Police Work Culture in Karnataka: A Bottom Up Assessment
Posted on:September 07 2010 | Author:megha
Maintenance of law and order, prevention and detection of crimes, traffic management, VIP security and security of vital installations are some of the important duties police are required to perform. In addition they have to implement the provisions of many social legislation. It has been our endeavour in Karnataka to provide an effective, efficient and responsive police force with very good interface with public. In Karnataka State, we have taken many people-friendly initiatives in the last one and half years to improve our service delivery and bring about a change in attitude of police officers from authority mode to service mode. During the implementation of these schemes we realized, among other things, that the traditional work culture of the police can be a barrier to further improvements. Without a systematic and independent study that examines these issues, it is difficult to arrive at an agenda for reform and change. It is against this backdrop that we authorized a study of the police work culture in the State by Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Bangalore.PAC Annual Report 2008-09
Posted on:April 16 2010 | Author:megha
PAC Annual Report 2007-08
Posted on:April 16 2010 | Author:megha
Finances, Land Sales and Public Service Delivery: A Pilot Study of Selected Large Cities in India
Posted on:April 08 2010 | Author:megha
The year 2007 was important for urbanization since the number of urban inhabitants surpassed rural dwellers as a percentage of the total world population. The world population is expected to become two-third urban by 2025. While the urbanization phenomenon is widely accepted as being an inevitable by-product of development, there are many undesirable outcomes that have resulted. With increasing population and increasing demand for urban infrastructure services, the capacities of local governments in many developing and newly industrialized countries are over-burdened.LAND AS A MUNICIPAL FINANCING OPTION: A PILOT STUDY FROM INDIA
Posted on:April 01 2010 | Author:megha
In this study, we have made an attempt to assess the potential of land as a municipal financing tool in cities using a sample of four Indian cities. We have studied the institutional arrangements for land use between the urban development authorities and municipal corporations in the cities and have found that the responsibilities are often fragmented and sometimes unclear. The urban development authorities, being state government entities, are much better endowed with resources than municipal corporations. We find that if revenues from land leasing and sales by the urban development authorities were to accrue to municipal corporations, there is no clustering around any measure of central tendency and there is a huge range in the addition to municipality revenues that could result. Specifically, we find that there could be an increase in municipality’s total revenues to the extent of 33 percent, own source revenues to the extent of 90 percent, and property tax revenues to the extent of nearly 930 percent, should revenues from land leasing and sales by the urban development authorities accrue to municipal corporations. In all cities, revenues from land leasing and sales are put to productive use given a majority is spent on capital projects. There is also enough local control over resources to be spent. Public private partnerships relating to land are more common with urban development authorities than they are with municipal corporations. While our empirical findings are uncertain with respect to the impact of land lease or sales upon revenues, a general observation is that outright sale of land is more conducive for revenue potential than leasing. Finally, an incidental finding is that urban development authorities allocate small portions of their land than is required, for affordable housing for the urban poor.Political Parties as Cornerstones of Democratic Development
Posted on:February 25 2010 | Author:megha
Ford Foundation fellow, Mr. L. C. Jain had conducted research into India's democratic development and the crucial role political parties have played in it.A Paradox of India's North-South Divide
Posted on:February 11 2010 | Author:megha
Public Eye - October 2009
Posted on:November 20 2009 | Author:megha
The new issue of PAC's Public Eye is now out. Please read through it to keep updated with the Centre's activities!CRC of Bangalore's Maternity Homes 2000
Posted on:November 06 2009 | Author:megha
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BMP) maternity homes represent the only decentralised set of health facilities in Bangalore that are accessed by relatively low-income women and children. A network of outreach centres has now been created through IPP 8 to expand and further strengthen the services of the maternity homes. While this expansion and upgradation of the health facilities for the poor needs to be applauded, it is important that careful thought is given to their proper utilisation, maintenance and effectiveness. This comparative study on Maternity Homes, Urban Family Welfare Centres and IPP Health Centres, discusses the system’s maladies, concerns about the future of these facilities and presents some thoughts on how to address them.National Review of Implementation of Citizen's Charters
Posted on:October 22 2009 | Author:megha
In 1997, the Government of India launched the ambitious “Citizen’s Charter” initiative both in central and state government departments in an effort to make public service providers more open and accountable. This study tracks the progress and efectiveness of this reform over the past decade. The study assessed nearly 760 charters from across the country, followed by interviews with more than 1,100 end-users and over 320 officials from diverse departments. The distribution of Citizen’s Charters by state and sector, design and content of the charters, access to and awareness about the charters, modalities of implementation, and impact on service delivery are analyzed in terms of both strengths and weaknesses. The study also highlights the implications for policy in order to take this reform forward.