Participatory pangs
IT IS easy to romanticise Panchayati Raj. The notion of happy rural people managing their destinies with help from the government has the glossy appeal of advertising brochures. But when it comes to brass tacks, delivery of development programmes is very complex. Take the case of the eco-development project funded by the World Bank (see also: "OFFICIALLY BANKRUPT"). It aimed to provide ecologically-friendly livelihoods to those living around protected areas. This it tried to do through eco-edevelopment committees, created to target specialised need groups: marginalised people who depend on forests to eke out a living.
There are cases of special target groups creating new hierarchies in villages. These run parallel to Panchayati Raj institutions. This does help make the programme more specific to the