Abstract
It is proposed in this paper to examine the relationship between decentralised governance and people’s participation from empirical evidence. The present paper considers people’s participation as an important condition internal to decentralised governance. The study reveals that block planning committee (BPC) and convergent community action (CCA) initiated in decentralised governance which ensures people’s involvement in planning and implementation, enables mobilisation of village resources, and also ensures cooperation and network between households, leaders and officials. CCA holds important lessons for effective people’s participation in rural Bengal and elsewhere.