It is time to ask if the panchayati raj model really works for India

We have had three decades of decentralized local governments. Next month will mark the 30th anniversary of panchayati raj, when the 73rd and 74th amendments gave Constitutional status to rural panchayats and urban municipal councils. The conventional wisdom is that panchayati raj is a great idea, the amendments were faulty and while local government has created tens of thousands of local politicians, improvements in local governance itself have been marginal.