After the windfall
The Centre has promised more money to panchayats, but there is many a slip between cup and lip
At last in wonderland
Kerala's decentralisation programme is an example of the difference a strong civil society can make
Bill must ensure power to the people
The political debate on the Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika bills does not address the issue of giving power to the people so they can take …
Second disempowerment
Tribals have lost their decision-making power twice; first to the state then to the Maoists
Yojna Banao Abhiyan - then a hit, now a miss
The local administration in Jharkhand is undermining the decentralised scheme, created to enhance livelihood, manage natural resources and …
Nagaland tribal bodies are protesting reservation for women in local bodies
Women’s rights activists say that it shows the unwillingness of tribal bodies to share power
You can be sued for your social media posts
Copyright issues related to social media posts are a concern as platforms are shutting down accounts without notice
Boss, the real beehive!
Rahul Gandhi’s idea of governance needs fresh focus. How about more autonomy to nearly 240,000 panchayats?
Tamil Nadu district climate change missions: Is it really decentralised governance?
Climate change governance at the local / district level should be collaborative, flexible, strategic and reflective, rather than a bureaucrat-…
Karnataka revives dying lakes: Why a decentralised governance was long overdue
The High Court of Karnataka June 15, 2021 passed an order calling for decentralised governance of lakes in the state
Punjab’s panchayat flip-flop
State considers reverting to direct polls, court raps it for taking away right to recall sarpanch
Central concerns
In a bid to give more fiscal autonomy to states, the Centre in the last budget gave them a higher share in Union tax receipts. Has this helped …
Local authorities in Delhi can use imaginative by-laws to clean up the city
Households must be rewarded on segregating waste and collectors, both formal and informal, should be trained
The national local elections
Bangladesh loses an opportunity to revive its most important local government—upazilla parishad—as competing national parties turn …
The road ahead
India with its deplorable rural roads can learn a lesson from Madagascar, which has successfully implemented a decentralised system of …
The third wind
The new challenges before Japan require leadership from not just the government and the corporate sector but also the civil society
The curious case of panchayats in Delhi
The Nagar Swaraj Bill will usher in decentralised governance in the city state, but what happened to rural panchayats?
Machiavellian moves
Rajasthan's decision to bar illiterate people from contesting elections to panchayats is one more example of a state government dominating …
Sure cure: how to tackle India's undernutrition crisis in 10 steps
The finance ministry and the planning department can play an overarching role by ensuring health programmes get sufficient resources
Bridging the gap
Pressured by a highly active civil society, the Kerala state government is actually giving power to the people. The decentralisation theory has …
Micropowerful
A microhydel project a day. Communities snatch the initiative from the government to electrify rural Nepal
Panchayat Raj Half a cheer for democracy
There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after the third tier of government was created, …
Walk the village talk
After raising the political profile of village councils, government wants to downsize them
Power the people
For the country where only 15 per cent of its population have access to electricity, Nepal has come a long way. It took 84 years to achieve power …