India and other countries chose a decentralised mode of delivering public services through elected local governments for increasing public welfare. However, great expectations of effective services, increased accountability and people's participation were widely belied in practice. Based on field research in cities of Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the book is a detailed examination of how state and local governments function and why decentralisation outcomes vary considerably. It locates the primary reason in governance practices that compromised autonomy and capacity of urban local governments. The book demonstrates that despite a constitutional mandate for decentralised governance, policy implementation got derailed in processes threading through laws, rules, and administrative actions. It shows how habitual practices create hidden institutional rigidities that thwart policy moves despite good intentions and democratic legitimacy. The book also discusses how to navigate policy to skirt hidden threats to successful implementation.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'In simple and uncomplicated words, this book is path-breaking. Unlike rural panchayats, urban local self governance in India is understudied. By focusing on Trivandrum and Surat, among other things, this book gives us a deep understanding of why city governments function so differently in India. Counter-intuitive insights, especially about Kerala, abound. Urban India will become bigger and bigger in the coming years. Read this book to understand what is at stake!' Ashutosh Varshney, Brown University, USA
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Produkt-Hinweis
Fadenheftung
Gewebe-Einband
Illustrationen
Worked examples or Exercises
Maße
Höhe: 236 mm
Breite: 160 mm
Dicke: 23 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-108-83234-2 (9781108832342)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Babu Jacob has worked with the Indian Administrative Service since 1968 at different levels and in different governance domains in the Kerala state government and the national government, including in domains with direct relevance to this book (urban governance and public works). He retired as the Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala. He researches governance and was affiliated with the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Trivandrum.
Dedication; Acknowledgements; Preface; List of Tables; List of Figures; Glossary; Abbreviations; Part I. Background: Chapter 1. Two Cities; Chapter 2. Approach and Argument; Part II. Local Capacity: Chapter 3. Running City Governments; Chapter 4. Organising City Governments; Part III. Accountability: Chapter 5. State-Local Relations; Chapter 6. Participation in City Governments; Part IV. Institutions, Policies and Implementation: Chapter 7. Theorising Decentralisation; Chapter 8. Governing Locally: Institutions and Policies; Chapter 9. Implementing 'Governing Locally'; References; Index.
