Decentralisation- Types PDF

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DECENTRALISATION: MEANING & TYPES Decentralisation has quietly become a fashion of our time. It is being considered or attempted in an astonishing diversity of nations-by developing & transitional; democracies & autocracies, by regimes with colonial in...

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DECENTRALISATION: MEANING & TYPES Decentralisation has quietly become a fashion of our time. It is being considered or attempted in an astonishing diversity of nations-by developing & transitional; democracies & autocracies, by regimes with colonial inheritances and those with none. It is being attempted where civil society is strong and where it is weak. It appeals to people of the left, right and centre and to groups which disagree with each other on several issues. In fact, it is being increasingly considered as the most sought after prescription for ushering in goodgovernance. In what follows, an attempt has been made to explain the various types of decentralisation, beginning with a general understanding of what it entails. WHAT IS DECENTRALISATION? Conceptually speaking, at the heart of decentralisation lies a conscious effort to decentre power, with a view to improving the status of people. Etymologically, it comes from a Latin word, which means “away from the centre”. Decentralisation, broadly, is a philosophy and mechanism which seeks to decentre the power from its traditional centres to far-flung areas with a view to empowering communities. It is also seen as a process of transfer of responsibility, authority and functions from a superior governmental unit to a lower one. It is a prime mechanism through which democracy becomes truly representative and responsive since it involves creation of new institutional space beyond the centre, enabling greater participation of local communities. Its significance can hardly be neglected in today’s era: 1) It is a means to overcome severe limitations of centrally controlled national planning; 2) It can cut through enormous red-tapism and increase sensitivity of central officials to grass-root concerns by enabling greater government-people interaction; 3) It can increase the administrative capacity of local institutions; 4) Has enormous instrumental value for improving organisational performance; 5) Helps in institutionalising the participation of citizens, thereby creating a more flexible, innovative and creative administration that reduces costs of planning and increases number of public goods; 6) Ensures political stability by increasing participation of local communities;

7)

Improves the efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness of governments; 8) Mohit Bhattacharya says that it is conducive to development administration. It brings administration to the doorstep of people, encouraging development through local resources. 9) Develops leadership qualities by enabling field officers to use their discretion; 10) Reduces workload of the top cadres and strengthens grassroots democracy.

In short, as Rajni Kothari puts it, decentralisation is an alternative system of governance based on a people-centred approach to sorting out local level problems. TYPES OF DECENTRALISATION Decentralisation takes different forms and involves different institutions and functions of government. Generally there are 4 types of decentralisationpolitical, fiscal, administrative and functional. Drawing distinctions between them is useful for highlighting the many dimensions to successful decentralisation and the need for coordination among them. POLITICAL DECENTRALISATION Political decentralisation presupposes the transfer of functions and authority from central levels of government to local institutions based on local political representations. It aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decision-making. It is often associated with pluralistic politics and representative governments, but it also gives citizens more influence in policy formulation and implementation, thereby supporting democratisation. Decisions made with greater participation will be better informed and more relevant to diverse interests in society. It allows citizens to know better their political representatives and elected representatives to know better the needs of the people. This encourages greater trust and cooperation between government and citizens, leading to better policy outcomes. Political decentralisation requires statutory reforms, development of pluralist political parties, and creation of local governments and encouragement of effective public interest groups. India has effectively increased the extent of political decentralisation through the Panchayati Raj Act, 1992. ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALISATION

It refers to the delegation of tasks or authority from central government to local branches of the central government. It seeks to redistribute authority for providing public services among different levels of the government. The central government does not give up any authority. It simply relocates its officers at different levels in the national territory. In such circumstances, it tends to practice centralisation, since it enhances the leverage of those at the apex of the system. This is especially true in developing countries, as James Manor delineates in “the political economy of decentralisation”. However, the idea still remains the same- that local governments have more information about local needs and are better placed to choose appropriate policies for the local region. FISCAL DECENTRALISATION In fiscal decentralisation, the previously concentrated powers to tax and generate revenues are dispersed to other levels of government. For instance, local governments are given the power to raise and retain financial resources to fulfil their responsibilities. Dispersal of financial resources is the core element of decentralisation. If local governments are to carry out decentralisation functions effectively then they must have an adequate level of revenues either raised locally or transferred from the central government. Fiscal decentralisation may take several forms: 1) Self-financing or cost recovery through user charges; 2) Expansion of local revenues through property or sales taxes or indirect taxes; 3) Inter-governmental transfers that shift general revenues from taxes collected by central government to their local counterparts for general or specific issues. In many developing countries local political units possess the legal authority to impose taxes but the tax base is so weak and dependence on subsidies from the centre so ingrained that no attempt is made to actually exercise authority. India however, is one South Asian country quite decentralised as compared to others. Despite this, the balance of power in India is still towards the centre. Constitutional provisions like the assignment of residual legislative powers to the national government and the prevalence of what national government says in conflicts with state governments, ensure this tilt. Although sub-national governments have more levels such as the village PRIs, they have lower autonomy in administrative matters and few sources of independent revenue. FUNCTIONAL DECENTRALISATION

It refers to the transfer of functions from central agencies to other intermediate or local bodies in order to enable them discharge their responsibilities. The 73rd amendment for instance, includes the 11 th schedule which lists 29 functions that state governments may devolve to the Panchayats. Subjects pertaining to rural development such as agriculture, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, small scale industries, poverty alleviation programs, infrastructure of schools and hospitals, civic functions like drinking water, markets, maintenance of community assets etc. are included in the list. However, this schedule is merely suggestive and it is ultimately the prerogative of the state governments to decide upon what functions to devolve. The devolution of functions is a complex task. Precision in the devolution of functions is necessary. In many cases, subjects to be devolved to Panchayats have not been clearly defined leading to lack of clarity about the role of PRIs. Moreover, in several states, functions devolved to PRIs can be changed as per executive orders of the state government. Thus, there is absence of a clear-cut functional jurisdiction of PRIs and even that is left to the discretion of state governments. The same applies to urban bodies....