Issues, Challenges And The Changing Sites Of Governance: Self Organising Networks In Mumbai

Governance is a concept comprising of complex mechanisms, processes, institutions and relationships through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their rights and mediate their differences. It is a more expansive term than government because it encompasses the activities of a wide range of groups as well as their relationships in the polity and society. In most of the developing world, the debate about governance is taking place within the context of rapid urbanisation, combined with political and economic changes. These changes typically involve structural adjustment, deregulation of the economy and privatisation of public assets. The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was aimed at downsizing the role of the state in planned development in order to promote competitive market economies. Those who stood to lose from structural adjustment often included bureaucracy (with the downsizing of civil service accompanied by loss of power and perks), public sector workers (through privatisation and job losses) and political party bosses (due to loss of influence and power base). In the new dispensation, the poor majority also lost a great deal because of the ensuring sharp increases in the prices of basic commodities along with escalating medical and educational costs.However, the discourse of governance has moved beyond its initial association with ‘efficient management’ to a more comprehensive interpretation. It is in this context that this paper purports to examine governance. It makes an attempt to analyse the term from the manner it was perceived initially to its current usage and more importantly the way it has been operationalised and practiced through collaborative civic coalition endeavour and alliance politics, especially in Mumbai. This is examined by highlighting and locating the changing sites of governance that have added salience to the lives of people, especially the marginalised groups, in their attempt to make governments more accountable and governance a better democratic reality.