acts as a
check on the other two organs and thereby act as a sort of
balancer to the others.
• This form of government evolved in the United States of America

and was later adopted by many countries of Latin America and
Europe with some modifications
Theory of public participation
NB: We will details in next class

Participation
Lecture 3 : 6-9-2022
Mohan Kumar Bera

Democratic Decentralization
and
Democratic Local Governance
• Democratic decentralization is the development of reciprocal
relationships between central and local governments and between local
governments and citizens.
• It addresses the power to develop and implement policy, the extension

of democratic processes to lower levels of government, and measures to
ensure that democracy is sustainable.
• Democratic decentralization incorporates both decentralization and

democratic local governance.
• Decentralization is the transfer of authority, responsibility, and

accountability from central to local governments.
• Decentralization can take various forms, commonly described in public

administration terms as deconcentration, devolution, and delegation.
• Decentralization also has several dimensions that reflect on sequential stages
of progress in achieving the governance objectives of decentralization.
• These stages are: Administrative decentralization (functional responsibility);

Financial decentralization (access to resources); and Political decentralization
(accountability).
• The political dimension is especially critical for democratic

decentralization because it reconstitutes the state in a
democratic way.
– It provides a process at the local level through which diverse interests can be heard
and negotiated and resource allocation decisions can be made based on public
discussions.
• In democratic local governance, authorities beyond the local level

must be persuaded or influenced to support the legitimization
and empowerment of local governments.
• Genuine political power sharing is a key element often missing in

the political dimension of decentralization.
Democratic Local Governance
• Democratic local governance is autonomous levels of local
government, vested with authority and resources, that function
in a democratic manner.
– That is, they are accountable and transparent, and involve citizens
and the institutions of civil society in the decision-making process.
– Democratic local governance looks beyond local government

administration and service delivery to institutions and structures
that enable people to decide things and do things for themselves.
– It emphasizes the presence of mechanisms for fair political

competition, transparency, and accountability, government
processes that are open to the public, responsible to the public, and
governed by the rule of law.
Motivating Forces for Democratic Decentralization
• Forces that motivate policy change toward democratic decentralization
exist on a variety of levels and in a variety of forms.
• Environmental conditions are broad trends, such as the globalization of

the economy or urbanization, that elicit a decentralization policy
response.
• Institutional forces are crises or changes in national institutions or

systems, such as national economic, fiscal, or political crises, for which
decentralization is an appropriate policy response.
• Individual interests are the interests of those that control the

governmental structures and other societal institutions. Depending on
the level of the decision maker, institutional forces might be the same as
individual interest.
Motivating Forces for Democratic Decentralization
• The relationships among motivating forces are generally on a scale, but they are
not linear. Moreover, what may be individual interest to one person may be an
institutional force to another.
Why Is Democratic Decentralization Important?
• Political and economic changes during the past decade have
demonstrated people’s interest in democratic ideals of freedom,
human rights, and accountable government.
• As per the USAID’s Strategies for Sustainable Development,
– Democratization is an essential part of sustainable development because it

facilitates the protection of human rights, informed participation, and public sector
accountability. USAID’s success in the other core areas of sustainable development is
inextricably related to democratization and good governance. ...
– ...USAID faces a twofold task: to help people make the transition to democracy from
authoritarian rule and to facilitate the empowerment of individuals and
communities in nondemocratic societies, in order to create a climate conducive to
sustainable development.
• The USAID Democracy and Governance center is concerned
with both decentralization and democratic local governance,
but these concepts are often separated in conceptualization
and practice.
• Decentralization of governance is often public administration-

driven — that is, focused on structure. It is analytical but lacks
focus on sustainable democratic reform.
• Democracy programs are often civil society-driven. Commonly

they are ideological and political, but lack focus on sustainable
mechanisms.
• Democratic decentralization is important because it brings

these two initiatives together in a mutually reinforcing manner.
• Increasing attention must be paid to decentralization issues
because many countries are in the process of decentralizing.
• It is an opportunity to devolve power and to enhance democratic

practices.
• Not all decentralization is a genuine sharing of power, however,

and not all decentralization is democratic.
• Democratic governance at the local level needs attention because

various sectors of society, particularly weak or vulnerable groups,
have the greatest incentive to participate in decision making at the
local level because local decisions most directly affect them.
Characteristics and Key Relationships in Democratic Decentralization
• This is a
hierarchical
relationship
but rather a
spectrum of
relationships
that help
define a
framework for
implementing
democratic
decentralizati
on strategies.
Characteristics and Key Relationships in Democratic
Decentralization
• The first major relationship is between the central
government and the sub-national or local government.
– This reciprocal relationship is decentralization, the transfer of

authority and responsibility to local government.
– Local governments participate in central policymaking and

influence activities at the central level, as well as carrying out
responsibilities formerly conducted by the central government.
– Local governments often work in concert with each other to

address common policy concerns at the central level, most
commonly through associations which provide a more powerful
voice than that of an individual local government.
Characteristics and Key Relationships in
• The second major reciprocal relationship is between local
governments and citizens, or democratic local governance.
– Many relationships can be summarized as “local government and

citizens” — for example, relationships between the local government
and individual citizens, community groups, businesses, news media
and other local governments. Democracy is enhanced by
strengthening relationships among all the stakeholders.
• The third reciprocal relationship is between citizens and the

central government.
– It is not the key focus of democratic decentralization, but it is

important as part of the enabling environment. This relationship
includes fundamental rights and responsibilities of citizens
guaranteed by the central government, and the ability of citizens to
directly influence the central government.
Implementation of democratic decentralization
1. Instituting Constitutional and Legal Reforms to Devolve Power to Local Structures
– Do decision making structures of elected officials exist at the level at which revenue raising and
service provision responsibilities have been assigned?
– Has an indigenous institution been created to instigate/maintain pressure for change?
– Do higher levels of government exercise only an ex-postfacto audit of local government budget
and operations according to clearly defined legal guidelines?
2. Increasing Local Governments’ Ability to Act (financial and human resources,

organization, authority)
– Do sub-national/local governments have revenue-raising authority that corresponds to

expenditures required for service responsibilities?
– Are resources mobilized at the local level retained for use at the local level?
– Do central government grants to sub-national/local governments reward good management?

– Does local government have the authority to hire and fire its personnel, ensuring accountability
to that level?
3. Increasing Local Government Accountability
– To what extent do electoral procedures build accountability to the electorate more
than other centers of power?
– To what extent do all levels of government regularly disseminate information to
citizens and other levels of government?
– To what extent does the public (citizens and media) have free access to public
meetings and records?
– To what extent do local government procedures allow citizens to provide input
before decisions are made about resource allocation?
– To what extent are the results of government decisions disseminated to citizens?
– To what extent is information about government performance readily available?
– Does privatization occur in a transparent manner?
4. Enhancing the Role of Civil Society

– Can partnerships between local government and NGOs, associations, business
people, and similar organizations be formed? Are obstacles legislative or attitudinal?
– Can NGOs and other associations function without governmental interference and
according to clearly defined legal guidelines?
5. Improving Quality of Life

