Programme Outcome: Enhanced capacity of institutions of decentralized governance for local level planning, service delivery, and ensuring participation, transparency and accountability. Outcome Indicator: Allocation of plan resources to different states under development programmes increasingly linked to the empowerment of local governance structures/increase in the number of district plans prepared in collaboration with Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in partner states. Overall comments UNDP niche areas are : High organizational credibility as it is perceived to have a higher neutrality in comparison with other multilaterals and donors. Hence it is able to raise key issues at national and international levels. Unique standing and access with National and State Policy makers. UNDP's location and competencies are best suited to work directly at knowledge-gathering and dissemination, wider opinion-building and policy change, tasks which also have the most extensive multiplier effects. Facilitation of dialogue and policy action at National and State levels With its comparatively modest funds, UNDP should work primarily on identifying, documenting, disseminating and elucidating appropriate methodologies and innovative approaches in traditional sectors, and support advocacy for policy and program review and change by facilitating dialogue among stakeholders. UNDP's comparative advantage lies in helping national, state and district governments to improve the ground-level impact of pathbreaking and key legislations. It also lies in working with governments to identify issues emerging from the economic growth process not fully in tune with equity. Potential areas of conflict and confrontation among stakeholders resulting from such inequity (often accompanied by violence) should be anticipated and measures undertaken for discussion and resolution before they arise. In crafting a road map for implementation, problem identification and solution, it would