Rural Local Governance and Development: Theories and Practices of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India

This book introduces its readers to the concept of governance and various aspects of the Panchayat Raj Institutions, including Panchayats in the Fifth Scheduled Areas and the institutional arrangements in the Sixth and other scheduled areas. It also focuses on the role of voluntary and community-based organisations, along with the participation of vulnerable groups and their involvement in the implementation of various programmes and schemes, strategies, and policy instruments in rural development.

Encompassing wider aspects of rural governance and development, this book illuminates how people, communities, institutions, and PRIs plan and implement development in rural India. Drawing extensively on author’s field experiences of working in villages and with grassroots level institutions, each chapter is aided by ‘Main Points to Remember’ and review questions for classroom discussions. This reader-friendly volume also includes PPTs and instructions as support material.

The balanced blend of both theory and field insights makes this book relevant not only to students of public administration, political science, and development administration but also practitioners, civil society actors, and researchers.

Mahi Pal is a former officer of the Indian Economic Service. During his service, he worked in various ministries and institutions in different capacities. He retired from the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), where he was engaged in policy and planning matters relating to rural development. Before joining MoRD, he was with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and studied the state of Panchayats across the states and UTs. He also worked in the then planning commission, Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment and Statistics and Programme Implementation. In between for five years, he was on deputation as faculty in the Haryana Institute of Rural Development, Nilokheri, Karnal where he was involved in developing reading materials for trainees and imparting training about various issues relating to rural governance, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development to officials and non-officials working in rural areas. He was also engaged in research relating to Panchayats and rural development programmes. There, he observed, very closely, rural society and economy which has subsequently helped him in giving relevant policy inputs in formulating programmes and schemes for rural development in the ministries. He was also a post-doctoral fellowship during 1992–94 at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, where he specialised in the field of decentralised planning and Panchayati Raj. He was also visiting faculty in the SPA, New Delhi. After retirement Dr. Mahi Pal had worked as Rural Development Expert in the projects on Shyama Prasad Mukherjii Rurban Mission in the SPA, New Delhi. He has also been associated with various civil society organisations and academic bodies. He has also visited several counties.

Mahi Pal has published several outstanding research papers in the areas of decentralised governance and rural development in various journals, including Economic and Political Weekly. He has also authored a number of books both in Hindi language and English language. Some of his books have also been published by National Book Trust and Publications Division, Government of India. He has also participated and contributed papers in various national and international conferences/seminars. He has been regularly contributing articles in national dailies and magazines on relevant issues of rural local governance and development.