– Are citizens consulted or do they have a mechanism to express their
satisfaction or priorities for services?
– Does the local government provide information to citizens about how to
access their services?
– Does the local government provide information to citizens about local
economic, environmental, and social conditions?
– Does the local economic condition improve?
Democratic decentralisation in India
• After the World War II, the newly – formed nation-states
adopted the growth-centered model for development.
– In this model, the state assured the moral and political

responsibilities for the development of the society.
• It became gradually evident that the growth-centred

model for development aimed only at economic growth
and increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the
country.
– But, it could achieve these at great social and environmental

costs.
– This development model had bypassed large sections of the

society, leading to a greater disparity, further marginalizing the
deprived sections.
– The special programmes initiated for the vulnerable sections failed to make
an impact because the people were treated as mere ‘beneficiaries’ and
‘objects’ of development.
– World-wide discontent and disillusionment generated by this dominant

model for development led to its severe criticism.
• A crucial debate is on in developing countries regarding the degree

of control that central governments, should exercise over
development planning and administration.
• The past experience of planned development for the last 50 years in India and
the results thereof have raised doubts regarding achievement of the welfare
objectives, removal of poverty and social inequalities, economic growth with
social justice, etc.
• There was disillusionment with the results of highly centralized planning. It

resulted in economic inequalities, regional disparities and increased absolute
poverty.
• Therefore, the basic premises of development theory came into question

during the 1970s.
• Hence, local autonomy in making decisions of primary concern to the locality

and greater responsibility for designing and implementing development
programmes became a necessity. This revived interest in the notion of
decentralization.
• Participatory development has emerged as an alternative

paradigm over the past two decades as a result of the criticism of
the dominant model for development.
• New perspective of development stressed that along with

economic growth, development of the quality of life of
individuals, families and community should also be ensured.
• It can be feasible through greater people’s participation in

decision-making, creating opportunities for productive
employment, access to consumer goods and basic services such
as health, sanitation, education and communication.
– Development can be sustained if special efforts are made to systematically
involve the deprived sections of the society in the process by taking into
account their special needs.
– It can reduce inequalities and bridge the ever-widening gap between the
rich and the poor. Participatory development strategy should also ensure
that more people have access to and control over their resources.
• The alternative participatory development paradigm necessitates

creation of pressure from the grass-roots which can enable them to
participate actively in planning, involve them in execution and
monitoring and more equitably distribution of resources.
• People-centred development model make people active in development

process.
• The major thrusts of decentralized governance are bringing

administration at the door steps of the people and establishing direct
relationship between the client and the administration.
• After the Independence India adopted a democratic system of
governance.
• The provisions of democracy found their place in the Government of

India Acts of 1909, 1919 and 1935. Following the deliberations within
the Constituent Assembly, democracy was introduced in the Post-
Independence India in 1950.
• Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehuru and Jail Prakash Narayan

described democracy as the government that gives ‘power to the
people’.
• Gandhi said “True democracy could not be worked by some persons

sitting at the top. It had to be worked from below by the people of
every village”. Democracy at the top could not be a success unless it was
built from below.
• In India the Panchayati Raj Institutions can set an example for the world
for to emulate in the matter of democratic decentralization.
• There are three broad views on decentralisation:
– The Balwantrai Mehata Report favoured the block as being nearest to the
people (1957).
– The Sukhamoy Chakravarty (Economic Advisory Council, 1984) Report on

decentralization of planning considered even the district to be too small for
proper area planning.
– The Ashok Mehata Report (1978) on the Panchayati Raj
– The Dantwala Report (1978) on block level planning
– The Hanumantha Rao Report (1984) on district planning

• The principle thrust of Balwanta Rai Mehata Committee report was
towards decentralization on democratic institutions is an effort to shift
decision centres close to the people to enable their active and
continuous participation under local popular control.
• The Ashok Mehata committee’s principal thesis was the functional

necessity for decentralization of administration level closer to the
people.
• Both Balwanth Rai Mehata Committee report and Ashok Mehata

Committee reports can be considered as landmarks in the history of
democratic decentralization in India.
• With the introduction of the 73rd and the 74th Constitutional

Amendments, the decentralization has been democratized and the
scope of democracy has expanded to include the women, OBCs and
dalits at the grass root level.
– Democracy has to be grounded in the reality of society. This view of
democracy can be termed as the substantive democracy.
• Gross roots governance has been a major concern of the planning

process in Indian ever since the introduction of Panchayati raj in 1959.
• The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts have been major
steps in the direction of decentralized governance in India.
• The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act relates to introduce reforms in

rural local bodies whereas the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act
relates to bring reform in urban local bodies.
• These amendments have accorded constitutional recognition to rural

and urban local bodies.
• The Acts aims at integrating the concept of people’s participation in a

formal way with the planning process on the one hand and the
devolution of responsibility to the people themselves on the other.
Participation
Lecture 4 : 8-9-2022
Mohan Kumar Bera

• After the World War II, the newly – formed nation-states
adopted the growth-centered model for development.
– In this model, the state assured the moral and political

responsibilities for the development of the society.
• It became gradually evident that the growth-centred

model for development aimed only at economic growth
and increased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the
country.
– But, it could achieve these at great social and environmental

costs.
– This development model had bypassed large sections of the

society, leading to a greater disparity, further marginalizing the
deprived sections.
– The special programmes initiated for the vulnerable sections failed to make
an impact because the people were treated as mere ‘beneficiaries’ and
‘objects’ of development.
– World-wide discontent and disillusionment generated by this dominant

model for development led to its severe criticism.
• A crucial debate is on in developing countries regarding the degree

of control that central governments, should exercise over
development planning and administration.
• Strengthening local governments (LGs), is one of the most important
governance challenges in today’s India.
• While high growth-rates have dramatically increased the wealth of some

Indians, the vast majority still have little or no access to education, health
services, drinking water, nutrition and electricity.
• A strong and empowered level of LGs, comprising panchayats, municipalities,

autonomous district and regional councils and other similar structures of
governance, could stitch accelerated and inclusive growth together with
inclusive governance.
• The first step was the constitution of the municipal corporation of
Madras as early as 1687 based on the British model of a town council.
• Later, the traditional village panchayat system was revived in Bengal by

Lord Mayo and Lord Ripon introduced landmark reforms in 1882 that
provided for rural local boards, two-thirds of which were to be
composed of elected, non-official representatives and presided over by
a non-official chairperson.
• The Government of India Act 1919 transferred the subject of self-

government to the domain of the provinces.
• The Government of India Act 1935 continued along this path and gave
popularly elected governments in the provinces the right to enact laws
to establish local self government institutions, including panchayats and
municipalities.
• The past experience of planned development for the last 50 years in India and
the results thereof have raised doubts regarding achievement of the welfare
objectives, removal of poverty and social inequalities, economic growth with
social justice, etc.
• There was disillusionment with the results of highly centralized planning. It

resulted in economic inequalities, regional disparities and increased absolute
poverty.
• Therefore, the basic premises of development theory came into question

during the 1970s.
• Hence, local autonomy in making decisions of primary concern to the locality

and greater responsibility for designing and implementing development
programmes became a necessity. This revived interest in the notion of
decentralization.
• Participatory development has emerged as an alternative

paradigm over the past two decades as a result of the criticism of
the dominant model for development.
• New perspective of development stressed that along with

economic growth, development of the quality of life of
individuals, families and community should also be ensured.
• It can be feasible through greater people’s participation in

decision-making, creating opportunities for productive
employment, access to consumer goods and basic services such
as health, sanitation, education and communication.
– Development can be sustained if special efforts are made to systematically
involve the deprived sections of the society in the process by taking into
account their special needs.
– It can reduce inequalities and bridge the ever-widening gap between the
rich and the poor. Participatory development strategy should also ensure
that more people have access to and control over their resources.
• The alternative participatory development paradigm necessitates

creation of pressure from the grass-roots which can enable them to
participate actively in planning, involve them in execution and
monitoring and more equitably distribution of resources.
• People-centred development model make people active in development

process.
• The major thrusts of decentralized governance are bringing

administration at the door steps of the people and establishing direct
relationship between the client and the administration.
⚫ CONCEPT OF STATE
WHAT IS STATE ?
State:
• Greeks used term : Polis

• Romans : Civitas & Republica
• Medieval period : Christian Common wealth
• 16th (Century)Machiavelli: State
Definition of State
• The state is a form of political entity by which a society is organized

under an agency of government which claims legitimate sovereignty
over a geographical area and has a monopoly of physical force.
• According to Garner,
“A State is a community of persons, more or less numerous,
permanently occupying a definite portion of territory,
independent, or nearly so, of external control, and possessing an
organized government, to which the great body of inhabitants
render habitual obedience”
Elements of the State
(1) Population
(2) Territory
(3) Government
(4) Sovereignty
Lets discuss these element one-by-one:

