Development of Participatory Democracy and the Role of Local Self-Government in India: The West Bengal Experience

Abstract

Participatory democracy refers to a model of democracy in which citizens have the power to make direct decisions about policies and laws. Unlike representative democracy, where elected officials make decisions on behalf of the people, participatory democracy emphasizes direct involvement and collective action. In India, the roots of participatory democracy can be traced back to its traditional village communities, but the formal recognition and institutionalization of participatory democracy began with the constitutional amendments and the devolution of power to local self-governments. One of the most influential steps was the Balwantrai G. Mehta Committee, commonly referred to as the B.R. Mehta Committee, set up in 1957. It played a foundational role in shaping India’s Panchayati Raj system. Then the Government of India constituted the Ashok Mehta Committee in 1977 to examine the condition of PRIs and recommend measures to strengthen them. But the most significant steps in this direction were taken with the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1992, which provided constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), respectively. Rural Local Self Government will be focussed in this analysis. 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 (Panchayati Raj System) institutionalized a three-tier structure of rural local self-governments: Gram Panchayat(Village level), Panchayat Samiti(Block level), Zilla Parishad (District level). West Bengal stands out for its pioneering efforts in institutionalizing participatory democracy through strong local self-government mechanisms. The West Bengal Panchayat Act of 1957 established a four-tier Panchayati Raj system. The Left Front government undertook significant reforms to invigorate local self-governance. The West Bengal Panchayat Act of 1973 was amended to introduce a three-tier system and after 73rd Constitutional Amendment this continues. The last three decades have been a very important chapter in the evolution and progress of the local self-government system in India. India is a diverse country. Here, economic, social, political, cultural diversity often becomes one of the main obstacles in the way of establishing participatory democracy and the progress of local self-government system. Diversity often becomes one of the main obstacles in the way of establishing participatory democracy and the progress of local self-government system. However, all those diversities have overcome all those obstacles within the constitutional framework and created a precedent.