Panchayati Raj Institutions in West Bengal: An analysis from historical and people’s perspective.

Abstract

A number of studies has been carried out on the Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) in West Bengal by political scientists, economists, administrators, sociologists, and historians. However, most of the studies have focused on a particular point of time rather than studying the changes over time in development administration and governance of PRIs. The earlier studies have also not taken into account the people’s perception on the changes as they are primary witness of the changes over time. Thus, this research aims to analyze the progress and changes in the development administration and governance of PRIs from both historical and people’s perspective.