Synopsis Village have been functioning as community institutions with a significant autonomy in management of local affairs, but the advent of centralized structures of governance have created new challenges fro reconciliation of local self-government with large (even world-wide) processes of economic changes. Even when the Union Government embarked upon Five Year Plans, the necessity of decentralized governance was recognized, the capstone in the decentralization being the CAS, 1992 which even elevated village-level Gram Sabha to a constitutional status. Over a decade has passed since these momentous changes were effected and in this book an attempt has been made to assess the timeliness and thrust of these changes. The success of CAA, 1993 depends, to a large extent, upon the administrative bureaucracy and can be best assessed by students of Public Administration and Political Science. The present volume, accordingly takes stock of recent constitutional and institutional changes in decentralized management and changes in rural India. A galaxy of scholars located in different states. (Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan) have provided a rare inter-state dimension to the ongoing process of decentralization assessment highlighting, interalia, such themes: De-planning, Gram Sabha, Good Governance, Election of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Conceptual and Institutional Issues, Local Governance in Action, Challenges and Prospects at Grass Roots Level. The contributors are all specialists in their own field including some civil servants well-known in their expertise in analyzing the Constitutional amendment, administrative problems and processes of the implementation of various policies. This volume is likely to be very useful for the students, teachers and the practitioners who want to learn about the contemporary issues and problems of Decentralized Governance.