Decentralised Service Delivery in Panchayats
The Public Affairs Centre believes that the CRC would be a useful instrument in contributing to the more effective evolution of the Panchayat Raj Institutions. PAC also recognizes that taking the CRC, which has been widely used in urban centres, to this new rural institutuion may require testing, learning and adaptation, at least in some aspects. Accordingly, this unique study was undertaken to apply the CRC methodology to those public services that are the exclusive responsibility of the Gram Panchayats. Services, which are the responsibility of the state or central government, were excluded.
PAC carried out a pilot CRC in four talukas in Tumkur district of Karnataka.The objectives of the pilot CRC were:
- to assess the access, usage, quality andsatisfaction with public services providedby decentralized rural local governancebodies or Gram Panchayats,
- to proactively disseminate the findingsand pointers from this study and usethem to advocate operational and policyreform action,
- to present this experience for similarinitiatives in other districts of Karnatakaand other states as well.
Authors
Dr. Sita Sekhar, Dr. Meena Nair, Dr. A. VenugopalaReddy
