So near, so far

So near, so far

Panchayati raj has many failures. And, many ways of looking at it

THE discussion on panchayats remains polarised. Proponents of new economic models and privatisation decry panchayati raj as another drain on the exchequer, pointing to their corruption and inefficiency. The proponents of decentralised governance say panchayats serve a large country like India well, and that these have delivered despite constraints. They want reforms in institutional structures.

What is surprising is that even after 15 years since these so-called 'experiments with panchayati raj' began there are hardly any wide-ranging studies of its performance in the country. In 2000, the mid-term review of the 9^th Five-Year Plan cited several state-level surveys to conclude that panchayats have failed to reach to the right audience."Devolution, as it has been implemented, in the opinion of the villagers, may not have brought about development, but it has on the other hand reinforced the unequal access to power. Much of what comes from the government, they feel, is snatched away by the important people," it said. The mid-term review of the 10th Five-Year Plan only glosses over the issues. Ironically, it is left to the World Bank to prepare a more detailed description in its 2006, World Bank Development Policy Review.

What we have instead are anecdotal surveys and micro-level critical appraisals. These argue that performance of panchayats is conditional to their empowerment. On corruption and inefficiency, most studies are vocal, finding that this scourge afflicts all wings of administration, including the lowest tier. But there are those who say it is easier to check corruption at the level of the panchayat because at this level, corruption is visible, transparent and at people's own doorstep.

Delivering change or not In 2004 the Overseas Development Institute (odi), London published its study on the state of panchayats in Madhya Pradesh. It found the decentralisation process in Madhya Pradesh had failed to challenge the well-entrenched power of the village chief, the sarpanch . "The selection process of beneficiaries was dominated by the sarpanch , often in collaboration with the line department officials whose projects were being implemented," the study commented. In the household surveys, the number of respondents who said they were members of a village committee was less than two per cent.

It also conducted a study of various schemes and institutions in Ujjain district to gauge the efectiveness of panchayats. The survey asked people to rank the importance of three institutions-the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Missino, Farmer's Cooperative Society and and the village panchayat- in their lives. The villagers ranked panchayats at least as important. A major reason was that the panchayat's work did not focus on local needs, unlike the watershed mission or cooperative society

Most agree that the the village assembly is crucial to the working of the elected panchayat . A 2003 gram sabha attendance assessment by the Himachal Pradesh government showed 78 per cent of the gram sabha meetings had to be adjourned in 2002-03, for lack of quorum. This even the quorum for the meeting is only 10 per cent of the total village voters--which constitutes the gram sabha. A 2005 study done over 4000 households in southern Indian states found that only 20 per cent of households had ever attended a gram sabha . But even then, the study concluded that despite the low attendance, the gram sabha provided opportunity for participation and when ever held helped marginalised to get a voice in decision-making. "The control exercised by the sarpanch and block-level officials over the work of the panchayats has not only buttressed corruption, but also led to pessimism that villagers cannot change and improve performance because of heavy dependence on elected representatives and block officials," says N C Saxena, former rural development secretary. The question now is how this tier of government will be institutionalised and if this institution will then not become more government and less people? 12jav.net12jav.net