Challenges to Urban local bodies

Published on 10 Jan 2025

The 74th Constitution Amendment aimed to strengthen urban local governance in India by introducing mandatory and voluntary provisions. Despite being integral to government development initiatives, these institutions have faced challenges, hindering their full potential.

Power struggle: Mayor, elected by the people, and Municipal commissioner, appointed by the state government, often engage in conflict over overlapping powers.
Centralized planning: This results in development not suited to the resources and demands of the locals which can even have negative impacts on people and environment.

Example: Poor planning has resulted in urban crises like Delhi air pollution, Bangalore flood, etc.

Delay in conducting elections: The State Election Commission has failed to hold elections consistently.

Example: No election in 321 Urban local bodies in Madhya Pradesh since 2019.

Lack of functionary: There has been shortage in human resource at the local level due to lower administration costs which affects project implementation.

Example: Mumbai government is poorly staffed with 895 employees per one lakh population while it is 5338 in New York

Little autonomy in funding: This has increased the dependence on grants which affects the timely implementation of projects.

Example: The share of local government to total revenue is only 3% in India while it is 25% in China

Poor functioning of the State Finance Commission: The constitutional body has little power to influence state policy formulation and power devolution.

Example: The 6th Finance Commission has been constituted only in 9 states, with only two being active.

Conflict with Single purpose agencies: These agencies are more prominent in urban areas and often conflict with the functioning of urban government bodies.

Example: CAG report has criticized the Kerala government for vesting more powers with the Water Authority which restricts power devolution to local governments.

Rise of urban challenges: Urban areas are prone to challenges like urban flooding, congested housing, irregular water supply, spread of epidemics etc. which must be addressed timely.

Example: India still has a slum population of 65 million whose management is a challenge on urban local government.

Way forward

Promote decentralized planning: This could bring development more suited for the local demands and corresponds better to available local resources.
Better coordination at apex level: Mayor and Municipal Commissioner should cooperate and aid one another in implementing their duty.
Improve financial position: More taxation powers, empowering State Finance Commission and reducing the tied nature of grants can give more fiscal autonomy.
Timely elections: Ensuring accountability through elections is a must to facilitate smooth governance and keep public faith in the representatives.

The relevance of urban local bodies will increase in coming years due to increasing urbanization trends and hence these issues must be resolved at the earliest to make urban bodies live up to their full potential.