The Institute of Social Sciences
Association of Local Governance of India (ALGI)

(Concept Note)
Introduction
Institutions of governance in any democratic country recognize the importance of the participation of the people in order for these institutions to effectively address the needs and requirements of its citizenry. Democratic participation of the people also ensures transparency and effective management of these institutions. It is vital that the citizenry at any and every level of the State is involved in the functioning of their country. This is the best way to sustain the organic growth of the institutions of governance.

Local governments have played a decisive role in ensuring that the democratic participation of the people is channelised through the very microcosms of society. These institutions have successfully affected not just the vertical but also the horizontal decentralization of governance in most of the democratic countries in the world. The impact of local governance, be it in the developing or developed world, has proven tremendously beneficial to the people at large. Trickling down authority in the hands of the people at the grassroots level, and enabling them to have the channels required to bring about the changes desired in their local environment, has witnessed large strides in the forward march of the people towards development and empowerment.

With the formation of local governments, there grew the need to create spaces that might be able to give voice to the common interests of the people who participated in governance at the grassroots level. This need was met through the creation of associations of local governments, that has inspired a cohesive, single voice for the recognition of local government concerns. These associations have served the purpose of lobbying the special local governance concerns with the national governments of their countries. Besides this, they have sought to act as an intermediary channel between national/state and local governments, thereby enabling dialogue between the same.

Associations are also known to provide certain other services to their members; these include those that seek to address the training of elected members with respect to governance, empowering the members with knowledge of their constitutional rights through various mechanisms including legal aid, creating technical support systems that will further enhance the roles played by the elected members at the local level, acting as the focal point that seeks to generate alliances between local governments, non-governmental organisations and other bodies that share the common interest of empowering the people at the grassroots, and so on.

The importance of having such an Association of Local Governments was recognised in India, after having witnessed the rise and growth of local government institutions across the country following the historic passage of the 73rd and 74rth Constitutional amendments.. Having felt such a need, the Association of Local Governance of India ( ALGI) was created in 2007 with the initiative of the Institute of Social Sciences.

Local Governments in India
In India, the local government institutions, better known as the village panchayats, have been in existence long before the country was colonised under the British Rule. Referred to as 'the little republics', panchayats were envisioned as serving as the foundations of the Indian Political System by visionaries including Gandhi. However, Independent India was to wait until the year 1992, when the new avatar of panchayati raj came into being.

Although it has only been a decade and a half since the panchayati raj system was given its due constitutional status, a lot has been achieved, primarily due to the inclusive character of the 73rd and 74th Amendments. With 33 percent of seats reserved for women, and reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, the amendments have ensured a greater degree of participation by a larger section of population in the decision-making of local governance issues in their villages.

Greater participation of women and other marginalised groups in local governance issues, has not only provided the space wherein previously ignored concerns and issues can now be addressed, but has also generated more transparency and accountability in the system. Political representation of women and Dalits has given greater empowerment and self worth to these marginalised groups.

However, a lot is left to be achieved. Some social scientists have observed that the constitutional recognition given to the panchayati raj institutions was not preceded by any form of struggle or mobilization by the people themselves in order to secure this constitutional status given by the 73rd and 74th Amendments. This has led to the belief that the power that is held by these Amendments towards holding the state and central governments accountable towards local issues, is somewhat lost upon those that these constitutional amendments have been bestowed upon. Therefore, awareness of their constitutional rights, amongst those elected representatives, is an important area that needs to be stressed upon, if the panchayati institutions are to perform to their full potential.

Issues that also include token representation by women of the men in the villages, the violence that is met out to women and Dalits by those opposing their right to serving as elected representatives of the panchayats, holding the government authorities accountable for the funds allocated for the development concerns of the villages, and several other related issues, can be addressed if proper channels addressing the training, awareness-raising and capacity-building of these elected representatives are created. This role amongst so many others can be filled through ALGI.

Role of Association of Local Governance of India
Associations of local governance have played a pivotal role in streamlining the special local concerns of the people and providing effective mechanisms and channels of meeting those needs. Advocacy of local issues can be done in a more cohesive manner through the web created by associations of local governments. The structure of these associations have differed according to the politico-social contexts of different countries - developing and otherwise. While in some countries there are different associations for urban and rural local government bodies, in others the associations are formed to meet both urban and rural concerns.

A federal set-up of these associations, wherein, first the elected representatives of local governments meet at the state level and thereupon, based on the population of each state, members are elected to proportionately serve as representatives at the national level, has been adopted in many countries. Forming such a 'bottoms-up' network, framing a constitution that will identify the salient concerns of the people forming the association while establishing either a Secretariat or a General Assembly at the national level, and thereupon collating the various key concerns of all local governments at the national level, has served as a very potent device in ensuring greater accountability and legitimacy of the central government's responsibilities towards local issues.

While lobbying and advocacy are key issues tackled by these associations of local governments, there are other services that these associations can promise to give, which in the Indian context, can carry the people very far in their path towards empowerment and development. ALGI can serve a multiplicity of purposes and will carry out multiple roles.

Activities of ALGI
.	It will be a legitimate body to lobby for the rights of local government institutions. It will also lobby for funds required for capacity building and awareness generating programmes.
•	It will form alliance with different organizations involved in local governance issues.
•	Training of elected representatives with respect to their rights and responsibilities.
•	Building awareness of their constitutional rights as political representatives of local issues.
•	Capacity building programmes that would enable them to serve the people better.
•	Information Centre & Help Desks. This Information Centre will serve as a legal help centre which will use support not only from new technologies such as the Internet, Intranet and Websites but also other traditional methods of development communication, including radios, toll free calls and local language communication network.
•	Use of Public Interest Litigation to redress the violation of constitutional rights of Panchayat members
•	On-the -Spot Study of Cases of Gross Violation of Rights

Secretariat
The ISS will host ALGI Secretariat at its premises serving as an implementing agency for the project. The Institute organised several workshops from 2003 onwards which culminated in the formation of the Association of Local Governance of India as a registered body in 2007. The Institute has been deeply engaged in the decentralization of local governance and the empowerment of the Panchayati System ever since its inception in 1985. Its initiatives have brought together elected representatives from various local governments spread throughout the country, members of non-governmental organisations engaged in local governance issues, donor organisations concerned with empowering people at the grassroots level, and government officials at the central level. For, it was seen as necessary to have a combined effort by all these different bodies in order to prepare the ALGI towards its chosen path.

ALGI, if it becomes fully functional, could provide the platform to actualize the true potential that the panchayati raj system promises to deliver. Knowledge is power; power is knowledge. It can serve as the nodal point whereby knowledge in its various forms can be translated for those living at the grassroots level, which can thereby translate that knowledge gained into empowerment and development.