Engaging citizens in governance is one of the items required in any health democracy. It holds government responsible to it represented masses and also gives rise to policies that fulfill the needs and dreams of the population.

Why citizen participation is necessary:

-Decision Making Becomes Better: First, policy decisions will be made through participation of the citizens thereby, representing different perspectives and experiences and therefore more effective and fair decisions will be made.
-Increased accountability: present the government is answerable to the people, tax payer’s money is wisely spent, and resources are utilized sparingly but effectively.
-Improved transparency: The discussion of the issues with the government civil society increases the trust of the citizens with the government and institutions.
-Citizens’ empowerment: Citizen participation makes the people to feel like they own or are part of the government hence the need to work towards the improvement of the concerned area.
Improved Service Delivery: This solution will assist to identify gaps in service delivery as informed by citizens hence improving on service delivery.

Successful Citizen-Led Initiatives in India:

Right to Information (RTI) Act: This legislation entitle citizen the right to request information from public bodies. It promotes probity in the governance system because it wishy-washy grls, which are unambiguous and straightforward.

Gram Sabha: These are council of villages in rural India where people will be involved in the governance as well as decision making process.
-Social Audits: Citizen led audit of government programs is another preventative measure to guarantee that resources available for a certain program are being spent wisely and that the target group benefit as was intended.
-Jan Jagran Abhiyan: Its goal is to build the awareness of citizen rights and engagement of residents to participate effectively in governance.
-Narmada Bachao Andolan: This was another great movement spearheaded by social activist Medha Patkar together with many other and it was very clear why citizens had to be consulted in matters such as this.