QUES . What is ‘participatory budgeting’? Mention the benefits and limitations associated with participatory budgeting in India.
HINTS:
Participatory budgeting is a process where the public directly decides on how a public budget is spent. Participatory budgeting allows citizens or residents of a locality to identify, discuss, and prioritize public spending projects, and gives them the power to make real decisions about how money is spent.
Participatory Budgeting was first developed in the 1980s by the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT), drawing on the party’s stated belief that electoral success is not an end in itself but a springboard for developing radical, participatory forms of democracy. Since the original invention in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1988, participatory budgeting has manifested itself in a myriad of designs, with variations in methodology, form, and technology.
Benefits of Participatory Budgeting
֍ It increases transparency in decision-making as residents are able to follow the trajectory of an initiative from the germ of an idea to the final product.
֍ Participatory Budgeting is not just participation, but co-production, and thus supports the process of fostering a real partnership between the community and its governing institutions.
֍ It promotes a bottom-up approach, where citizens and civil society along with the relevant organs of the government and legislature are involved in budget formulation.
֍ It can also reduce conflicts by giving the community a better understanding of the realities of budget-creation with its constraints and trade-offs, and by giving the government new insight into the real needs of their stakeholders.
֍ It makes citizens feel like they have a voice in civic governance and thereby builds trust. Thus, Participatory Budgeting helps in increasing trust between citizens and government.
֍ It also ensures that the diverse needs and experiences of local communities are understood and a range of voices is heard in local decision-making.
֍ It addresses inefficiencies arising from misplaced prioritization of civic works relative to citizen needs.
֍ This would encourage greater ownership in communities with respect to civic assets and amenities, thereby resulting in better maintenance and upkeep.
֍ Actively engaging with communities to advance equality and eliminate inequalities is integral to participatory decision-making and the allocation of public resources. Participatory Budgeting ensures social and political inclusion as low income and traditionally excluded political actors are given the opportunity to make policy decisions.
Limitations of Participatory Budgeting
֍ Citizens with low levels of information and expertise are involved in making important public policy decisions. There is lack of information in the public domain regarding budget accounts.
֍ Since the budget preparation starts from the local level to the top and there are consultations with multiple stakeholders Participatory Budgeting is time-consuming compared to an imposed budget by Union/states.
֍ It sacrifices long-term planning to short-term gains given that most demands of citizens are immediate.
֍ It tends to prioritize local issues and ignore regional, national or global issues.
֍ Lack of attention to social inclusion in Participatory Budgeting leads to domination of participatory processes by local elites.
֍ Lack of a clear action plan and operational guidelines on Participatory Budgeting hampers its effective implementation.
֍ Shortage of dedicated and trained staff for implementing Participatory Budgeting
Thus, steps should be taken to strengthen the Participatory Budgeting process in India by adopting a clear framework with respect to budgeting process, manpower and citizen participation.