Reforming India's Urban Governance

Urban Update, 2020

The 74th Constutional Amendment Act (CAA) has led to regular elections of ULBs, reservation of seats and constitution of State Finance Commissions. Urban governance in India needs further strengthening through amendment of 74th CAA and certain administrative measures such as provision of a minimum level of municipal staff, improved finances and incentives for active participation of citizens.

In India, urban areas need to improve for the country to achieve fast and sustained economic development. Despite the strong focus on urban reforms, in many ULBs, implementation of governance reforms is not adequate. In this context, this paper, reviews two initiatives and suggests a way forward.

The importance of efficient urban governance needs no elaboration in an increasingly urbanizing world. Cities with high population densities throw significant challenges of transportation, safety, urban revitalization, social inclusion and cohesion, environmental protection, water, air, energy, sanitation and climate changes which will magnify in the near future if not properly addressed now. These socioeconomic changes necessitate augmentation of urban finances for investment in well-planned urban development and to bring about reforms in governance to enforce efficient urban governance at all levels to cater to the needs of urbanites and to make cities inclusive, congestion-free, safe, resilient and sustainable in which all people have access to basic services, housing and mobility. The urban local governance structures, mechanism and arrangements should aim at facilitating the adoption and implementation of successful policies to meet the challenges of sustainable, safe and equitable urbanization. This book discusses measures to stimulate revitalization and foster better economic and social development through developing cooperation mechanism between local and national governments so that the challenges of urbanization can be best utilized as opportunities of innovation, economic growth and employment.

Review of my book 'Urban Governance and Local Democracy in South India' by Professor N. Sivanna in Indian Journal of Public Administration

This article analyses how urban governance in India has changed since the 1990s as a result of the interplay of three interlinked forces. The liberalization of the economy in 1991, the good governance discourse together with the decentralization program officially pronounced under the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 and the more recent urban reforms envisaged in the 2000s and institutionalized with launch of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2005, affected urban governance in significant ways. Based on recent empirical observations in the city of Mumbai, this paper argues that the involvement of multiple players, namely parastatals, local contractors, private developers, non-government organizations (NGOs), citizen groups and community based organizations across sectors of urban governance since the 1990s, has led to contesting claims by different groups to the city's spaces and resources, articulating conflicting discourses and competing practices. These in turn have serious implications on the questions of accountability and inclusion in evolving urban governance policy and practice in contemporary India.

This article deals with urban governance policy and planning in two Indian states Karnataka and Telangana at the district level. While there is a clearly envisioned policy for urban governance in India, this article highlights that it is often failed in implementation. The article examines whether the constitutional provisions envisaged for the above said purposes have been practiced or not. In the process the article demonstrates that while provision of drinking water and sanitation are problems across the cities discussed, social capital to make governance work and cope with communal issues too is a major issue. The article tries to argue that better social capital among citizens will be helpful in making the institutions of local urban governance work. This overall situation of small district level cities and implementation of urban governance policies at that level is all important right now in India as the private sector is making major headways into these cities while there are no matching efforts even to implement local government policies that are already in place.

This module aims to introduce themes of urban decentralisation in India, and its changing contours in an era of globalisation. It explains the concepts of good governance, citizens’ participation/ participatory governance, and provides an overview of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA), 1992; and the industrial townshipexception therein.

Urban Governance and Local Democracy in South India, 2020

'Spatially speaking, India's social science research has been predominantly focused on the countryside. Urban India, as an object of inquiry, has remained on the fringes. This was understandable for India was overwhelmingly rural for the first six decades of its independence. By 2011, however, India was 32 per cent urban and by 2031, not less than 40 per cent of the nation's population will be in the cities. Therefore, it is highly important to start studying urban governance carefully. Those studies that have already emerged have focused on one city or two. This book is the first to compare urban governance across states, covering all of South India, a region which has experienced among the highest rates of urbanization, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Scholars and practitioners of urban governance will greatly benefit from the insights and learning presented in this book.'

Democratization and decentralization are the interdependent processes. Dissemination of power from one centre helps in empowering the people and can also held the government accountable for exercising political power. In India, as the democratic institutions started maturing, the tendency towards centralization of power is being increasingly questioned and the efforts of decentralization and participation of the citizen in the management of their local area, is being encouraged. Paucity of funds, lack of planning, excessive state control, etc. are some of the intriguing problems which resulted in inefficient and substandard governance. The newly recognized local self-government (henceforth, the term 'local government' would be used) is still in the transitional phase which is expected to acquire a new shape in the face of technological facilitation and the democratic change.