The implementation of decentralisation reform as embodied in the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution has suffered from complete negligence. The two recent articles by Oommen and Sivaramakrishnan have highlighted the inexplicable attitudes of the finance commissions and the judiciary towards decentralisation.

Discussion in Lok Sabha on theBill further to amend the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj Act, 2001.

The Supreme Court

The newly elected panchayat representatives of Rajasthan have demanded devolution of all 29 subjects to the panchayats of the state.

The State Finance Commission, although a technical and quasijudicial constitutional entity like the Union Finance Commission, has to help local governments plan for economic development and deliver social justice and public services at the local level.

The Decentralisation Community of Solution Exchange, an initiative of the United Nations in India, provides a platform for increasing our understanding of local governance-both rural and urban-through knowledge sharing and collaboration.

On 19 December, the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2009 was passed in the State Assembly. It is now mandatory for all registered voters in Gujarat to vote in the elections of all local bodies (municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats) of the state.

The Union Government, especially the Ministry for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj deserve all credit for declaring 2009-2010 the year of the Gram Sabha

The Decentralisation Community of Solution Exchange, an initiative of the United Nations in India, provides a platform for increasing our understanding of local governance both rural and urban-through knowledge sharing and collaboration. This article is a summary of one of the discussions held on the Decentralisation Community.

In 2008, four countries of South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Nepal) held significant elections. The paper highlights various pertinent issues in the political economy of these four countries and maps out the broad contours of the reforms they need to embark on.

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