Informal mediation peopled by brokers, touts, middlemen has, over the years, embedded itself within public service delivery in India. Despite that fact that they do not operate within the system of government, these brokers have come to play an important role in service provision and have reshaped it.
In this post, Sushant Anand discusses who these brokers are, and examines how their practices impact governance. He focuses on the operations of brokers in the Municipality of Delhi.
He argues that brokers act as 'gatekeepers' who block or expedite access to public services based on the payment of a fee. Although brokers are not accountable to any formal body, they are risk-averse and efficient as this is the only way they can maintain their space in the mediation market.
Read the full post - Brokering India's public service delivery
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