Abstract
The social, economic and political conditions prevalent at the time of the independence had cast great aspersions on the future of India as a country. But, almost eighty years, since the forecasts of gloom, the country has surprised many. However, the rising inequality in the country is becoming a threat to the people living at the margins. The poor need and deserve equitable provisioning of public goods like sanitation services, electricity, health-care, education to alleviate their suffering while at the same time they need institutions which give them some sort of legitimacy or authority to hold political institutions responsible to demand these rights. Establishment of institutions at the community level can be a way to address the inequality which the poor face and it would further improve the credibility of the existing political institutions.