Contents List of Abbreviations ix Preface xi I Introduction Chapter 1 People's Participation: Potentials, Propellants and Pitfalls Rajiv Balakrishnan 3 II Grassroots Governance Chapter 2 Restructuring the Polity with Panchayati Raj as a Cutting Edge: Background, Issues and Ground Realities George Mathew 39 Chapter 3 Decentralised Governance and Planning in Karnataka:A Historical Review N. Sivanna54 Chapter 4 Primary Health Care Under Panchayati Raj in Gujarat:Perceptions of Health Services Staff Dileep Mavalankar and Vinubhai M. Patel79 Chapter 5 Three-tier Panchayati Raj in the Punjab after the 73rd Amendment: An AnalysisSukhdev Singh93 Chapter 6 Decentralisation and Local Governance: Country Experiences in Asia and Africa K.V. Sundaram 101 III Ethical Issues/Gender Concerns Chapter 7 Of Women, Politics and Panchaynts Nirantar 113 Chapter 8 Women in Local Governance: Macro Myths and Micro Realities Mukta Banerjee 128 Chapter 9 Gender, Conflict and HIV or How to Address a Subject No One Wants to Hear About Alice Welbourn 142 IV Enabling Frameworks Chapter 10 Land Development in India and China: Imperatives for Institutional Change Amita Shah 161 Chapter 11 Managing Tank Cascades in Southern India: Conditions for Collective Action V. S. Saravm.an 181 V Participatory Planning Chapter 12In My Own Back Yard: Participatory Well-being Assessment in Suburban Britain Andrea Cornwall 205 Chapter 13The Confidence to Interact Tony Gibson 228 Chapter 14Behaviour and Attitudes: A Missing Link in Agricultural Science Robert Chambers 240 Chapter 15Towards Assessing Carrying Capacity: A Participatory Endeavour Nira Ramachandran and H. Ramachandran 253 About the Editor and Contributors 266 Index 271