Urban Local Government: Municipal governance: main features, structures, finance and problem areas; 74th Constitutional Amendment; Global Local debate; New localism; Development dynamics, politics and administration with special reference to city management.

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URBAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT:

Municipal governance in India has been in existence since the year 1687 with the formation of Madras Municipal Corporation and then Calcutta and Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1726. In early part of the nineteenth century almost all towns in India had experienced some form of municipal governance. In 1882 the then Viceroy of India, Lord Ripon's resolution of local self-government laid the democratic forms of municipal governance in India.
In 1919, a Government of India act incorporated the need of the resolution and the powers of democratically elected government were formulated. In 1935 another Government of India act brought local government under the purview of the state or provincial government and specific powers were given.

For the Census of India 2011, the definition of urban area is as follows:

1. All places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee, etc.
2. All other places which satisfied the following criteria:

a) A minimum population of 5,000;
b) At least 75% of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and
c) A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km.



 As a result of economic development in India, urbanization is proceeding at a very rapid rate. Cities and towns contribute to more than 60% of the GDP,so one can understand the strong co-relation between urbanization and economic development. So it is imperative to develop an efficient urban or municipal government.

Urban - Of or in a city or town.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE - MAIN FEATURES:

The purpose of municipal governance and strategic urban planning in a country is to create effective, responsive, democratic, transparent, accountable local governance framework organised according to a rational structure that promotes responsiveness and accountability; to provide responsive policy guidance and assistance to sub-national entities; to strengthen the legal, fiscal, economic and service delivery functions of municipalities; and to foster greater citizen participation in the governance of local bodies.

Similar to the Panchayati Raj system, the Nagar Palika Act or the Municipalities Act, 1992 set up through the 74th Amendment Act also provides for a three tier municipal system in the urban centres. The size and criteria of these municipal bodies are decided by the state legislature as it is set up under an Act of the state legislature.The Twelfth Schedule of Constitution (Article 243 w) provides an illustrative list of eighteen functions, that may be entrusted to the municipalities. Reservation of seats for ST,SC,OBC & women are similarly provided as is for the Panchayati Raj system. The Nagar Palikas/Municipals are to work as instruments of development and planning and also to handle funds for local activities.

Let's discuss them below:



STRUCTURE OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE OF A METROPOLIS:
i) Municipal Corporation - It is the topmost of urban local government and is for an urban area/centre with population above 3 lacs. As an institution it is more respectable and enjoys a greater measure of autonomy than other forms of local government.
It is set up under a special statute passed by the respective state's legislature. However, in an exception, in Delhi ( due to it being the National Capital Territory), the power to set up a Municipal Corporation lies with the Union Parliament.

ii) Councillors - Members of the Municipal Corporation are elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage for a period of five years and they are called Councillors.
These Councillors,collectively called the Municipal Council,exercise deliberative functions and the executive functions are performed by the Municipal Commissioner.

iii) Municipal Commissioner & Mayor - He is an Indian Administrative Services official appointed by the state government and has the executive powers of the government of Municipal Corporations. The other executives known as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are political executives elected for a period of one year by the members of the Corporation. The Mayor is the titular head of the corporation and presides over the meetings of the corporation.

These Municipal Corporations are in charge of Wards ( subdivision or district of a town/city) according to its population and representatives are elected from each Ward. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai which is the civic body that governs Mumbai city is divided in to 6 zones each consisting of 3-5 wards each. Individual wards or collections of wards within a corporation sometimes have their own administrative body known as ward committees.

Functions of Municipal Corporations:
Obligatory -  Supply of wholesome water and construction and maintenance of water works, supply of electricity,road transport services,construction,maintenance,naming and numbering of public streets,lighting,watering and cleaning public streets,etc.

Discretionary - Construction of public parks, gardens,libraries,museums,theatres and stadiums,public housing,planting of trees on road sides and elsewhere,provision of relief to destitute and disabled persons,civil reception of VIPs,registration of marriages,organisation and management of fairs and exhibitions.


The Delhi Municipal Corporation was recently trifurcated citing better administration as the reason,in to North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the East Delhi Municpal Corporation.







STRUCTURE OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE IN SMALLER CITIES AND TOWNS - NAGAR PALIKA / MUNICIPALITY/MUNICIPAL COUNCIL:
Municipal Councils or Municipalities are set up for an urban area/centre with population of 100,000 or more, however there are exceptions to that as previously nagar palikas were constituted in urban centers with population over 20,000 so all the urban bodies which were previously classified as nagar palika were reclassified as nagar palika even if their population was under 100,000.

