Voice of people in Delhi helped improve governance: CM

New Delhi, Dec 7 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has acknowledged that voice of people in Delhi has helped a lot in improving governance at various levels resulting in better transparency, accountability and responsiveness.

Speaking after releasing a book titled 'Local Governance in Developing Countries' here, she said described Delhi a growing city with multiplicity of authorities and related bottlenecks resulting in delay in implementation of developmental schemes.

However, the voice of people has proved to be a force in Delhi which gained prominence due to 'Bhagidari' programme initiated by the state government, she added.

The 'Bhagidari' programme, which also provided minimal health services and awareness in slum and JJ colonies in the capital, had earned laurels at the international level.

Delhi was the first city to bring out Human Development and Social Audit Reports that were expected to go a long way in overcoming difficulties, Ms Dikshit said.

Local self-governance in our country was part of centuries-old democratic system, which had been adopted by number of countries, she added.

Talking about the book, edited by Dr Anwar Shah, the chief minister said ''the book emphasizes the importance of strong local governments to improve economic and social condition of their citizens. It argues that economic success in the current information age, requires local governments to be free of the shackles of top-down mandates but instead should redefine their roles based on bottom-up concepts and home rule.'' Members of Parliament Satyavrat Chaturvedi and J D Seelam, and Secretary with union Panchayati Raj Ministry G D Ghosh were prominent among those present.

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