The workshop attempted to evaluate the decentralization process in five South Asian countries in terms of political commitment, delegation of functions and local bodies’ access to resources.
Bangladesh
The 1972 Constitution provided the basis for the devolution of powers to local government bodies which were entrusted with local administration and development responsibilities. Women have been given "equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and public life"
However, local governments lack adequate financial resources for the development of basic rural infrastructure. There is a need to improve the resource base of local government institutions through sharing of tax and non-tax revenue, and provision of grants and other development assistance by the central government. Local government bodies also need support for building their management capacities. Public-private partnerships have to be promoted for local development.
A national consensus is needed on the goals, objectives and tools of decentralization. To be effective, decentralization should be supported with enabling policies and participatory monitoring. Legislation on decentralization should be strengthened for enhanced participation of women and other weaker social sections
India
The 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution installed village-based Panahayati Raj institutions as the country’s third level of governance after the central and state governments. About three million councilors, nearly a third of them women, have been elected to over 260 000 Gram Panchayats at village level, 6 500 Panchayat Samitis at sub-district level and 500 Zilla Parishads at the apex district level.
The constitutional sanction to Panchayati Raj has raised expectations and aspirations. Panchayat elections have disproved the myth that rural women are uninterested in public life. There is a near unanimity among village women that they would have been unable to get into these bodies were it not for statutory representation. Significantly, about 40 percent of women panchayat members belong to marginalized groups.
Panchayats face impediments to discharging their responsibilities, the primary being an inadequate resource base. Panchayati Raj representatives and nearly a million local government officials assigned or closely connected with the panchayat bodies also need capacity-building training.
Nepal
The Local Self-Governance Act (LSGA), 1999 and Local Self-Governance Regulations (LSGR), 2000 provide the framework for decentralization. Policies and legislation are in place to encourage local participation through local government institutions, NGOs, self-help groups such as users’ committees, community organizations and women’s groups.
Local bodies are becoming increasingly involved in local service provision and users’ groups in the management of local resources and services. Thousands of user groups have been given authority to manage local forests.
Decentralized governance has produced positive impacts in terms of people’s participation in governance, poverty reduction, empowerment of women and weaker social groups, and involvement of non-governmental organizations and the private sector in delivery of social and production services.
Local people have been able to solve individual as well as community problems on their own. The number of women in leadership roles in community-based activities is increasing. The provision for representation of women in local governance has made about 40 000 women local government representatives.
Although the LSGA has devolved authority to local bodies, central line agencies are reluctant to put this in practice. Local bodies continue to be treated as subordinate agents of local development rather than autonomous units of local self-governance.
Pakistan
In 2001, a three-tier federated local government system was set up in every district of the country as an integral part of provincial governments. The local government system integrates rural with urban local governments and the bureaucracy with the local governments so that the district administration and police are answerable to the elected head of the district government.
Women, peasants, workers and minorities have been given representation at each level of local government. Citizen Community Boards provide a mechanism for motivating and involving the local community in local development. The local government system has been implemented in all the four provinces of Pakistan and direct elections have been held to fill more than 120 000 Union Council seats.
Decentralization has made the district and tehsil (sub-district) the hub of all development and service delivery activities. The head of the district government is an elected representative and not a bureaucrat. While the new system provides for more responsiveness and accountability, the process of establishing supporting institutions is slow which is affecting service delivery. Yet, local revenue mobilization is insufficient for the sustainability of the local government bodies and comprehensive capacity-building is required for local government institutions.
Sri Lanka
Major devolution legislation was enacted in 1987 in the form of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the Provincial Councils Act No. 42.
Recent studies of the devolution process in Sri Lanka have found shortcomings in the structure and working of decentralized governance in the country. Social and economic indicators strongly suggest that decentralization has not been effective in reducing inter-regional income and social development disparities.
The main reason is the lack of sufficient political will at the centre and an inadequately developed legal framework which have made the system unwieldy and ineffective with high "transaction costs’.
This is reflected in the insufficient delegation of powers from the centre to the provinces and from the provinces to local authorities. There is also insufficient utilization of existing technical and management capacities.
