Contesting inclusiveness: Policies, politics and processes of participatory urban governance in Indian cities

This article attempts to understand the inclusion of citizens and other actors, the structure of incentives and accountability and service delivery outcomes in relation to participatory forms of urban governance in Indian cities. Under a decentralized set-up, the political nature and the poor attendance of people in participative forums seriously serve to undermine the constitutionally envisaged aim of ‘ deepening democracy’. New forms of participatory arrangements have been dominated by the middle classes and/or powerful local leaders, resulting in the disempowerment of poorer members of the communities concerned. Patronage politics were engraved in these new forms, where the targeted delivery of services yielded high dividends for the patrons. All these factors necessitate the effective engagement of the excluded and disadvantageous section of people with the policies, politics and processes of participatory governance in Indian cities.