Malawi'’s agricultural sector is critical to its economy, employing around 77% of the population and accounting for 23% of gross domestic product (GDP). The majority of workers in agriculture are smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate less than one hectare of land. Despite its importance, the sector faces significant challenges, …
A study of democracy is incomplete without a study of one of its most fundamental components—political parties. In India, works on the country’s political parties so far have explored, among other things, the direct and indirect relationship between the nature and type of political parties and the different facets of …
This book, explores the crucial role of subnational levels of government in accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific. Subnational governments implement public policies, facilitate partnerships among stakeholders, and act as interlocutors between communities and the state. Many national SDG targets will not be achievable …
International and domestic efforts to respond to the severe global challenge of climate change are on the rise and evolving. Despite the importance of action from multiple levels of government, public sector reforms to address climate change and to promote decentralization and or intergovernmental relations tend to be designed and …
The present study adopts a transversal environmental justice-driven understanding of SWM which connects ecologies, lives, livelihoods, and institutions. Applying Rob Nixon’s theoretical framework of “slow violence” to the Tunisian context, it examines three case studies of municipal solid waste management and the role of environmental activism across these cases. The …
The present study adopts a transversal environmental justice-driven understanding of SWM which connects ecologies, lives, livelihoods, and institutions. Applying Rob Nixon’s theoretical framework of “slow violence” to the Tunisian context, it examines three case studies of municipal solid waste management and the role of environmental activism across these cases. The …
Since the early 2000s, decentralization has been espoused as a major policy goal of successive Zambian governments. With the passing of the 2019 Local Government Act, a greater understanding is needed of how decentralization has progressed thus far in Zambia and how political economy dynamics have constrained the process. As …
Order of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of West Bengal State Election Commission & Others Vs Communist Party of India (Marxist) & Others dated 03/07/2018 regarding Panchayat seats in West Bengal going uncontested. Apex Court takes serious note of the fact that out of 58,692 total seats …
Judgement of the High Court of Uttarakhand in the matter of Gram Sabha Mawakot & Others Vs State of Uttarakhand & Others dated 14/05/2018 regarding declaration of rural self governing institutions like "gram panchayat" to an urban local body, by converting it into a "Nagar Panchayat". The main matter relates …
It is widely acknowledged that top-down support is essential for bottom-up participatory projects to be effectively implemented at scale. However, which level of government, national or sub-national, should be given the responsibility to implement such projects is an open question, with wide variations in practice. This paper analyzes qualitative and …
New Delhi’s “urban villages” are the result of government land acquisitions that began in 1912 and continued into the 1960s. Since the 1980s, growing demand for real estate within the city has engendered unprecedented residential and commercial development in these former agrarian areas. The consequences of this include structural changes …
Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Lok Prahari Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Others dated 21/11/2016 regarding the legality of the Vidhayak Nidhi Scheme in the State of Uttar Pradesh which provides for annual budgetary grants to Members of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative …
The conditions imposed by the amendment to the panchayati raj law in Haryana have not only excluded a large section of the population from contesting elections but have also deprived voters of their right to choose. All appropriate measures must be undertaken to ensure that these exclusionary conditions are withdrawn.
What impact has the award of the Fourteenth Finance Commission had on the resources and spending of state governments? Does it necessarily have to lead to a decline in outlays in the social sector? An illustrative and preliminary exercise for Bihar.
This paper examines the linkages between decentralisation and urban climate governance through a literature review, supported by two city case studies: Saint-Louis in Senegal and Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. The paper explores how urban development needs, and the responsibilities, policies and processes required to meet them, are shaped, facilitated or …
Rapidly increasing urbanisation in India has brought much needed focus on the urban development policies in India. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was the first programme to provide substantial funds for urban local bodies to improve their infrastructure and bring in better governance systems. This article tries to …
Annual technical inspection report on panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies for the year ended 31 March 2013 (Manipur). This report has been laid on the table of the State Legislature Assembly on 16-07-2014.
Kerala's decentralised experience has demonstrated that democracy is more than just balloting. But deepening democracy is a continuous quest for justice and freedom. While participatory democracy has powerful theoretical arguments, its empirical basis continues to be weak. This article explores how far local governance in Kerala has deepened democratic practice …
The study entitled "Decentralised Forest Governance, Institutions and Livelihoods in Odisha: A Study of Evolution of Policy Process and Politics" aims to understand the dynamics of forest polices and politics of Odisha. The study also seeks to explore the policies and politics of livelihoods in the state forestry sector and …
Sanitation continues to remain India's biggest failure with a large proportion of the nation's rural population still defecating in the open says this India Rural Development Report 2012-13 The dynamics of political, economic and social change in rural India are complex and have been gaining prominence. In this context, the …
Jammu and Kashmir has been able to progress gradually in improving the Panchayat Acts, starting from electing the panchayat members by show of hands to direct elections by the people and empowering elected members by means of defining certain powers. However, their functioning in practice demonstrates the glaring deficiencies in …