Members of the Nagar Palika are elected representatives for a period of five years. The town is further divided into Wards ( subdivision or district of a municipality/town) according to its population and representatives are elected from each ward. Wards may be grouped together into ward councils. One or more representatives are elected to represent each ward.The members elect a President among themselves to preside over and conduct meetings of the Municipality. A Chief Officer along with other officers like an Engineer,Sanitary Inspector,Health officer and education officer who come from the State Public service and are appointed by the state government to control the executive and administrative affairs of the Municipality.

The nagar palika is responsible for

• Water supply
• Hospitals
• Roads
• Street lighting
• Drainage
• Fire brigade
• Market places and
• Records of births and deaths
• Solid waste management

Its sources of income are taxes on water, houses, markets, entertainment and vehicles paid by residents of the town and grants from the state government.







STRUCTURE OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE IN VERY SMALL CITIES WHICH ARE IN A TRANSITION FROM RURAL TO URBAN - NAGAR PANCHAYAT:
Nagar Panchayats are for an urban area/centre having a population of more than 30,000 and less than 100,000 inhabitants.
However, there are some exceptions. All the previous town area committees (urban centres with a total population of more than 5,000 and less than 20,000) are reclassified as Nagar panchayat.

Nagar panchayats have a chairman with ward members. Membership consists of a minimum of ten elected ward members and three nominated members.And it consist of a Block Development Officer ( commonly known as Executive Officer) ,who is the chief of all administration.






SOME OTHER MUNICIPAL BODIES THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN NOTE OF:

NOTIFIED AREAS:

In urban planning, a Notified area is any land area earmarked by legal provision for future development. The term is used in the Hindi belt region of North India.
The term also describes a village or settlement with a population between 10,000 and 20,000. A community of over 20,000 is considered a town under Indian law. Each notified area elects a notified area committee for its administration where all members as well as the chairman are nominated by the state government, which function like municipality. There have been various recommendations asking to stop such centralisation in the state govt. hands by setting up these areas when they should actually be under the PRIs.

TOWN AREA COMMITTEE:
It is a semi municipal authority constituted for small towns,and it exists in several states out of which Uttar Pradesh has the largest number. The members may be partly elected and partly nominated by the state govt. or wholly nominated or wholly elected. It is assigned a number of functions like street lighting,drainage,roads,conservancy,etc. The District Collector in some states has been given powers of surveillance and control over the TAC. Following recommendations of the Rural Urban Relationship Committee,1966, that smaller TACs be merged with Panchayati Raj bodies,Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have done so.


SMALLER TOWN:
PSUs are set up by the govt. and housing colonies have been set up around them for the staff and workers. These draw people from rural as well as urban areas and this develops into a kind of a very small town,therefore it is named as smaller town. These are administered by the Municipal corporation or Municipality under which it falls which appoints a Town Administrator for this area who is assisted by a few engineers and technicians that handle functions like water,electricity,roads,drainage,markets,parks,etc. The expenditure on such are shared equally by the urban local govt. as well as the respective Industry.


CANTONMENT BOARD:
When a Military station is established in an area,military personnel move in and to provide them facilities for everyday life the civilian population move in like markets,colonies,etc. To administer such areas,the Cantonment boards were set up. There are 63 cantonment boards in India at the moment. These boards are centrally administered by the Defence Ministry. Board consists of elected and nominated members and the officer commanding the station is the President of the Board. An elected member holds office for three years whereas the nominated ones continue as long as they hold office in that station.

Other agencies/departments are the Pollution Control Board, Housing Boards,Water Supply and Sewage Boards,etc. which are statutory bodies set up under an act of the state government. They help ease the burden off the Municipal bodies as they contain specialists having expertise in the particular field.

Every state has its development authorities that are the Planning & Controlling Authority for all the urban areas and its members and chairman are appointed by the state government that governs and controls it,for example Delhi Development Authority (DDA) which is an exception as it is also centrally controlled due its sensitive position of being a National Capital Territory. The other states Development Authorities are controlled and governed by their respective state governments.







FINANCE OF MUNICIPAL BODIES:
Finances supplied to the Municipal bodies are determined and regulated by the respective state governments as per the 74th amendment act. Article 243x states that a state may by law authorise a Municipality to levy and collect property taxes,duties,tolls and fees. The state will lay down the procedure also for the same along with accounting methods.

