Articles by H S Shylendra

Can economic reforms and democratic devolution go together? Can the prevailing political-economy ensure a balance between the two forms of decentralisation? The paper attempts to examine these questions with reference to Gujarat in western India. Based on a critical analysis of the interrelationship between the nature of devolution and economic reforms, it is argued that the latter seems to have triumphed over democratic decentralisation. A minimum guaranteed devolution to local governments in the constitution is suggested as a safeguard against the vicissitudes of state-level politics. 

This rejoinder to Dhanmanjiri Sathe’s article “Land Acquisition: Need for a Shift in Discourse?” (EPW, 17 December 2016) points to the mistaken logic of viewing land as a commodity and farmers as economic agents willing to give up their land for fair compensation, arguing that a settlement of the land question purely in market terms would be disastrous for a developing society struggling to address agrarian distress.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development's advice to District Central Cooperative Banks and State Cooperative Banks to convert Primary Agricultural Credit Societies into business correspondents is high-handed. If such guidance is followed through, it will adversely affect farmers' access to credit.

The Microfinancial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2007, which has attracted criticism on many counts, aims to ensure that NGOs use their social mediation skills to ensure financial intermediation. However, the bill's ambit is narrow and it fails to take major aspects of microfinance delivery into account

Since Common Pool Resources (CPR) forms a primary source of livelihood support for the poor, efforts to rehabilitate these could form a viable strategy for livelihood improvement. This paper is an attempt to find out the extent to which Area Enclosure (AE) programme in Ethiopia and JFM in Gujarat have been able to incorporate and address various issues concerning the livelihood security of the local people. If AE and JFM are to contribute significantly for livelihood security, they need to address issues like ensuring equity in participation, increasing biomass productivity and reducing uncertainty over sharing long-term benefits.