IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

One of yawning gaps in governance is the lack of meaningful citizen-government interface from one election to another. But the growth of organised voluntary activity is enabling concerned citizens to channelise private initiative to meet public goals.

Indian democracy is moving to another level, with its citizens demanding their own space in an increasingly DIY (do-it-yourself) world. Two impulses have contributed to this change: one is the failure of the government to deliver on its promises and the other is its inability to meet its development goals in certain spheres. It is here that civil society groups have stepped in to enhance the democratic potential of the state, leading to new and innovative models of citizen participation.

Governance is becoming more inclusive through public-private partnerships (PPP), NGO activism and certain institutional arrangements through which civil society groups can influence government policy. According to Action Aid, within days of the December 2004 tsunami, in Tamil Nadu alone, about 3 lakh people had been accommodated in relief camps organised by a joint government-civil society initiative and by the end of October 2005, about 65,433 families from 461 villages through 29 partner NGOs and 7 community-based organisations had been reached.

NGOs can generate public pressure for change through innovative means like report cards, which have been used by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC) in Bangalore. The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan has used jan sunwais or public hearings for improved local-level accountability.

Public protest is increasingly being used as a tool for advocacy, and many grassroots campaigns have grown into full-fledged social movements. The demand for right to information was first raised in the panchayats by the MKSS, before it became broad-based. Now, a year after RTI came into force, there exist a number of success stories across the country - from a rickshaw puller in Bihar successfully getting a house, to villagers in Karnataka invoking RTI for improved quality of foodgrains.

Many in the corporate world are also going beyond mere tokens of social responsibility. For example, the Azim Premji Foundation, in partnership with the Karnataka government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, is aiding primary schools in 3700 villages in seven districts, contributing to a marked improvement in results. Under another successful PPP, Kisan call centres have been delivering extension services to farmers in the local language since 2004.

There has been a rise in e-governance initiatives in many Indian states. One such model, Karnataka's Bhoomi programme for computerising land records, has resulted in a steep decline in the level of corruption, with Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh emulating the model.

Direct management of water resources by water users' associations in parts of India is a good example of citizens directly partaking in governance. The government's Swajaldhara scheme is a participatory, demand-driven rural water supply scheme with partial cost sharing and full operation and maintenance costs by the local community.

As the next story shows, the creative use of new technology networks is helping empower citizens to self-organise outside the ambit of government and traditional media.

Autor(en)/Author(s): Preeti Singh Saksena

Quelle/Source: Hindustan Times, 30.10.2006