rural development through democratic decentralization - 2

7/30/2019 Rural Development Through Democratic Decentralization - 2

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Rural Development Through

Democratic Decentralizat ion

Prof. R. Suryanarayana Reddy

Center Head, CDP&AAMR-APARD


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Initially, a two-tier planning was initiated at theNational and State levels. The planners and

policy-makers did, however, realise thelimitations of this system for a country as big insize and diversity as India. They felt that multi-level planning was meeded if the fruits of

development were to reach the grass-rootlevel, otherwise there was always a possibilityof losing sight of problems, requirements andpotentials of the local areas while planning

form the State headquarter.


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Under the Constitutional arrangements,various subjects were divided into three

categories-Central, State and Concurrent.


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Rural Development is a concurrent

subject, wherein the national policies

are framed with the consensus of all

the States.


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The idea of decentralised planning

below the State level has featured

consistently in all the Five-Year Plans.

The First Five-Year Plan talked about

breaking the National and State plansinto local units based on district, town

and villages. It did not, however,

elaborate the way decentralisationwould be put into operation.


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First experiment in this regard, the CommunityDevelopment Blocks were established so thatinfrastructure was created at the block level forintegration of the administrative anddevelopment functions. The block level staffwas entrusted with the responsibility of

initiating all round development of the villages.However, it certainly lacked the popularinvolvement, as its scope was limited. Theprogramme was empowered only with

economic and administrative decentralisationand not with political decentralisation, whichwas vital for its success.


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Second Five Year Plan, It was clearly

stated that district would be the pivot of

the structure of democratic planning. In

emphasising planning at the district level

and below, the objective was to carrythe district and State plans as close to

the people as possible through local

community participation and co-operative self-help.


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Balwantrai Mehata Committee constituted by

Government in 1958 on communitydevelopment and plan projects,recommended decentralisation ofadministration and democratization of power.Under the scheme of democraticdecentralisation, a democratic body in eachdevelopment block for all the developmentactivities at that level was suggested, i.e. Athree-tier integrated organic structure with

Gram Panchayats at the base, ZillaPanchayat (ZP) at the apex and PanchayatSamities or Kshetra Samities in-between.


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Acceptance of these recommendations

by the National Development Council

(NDC)


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The State legislatures passed legislations to

create these bodies in their states. These legislations provided for development

of districts as their main unit. Simultaneously,

these bodies were given enough powers not

only to raise resources but also to requisitionthe machinery at the district and lower levels

to implement development plans to

Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs)


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Third Five-Year Plan and it was proposed that

the States should formulate their annual

plans, at least in the following activities on the

basis of district and block level plans.

1. Agriculture, including minor irrigation, soil

conservation, village forests, animalhusbandry, dairying, etc.,

2. Development of co-operatives;

3. Village industries;


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4. Elementary education, especially

provision of school buildings for local

communities;

5. Rural water supply, programme of

minimum rural amenities, including

construction of approach roads linking eachvillage to the nearest road or rail head; and.

6. Works/programmes for fuller utilisation of

manpower resources in rural areas


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The Administrative Reform Commission in 1967examined the question of planning at the districtlevel. Thereafter the Planning Commission issued

a set of detailed guidelines for preparation ofdistrict plans. These guidelines also visualisedpreparation of a perspective plan along withmedium-term and annual plans. On the basis ofPlanning Commissions guidelines, the State of

Maharashtra started preparation of district plans in1972. It not only identified the schemes for districtplanning boards known as District Developmentand Planning Councils at the district level. Gujaratinitiated district planning in 1979. Karnataka was

the third state to start district level planning aroundthis time. All these States evolved their ownprocedures of devolution of plan funds to thedistricts as well as formulation of plans.


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The new Government at the Union Level in

1977 set-up a Working Group under theChairmanship of M.L.Dantwala to draw up

guidelines for the block-level planning. The

Working Group noted that the remoteness of

the planning agencies from the areas ofimplementation and vastness of geographical

coverage hamper matching of sectoral

financial allocations with location-specific

needs as well as potential for regulating thedistribution of the developmental gains.


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Another committee, headed by Ashok Mehta, wasappointed to inquire into the working of the panchayat

Raj Institutions and to suggest measures tostrenghten them so as to enable the decentralisedsystem of planning and development to be effective.

Ashok Mehta Committee felt that development work infuture needs intricate designing and greater co-ordination, which would be unwise to attempt at the

State level. It also suggested that district planningunit consisting of a professionally qualified teamshould be placed with the ZP.


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The Planning Commission again set-up

a Working Group on district planningunder the chairmanship of C.H.1984,

recommending the stageapproach to

district planning.


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The Seventh Plan document (1985-90)

re-affirmed its faith in the process ofdecentralisation and resolved to follow

the process on the lines suggested by the

Rao Committee.


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In 1985, the Planning Commission

appointed a committee under thechairmanship of G.V.K. Rao to review

existing administrative arrangements for

rural development and to suggestappropriate structural mechanism to

activate PRIs.


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The Eighth Five-Year Plan (1992-97) was launched from 1stApril 1992 against the background of two years of pooreconomic performance. It offered a package of structural

adjustments in the form of economic liberalisation,privatisation and fiscal disciplinary reforms. The Governmentrecognised that under the evolved system, people havebecome mere passive observers and receivers of doles.Hence, the emphasis Institutions (PRIs) as the focal point fororganising and implementing rural development programmes.

Tjis approach was consistent with the views of MahatmaGandhi and the Recommendations of Ashok MehtaCommittee on PRIs. The socio-economic activities likeeducation and literacy, health and family planning, landimprovement, minor irrigation, recovery and development ofwaste-land and afforestation were treated as coreactivitiesin which peoples participation could be maximum and morefruitful. It would also result in lowering financial outlays onthese activities. Government envisaged a happy marriagebetween integrated area development approach anddemocratic decentralisation of rural development.


