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 All appropriate measures must be undertaken to ensure that these exclusionary conditions are withdrawn.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.

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 look at the mission from a new public management perspective. The performance of ULBs in project implementation shows delinking from the reforms agenda of the mission.

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 and argues that the local governance system in the state needs to be reformed and redefined.

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 the state Panchayat Act and these institutions face a number of problems.