.
• Population : A considerable group of human beings;
• Territory : A definite area of earth’s surface upon which the

population permanently resides
• Government: A political organization through which the will or

law of the state is expressed and administrated.
• Sovereignty : the supremacy of the state over all individuals and

associations within it and the independence of the state from
external control.
Characteristics:
1. A community of persons
2. Permanently occupying a definite portion of territory
3. Independent of external control
4. Possessing an organized government
5. Inhabitants render habitual obedience

Elements of a State
.
.
.
Functions of State:
1. Social Control: The state establishes the laws that formally specify what is
expected of the citizens as well as what is prohibited by enacting and
enforcing.
2. Defence: Protects citizens not only against external aggression, but also
internal conflicts.
3. Welfare: Initiates policies and programmes, like health, education,

transportation, employment, public services, and pension benefits, to
provide for the general welfare of the people under its territory.
4. Other Functions: Plan and pay for most roads, run public schools, provide
water, organize police and fire services, establish zoning regulations,
license professions, and arrange elections for their citizens.
Difference between State and Nation:
STATE NATION
1. It is a political concept 1. It is an ethnic concept

2. It is not subject to 2. May or may not be
external control independent from external
3. May consist of one or control
more nations or people 3. May be made of several
states
The World As We See It?
The World In Reality
What is the difference?

Defining States and Development of the State Concept
Problems of defining States:
Almost all habitable land belongs to a country today

In 1940, there were about 60 countries
Today, there are 193 countries
(as evidenced by United Nations membership)
Some places are difficult to classify

Korea: one state or two?
Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic) or Morocco?
Claims to polar regions: Many claims.
China and Taiwan: one state or two?
What is a State?
The term country is a synonym for state
4 elements:
◦ People – contains a permanent population
◦ Territory – occupies a defined territory on the earth’s surface
◦ Government – rules people
◦ Sovereignty - control over its internal and foreign affairs,
independent from other states
Concept of dividing world into independent states is recent

What is a Nation?
 A social/cultural concept, more so tied to ethnicity
 Historical community that shares common ancestry; a people with a
sense of union with one another
 Not every nation has a state
◦ Kurds, Palestinians
 Some states contain more than one nation
◦ Belgium, UK, Canada
 Some nations are larger than one state
◦ About 4 millions Jews live in Israel, many members of the Jewish
nation living elsewhere in the world (US/Eastern Europe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10
The “Perfect” European Model of State
⚫ State:
 Nation-state:
 A political unit
wherein the
territorial state
⚫ Nation: coincides with the
area settled by a
certain national
group or people.
⚫ Law
⚫ Nation-State: s
⚫ ------
⚫ -------
⚫ -------
⚫ --------
Globalization & Future of the Nation-State
Concept of sovereign nation-states is increasingly being challenged by

globalization
Globalization is a contested concept. There are three positions in the

debate (see Sorensen 2008, pp. 604-606; also for definitions):
1. Retreat of the state position: States are losing power and influence.
2. The state-centric position: States have even managed to expand their
capacities for regulation and control.
3. Pragmatic position: Process of state transformation. States are
“winning” and “losing” at the same time.
.
Sorensen (2008) argues that modern states are based on:
1) National economy: Removal of local barriers to trade and the

building of a nation-wide infrastructure
2) National government: A centralized system of democratic rules and

strong political-administrative capacities within a precisely defined
territory
3) Nation: People who build a community of sentiment and a community

of citizens
4) Sovereignty: No final political authority outside or above the state.

.
However, according to Sorensen (2008) these characteristics are

transformed by globalization
(1) The economy is increasingly embedded in cross-border networks.
“Shallow and deep integration”
(2) National government is replaced by multi-level governance
(3) Nation:
– Globalization reinforces collective identities “above” and “below”
the nation.
– There is evidence of an emerging “western civic identity” but also
of “resistant identities”.
.
(continued)
(4) Sovereignty:
– the rule of non-intervention is challenged in a world of multi-level
governance.
– But still consent of states needed!
– States in process of transformation: “post-modern” states.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ark8cRiSw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVoB2fGBrFc&t=47s
Theories of the State:
Various attempts to explain state;
Various philosophers explain different ways;
(1) Force Theory
(2) The Divine Theory
(3) The Social-Contract Theory

THE FORCE THEORY
The state came into existence as
a result of the forced subjection of the weak to the strong.
Two arguments in Force Theory:
1. One group of thinkers used this theory to justify the state on the
ground that the state is power, that might makes right and that the
essence of the state is a sovereign will.
2. Second group, to attack the state because of its injustice and urge
individual freedom and limited state action
.
In middle ages theologians argued that, the state was based upon force
and injustice and decried the origin of earthly sovereignty in order to
subordinate temporal to spiritual power.
Individualist & anarchist believe that the State is an evil because of

their desire for individual freedom.
Socialist believe that, the state resulted from the aggression and
exploitation of labourers by capitalist and attack, not the idea of the
state itself.
THE DIVINE THEORY
During the large part of human history the state was viewed as direct
divine creation.
Early oriental empires rulers claimed a divine tight to control the

affairs of their subjects and this right was seldom questioned.
The Hebrews believed – Divine Origin
Spat between State Concept & Christianity Pope

SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY
In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is a theory or
model, originating during the age of enlightenment, that typically
addresses the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy of
the authority of the state over the individual.
Social contract arguments typically hypothesize that, individuals have

consented, either openly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms
and submit to the authority of the ruler or magistrate, in exchange for
protection of their remaining rights.
The question of the relation between natural and legal rights, therefore,
is often an aspect of social contract theory.
.
• Thomas Hobbes ( 1588-1679) : Leviathan (1651)

• John Locke ( 1632-1704) : Two Treatise of Government (1689)
• Rousseau ( 1712-1778): Discourse on Equality, The Social Contract
Social Contract Theory:

starts with the assumption that, man lived originally in a ‘state of
nature’, antecedents (background) to the formation of political
organization. In this condition he was subject only to such rules of
natural law as are prescribed by nature itself, and was the possessor
(holder) of natural rights.
.
Hobbes:
It was a state of war, a savage state, men were selfish and aggressive brutes.
Every men was the enemy of every other man . To avoid fear and danger of
this terrible situation, men agreed to setup an authority.
John Locke:
Life in the state of nature was one of the peace and ease. Freedom and
tranquillity (harmony) prevailed. Men were bound by the law of nature and
possessed certain natural rights, but there was the absence of an agency to
interpret and implement the law of nature, so men agreed to create a
common authority.
Rousseau:
People led to a ideal life and enjoyed ‘idyllic happiness’ in the state of the
nature. But the rise of property produced evils. To escape from them men
set up authority by contract.
EVOLUTIONARY THEORY/ STATE
Forces in State-building:
(1) Kinship
(2) Religion
(3) Industry
(4) War
NATURE & ROLE OF THE STATE
State has always been central to the political analysis, to such an extent
that politics is often understood as the study of the state.
Two key debates on State:
The first: focuses the need for the state

and the basis of political obligations
Second : concerns the nature of the state power

Three versions:
1. Idealist theory of state
2. Marxist theory of state
3. Liberal theory of state

IDEALIST THEORY OF POLITICS
Plato & Aristotle are considered to be founders of the idealist theory.
They started the premise that man is by nature a social and political animal.
It is only by living in society that man can develop his personality and
realize all that is best in him. They never differentiated society with the
state.
They regarded the state as a self-sufficing entity identical with the whole of
society, existing for itself and by itself.
MAJOR EXPONENTS:
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is regarded as father of idealistic theory.