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The Ninth Plan (1997-2002) provides

that the PRIs should prepare plans foreconomic development and social

justice for an integrated development of

the district.


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Certain broad principles are laid down forassigning a role to each of the three-tiers; the

actual devolution could be based on the rulethat what can be done at a lower level shouldbe done at that level, and not at a higherlevel. Initially, the Gram Sabha would list out

developmental priorities and assist in the fairselection of beneficiaries under variousprogrammes and schemes. Thereafter, theplanning process would begin from below

with the preparation of village plans, whichwould be incorporated into the intermediatelevel Block plans and finally merged into aDistrict Plan.


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Union Government has set apart 41 per cent

of plan resources for decentralised planning,including un-tied funds andincentive grants

to match the contributions raised by PRIs.

Thereafter sectoral allocations at the State

level should be on the basis of demandsmade from below by the districts and in

keeping with the national priorities. In this

way, it would be possible to bring about both a

vertical and a horizontal integration ofresources and services.


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The Ninth Plan aslo lays emphasis on a

comprehensive time bound trainingpolicy for the functionaries, in order to

equip them with updated information

and modern technologies, which in turn

have to be disseminated amongst the

rural people.


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Hitherto, the question of decentralised

planning has been restricted to one ofplanning techniques but it needs to be

extended to the whole process of socio-

political changes.


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The electorate, elected representatives

and the bureaucracy, has to jointlycreate an environment conducive for

these institutions to take roots.


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There are at least six areas where localgovernment empowerment is sought to beachieved through constitutional means.These are:

(i) typology and size,

(ii) electoral representation,(iii) institutional existence and autonomy,

(iv) local functions,

(v) local finance, and

(vi) external accountability.


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While social audit and transparency in

the functioning of PRIs is crucial forevoking peoples participation, the

institutional structure should support

financial and administrative devolution

of power. While rural development

necessitates decentralisation, political

compulsions, many a times, pull

towards centralisation.


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Political parties in power are alwaysuncertain of their position. So they tend to

resist and resent any attempt at setting up oflocal organisations outside their control. TheCentral and Stae leaderships look withsuspicion at the emergence of any strong

decentralised institutional political leadershipand hence evolve ways and means ofcontrolling the power and authority of thelower tiers.


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Despite the obvious struggle for power andcontrol. The Central Government has shownthe political will to constitutionalise the statusof PRIs in larger public interest, theConstitutional Amendment Act, 1992 hastherefore been cherished as a watershedevent for achieving rural developmentthrough democratic decentralisation. It haslaid down certain mandatory provisions interms of structural organisation of PRIs whilethe functional aspects are left to the option of

respective states.


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The catch lies in the areas where each

state has to frame its own laws tooperationalise the mandate given in

favour of strengthening the PRIs.


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Provisions of 73rd Amendment

Mandatory Optional

2-3 tier structure Direct election of GPchairperson

Direct Elections Role and scope of Gram Sabha

Reservations for weaker sections Powers and functions of each

tierFixed Tenure Financial devolution

State Finance Commission Maintenance and Audit ofAccounts

State Election Commission Composition and functions ofDPC

District Planning Committees(DPCs) Reservation to Adhyakshas postsat GP, TP and ZP level by rotation.


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Rural development so far has beencharacterised by centralised planning

withemphasis on macro-level targets than onground level realities and felt needs of thepeople. The bureaucratic system soughtlittle involvement of the community for whom

these programmes were not evaluatedagainst the end objectives viz., removal ofpoverty or improvement of standards of livingin the rural areas.


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Based on the Directive Principles

enshrined in the Constitution, variousGovernments made attempts towards

setting-up of multi-structured Panchayat

Raj system, but did not endow it withrequisite powers and resources.


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It is only now, after more than 45 years

of independence, that 73rd Amendment

of the Constitution enables Panchayats

to play a substantial role in the local

self-government.


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The emergence of PRIs is leading tochanges in rural poor structure as well as theequation between the officials and non-officials. Within the Panchayat Raj set-upthere is a grim fight, directly or indirectly,among the political parties, to capture power,

as it facilitates their political power struggle,at higher levels, as well as among differenttiers of PRIs for appropriating maximumresources. PR system has to surmount many

challenges by evolving consensus in thelong-run, if it has to survive and play animportant role in ensuring growth and equityin rural areas.


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With the 73rd Amendment to the Constitutionenvisaging the establishment of Panchayats

as units of local government, it is mandatoryfor the States to devolve adequate powersand responsibilities upon the PIRs. Thesuccess of this system essentially dependsupon the external as well as the internalpolitico-administrative set-up. Althoughpolitical will is said to have beendemonstrated by away of constitutionalamendment at the Centre and through the

State legislation, yet it needs to be furtherreiterated in terms of devolution of funds,functions and functionaries to the PRIs.


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The aspirations and expectations of the

community though raised by the PRIshave not been fulfilled to a great extent

due to paucity of resources. This has

eroded the faith of the common man in

the local government. The alienation of

people thus shadows their active

participation in developmental process.


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At the State government level, it isapprehended that non-empowerment of Gram

Sabhas with inadequate devolution of powers,finances and top-down approach to planning,monitoring and evaluation, manipulation of thepattern of reservation for the posts of

Adhyakshas by the ruling party would

degenerate the democractic anddecentralised character of the PRIs. Further,vesting of major powers, functions and fundsat ZP/TP level could impoverish the GP in

reaching the goal of self-reliance orempowerment of the poor and weak.

rural development through democratic decentralization - 2

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