Participatory Development: A Case Study

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The book, Participatory Development: A Case Study, neatly discusses theoretical issues like Democracy for Development, Indian Experience of Planning and its Failures. It has explained how and why the conventional approach to India's development planning has failed to achieve the avowed objectives. It also elaborately discusses the Participatory Way of Rural Development with pointed explanation why participation is needed in the context of modern planning in a democratic set-up like ours. It has thus explained how people, as change agents should be instrumental in bringing about rapid development in rural areas, pointing to the various ways of participation. It also seeks to explain how people have to manage CPRs in a participatory way for sustainable development. In particular, the book critically examines the validity of several participatory institutions the so-called NGOs working in the State of Manipur in the context of removal of poverty, and also highlights the outcome of the case study undertaken by the author besides suggesting measures for improvement. The book thus concludes with logistical a formulation of rational strategies, and the ways and means for better participation or, more appropriately, enhanced participation of the people at grass-roots level in developmental activities.

KH. MENJOR SINGH (b. 1952) graduated with Honours in Economics from Gauhati University in 1972, and completed his M.A. in Economics from the same University in 1974. He obtained a Ph.D. degree from Manipur University in 1988 for his thesis entitled, 'Cooperative Movement in Manipur since Independence'. A Reader in Economics, he was teaching economics both at general and honours level for more than two decades at C.I. College (Govt.), Bishnupur, before he joined the Department of Higher Education, Government of Manipur, as Officer on Special Duty. Recently, two of his works, namely, (1) Economic Reforms in India, and (2) W.T.O. and The Third World have been published by Mittal Publications, New Delhi. Currently, he is engaged with many projects at governmental and non-governmental levels. He has also attended many seminars and conferences at the national level. He is now working as Jt. Director in the Higher Education Department of the Government of Manipur.

In recent years, most of the countries of the third world have experienced the failure of both the State and the market as institutions in fulfilling the prime objective of economic growth with social justice. Despite the repeated promises made by the government to remove poverty and raise the standard of living of their people, the problem of wide spread poverty and deprivation still remains unabated. More glaringly, in India, the problem has become more acute and rampant with the ushering in of the new Economic Order or the new Economic Reforms since the early nineties.

The failure of the State and the market forces to ameliorate the extremely vulnerable plight of the majority of poor in the country has simply reduced the status of the State to that of a provider of economic services and a mere care taker or custodian of its citizens. In an endeavour to build a society which is balanced and equitable, as expected of a welfare state, more and more emphasis has now been given to private initiative and enterprise, and attempts have been made to push the height of the economy to that of a self-reliant one and above, through increasing privatization of the economy.

The state now looks forward to an all new system of planning wherein all forces of change-the government, the market and the private initiative (or enterprise) are allowed to play their own respective roles in speeding up the growth of economy. The State expects every one in the society to be productive as well as contributory to the progress of the economy. All the individual citizens as constituents of the whole nation growing are expected to involve directly or indirectly in at least understanding the problems of planning as also in helping implement the plans through participation.

As is aware elsewhere, problems differ area-wise or region-wise and, as such, it is the people themselves who would identify their own problems themselves, and also solve them through their own initiative or with the help of the State.

**Contents and Sample Pages**