He gives expression to this doctrine in his famous book "metaphysical
first principles of theory and law" in 1796. Kant major focus of
analyzing is put of different aspect of state and its relation with other
element existing within state.
G.W.F. Hegel: His philosophy had made state to rise to mystical

heights and held that German people have divine mission to fulfil in
their relation to rest of the world. .
Participation
Lecture 6 : 13-9-2022
Mohan Kumar Bera

• After the Independence India adopted a democratic system of
governance.
• The provisions of democracy found their place in the Government of

India Acts of 1909, 1919 and 1935. Following the deliberations within
the Constituent Assembly, democracy was introduced in the Post-
Independence India in 1950.
• Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehuru and Jail Prakash Narayan

described democracy as the government that gives ‘power to the
people’.
• Gandhi said “True democracy could not be worked by some persons

sitting at the top. It had to be worked from below by the people of every
village”. Democracy at the top could not be a success unless it was built
from below.
• Mahatma Gandhi’s vision that the entire edifice of Indian democracy should be
based upon one popular election to the village panchayat, indirect elections
from panchayats to state assemblies and from state assemblies to the
Parliament did not find many supporters.
• The Constituent Assembly was inclined to not disturb the 1935 Act’s pattern of
leaving it to the states to establish and empower LGs—Dr Ambedkar’s suspicion
of traditional panchayats was well known—were it not for late action by the
president of the Constituent Assembly, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
• He supported the idea of making a mention of panchayats in the Constitution.
• Consequently, an amendment proposed by the well-known Gandhian, K.

Santhanam, led to the insertion of Article 40 in the Directive Principles of State
Policy, which stated that the state shall take steps to organise village panchayats
and endow them with such power and authority as may be necessary to enable
them to function as units of self-government.
• In India the Panchayati Raj Institutions can set an example for the world
for to emulate in the matter of democratic decentralization.
• There are broad views on decentralisation in India:
– The Balwantrai Mehata Report favoured the block as being nearest to the
people (1957).
– The Ashok Mehata Report (1978) on the Panchayati Raj
– The Dantwala Report (1978) on block level planning
– The Sukhamoy Chakravarty (Economic Advisory Council, 1984) Report on

decentralization of planning considered even the district to be too small for
proper area planning.
– The Hanumantha Rao Report (1984) on district planning

• The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee constituted for examining the
Community Development Projects and National Extension Service is
often cited as the harbinger of modern India’s panchayati raj system.
• The Committee suggested that the administration should be

decentralised and that it ought to be under the control of elected
bodies.
• The Committee observed that, ‘development can be real only when the
community understands its problems, realises its responsibilities,
exercises the necessary powers through its chosen representatives and
maintains a constant and intelligent vigilance on local administration’.
• It recommended the ‘early establishment of statutory elective local

bodies and devolution to them of the necessary resources, power and
authority’.
• The Ashok Mehta Committee was the first to squarely address
the issue of strengthening panchayats across the country.
• The vision of the Committee was that panchayati raj, like

democracy at the national and state levels, is both an end and a
means.
• As an end, it spoke about panchayats being an ‘inevitable

extension of democracy to the grassroots, thus making it the
base of the democratic pyramid in the country’.
• It also stated that as an end, panchayats should emerge as a

system of ‘democratic local government, discharging
development, municipal and ultimately, regulatory functions’.
• The Ashok Mehta said that panchayats would ‘continue to discharge
obligations entrusted to it by the National and State Governments in
spheres not yet transferred to its exclusive jurisdiction’.
• The committee concurred with the predominant views of those who

responded to its call for suggestions and recommended constitutional
status to be given to the panchayats.
• In the wake of the report, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh revisited their
respective panchayati raj systems and undertook several new initiatives
to constitute and endow panchayats with more powers.
• The feature of these second generation panchayats was the ascendancy

of the zilla parishad at the district level, as a powerful body with a large
range of powers devolved to it from the state.
• The principle thrust of Balwanta Rai Mehata Committee report was
towards decentralization on democratic institutions is an effort to shift
decision centres close to the people to enable their active and
continuous participation under local popular control.
• The Ashok Mehata committee’s principal thesis was the functional

necessity for decentralization of administration level closer to the
people.
• Both Balwanth Rai Mehata Committee report and Ashok Mehata

Committee reports can be considered as landmarks in the history of
democratic decentralization in India.
• With the introduction of the 73rd and the 74th Constitutional

Amendments, the decentralization has been democratized and the
scope of democracy has expanded to include the women, OBCs and
dalits at the grass root level.
– Democracy has to be grounded in the reality of society. This view of
democracy can be termed as the substantive democracy.
• Gross roots governance has been a major concern of the planning

process in Indian ever since the introduction of Panchayati raj in 1959.
• The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts have been major steps
in the direction of decentralized governance in India.
• The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act relates to introduce reforms in

rural local bodies whereas the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act
relates to bring reform in urban local bodies.
• These amendments have accorded constitutional recognition to rural

and urban local bodies.
• The Acts aims at integrating the concept of people’s participation in a

formal way with the planning process on the one hand and the
devolution of responsibility to the people themselves on the other.
• In 1989, Rajiv Gandhi attempted to constitutionalise local governments
through the 64th and 65th amendments to the Constitution.
• In his speech introducing the 64th Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, he
referred to weaknesses in the practice of Indian democracy and
observed that the number of persons holding elective office in well-
founded institutions of democracy have been far too small in relation to
the size of the electorate.
• He also observed that the ‘vast chasm that separates the small number
of elected representatives from the electorate had been occupied by
power brokers, middlemen and vested interests’ and justified the
constitutionalisation of LGs as key to the strengthening of democracy.
These amendments failed to secure the requisite majority in Parliament
by a whisker.
Decentralisation Below the State Level
Background
• During the British rule, a unitary system is often
accompanied by a high degree of centralisation.
• Governors and district magistrates were allowed a great

deal of latitude to ‘do their own thing’ in many matters.
• It was an example of even a unitary system needing to

centralise only selectively, leaving local problems to be
managed through decentralised power in the provinces
and districts.
• Independence did not bring about a revolutionary change

in the system of governance. But even so, major changes
did take place in at least three respects as below:
Background
• First, the territories comprising the British provinces and the princely states
were reshaped into states, of which there are now 25. The political map of
India bears hardly any resemblance to what the British left behind.
– Second, at the district level too, boundaries were drawn and redrawn, so
that the administrative map of the country also is vastly different to what it
was before.
– Third, and most significant is that the governor-general and governors were
replaced by democratically elected governments at the centre and in the
states.
• The union and state governments were accorded constitutional

recognition and a federal relationship between the two came into
existence as against the command structure of earlier times.
• The districts continued to be administered as before, which meant that

the received command structure had to operate for the first time
between governments at the state level and ‘ruler model’ bureaucrats in
the districts.
Background
• Neither the political leadership at the state level nor local leaders of the
ruling party found it possible to accept without demur the considerable
discretionary powers left with district officers under the British
dispensation.
• Both state and local level politicians exerted unofficial pressure to see
that such powers as remained were exercised in line with political
preferences.
• This virtual take-over of bureaucratic powers by the political elites was,

in a way, an extension of the struggle for self-government led by the
same elites.
• A bureaucratically decentralised system thus gave way to a politically

centralised one.
• British provinces were unitary but decentralised. The states were

conceived as unitary, like the British provinces before them, but
contrastingly started becoming centralised.
• Today (13-9-2022)
Background
• Having witnessed the partition of the country, a fearful
constituent assembly opted for a strong centre.
– In pursuance of this, political and legislative provisions were
enacted which gave the union over-riding powers.
• Financial provisions were made, and these were of

crucial importance, under which the union could and
did wield enormous clout vis-a-vis the states.
• Supplementing these constitutional provisions,

planning was adopted as the corner-stone of
development, and the planning regime that came into
being acted as a powerful centralising force.
Background
• Over the time, central planning was backed by central financing,
union ministries entrusted with state subjects.
• In this way, centralisation at the national level reinforced

centralisation in the states (Mukarji and Arora 1992).
• Paradoxically, India’s federal democracy thus became more

centralised than British India’s unitary bureaucracy ever was.
• It is now being realised that the upward shift of functions, from

the districts to the state and from the states to the union, has not
in the least contributed either to strengthening the centre or to
making planning more effective.
The states
The States
• In the descending cascade of decentralisation, from the union to the
states and from the states to sub-state levels, the states would figure at
both stages, as recipients of powers and functions at the first and as
shedders of these at the second.
– If the cascade stops at the first stage, the states would be choked with
powers and functions, and people’s participation would remain a far cry.
– If, on the other hand, the cascade only starts at the second stage, the states
are unlikely to part with enough powers and functions to make sub-state
levels viable for fear that this may reduce their own importance too much.
• All the past experiments to decentralise below the state level, especially
variants of panchayati raj, have suffered on this account. The states
must, therefore, receive as well as give.
– Decentralisation confined to the states-downward stage neither makes

sense nor is practical. The cascade must start at the union level and go all
the way down, stage by stage.
The States
• The states occupy a cardinal position in union-states relations on the one
hand and in downward relations on the other
• The concept of partially self-governing states has its roots in pre-

