Syllabus: Devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
Context
- The visibility of New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani renews questions on why Indian cities lack similarly empowered civic leaders.
- Major municipal bodies such as BMC (Mumbai), GHMC (Hyderabad), and BBMP (Bengaluru) face structural constraints, delays in elections, and limited autonomy.
Why Are Indian Mayors Invisible?
- Historical and structural reasons shape weak mayoral authority in India.
- India’s governance remained rural-focused, making urban issues less central to policymaking.
- The Chief Minister has become the most powerful actor influencing city affairs.
- Until the 1960s, many leaders began as visible and influential Mayors, later rising to national politics.
- Today, city-level decisions are taken in the Chief Minister’s office, not in municipal institutions.
- Despite the 73rd and 74th Amendments, urban local bodies weakened due to political competition and citizen apathy.
- Democratic decentralisation remains supply-driven, not demanded by voters; no State or national election debates municipal empowerment.
Why Urban Governance Is Unresponsive?
- Municipal elections are repeatedly postponed, as seen in Bengaluru for over 4–5 years.
- Citizens display limited understanding of government levels, reducing pressure for reform.
- MLAs and MPs serve as ex-officio members, making corporators and Mayors subordinate to party hierarchies.
- Municipalities have weak revenue bases, with key functions performed by bureaucrats and State-controlled agencies.
- The 74th Amendment failed because it ignored existing political realities, assuming structural reforms alone would fix governance.
Would a Strong, Autonomous Mayor Improve Governance?
- Effective governance requires decentralised financial allocation, especially at the ward level.
- Earlier, in cities like Hyderabad and Bombay, funds were devolved to wards to improve local action.
- Without financial empowerment and local-level decision-making structures, even a strong Mayor cannot function effectively.
Issues with Splitting or Merging City Corporations
- Dividing or enlarging municipal bodies (e.g., BBMP’s split into five corporations, GHMC expansions) often aims to delay elections, not improve governance.
- Delhi represents a governance anomaly, with overlapping powers between the Chief Minister and municipal bodies, worsened by confusing Supreme Court rulings and political conflicts.
What Must Change?
- Reduce concentration of power in Chief Minister’s offices.
- Clearly delineate institutional responsibilities across urban agencies.
- Regulate parastatals to prevent them from becoming dominant autonomous entities.
- Strengthen municipal financial autonomy, decentralise ward-level budgets, and empower elected civic leaders.