Also as per the 74th Amendment act,the Indian Constitution has made it mandatory for every state to constitute a State Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Municipalities and make recommendations regarding distribution of taxes between the states and municipalities.It is also expected to look into the criteria for grants-in-aid and suggest measures needed to improve the financial position of the Municipalities.

Municipal Corporations Finance - (a) Non-tax Revenue : The non-tax revenue includes fees and fines, grants and contributions from the Government. Among its extraordinary sources may be listed loans, deposits,receipts on capital account, grants for capital works, etc.

(b) Tax Revenue : The major proportion of income of corporations flows from taxes. It
ranges from anything between two-fifths and three-fourths of total income. A corporation
generally has the power to levy the following taxes :
• Property tax
• Tax on vehicles and animals
• Theatre tax
• Tax on advertisements (other than newspapers)
• Profession tax
• Education tax
• Entertainment tax
• Tax on consumption and sale of electricity
• Betterment tax on increase in urban land values caused by the execution of any
development or improvement work.

Tax on deeds of transfer of immovable property is collected by the State Government and the amount collected within the area under the jurisdiction of a corporation is transferred to it.

PROBLEM AREAS OF MUNICIPAL BODIES:
i) Disqualifications of members of Municipal Bodies follow in principle the practice followed in state legislature disqualifications. But since it is governed by the state legislature who can make laws regarding the same,it is not consistent in all states and that leads to a lot of disparity and non - security among members.

ii) Election expenses and code of conduct to be better regulated and more powers should be given to the State election commission to do the same.

iii) The Municipal Councils/ Municipalities have restricted local autonomy as compared to the Municipal Corporations, with more pervasive state control that often climax in dissolution of the former.

iv) Lack of Finance due to reluctance of the state and central legislators not wanting to divest further taxation and grants powers to them more than what they already have for fear of loss of power. And the municipal bodies fear increasing tax or asking for new tax collection options for loss of popularity among people.

v) Local bodies are created by state governments and therefore can be dissolved by them as well if not dancing as per their tunes.

vi) Adding to the above is the drawing of rural people and other city people to a place where there is rapid urbanisation through industrialisation. Law and order becomes difficult,slums develop,etc. leading to multiplicity of problems for these already stressed out urban local governance bodies.

vii) In spite of many central and state committees sitting and recommending better financial and administrative autonomy for the Municipal bodies, there has been no concrete effort from the legislators side to implement the same.

viii) The power now seems to have shifted from the state governments to the financial institutions, international donors and credit rating agencies. Finally, the capacity of the government to generate employment directly through anti-poverty programmes would remain limited. The anti-poverty programmes should primarily be focused on provision of basic amenities.

ix) Lack of consistent and coherent urban development policy, faulty and improper urban planning, coupled with poor implementation and regulation overload in India’s cities.

x) No proper monitoring system in place.







74TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT:
It was enacted envisioning democratic decentralization and power to the people. Let's discuss it's important features:
i) It granted Constitutional status to local bodies and made them mandatory and laid down the procedure for their constitution.

ii) It provides for reservations in Municipalities at par with the PRIs

iii) Ensuring timely elections every five years, and incase of supersession,elections to be held before the expiration of six months from date of dissolution,and a proper report to be submitted by the state govt. for dissolving/superseding before the state legislature.

iv) Setting up of Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Municipalities and make recommendations regarding distribution of taxes between the states and municipalities.It is also expected to look into the criteria for grants-in-aid and suggest measures needed to improve the financial position of the Municipalities.

v) State Election Commission to ensure timely and fair conduct of elections.

vi) Setting up of District Planning Committees for Municipal Councils and Nagar panchayats to prepare draft development plan for the district as a whole and submit their draft development plan to the state govt. for review and inclusion in the state plan.

vii) Setting up of Metropolitan Planning Committee for Metropolis who would submit their draft development plan to the state govt. for review and inclusion in the state plan.







GLOBAL - LOCAL DEBATE:
Global - Local debate refers to an ongoing debate in regard to development at local levels that what should be its guiding principles - The ideas and objectives developed at the local levels or the technological urgencies that could be seen as leading the local level to global development?

Philosophers defending the idea of local attributes have favoured the arrangement of locally conceived arrangements and locally developed technology. According to this group, the very concept of local arrangement is based on the idea of immediateness and relevance. They believe that requirements fulfilled through local arrangements vary considerably from area to area. It has been argued that a uniform arrangement in the environment of huge diversity and valid clear-cut differences shall not be possible to achieve some uniform arrangement for all local regions. Local arrangements work on the principle of relevance where readiness amongst the people act as the vehicle for implementation. Under this arrangement as schemes developed locally gain high acceptance and is visible and little is lost as there is little resistance.
 It has been further argued that under this local arrangement local resources may be employed in a more meaningful way and much time and resources may not be wasted on training for implementation. Participation under the local arrangement shall be more as a feeling of empowerment and self decision making shall be present. The thinkers maintain that under such an arrangement quick identification shall be possible and more sensitive and responsive solution shall be possible.


