PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT APPROACH IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE – ITS RELEVANCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A Case Study of Sri Lanka

This research paper seeks to examine to what extent local governance is effective in alleviating the vicious circle of poverty. Furthermore, traditional social relationships in Sri Lankan society are relatively and critically discussed in the notion of social capital. In Sri Lanka, local government institutions, administrative divisional secretaries, the Gramaseva division, civil society and the business community are the entities of local governance at the grass roots governance level that directly involve participation of the general public. The article studies the effect of Local Governance on poverty alleviation and observes people’s direct involvement in relation to their socio – economic development in the local governance political body. The Kasiwattapura at Polhena Gramaseva Division in the Matara Municipal Council is selected to study this theoretical component.