PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Local Government
The goal of good governance will be achieved only by strengthening the grass root level democracy.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
| R1 good governance = participatory / accountable / transparent / responsive — local bodies = first contact between citizen and state ~ statement broadly right, but turns on the meaning of “strengthening” the word “only” is the crux ~ grassroots democracy is the foundation, yet the claim holds only if local democracy is genuinely empowered, not merely elected
Body flow
_ | participation (identify / prioritise / monitor — better targeting + social audit) + inclusion + accountability ~ 73rd /74th, Articles 243G/243W — Esther Duflo (women-led panchayats ~ drinking water) ~ Rao & Sanyal (Gram Sabha = forum for the poor) ~ World Bank voice + accountability + subsidiarity (what can be done locally, done locally)
Counter-view
_ | “only” too strong — grassroots democracy necessary, not sufficient — weak 3Fs, Pradhan-Pati control, bureaucratic interference, idle Ward Committees ~ Aiyar: panchayats not vested under 243G ~ formal decentralisation good governance
Conclusion routes
PRI good governance flows from genuine strengthening, not mere existence ~ empowered Gram Sabhas + activity mapping + fiscal devolution + facilitating administration statement holds when “strengthening” = substantive self-government ~ subsidiarity + accountable administration complete the link
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