Independence thinking. The Constitution gives it pride of place by the
very first article declaring that India shall be a union of states.
• The major phases of that evolution of union of states
– There was, first, the incorporation of the princely states which occasioned
the division of the country into parts A, B, C and D states.
– There was, next, the demand triggered by Andhra for recognition of the
linguistic principle which led to a comprehensive and largely durable
reorganisation of state boundaries.
– Thirdly, the grant of full state-hood to a relatively small territory like

Nagaland initiated a course in which, on tribal or other grounds, several
other small states came into being. It cannot be said that the number of
states will stay at the present twenty-five.
The States
• These twenty-five states vary greatly in many ways. Variation in size is
particularly relevant to the present analysis. The elements which go into
size are population, area, the nature of terrain and the state of
communications.
• For ease of comprehension, the states could be ranked according to

population alone and the other elements kept in mind when looking at
the picture that emerges.
– The first 15 having populations of above 15 million each could be regarded

as major states, which makes the remaining 10 with populations under 10
million each, minor states.
– The major states account for 96.2 per cent of the country’s population and
the minor for 2.67 per cent.
– The Gadgil formula for distribution of plan funds makes almost the same
categorisation.
– The formula as such applies to only the major states, leaving aside Assam.
The States
– All the minor states and Assam fall outside the scope of the
formula and are given special assistance.
– Allowing for the Assam factor, in 1980–81, the 14 major

‘formula’ states, accounting for 93.3 per cent population,
received Rs 6,200 crore as plan assistance, while Assam and
the then minor states, with only around 5 per cent
population, got as much as Rs 1,800 crore.
– The proportion of grants to loans for the former was

30:70, while for the latter it was a generous 90:10. All
states are dependent on the union but the extent of
dependence of the minor states is so overwhelming as to
put a question mark on their viability.
The States
• The other feature is that the major and minor states can each be further divided
into two sub-categories.
– The major group has seven large states with a population well above 50 million each,
ranging from Tamil Nadu with a whopping 58 million up to Uttar Pradesh with an almost
unthinkable 133 million.
• These states could be viewed as not easily governable, with or without decentralisation, because of
their large size.
– The remaining eight states in the major group are medium in size, having a population
range of 15 million (Haryana) to 44 million (Karnataka), and could be regarded as
reasonably governable, given workable decentralisation below state level.
– The minor group has two small states, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh,
which because of their far-flung territories could be classed with medium states on the
governability criterion.
– The remaining eight states can only be described as tiny and because of their miniature
character are probably below governability level. There is little, barring constitutional
status, to distinguish them from union territories.
The States
• The above analysis underlines the point that, while
decentralisation must be combination of union to states and
states downward exercises, both must of necessity be
influenced by the sizes of the states.
• Thus, basically any new regime between the union and the
major states in the crucial financial domain may not be good
enough to sustain the minor states which may continue to need
‘Special category’ treatment.
• Similarly, a pattern of decentralisation below the states suited to

the major states and possibly also to J & K and Himachal
Pradesh may not be appropriate for the tiny states.
The States
• With the major states, mega-states which are large by population as
well as area, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, may
find it useful to have some form of regional governments, especially
for backward areas.
• Thinking in this direction is to be found in the regional development

boards envisioned by Article 371 and those already in existence for
the development of Chhota Nagpur in Bihar and the Hill Areas in
Uttar Pradesh.
• The short point is that the states are a heterogeneous lot and this
needs to be borne in mind when discussing decentralisation.
• Lecture 7 (15/9/2022)
Below the States
Districts
Local bodies
• The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act relates to introduce
reforms in rural local bodies whereas the 74th Constitutional
Amendment Act relates to bring reform in urban local bodies.
• These amendments have accorded constitutional recognition

to rural and urban local bodies.
• The Acts aims at integrating the concept of people’s

participation in a formal way with the planning process on the
one hand and the devolution of responsibility to the people
themselves on the other.
• These acts have addressed the persistent problems of irregular

elections, suppression, inadequate representation, insufficient
devolution of powers, lack of administrative and financial
autonomy, and inadequate resources.
Democratic Decentralisation in Rural Areas
• After independence, rural development forms the crux of India’s development
strategy.
• Rural development programmes aim at the improvement of the living standards

of the rural poor by providing them opportunities for the optimum utilization of
their potential through active participation in the development process.
• Development programmes have a better chance of success when the target

group and the general public participate in the various stages of the
developmental decision-making process.
• In order to improve the participation of rural people in the process of

development and involvement in decision-making and decentralized planning,
the government of India has made 73rd Constitutional Amendment in 1992 to
provide constitutional recognition to Panchayati Raj Institutions.
• The constitution through 73rd amendment, visualizes panchayats as
institutions of local self governments, it is subjected to the extent of
devolution of powers and functions to the will of the state
legislature.
• For the first time, self-government is located at the Panchayat level.

Locality has become the basis of planning.
• The gram panchayat is entrusted with the responsibility for planning

that is done by the people through gram sabha.
• The amendment provides for decentralized governance at the

district and even lower levels.
• It has created people-centred institutions at the district, block
and village level. The amendment devolved a package of
powers and functions, to Panchayati Raj institutions.
• The eleventh schedule lists out 29 subjects to be transferred to
panchayat raj bodies.
• The Panchayat Raj institutions are responsible for the planning

and implementation of programmes related to social justice and
economic development.
• The constitutional amendment has provided for the

establishment of State Election Commission and State Finance
Commission.
Democratic Decentralisation in Urban Areas
• Municipal bodies like the panchayats are not functioning effectively
as units of local government due to structural, functional and
financial constraint.
• There were strong recommendation from the government to

strengthening the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). To strengthen the urban
governance, parliament enacted 74th Constitutional Amendment Act
1992.
• The Act not only provides a constitutional status to the urban local
governments, but also a number of other measures are incorporated
to strengthen their democratic functioning, resources and powers.
• This Act is intended to give a more focused thrust to decentralization

and the creation of a democratic governance structure at the urban
areas.
Democratic Decentralisation in Tribal and
Schedule Areas
• Special provisions are made in the constitution through the Fifth and Sixth
schedules to protect the interests of Tribals their autonomy and rights.
• The Fifth Schedule envisages notification of tribal dominated areas as

Scheduled areas and the formation of Tribal Advisory Council at the state level.
• The Sixth Schedule provides for establishing autonomous district councils and
autonomous regions empowered with legislative judicial, executive and
financial powers.
• The government of India has appointed a committee headed by Dileep Singh

Bhuria to work out the details as to how structures similar to panchayati raj
institutions can take shape in tribal and scheduled areas.
• The recommendations of the committee:

– Gram Sabha: Every habitation community to have a Gram Sabha which will exercise
command over natural regions, resolve disputes and manage institutions under it,
like schools and cooperatives.
Democratic Decentralisation in Tribal and
Schedule Areas
– Gram Panchayat: Elected body of representatives of each Gram Saha, also
to function as an appellate authority for unresolved disputes at lower level.
– Block / Taluk Level Body : The committee has suggested an elected body of
autonomous district council at the district level with legislative, executive
and judicial powers for tribal areas covered under the Sixth Schedule.
– Bhuria Committee has also recommended the powers and functions of the
three levels in details.
– The Committee also proposed in general terms that the scheduled areas
and tribal areas should be vested with adequate powers to deal with the
problems like growing indebtedness, land alienation, deforestation,
ecological
Participation
Lecture 7 : 15-9-2022
Mohan Kumar Bera

Decentralised Planning
Surce: Sundaram, 1997
Introduction
• Decentralised planning is a kind of percolation of planning activities or process
from the Centre to the sub- state levels, i.e., district, sub-division, block and
village level.
• Since the inception of First Plan (1951-56), the importance of decentralised
planning was emphasised in order to achieve active people’s participation in the
planning process.
• In 1957, the Government appointed Balwant Rai Mehta Committee which

recommended constitution of elected statutory local bodies with its required
resources, power and authority along with a decentralised administrative
system operating under its control.
• In 1969, the Planning Commission issued some guidelines on the introduction

of district planning. Again in 1977; M.L. Dantewala working group
recommended specific guidelines for the introduction of block-level planning.
• After that Ashok Mehta Committee has also submitted its report on Panchayati
Raj in 1978.
Introduction
• The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, finally presented its Report on
Decentralisation of Development Planning and its implementation in the states in 1983.
• In 1984, the Group on District Planning submitted its report and this was considered as
the basis of proposals on decentralised planning under the Seventh Plan.
• Accordingly, the Planning Commission of India introduced the decentralised planning in

the country for the first time during the Seventh Plan. From the very beginning, India has
adopted the system of centralised planning with little variation.
• But with the passage of time there has been radical departure in the planning process in
India from a centralised to a decentralised one where the decision making in the
planning process has been reversed from top-to-bottom type to a system of bottom-to-
top type.
• Thus the decentralised planning is a kind of planning at the grass-root level or planning
from below. Planning process in a country is having various tiers, viz., centre, state,
district, sub-division, block and village.
Introduction
• Under decentralised planning emphasis has been given on the introduction of
district planning, sub-divisional planning and block-level planning so as to
reach finally the village level planning successfully.
• In India, Governmental activities are being performed right from the central to
states and then to local, i.e., to the districts level (Zilla Parishads), taluk level
(Panchayat Samities) and also to the village level (Gram Panchayats). But it now
being observed that this type of centralised planning process is not at all
conducive to optimum utilisation of plan resources.
• Thus in order to realise a better response, the Planning Commission of India

introduced the decentralised planning since the Seventh Plan. Although in
most of the states of India, the decentralised planning was extended to district
level but in some states like Assam, West Bengal etc. the same plan was
decentralised up to sub-division level.
• Accordingly, in order to conduct the planning activities at the sub-divisional

level, the Subdivision Planning and Development Council was formed in every
sub-division of some states with public representatives from different levels.
Introduction
• This council prepares various developmental plans for agriculture, irrigation,
elementary education, road building, social afforestation, fishery,
industrialisation, community development etc. of different sub-divisions of
various states.
• These Councils are then entrusted to submit the required estimates of

developmental works of different departments and then prepare and
implement sub-divisional plan as per the approved outlay.
• Decentralised planning is very much important in a country like India, where

majority of our population live in rural areas. These types of plans raise the
involvement of the people in implementing the plan.
• Moreover, decentralised planning is being prepared in the light of local

problems and on the basis of local resources potential. Thus under the present
economic scenario, the decentralised planning is considered as most important
strategy in respect of planning for economic development.
Developmental Planning
• What is Development?
• Acording to the United Nations Development Program uses
development is 'to lead long and healthy lives, to be
knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a
decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life
of the community. ‘
• Achieving human development is linked to a third perspective

of development which views it as freeing people from obstacles
that affect their ability to develop their own lives and
communities.
• Development, therefore, is empowerment : it is about local
people taking control of their own lives, expressing their own
demands and finding their own solutions to their problems.
Evolution of Decentralised Planning
• India adopted economic planning with the launch of the First Five Year Plan
in 1951.
• At the beginning of this unit that our Five Year Plans have been mainly
centralized plans. But even then, from the very first plan onwards attempts
have been made by the government to introduce some degree of
decentralization into the planning process by strengthening local level
planning.
• Sometimes such attempts have been strong and visible. At other times, they
have been weak and dormant. Thus decentralized planning has evolved in
India in fits and starts over the years.
• Its evolution can be divided into five phases for a brief examination.
Evolution of Decentralised Planning : Phase – I:
The Community Development Phase
• The period includes the First Five Year Plan (1951-56) and the Second Five Year Plan
(1956-61).
• During the First Plan the Community Development (CD) programme was started with
great enthusiasm to give concrete shape to Gandhi’s ideal of a self-reliant village.
• Significantly, the programme was started on October 2, 1952 in 55 selected blocks of the
country to coincide with the birthday of the Mahatma. It was designed as a people’s
movement.
• According to the then ministry of Community Development, Government of India, “The

initiative for Community Development programme comes from the people themselves.
Village Communities not only choose the priorities according to which the problems are
to be tackled, but they also undertake the major responsibility for implementing them.
The role of the Government is to assist all these activities at every stage. Officials guide
and help the villagers, provide technical advice and organise supplies, services and
finance”.
• The programme was implemented through the National Extension Service. In practice,
however, the method adopted for the purpose was “top-down” in which all the
directions came from the centre. But such directions neither reflected local needs, nor
came with the necessary financial and technical resources. Therefore, the members of
the community did not take much interest in the programme as was hoped for.
Evolution of Decentralised Planning :
Phase -II: The Panchayati Raj Phase
• This (1960-70) phase marks the creation of the Panchayati Raj institutions
following the recommendations of the Balwantrai Mehta Committee set up to
study the working of the CD projects.
• The Committee made an historic observation relating to decentralization: “So

long as we do not discover or create a representative and democratic
institution which will supply the local interest, supervision and care necessary to
ensure that expenditure of money upon local projects conforms with needs and
wishes of the locality, invest it with adequate power and assign to it
appropriate finances we will never be able to evoke local initiative in the field of
development.”
• According to the Balwantrai Mehta Committee’s recommendations the

Panchayati Raj system was to have three tiers at the village, block and district
levels.
• At the village and block levels there were to be elected democratic bodies. At
the district level there was to be an advisory body under the Chairmanship of
the District Collector. MPs, MLAs and other important persons were to be its
members. The elected bodies were to be entrusted with planning and
development activities.
• Panchayati Raj institutions were set up in many states following this report. But
at the district level this institution was not regarded as a separate level of
government. No Panchayat Samiti or Zilla Parishd at the block and district levels
developed a proper development profile of the area. Political leaders
dominated the meetings at the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad.
• All the development decisions were taken by the State and Central authorities.
Lower level units were given guidelines for target and programme
implementation from above.
• These institutions suffered a great decline by the end of
1970s.The Ashok Mehta Committee appointed in 1977 to
review the existing situation of Panchayati Raj in the country
recommended a two-tier system.
Phase -III: The Special Programmes Phase
• During the 4th (1969-74) 5-Year Plan (1974-78) some important changes
were introduced to economic planning and development in the country. Up
to this time States were getting plan funds from the Centre in the form of
assistance for specific projects proposed by the State and approved by the
Centre.
• But this system of disbursement of Central assistance for the States was
changed during the 4th Plan. Now the so called Gadgil Formula came into
play whereby block allocation were given by the Centre to the States on the
basis of 30% grant and 70% loan irrespective of schemes and priorities
adopted by the States.
• The States now had to build up and strengthen their planning machinery to
utilize the funds.
• Around this time it was also realized that the economic growth achieved in
the country so far through the 5-Year Plans had not benefited all groups of
society and all regions uniformly.
• A need for the launch of special schemes to specifically benefit these areas and
groups were felt. This led to the introduction of some special programmes in
the plan like the following:
– The Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Project (PIREP)
– The Small Farmers Development Agency Programme (SFDAP)
– The Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labourers Agencies Programme
(MFALAP)
– The Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP)
– The Tribal Areas Development Programme (TADP)
– The Hill Areas Development Programme (HADP)
– The Minimum Needs Programme (MNP)
• The emphasis in rural development was given on “target groups” and
“target areas”.
• The Development Block was viewed as the most suitable unit for this
kind of area planning.
• Activities suitable for the area were to be planned and implemented

with close involvement of the local people.
• A Working Group on Block- Level Planning appointed by the

