When election after election, power gets transferred from one set of elite to another and, in the face of so much of existing inequality, any governance---what to say of 'good governance'---is difficult. This inherent contradiction is at the heart of the difficulty in achieving the ideal of good governance, whatever the constitutional mechanisms for it might be.
Federal instruments of inter-governmental cooperation have not been successful and effective in India because the required decentralization has not been made. This is mainly due to our administrative centralization and earlier central planning structures. A mechanism for federal cooperation can succeed if it does not have to depend on other executive organizations for getting its decisions implemented. Similarly, issues of economic planning and development cannot be settled through institutions set up by the central government. They require coordinated efforts and, for such a system of good governance, cooperated federal arrangements are needed.
The need for political reforms is definitely there in the governance of the country. But it is debatable whether any blueprint of a reform of the Constitution is needed or whether a code of governance is required. The Constitution has provided guidelines for governance in the form of 'Directive Principles of State Policy'. For implementing these Directives, a proper Code for Good Governance needs to be agreed upon.
1- Introduction - Akhtar Majeed
Part- I : Identities and Federal Governance
1- Policy Governance: Significance of the Federal Design - Ajay Kumar Singh
2- Multi-Cultural Imperatives of Good Governance - Kumar Suresh
3- Identity Politics and Proportional Representation - Jayprakash Narain
4- Challenge of Ethnicity to Federalism: Discourse on Kashmir - Ashutosh Kumar
5- Challenge of Ethnicity to Federalism: Discourse on the North-East - Jagpal Singh
Part-II : Federal Governance and Inter-Governmental Relations
1- Changing Profile of Federal Governance in India - A. K. Rastogi
2- President's Rule and Governance of States - A. S. Narang
3- Federal 'Coalitional' Governance in India - Rekha Saxena
4- States' Reorganisation as a Good Governance Technique - Akhtar Majeed
Part- III: Local Autonomy and the Third Tier of Governance
1- Local Bodies in India: The Issue of Domain - P. K. Chaubey
2- Local Self Government in India: Retrospect and Prospects - M. Aslam
3- The 'Third Tier': Decentralisation and Separation of Powers through Users' Community Based Associations Within Panchayati Raj Institutions
- Meenakshi Hooja and Rakesh Hooja
4- Resource Management and Rural Governance: Panchayati Raj in Andhra Pradesh - G.Krishna. Reddy
Part- IV: Federal Governance in Public Policy
1- Decision-Making Process in Development Schemes in India - H. Ramchandran
2- Reorienting the Centre-States Fiscal Relations in India: The Expenditure Perspective - Sudhir Krishna
3- 'Public Order' and the Police: The Changing Contours of Federal Governance in India - K.S. Subrahmanian
4- Retreat of the Public Policy Vs Decentralisation - Najma Akhtar
5- National Security Syndrome and Implications for Centre-States Relations: A Study of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Review Process - Ujjwal Kumar Singh
Conclusions
Annexure: Status report on Important Administrative Reform Initiatives: Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
Further Readings