On the other hand a group of thinkers pursuing the idea of a global arrangement, opine that in the absence of a global perspective,a local region shall become myopic in its vision and may witness a very slow rate of growth. Technological resource is a capital extensive area and also an expression of experiences,accidents,innovation,events of success and failures,etc that will help in adopting benchmarks and best practices in local development.
If any area shall try to keep itself closed to the experiences,innovations,etc of others it may risk a lot being in such limited boundaries and may never think beyond/out of the box than the ones prevailing in society.
According to the Global thinkers the world is emerging as a global village and showing an attitude of neglect towards this emerging trend shall be extremely risky and undesirable for local development.



CONCLUSION AND OBSERVATION OF THE GLOBAL - LOCAL DEBATE :
It has been observed that local arrangements operate better when social and technological readiness exists in regards to the factors of implementation. It has also been observed that development at the local level is promoted better in an environment of local arrangement but at the same time technological appreciation shall add to the purpose of the local authorities. It has been observed as well that technological import wherever seen useful shall be customised to meet the local requirements so as to have higher acceptance and minimize resistance to technological essentials.

A good example of this is NABARD which is a specialised and technologically updated body  for financial assistance for agricultural development.







NEW LOCALISM:
New Localism refers to an arrangement where urban local governance is seen provided with a uniform framework under an order of central government. New Localism evolved in the U.K in order to provide a uniform agenda and framework for local governance throughout the nation.
It was observed that in the absence of some uniform framework, the local governance institutions developed various disabilities and there was widespread inconsistency in regards to the functioning of such institutions. The Tony Blair govt. came out with a solution that was in the form of a framework in which the structure and functions of local self government institutions were specified under an order of the central govt. and they were to be instructed to operate as per the central govt. directives.
Some concerns have been raised in regards to the imperatives coming from the central govt. for the local govt. institutions and it has been observed that in such an arrangement decentralisation will be forced to the reverse and take a backseat leading to heavy centralisation thus defeating the very purpose of local self governance.

However, lets take a look at the good practices New Localism has infused in many countries,even though not implemented fully but definitely does give some food for thought and bettering the local self governance. It has been applied as a method of coordination between local governing institutions across a country. It has provided for more autonomy for foundation hospitals. It has provided for a structural framework where service providers in a local region coordinate with one another while executing their schemes. It has provided for a more comprehensive development at local areas as financial management has been become more active with better forged relations with the centre. It has provided for a better networking arrangement through the various agencies operational in a local area.








DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS IN URBAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
The scientific study of Development forces or processes (Dynamics) that produce movement/change inside a group or system.
The forces viz. developments in Urban Local Government:

i) Govt. Of India Acts of 1919 and 1935.

ii) 74th Amendment Act

iii) Increasing urbanisation(and this is going to only increase in future) as the structural transformation of the Indian economy matures,and as India moves to double-digit growth, the backlog, current and growth needs of urbanization need to be addressed comprehensively.

iv) Liberalisation,Privatisation and Globalisation.

v) Activeness of Foreign Institutions and organisations in the development of developing countries and the centrally and state sponsored schemes implementation at the local levels.

vi) Technological advances like e-governance,etc.

vii) Increasing participation of people through the works of NGOs and NPOs, Voluntary organisations and civil society.







POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CITY MANAGEMENT:
While urbanisation can be an engine of economic development and inclusion,unless managed properly,it can create serious socio-economic consequences and disastrous outcomes which would be difficult and impossible to fix.
Apart from the above mentioned Problem Areas of Municipal Bodies,with time,today's urban planners are busy creating a bureaucratic maze,issuing permits and enforcing planning and building codes,become reactive instead of proactive,corrective instead of pre-emptive.
We are busy implementing global plans at the local level but till date there is a majority of rural and urban dwellers who do not have access to even the basic amenities/services for a decent living.
One of the major causes of the abovementioned is the rigid bureaucratic approach towards this with a top-down approach that is a lethargic and unequipped and unskilled one. Recruits to head these urban Municipal bodies are generalists with little knowledge most of the times regarding the subject matter. Therefore, it is necessary for them to be equipped with the knowledge and management practices to build their capacities in order for them to efficiently and effectively handle the growing specific functions of these specific bodies and especially in this LPG era where India is undergoing an economic,social and political transformation.That is where City or Urban Management steps in.

