Volume : 6, Issue : 6, June - 2017

Interplay of local governance and local-self-governance: Evidence of community participation from Kashmir

Shugufta Akhtar, Mohammad Rafi, Kousar Iqbal

Abstract :

Community participation means some form of involvement of people, with similar needs and goals, in decisions affecting their lives. Community participation has been regarded as a positive force for change and authorization to development. Community participation draws on the vigor and eagerness that exists within communities to define what that community wants to do and how it wants to operate. Community participation is fundamentally required to achieve strong and sustainable development at the local level. Community participation requires going beyond dialogue to allow citizens to become an integral part of the decision making and action processes. This is not curbed to a response to initiatives or agendas set in motion by politicians and professionals. It reflects the need for the development of more active communities in their own right especially in relation to assessing needs and assets, agreeing on a vision, generating ideas and plans for action, enabling action monitoring and evaluation. The role and responsibility of the various parties in the community participation process must be examined in the light of the complexity of the situation in the context such as, local government, community based organisations, professionals, facilitator, financial institutions and NGOs based on regional and national organisations on a statutory and non-statutory level, service organisations.  The vast majority of interactions between citizens and the state take place through local governance. It provides leadership for local areas and communities; democratic accountability for a wide range of public services; and is the key to effective partnership working at local level. Local governance is expected to provide more services, be innovative, and keep up with the increasingly sophisticated demands of an articulate populace who knows their rights (Bowman & Kearney, 1996).  Local Governance provides a oad range of services to the public in the village, city and county, irrespective of their age, means, culture, religion or race. It is the primary vehicle of governance and public service at local level and provides these services on an all-inclusive basis in a defined geographic area. As a result of this level of service delivery, there is a responsibility and desirability at local government level to facilitate, enable and support the public to participate in sustainable decision making processes in those service areas that concern them. In order to realize the decentralized society, it is important to expand community self-governing whereby local residents can be involved in community development with their own will and responsibility. In this context, local self-governance emerged as the new paradigm of the development process. The present paper highlights the potential of community participation in unlocking community capacity, energy and creativity in a small village of Kashmir which experienced development and social mobility due to local self-governance at par with local governance. In this research work only some initial ideas are presented and should be considered work in progress. While concluding the paper few suggestions are given for development and mobility through participation at ground level. <o:p></o:p>

Keywords :

Self-Local Governance community participation political apathy

Article:

Download PDF Journal DOI : 10.15373/2249555X

Cite This Article:

Shugufta Akhtar, Mohammad Rafi, Kousar Iqbal, Interplay of local governance and local-self-governance: Evidence of community participation from Kashmir, GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH ANALYSIS : VOLUME-6 | ISSUE‾6 | JUNE-2017