Five Decades of Democratic Decentralisation Process in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

The Andhra Pradesh is one of the two states in the country to initiate democratic decentralisation process on the lines of Balawanta Rai Mehata Committee Report in 1959. The process of decentralisation in the state can be broadly divided into six phases. In every phase, the successive government, except during 1960s and 1970s where the PRIs positions were occupied by the rural upper class and upper castes, evaded the implementation of its own expert committees’ recommendations and undermined the PRIs and their leadership. This is more so when the OBCs and weaker sections, during 1990s, entered into these institutions through reservation or in the open competition, the state has curtailed the powers, funds, functionaries and the status of PRIs and made them ‘decorative ornaments’ or ‘institutions’. There have been no serious efforts made by Government, during the last five decades, to make the decentralisation process more meaningful in terms of empowerment of citizens and improvement in the delivery of services at the local level and to alter the rural socio-economic structure. The state leadership, which is controlled by the upper caste and class over the years in the state, is not willing to allow the marginalised sections of the society to participate in the development process of the state. Therefore, the decentralisation process in the state has to be understood more from the class and caste perspectives, along with the other variables such as economic reforms, conditionality of donor countries. Thus, the genuine empowerment of marginalised sections and also PRIs in the state is still a work-in-progress.