Sample Material of Public Administration Study Kit: Urban Local Government: Development dynamics
Sample Material of Public Administration Study Kit (Paper - II)
Urban Local Government: Development dynamics
DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS
Urban governance today is characterized by fragmentation of responsibility, incomplete devolution of functions and funds to the elected bodies and ULBs, unwillingness to progress towards municipal autonomy, adherence to outmoded methods of property tax and reluctance to levy user charges. State governments continue to take decisions on such matters as rates of user charges, property tax, octroi, role of parastatals in water supply and sanitation services, etc., with little reference to the ULBs that are affected by these decisions. Far from strengthening the constitutional role of the elected ULBs, such developments only reinforce the perception that ULBs are subordinate entities under the day-today control of the state governments, beholden to them not only for the development of the cities but often for their very survival. There appears to be a lack of confidence that many of the ULBs are capable of meeting their obligations as institutions of local self-governance.
In the present set up, initiatives for local developmental activities rarely come from the ULBs. Experience shows that functional autonomy becomes a reality only when it is accompanied by financial independence. State governments, therefore, need to strengthen the autonomous functioning of the ULBs through positive measures, and in particular, ensure their financial self-reliance.
The role of the ULBs in the immediate future will be:
- To be responsive and accountable to the community;
- to develop cities with standards of service comparable to the best in that particular category;
- to constantly improve their capabilities so as to equip themselves to undertake their tasks in resource-raising, service provision, and poverty alleviation,