Decentralised Governance in India: An Evaluation in Context of Panchayati Raj Institutions

The world’s largest democratic system of governance is a main feature of India. Democracy requires that there should be public participation, transparency and accountability in governance. Governance is a process in which ‘full benefit of democratic government could not be realized unless the society admits and believes that all problems in their incidence require decision at the place and by the people, by whom the incidence is most deeply felt’. The process of ushering in social change and economic development in a developing country like India requires adequate dissemination so that local committees and individuals could participate and bring local energy, enthusiasm, initiatives and resources under ideal local conditions to work out local developmental activities. The form of democratic decentralisation in India is visible in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). These institutions have been given a constitutional form by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992. The Panchayati Raj (PR) system in its present form has been in operation for the last over 70 years which is sufficient time to evaluate the objectives of its implementation. Therefore, it is pertinent and necessary to do an analysis of democratic decentralised governance in India in respect of PRIs. The present paper is an effort to highlight and understand constitutional provisions vis-a-vis reality of democratic decentralisation and PRIs in India. What are the main constraints in realisation of the constitutional obligations before these bodies of democratic governance and how can these be overcome?