Institutional innovations in public participation for improved local governance and urban sustainability in India

Abstract

Background: Improving urban governance is an imperative for India, with its accelerated rate of urbanization, distrust of government, and inadequate public involvement in policy development and decision-making. Deliberative democracy initiatives in other parts of the world, and similar experiences in rural India have demonstrated their effectiveness at resolving complex issues with decisions that are acceptable to constituents, and are seen to be in the public good. Results: Learnings are drawn from two cases of action research in Pune, India about achieving inclusion and deliberation in public engagement efforts, and their influence on public decision-making. The stratified and complex socioeconomic and political context in India, power imbalances, inadequacy of decentralized governance structures, and information for civic decision-making makes public engagement challenging. From this experience, we inductively developed a potential framework for good governance, of deliberative democracy initiatives (induced participation), inclusive civil society (organic and invented) participation, overseen by an independent third party. It is contended that such a framework can enable city governments, in India and elsewhere, to resolve complex urban sustainability challenges with more implementable decisions. Conclusions: Based on what was learnt from the Pune case studies, this article suggests that a combination of leaders willing to pioneer good governance, capable third-party facilitators, and strong organic participation groups working together through the structured approaches of deliberative democracy can effectively integrate the public into civic decision-making. However, to implement deliberative democracy in urban areas in India, the framework proposed will require advocacy at multiple levels. It will be critical to find 'champions' within political, administrative and civil society willing to pioneer deliberative democracy initiatives, to build professional capacity to conduct high quality deliberation, and to ensure the outcomes of such processes are influential. Good governance will rely on an ecosystem supporting such democratic renewal.

Can Deliberative Democracy Work in Urban India?

“…Three deliberation processes were undertaken in Pune between 2014 and 2017 [35,39]. Two of these related to improving the participatory budgeting process in Pune, and the third was on street usage and design in one particular neighborhood (see Boxes 1-3).…”

“…Each deliberation began with input presentations by experts in the sector. The questions for deliberation were initially discussed by the facilitators and then given to the representative mini-publics [35,39]. Demographically diverse participants were seated in small, purposefully mixed groups, each with a facilitator from an outside organization and a scribe from the participants.…”

“…Detailed descriptions of these deliberations are presented in previous publications by Menon and Hartz-Karp [35,39,48], including brief assessments, learnings from each case, and explanations about how the principles of high-quality public deliberation were applied in the conduct of these forums. What is of interest to this article are the participants' feedback surveys implemented after each public event which have not been previously analyzed.…”

“…Additionally, it was realized that it will be important to address the decreasing trust in Indian governments and decision-making [36][37][38]. One way to address this democratic deficit is via the use of an independent third party [39]. Finally, it has been noted that deliberative democracy is particularly suited for deeply divided societies [40].…”

Social Accountability and community participation in Village Health Nutrition and Sanitation committees in Uttar Pradesh

“…(2) Synthesis of global knowledge and experience from India advocates for community engagement not only as a tool for improvement of health sector but also for enhancement of local governance, which can benefit the health indicators directly and indirectly. (3,4) There is a growing research and evidence in the area of community participation. However, there is no conclusive evidence to refute or accept community participation.…”