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Decentralisation in India
Meaning and importance
Decentralisation means taking away all power from the Central and State government and delegating it to a third level i.e. local government.
- The fundamental idea of decentralisation is that many issues and problems are best resolved locally.
- People are more aware of the issues in their own local communities.
- Additionally, they are more knowledgeable about how to manage things effectively and where to spend money .
- The general public can take part in decision-making directly at the municipal level. This fosters the practise of democratic engagement.
- One crucial democratic concept, local self-governance , can best be realised through local government.
Major problems before 1992
A need for decentralisation was recognised in the constitution but before 1992, the local government faced a lot of problems-
- The panchayats in the villages and municipalities in urban settlements were directly under the control of State govt.
- This meant that the State govt did not share powers and revenues resources with the local govt.
- The local govt did not have any financial autonomy , power or resources of it's own as a result.
- Elections to these local governments were not conducted regularly.
- Minimal or no seats were reserved for women.
Constitutional amendment in 1992
A series of major steps were taken in light of the above problems in 1992 to make the third tier of the government more effective and powerful-
- Regular elections for local government bodies are now required by the constitution.
- Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs.
- One third of all positions are reserved for the women.
- Each state has established a separate organisation called the State Election Commission (SEC) to oversee panchayat and municipal elections.
- The state government now is required to allocate its resources and authority to the local governments.
