Praxis Perspective Seminar | The Transformative Power of Local Governance: Delivering Impact at the Last Mile

The Public Policy in Action Praxis Residency Programme is delighted to invite you to the upcoming webinar titled “ The Transformative Power of Local Governance: Delivering Impact at the Last Mile” on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 4-6 pm IST . The webinar will feature a lecture by Shri Sunil Kumar, Former Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.

The event will be live-streamed on Zoom and PPIA Praxis YouTube channel. Please register here to attend.

Lecture Description

The global urban population has surged from 30% in 1950 to 55% in 2018 (ADB, 2019). In India, satellite data from the Global Human Settlements Layer (GHSL) shows that by 2015, 63% of the population was urban. Yet, much of this urban growth has been unplanned.

Unplanned settlements—whether built without legal approval on government or private land, and whether permanent or temporary—often emerge near city drains, railway tracks, or in low-lying areas prone to flooding, soil erosion, and other environmental hazards, as well as on agricultural land and green belts surrounding the city. Such conditions challenge the very principles of local governance.

Can we continue to clearly separate rural and urban when peri-urban areas are expanding so quickly? How do we ensure essential services like healthcare and sanitation reach every citizen, when unplanned urban growth is so widespread? What role should local governments play in addressing these issues? If local governments are responsible for ensuring basic services reach all sections of the society, can we still consider them merely the ‘third tier’ of governance?

What is Praxis Perspective Seminar?

Praxis Perspective Series, a monthly seminar brought to you by the PPiA Praxis Residency Programme, specially curated to inspire young public policy enthusiasts with critical perspectives needed to build an equitable and prosperous future for the nation, particularly the most marginalised communities in rural India. The series provides a sneak peek into a ‘Praxis Classroom’, where our learners attempt to bridge the gap between public policy practice and academics with the guidance of senior bureaucrats and development sector luminaries, who offer the world and India transformative solutions to the most challenging problems of human development.