Suchergebnisse

The Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have emerged as instruments of local government since 1992 with the passage of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act in India. In Telangana, the state government in the recent period has enacted State Panchayat Raj Act and constituted its first State Finance Commission (SFC). This article is a part of a larger study conducted in the context of the constitution of the first SFC. The article reveals that the own revenue of panchayats is quite low and transfer from the state and central governments constitute two key sources of these bodies. However, these bodies have faced various internal and external challenges while imposing and implementing taxes and fees to augment their sources of revenues. It is on this reality that this article suggests for the devolution of more taxes to PRIs by the SFC for strengthening their revenues and sharing at least 10% of the state's revenue to meet service delivery functions.

The debates on the devolution of powers to the panchayats since the last two decades received enormous attention because of the increasing role played by these institutions in planning and implementation of the development programmes in rural India. But it is observed that devolution agenda including the agenda of fiscal devolution and tax decentralization has not been taken up sincerely in many states including the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Based on the review of secondary data, the present article critically examines the status of the fiscal devolution to the panchayats in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. This article argues that both the states need to strengthen the own revenue of panchayats based on the recommendations of the Finance Commissions of the respective states. In this context, the process of tax decentralization and principles of sharing the state taxes should receive paramount importance.

This article examines the Indian situation across the States and social category wise including STs, SCs, OBCs, Others and all groups considering some feasible indicators used in terms of asset inequalities such as land ownership, operational holdings, value of assets, average asset value, average amount of debt and incidence of indebtedness, employment (worker population ratio of various social groups), poverty trends and consumption inequalities. Data on different social groups are gathered from NSS and other published sources. It analyses increasing inequalities-which is a point of growing concern in the South Asian region particularly in India. In India, these social groups are adversely affected by social or economic factors that limit their abilities and opportunities available to them.

With tens of millions of hectares and hundreds of millions of lives in the balance, the debate over who should control South Asia�s forests is of tremendous political significance. This book provides an insightful and thorough assessment of important forest management transitions currently underway.� MARK POFFENBERGER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY FORESTRY INTERNATIONAL �The contributions in this volume not only breathe life into the fi eld of writing and analysis related to forests, they do so on the strength of extraordinarily insightful research. Kudos to Springate-Baginski and Blaikie for providing us with a set of thoroughly researched, provocative studies that should be required reading not only for those interested in community forestry in south Asia, but in resource governance anywhere.� ARUN AGRAWAL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, USA �Makes a significant contribution to theory and practice of participatory forest management.� YAM MALLA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, REGIONAL COMMUNITY FORESTRY TRAINING CENTER FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, BANGKOK �This excellent and timely book provides thought-provoking insights to the issues of power and politics in forestry and the difficulties of transforming age-old structures that circumscribe the access of the poor to forests and their resources; it challenges our assumptions of the benefits of participatory forest management and the role of forestry in poverty reduction. It should be of interest to policy-makers and to all those who have been involved with the struggle of transforming forestry over the decades.� DR MARY HOBLEY, HOBLEY SHIELDS ASSOCIATES (NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING CONSULTANCY) �A rare combination of extensive field study, social science insights and policy studies � will be of immense value� DR N. C. SAXENA, MEMBER OF NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA In recent decades �participatory� approaches to forest management have been introduced around the world. This book assesses their implementation in the highly politicized environments of India and Nepal. The authors critically examine the policy, implementation processes and causal factors affecting livelihood impacts. Considering narratives and field practice, with data from over 60 study villages and over 1000 household interviews, the book demonstrates why particular field outcomes have occurred and why policy reform often proves so difficult. Research findings on which the book is based are already influencing policy in India and Nepal, and the research and analysis have great relevance to forestry management in a wide range of countries. Published with DFID.