Participative governance is one of the means to achieve transparency in governance through the bottom up approach. It entails participation of people in decision-making at the grass root level. In the pre-independence period, Gandhiji’s vision of good governance essentially meant democratic decentralization, which meant power to the Gram Panchayats and people at the lowest level of political hierarchy.

The 73rd & 74th amendments, by giving constitutional status to Panchayats and Urban Local bodies, have been the single-most substantial countrywide initiatives that seek to improve transparency in governance through participative form of governance. People now could take part in the issues that affected them directly, thereby having a say in decision-making. However, there exists much scope of improvement, as the framework is yet to achieve its intended potential. The reluctance of government officials, an inadequate framework of financial independence and a general lack of awareness among citizens are the oft-quoted reasons for hampering effective participation of civil society in planning and decision-making. Nevertheless, this is a deep change that can be seen in the efforts these institutions are taking to make governance more accountable & transparent. Following are some of the initiatives in that direction:

• PRI- The 73rd amendment devolved power to villages, tehsils and districts. It allowed each village to participate in local governance through an elected Panchayat, conferred with constitutional recognition. The Government has been trying to implement capacity-building programs for elected representatives so as to ensure awareness, literacy and capacity for understanding local issues and implementing Government schemes and programs in the most effective manner.
• Social Audit- There had been concern on news related with social audits being manipulated and existing only on paper. Thus the idea of a social audit was floated in order to improve checks and balances within the Panchayati Raj Institutions. In 2005, social audits were made statutory through National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), allowing people to directly question elected representatives on a continual basis. Social audit is a very powerful tool for citizens for participation in governance and where the social audit has been genuine and effectively conducted; for e.g., in the case of Andhra Pradesh, as per a report, state-wide social audits found fraud of large amounts resulting in administrative or criminal charges against about 7,000 officials.
• Urban local bodies- These bodies were meant to allow local communities decide on the usage and charges for basic utilities. However, there is an impression that State Governments continue to dictate matters such as rates of user charges, property tax, octroi etc. with little reference to the ULBs affected by these decisions, which needs to be addressed.
• Resident Welfare Association & Bhagidari (Participation)- These include state-specific incentives to incorporate the views of society or to devolve the decision-making power for basic civic functions. These initiatives have been applauded for their implementation and intent of engaging common citizens.

The Bhagidari scheme of the Delhi Government directly involves citizens through RWAs in monthly meetings in order to take responsibility for their areas. These RWAs are also the first point of contact for state utilities while planning changes.In another example, the Government of Kerala in the beginning of the 9th Plan took a bold decision to devolve 35% of the state development budget down from a centralized bureaucracy to local Governments where local people could determine and implement their own development priorities under the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC). Bhagidari has tremendous potential and with sustained efforts from the Government and involved RWA members, this can be one of the most effective tools of local self-governance in urban areas.