By IANS,
New Delhi : A Norwegian delegation is on a four-day visit to India to study the functioning of decentralised governance under a mutual cooperation programme on local self-governance, officials said Wednesday.
The delegation led by Norwegian Minister for Local Government and Regional Development Liv Signe Navarsete began its visit Tuesday.
“The delegation will visit the office of state election commission in Andhra Pradesh to understand the election process and the role of a constitutional authority in the process,” an official of the panchayati raj ministry here said.
“They will also visit the State Institute of Rural Development in Hyderabad,” he added.
The first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Mutual Cooperation on Local Governance was held at Oslo Sep 15, 2010. This was followed by signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the panchayati raj ministry and the Norwegian ministry of local government and regional development.
“The MOU calls for a comprehensive dialogue and deliberation… to facilitate transference of competence between the two countries for strengthening local self-governance, including capacity building of institutions, focussing on areas relating to achievement of Millennium Development Goals, e-governance, solution sharing and mobilisation of resources,” the official said.
Earlier, a delegation from India led by the additional secretary in the panchayati raj ministry, visited Norway. The delegation included senior officials from state governments, district administration and UN women programme managers.
“This visit gave the Indian officials an insight into the structure and functioning of local governance, especially the municipalities and the ombudsman and the strategies to improve women’s political leadership,” the official added.