SOAS Research Online

Abstract

After independence, local government in India has become grass-roots democracy and an agency for providing not only civic amenities but also for planning and executing the development and welfare programmes. Urban and rural local bodies have accordingly been democratised and the latter entrusted with vast powers. Their success will, however, depend, among other things, on the efficiency of the local government services which in turn will be determined by their professionalisation, recruitment on merit, adequate training, and attractive service conditions. In this thesis various aspects of the services of both the urban local bodies and the Panchayati Raj institutions in the Punjab have been analysed in order to find out whether they possess the characteristics referred to above. Comparisons have also been made with the British local government service wherever necessary. The study comprises nine chapters. Chapter I is a brief introduction of the scope and methods of study. Chapter II traces the historical evolution of local government in the Punjab. Chapters III and IV discuss the structure of urban and rural local governments respectively. Chapters V to VIII deal with recruitment, training, conditions of service with emphasis on pay, promotion, security, and retirement; rules of conduct, disciplinary procedure, integrity and trade unionism. The concluding chapter contains the main findings. The results of the investigation indicate that the essentials of an effective service are not yet established in the local government services in the Punjab. Suggestions have, therefore, been offered to improve upon the prevailing state of affairs. Whitleyism which has largely contributed to the improvement of the service conditions of the local government employees in the United Kingdom may take a long time to be established in the Punjab, where the local authorities associations and employees' unions are yet in their nascent stage.