Governance
Resource Centre
The center has been established
for the promotion of local initiative and community ownership
in local self governance system in the processes facilitating
proper democratic decentralization.
SSK started intervening
in the area of 74th Constitutional (Amendment) Act, viz.
the Urban Local Bodies from 2003. As a pilot project,
the activities mainly dealt with understanding of the
Act and taking up two Block Panchayats to gain hands-on
experience of its functioning, and also interventions
in the election process. This brought home to SSK the
importance of working with the urban local bodies too,
owing to its continuum with the local areas and also the
District Planning Committees responsibility, viz. developing
plans for both, the rural and urban areas, as well as
the difficulty, viz large area, and, heterogeneity of
the community.
The major objectives of
the unit is to coordinate activities related to strengthening
of Panchayats, creation, collection, collation and dissemination
of resource material on the theme of rural and urban self
governance and advocacy of issues related to local self
governance at the state level.The center engages itself
with research, documentation, and advocacy on the theme
of strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions. Towards this
it aims at mobilizing various stakeholders for better functioning
of elected representatives and better management of the
processes for ensuring good governance in rural as well
as urban self governance system.
The center has been established for the
promotion of local initiative and community ownership in local
self governance system in the processes facilitating proper
democratic decentralization. The major objectives of the unit
is to coordinate activities related to strengthening of Panchayats,
creation, collection, collation and dissemination of resource
material on the theme of rural and urban self governance and
advocacy of issues related to local self governance at the
state level.
The center engages itself with research,
documentation, and advocacy on the theme of strengthening
Panchayati Raj Institutions. Towards this, it aims at mobilizing
various stakeholders for better functioning of elected representatives
and better management of the processes for ensuring good governance
in rural as well as urban self governance system.
SSK through its field interventions has
initiated combined of efforts towards establishing an accountable
and transparent governance system at Panchayat level. At present
SSK is intervening in 200 gram Panchayats and 5 municipalities
in different regions of state. It is involved in implementation
of many development projects on the issues of women's empowerment,
capacity building of Elected Representatives, migration, Forest
Rights, constitution and strengthening of C-TAG (City Technical
Advisory Group) in Municipal Corporation etc. with the core
objective of strengthening local self governance
Key Focus
Centre has initiated field
interventions with an objective to create field models as
well as creating innovations for the purpose of replication
by the community itself or other facilitators.
At present SSK is intervening in 200 gram Panchayats and 3
municipalities in different regions of state. It is involved
in implementation of many development projects with the core
objective of strengthening local self governance. The major
themes include:
-
The issues of women's empowerment,
-
Capacity building of Elected
Representatives
-
Strengthening of Gram Panchayats
and Gram Sabha
-
Dalit Leadership
-
Migrants Rights
-
Forest Rights
-
Constitution and strengthening
of C-TAG (City Technical Advisory Group) in Municipal Corporation
etc
-
Decentralized planning Process
-
Girl Child Education
Facilitating Pre –election Voter
Awareness Campaign and advocating on Election reforms, is one
of the important strategy of the centre. The experiences from
past campaigns are as follows:-
The elections were viewed as a means to ensure a self-reliant,
self-dependent and prosperous life for the people at the grass
roots. The elections to the PRIs were organized in a campaign
mode, where, at the State level, a workshop was organized to
prepare strategy for the campaign, Coordinator and Advisory
committees were formed to coordinate the campaign activities
and helping with the legal complexities that may be faced, the
State Administration was sensitized through meetings, the media
was sensitized through exposure visits, Radio spots were used
for wider dissemination, and a Help Line was started to provide
technical support. IEC materials viz. poster, pamphlets and
CDs were also prepared. At the District level, District Coordination
Committees ensured effective campaigning, Networks ensured wide
coverage and trained Citizen Leaders and CBOs emerged as torchbearers
of the campaign and a Mahila Sammelan was tried to bring women
to the forefront. Similar activities were carried out at the
Block level and at the Local level; foot marches, cycle rallies,
wall-writings, video shows, street plays puppet shows etc. were
also carried out as above.
-
Some of the highlights
of SSK's interventions are mentioned as under.
-
Panchayat Information
Centres (PICs) are being effectively managed by the citizen
leaders.
-
Enhanced participation
of women in meetings of Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas.
-
Elected representatives
are well aware about their roles, functions, duties, responsibilities
and the prevalent operational structure.
-
Linkages established at
the State Government level.
-
The activities were on a
continuum right from the Local level through Block and District
to the State level.
Concluded
Programs...
NREGA Camapign (15 August
– 30 August 2007) full textMobilizing Citizen Leaders for Strengthening
PRIs full text Aamna-Samna Empowering grassroot Democracy
(01- 03 October 2007) With a successful completion of third
panchayates elections S.S.K entrusted into the mid phase of
the utter of the panchayates term, which is crucial with regards
to the sustainability of the promises, manifestoes, and developmental
programme undertaken with the inception of the panchayates
term. full text Technical Assistance to Integrate Local
Self Governance in regular program Supported by- Catholic
Relief Services, lucknow The main aspect of this program is
capacity building of partner organisations of CRS, Lucknow
with the guiding philosophy of people centered development.
This will ultimately result in effective and efficient support
being available to members of Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayats
at the local level. full text
Orientation Trainings organised for the selected
Panchayat leaders in Bihar full text
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