Government under the chairmanship of Prof. Dantwala prepared
guidelines for block level planning.
• But later on, with the change of government and adoption of a new 6th
Plan (1980-89) the emphasis of local planning changed from the Block-
level to the District-level.
Phase - IV : The District Planning Phase
• The Sixth and Seventh Five Year Plans during this period (1980-90) continued
with the special programmes in old and new forms.
• Decentralized Planning at the district and local levels were intensely discussed
during this period. The government set up a Working Group on District Planning
under the Chairmanship of C.H.Hanumanth Rao in 1982.
• The Working Group recommended a unified planning process at the district

level covering all sectoral programmes. It gave a detailed prescription for
organizing planning at the district level relating to methodology, institutions and
other prerequisites.
Phase - IV : The District Planning Phase
• The G.V.K.Rao Committee appointed in 1985 to recommend administrative
arrangements for rural development also pointed out that the district plan
should not be viewed simply as a segment of the State Plan.
• It should be conceived and executed at the district level and integrated

into the State Plan.
• Both the committees provided detailed guidelines to the states to

reorganize planning below the State level. Many state governments went
for decentralized planning in their own ways while following these
guidelines generally.
Evolution of Decentralised Planning : Phase - V :
The Panchayati Raj Revival Phase
• Decentralized Planning depends to a great deal on the devolution of functions
and powers from government at the top to the local levels. The Panchayati Raj
institutions( PRIs ) form the lower level authorities in our country.
• It has been seen, however, that even when powers and functions are given up
to these institutions, something is held back for exercise by competing
agencies. Very often the weak constitutional position of the Panchayati Raj
institutions was the reason for this neglect.
• The Government has tried to strengthen the PR institutions by turning them

into constitutional units of self-government through the 73rd Amendment to
the Constitution in 1993.
• As many as 29 subjects have been identified for the PR institutions. Many

States have already devolved considerable number of functions and powers to
these institutions with the power to mobilize resources. At present the trend
all over the country is to move fast towards decentralized planning through PR
institutions.
Dimensions of decentralised planning
• There are four major dimensions of decentralization:

– (i) Functional decentralization,
– (ii) Financial decentralization,
– (iii) Administrative decentralization, and
– (iv) Political decentralization
Participation
Lecture 7 : 15-9-2022
Mohan Kumar Bera

Decentralised Planning: Development planning
What is Development?
– According to the United Nations Development Program uses development is
'to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the
resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to
participate in the life of the community. ‘
– Achieving human development is linked to a third perspective of

development which views it as freeing people from obstacles that affect
their ability to develop their own lives and communities.
– Development, therefore, is empowerment : it is about local people taking

control of their own lives, expressing their own demands and finding their
own solutions to their problems.
• A development plan sets out a local authority's
policies and proposals for land use in their area.
• The term is usually used in the United Kingdom.
• A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The

development plan guides and shapes day-to-day
decisions
Development Planning can be classified
according to its time frame
• Long-term plan: This is technically known as perspective plan. This plan takes a
long range view of-the economy and can cover a period of 10-20 years.
• Medium-term plan: This ranges from annual plans to plans extending to two or
three years. Regional plan: This is the type of plan that focuses on the specific
regions of a country.
• Sectoral plan: This focuses on the relationship and needs of different sectors of
the economy. National plan: This covers all geo-political units in a country.
• Indicative planning: This is the type of plan which relies to some extent on
market forces to allocate resources. The government only provides rules,
ceilings, rates, guidelines and penalties for non-compliance.
• Comprehensive planning: This touches all aspects of the economy, small and
big enterprises, domestic and foreign trade, prices and output decisions of
firms, wages, production target and inter-relationship between sectors.
Reasons for Planning
• To avoid or minimize waste in the utilization of scarce societal resources,
through coordination and rational allocation to all sectors.
• To rank or prioritize developmental goals of society and allocate resources to

those sectors that are regarded as the most needed.
• To take care of the inadequacies of the market forces or private sector in the
provision of certain essential goods and services.
• To help sustain a nation’s economy by ensuring that the nation is not living
above its means.
Problems of Development Planning
• Successful planning in developing countries is made cult by a number of
factors:
• Non-availability and poor quality of data even when available.
• Frequent political changes and poor quality of leadership.
• Lack of discipline, commitment and capacity to implement what is in the

plan.
• Inadequate financial resources from both material and external sources.
• High level of corruption.
• Inadequacy of administrative, professional and managerial skills.
• Over ambitions and unrealistic plans.

Rationale of Development planning
• The concept of Development Planning draws its economic arguments/rationality from
the Public Finance school of Economics, which is based in J.M. Keynes’s theory of
Income and Employment.
• Public Finance implies ‘more government’ as opposed to ‘less government’ preferred by

Liberalists and now, Public Choice theorists.
– Simply put, as per the ‘more government argument,’ the government has to intervene in a benign
way to correct the distortions of the market; left free, the market mechanism would not facilitate
resource allocation in favour of non-profit public works and social schemes for the poor, which are
essential for development.
• Hence, the government has to partake proactively in development by means of

increased public spending on employment generating activities/projects in order to
augment the level of income and thereby demand (aggregate demand) in the economy,
boost production economy (aggregate supply) for overall growth.
• The State has to fight poverty and inequality by innovative resource generation
measures such as differential taxation in favour of the poor and resource allocation in
budgets with a re-distributive agenda.
Rationale of Development planning
• Hence, public expenditure should be incurred on the basis of planned schemes to meet
the targets of income and employment for the masses; and, resources allocated
accordingly, to set ends as per plan.
• Expenditure being talked about is capital expenditure, which is incurred mainly through
external and internal borrowings. In the part few decades, non -plan revenue
expenditure has grown at the expense of capital expenditure, plan and non-plan.
• In simpler words, it means that ‘maintenance’ expenditure incurred in meeting daily

expenses such as establishment charges, servicing equipments, paying salaries et al has
grown so much that state governments have had to perforce cut capital expenditure,
which is mainly developmental expenditure, incurred on plan works.
– Resultantly, essential developmental tasks such as building infrastructure, setting industries et al have
suffered in states.
• Stress therefore in development planning is on curbing maintenance expenditure by

cutting on staff budget, which implies scaling down massive underemployment in the
government sector.
Context of Development planning
• In India, decentralisation could be criticised as a precocious attempt
since it has been embarked upon without ensuring the essential socio-
economic prerequisites, viz. desired standards of awareness, education,
institutional arrangements for peoples’ participation in planning, plan
implementation with peoples’ involvement, inculcation of desired
technical know- how, institutional corrections via social and economic
reform etc.
• The converse argument could be that one could not wait perennially
for the ‘right time.’
• Hence, the attempt presently, is with the theoretical supposition of the

theory of ‘Institutionalisation’, whereby, desired change is sought by
introducing institutions, in a ‘sociological landscape’, which act as
change agents in that in time, as they concretise, they act on the
‘substratum’ and alter its character as per own nature/orientation.
• Introduction of the institutions of self governance is expected to initiate
the process of ‘apocalyptic social transformation’ as aforesaid, in that
structural and behavioral changes are expected with regard to
empowerment, self-reliance, and better awareness on the part of
people in keeping with the requirements of grass roots democracy.
• Pertinently, in economic theory, there are two approaches to economic

development:
– as per one, establishing basic prerequisites, such as law and order,
communication infrastructure, power et al establishes the environment for
development.
– As per the other approach, development is planned for and provided,
proactively by the state led).
– As per the first approach, establishment of local “self-government” would
renew local administration, which would have positive spin- off effects on
business generally. Improved investment climate is expected.
• Peoples’ participation is the chief virtue to be derived from local level
developmental planning.
• The failure of previous efforts at rural regeneration, starting from the

community development programme, have been ascribed mainly to lack of
effective peoples’ participation in planning and implementation of these
programmes.
• This would be the sociological transformation that would be brought about by

institutionalising cooperative effort at the local level, through panchayat raj
institutions.
• The role of the planning Commission in the changed dispensation is likely to

shift to long range planning, henceforth.
• According to I.C. Dhingra (2005), the emphasis should be on in depth

exploration into alternatives in respect of vital sectors like energy, transport,
social sectors, technology et al.
Requirements in development planning
• Employment generation would the key requirement in eradicating
poverty.
• Poverty alleviation, it should be remembered is the chief rationale

for planning from below, since the top down approach has not
succeeded in removing poverty.
• Issues in Rural Development

