Poor sanitation is one of the major factors for outbreaks of communicable diseases, which have adverse impact on human resources. In India, the percentage of households with latrines in rural area is insignificant. The GOI, under the 10th Plan aims to achieve 100 per cent coverage through the...

Interest in e-governance is growing with the increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) by government to improve the quality of governance and service delivery. Governments all over the world have been using ICTs such as internet, websites, computers and mobile phones to...

In view of the current emphasis in decentralisation on not only ‘vertical restructuring’ of powers and resources but also on analogous ‘horizontal restructuring’ in the decentralisation efforts, the present paper examines the process of stakeholder partnerships in urban service delivery....

The paper explores public-private partnership in the light of persistent state failure, institutional constraints, and systemic weakness, which impede the service delivery. The paper focus is on key issues: whether public-private partnership facilitate innovation, and thereby enhance quality...

This paper is an analytical and critical reflection on beneficiary involvement in public services in a society-state-individual framework. It is set in the context of a holistic review of development performance in Karnataka State. Beneficiary inolvement satisfies the demands of democratic...

Because of lack of proper sanitation, communicable diseases spread causing considerable loss and disabilities to human resources. Considering this, the international community has set the provision of sanitation as part of the Millennium Development Goals, aiming to reduce the number of those...

Providing safe drinking water and sanitation to the rural community is the sole responsibility of state. However, with the introduction of reforms an attempt is made to enhance private investment in this sector by involving community in all stages of development including operation and...

Live performance of local government—including both political representatives and the bureaucracy. Conceptually there is little disagreement on the political and administrative dimensions of accountability, and their relation to the institutions of local government. Transparency and...

The Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 has made a provision for constituting a Gram Sabha (GS) for every village. This forum enables the people to participate in all aspects of village development. A recent study of the working of GSs in AP state reveals that the GS has become defunct and...

The representation of women in the institutions of local government has been facilitated through affirmative action, where one-third of the seats have been reserved for women. This raises issues related to the representation of gender interests and the constraints on such representation. The...