Along with international organisations like World Bank,etc support the Government Of India has set up a host of programmes and courses for capacity building of urban governance officials and staff to achieve the abovementioned goals. An example:
 The Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) and World Bank Institute (WBI) have entered in to partnership to specifically support capacity building needs of Indian cities and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to this effect. Establishing Certification Program in Urban Management is a key initiative of the MOU. The Water and Sanitation Program, South Asia is a key partner in this initiative. The Certification Program has received the endorsement from Government of India’s Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD).

The Certification Program in Urban Management is designed to enhance the capacities of urban sector professionals who are appropriately trained and have demonstrated their competence to effectively take up challenging responsibilities in urban management. The program seeks to provide urban professionals with a vehicle through which they can gain the latest knowledge on key aspects of urban management, and to develop innovative solutions to confront major issues faced by Indian cities.

 Core Objectives

•
To provide a broader, more holistic perspective on the range of issues confronting Indian cities and to explore new approaches to address them;
•
To promote an active exchange of experiences and enhance awareness of national and international good practices for improving the accountability and creditworthiness of urban local governments and ensuring effective delivery of services, particularly to the urban poor;
•
To assist city managers and senior staff of urban local governments in developing appropriate management, governance, leadership and organizational tools and strategies to enable them to discharge their duties more effectively; and
•
To enhance the skills of urban sector professionals and enable them to formulate action plans to meet strategic goals of their institutions.




 Also refer to this article for the Gujarat state efforts recently - http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-04-26/vadodara/29474096_1_corporators-workshop-effective-town-planning







MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, GOVT. OF INDIA -
The Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for formulating policies, supporting and monitoring programmes and coordinating the activities of various Central Ministries, State Governments and other nodal authorities in so far as they relate to urban development issues in the country.

Its important Programmes/Schemes are:

i) Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission -
Objectives of the Mission
(1) The objectives of the JNNURM are to ensure that the following are achieved in the urban
sector;.
(a) Focused attention to integrated development of infrastructure services in cities covered under
the Mission;.
(b) Establishment of linkages between asset-creation and asset-management through a slew of
reforms for long-term project sustainability;.
(c) Ensuring adequate funds to meet the deficiencies in urban infrastructural services;.
(d) Planned development of identified cities including peri-urban areas, outgrowths and urban
corridors leading to dispersed urbanisation;.
(e) Scale-up delivery of civic amenities and provision of utilities with emphasis on universal
access to the urban poor;.
(f ) Special focus on urban renewal programme for the old city areas to reduce congestion; and
(g) Provision of basic services to the urban poor including security of tenure at affordable prices,
improved housing, water supply and sanitation, and ensuring delivery of other existing universal
services of the government for education, health and social security.




ii) Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) - This subsumed the existing schemes of Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) and Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme (AUWSP). The objectives of the Scheme are:
1. Improve infrastructural facilities and help create durable public assets and quality oriented services in cities & towns, Enhance public-private-partnership in infrastructural development and Promote planned integrated development of towns and cities.
All towns/cities as per 2001 census except 63 Mission cities/Urban Agglomeration covered under JNNURM are eligible to be covered under the scheme. The components for assistance under the Scheme include all urban infrastructure development projects such as water supply, roads, parking space, drainage, solid waste management, sewerage, urban renewal, preservation of water bodies and prevention of soil erosion.


iii) ADB Funded North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme (NERUDP) - The North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme (NERUDP) Phase-I is being implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) with the financial assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB). It covers capital cities of 5 North Eastern States viz. Agartala (Tripura), Aizawl (Mizoram), Gangtok (Sikkim), and Kohima (Nagaland). The project covers priority urban services viz.
 (i) Water Supply,
(ii) Sewerage and Sanitation, and
(iii) Solid Waste Management.
In addition, Project Management and Capacity Development of the ULBs through institutional and financial reforms have also been included so that the ULBs become capable of planning and implementing infrastructure projects.

Refer to the Ministry's official website - http://www.urbanindia.nic.in/

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The next post on this blog will cover:

Law and Order Administration:
British legacy; National Police Commission;
Investigative agencies; Role of central and
state agencies including paramilitary forces
in maintenance of law and order and countering
insurgency and terrorism; Criminalisation
of politics and administration; Police-
public relations; Reforms in Police.