• Human Resource Development
• Rural Credit
• Public Administration
• Issues in Urban Planning
• Environmental Protection
Five-Year Plans of India
• From 1947 to 2017, the Indian economy was premised on the concept of
planning.
• This was carried through the Five-Year Plans, developed, executed, and
monitored by the Planning Commission (1951-2014) and the NITI Aayog (2015-
2017).
• With the prime minister as the ex-officio chairman, the commission has a
nominated deputy chairman, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister.
• Revised versions of the formula have been used since then to determine the
allocation of central assistance for state plans.
• The new government led by Narendra Modi, elected in 2014, has announced
the dissolution of the Planning Commission, and its replacement by a think tank
called the NITI Aayog (an acronym for National Institution for Transforming
India).
Five-Year Plans of India
• First Plan (1951–1956)
• Second Plan (1956–1961)
• Third Plan (1961–1966)
• Fourth Plan (1969–1974)
• Fifth Plan (1974–1978)
• Sixth Plan (1980–1985)
• Seventh Plan (1985–1990)
• Eighth Plan (1992–1997)
• Ninth Plan (1997–2002)
• Tenth Plan (2002–2007)
• Eleventh Plan (2007–2012)
• Twelfth Plan (2012–2017)
First Plan (1951–1956)
• The first Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, presented the First
Five-Year Plan to the Parliament of India and needed urgent attention. T
• he First Five-year Plan was launched in 1951 which mainly focused in

the development of the primary sector. The First Five-Year Plan was
based on the Harrod–Domar model with few modifications.
• This five years plan's president was Jawaharlal Nehru and Gulzarilal
Nanda was the vice-president. The motto of first five years plan was '
Development of agriculture' and the aim was to solve different
problems that formed due to the partition of the nation, second world
war.
• Rebuilding the country after independence was the vision of this plan.
Another main target was to lay down the foundation for industry,
agriculture development in the country and to provide affordable
healthcare, education in low price to the folks.
First Plan (1951–1956)
• The total planned budget of ₹2,069 crore (₹2,378 crore later) was allocated to seven
broad areas: irrigation and energy (27.2%), agriculture and community development
(17.4%), transport and communications (24%), industry (8.6%), social services
(16.6%), rehabilitation of landless farmers (4.1%), and for other sectors and services
(2.5%).
• The most important feature of this phase was active role of state in all economic
sectors.
• The target growth rate was 2.1% annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth; the
achieved growth rate was 3.6% the net domestic product went up by 15%.
• At the end of the plan period in 1956, five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were
started as major technical institutions. The University Grants Commission (UGC) was
set up to take care of funding and take measures to strengthen the higher education
in the country.
Second Plan (1956–1961)
• The Second Plan focused on the development of the public sector and "rapid
Industrialisation". The plan followed the Mahalanobis model, an economic
development model developed by the Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra
Mahalanobis in 1953.
• The plan attempted to determine the optimal allocation of investment between

productive sectors in order to maximise long-run economic growth.
• It used the prevalent state-of-the-art techniques of operations research and

optimization as well as the novel applications of statistical models developed at
the Indian Statistical Institute.
• The plan assumed a closed economy in which the main trading activity would
be centred on importing capital goods.[5][6] From the Second Five-Year Plan,
there was a determined thrust towards substitution of basic and capital good
industries.
Second Plan (1956–1961)
• Hydroelectric power projects and five steel plants at Bhilai, Durgapur, and Rourkela were
established with the help of the Soviet Union, Britain (the U.K) and West Germany
respectively. Coal production was increased. More railway lines were added in the north
east.
• The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Atomic Energy Commission of India
were established as research institutes. In 1957, a talent search and scholarship program
was begun to find talented young students to train for work in nuclear power.
• The total amount allocated under the Second Five-Year Plan in India was Rs. 48 billion.
This amount was allocated among various sectors: power and irrigation, social services,
communications and transport, and miscellaneous.
• The second plan was a period of rising prices. The country also faced foreign exchange
crisis. The rapid growth in population slowed down the growth in the per-capita income.
• The target growth rate was 4.5% and the actual growth rate was 4.27%.
• Please go through other five year plan yourself

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HSS F362: Local Governance and

Mohan Kumar Bera

• The words ‘government’ and ‘governance’ are

• (a) Government is a group of people who rule or

• (b) Government includes the regularised body of people who

• Governance is the act of ruling that comes after the

• (c) A government is a body entrusted with the power to

• Governance has features such as efficiency, accountability,

• (d) According to Rosenau, government and governance refer

• The concept of governance had been in France in

• It has been derived from Greek word ‘Kybernan’ which

• Governance, in simple terms, means “the process of

• According to Harland Cleveland, what people want is ‘less

• World Bank explained three aspects of governance:

– the processes by which authority is exercised in the

– the capacity of governments to design, formulate, and

• The OECD mentioned following components of

• UNDP has mentioned the characteristics of good

• United Nations Education and Social Cultural

• The size of government was reduced by privatisation and

• Government creates major regulatory bodies

– In this context, governance refers to “the system by which organisations

– It is the structure and the functioning of corporate policies.

– It is the mechanism by which corporations and managers are governed

– All companies need governing as well as managing (Tricker, 1984).

– good governance is a combination of the efficiency concerns of public management

• There is a general feeling that there is a ‘hollowing out’ of the State.

• The governance, including those based on markets, hierarchies, and network,

• The neo-liberal political/economic regime of the 1980s and 1990s partly

• The introduction of market mechanisms has led to a more fragmented and

• Governing in an interactive perspective is directed at the balancing of social interests

Mohan Kumar Bera

• A government is a set of institution that exercises control through legal

• Social acceptance of the power of the government to control people

• A government normally functions by dividing its functions between its

• It primarily performs three main functions : making of laws, enforcing

• This system of dividing powers among the three organs of a government is

• Organs of government: the Legislature

• Legislature in the field of comparative politics is technically known as rule

• Framing the law is the most important function of the Legislatures

• The legislature should comprise the people's representatives, since they

• The executive implement the laws made by legislature.

• The executive is the implement various policies of government .

• The nominal executive may be either a monarch or an elected President. What

• He is just a constitutional figure head perfuming some ceremonial duties but

• The monarch may assume office in hereditary succession as in U.K. or through

• Judiciary, also known as the rule-adjudication department of the government,

• It interprets law and awards punishments for the violation of laws.

• In Republic, Plato discusses five types of regimes: aristocracy, timocracy,

• Aristotle elaborates on Plato's five regimes discussing them in relation to the

• Classification of forms of government according to which people have the

• An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is

• Absolute monarchy is a historically prevalent form of autocracy, wherein a

• Other forms of autocracy include tyranny, despotism, and dictatorship.

• Aristocracy is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small,

• This class exercises minority rule, often as a landed timocracy, wealthy

• Many monarchies were aristocracies, although in modern constitutional