Local Government in Asia and the Pacific:
A Comparative Study

Country paper: India

  Description of the Country
  Evolution of Local Government
  Local Government Categories
  Local Government Functions
  Local Government Finances
  Personnel Systems
  Central-Local Links
  Public Participation
  The Way Ahead
  References

Brief Description of the Country and its National/State Government Structure

Demography

With the exception of one decade, 1911-1921, India's population has galloped ahead from 238.3 million in 1901 to 846.3 millions in 1991.

Evolution of Local Government, its Legal and Political Background

Local government institutions have always existed in India in one form or another since ancient times. The present form of urban local government owes its genesis to the British rule. The initiation began with Samuel Laing, member of the Viceroy's Council, in the Budget Speech (1861-62) proposing that local services should be based on local resources. Lord Mayo's Resolution of 1870 introduced the concept of elected representatives in the municipalities. Lord Ripon is considered the founding father of urban local government as he implanted the concept of municipal authorities as units of self-government. His Resolution of 18 May 1882 on local self-government dealt with the constitution of local bodies, their functions, finances and powers and laid the foundation of local self-government in modern India. Local self-government played an important role in the Independence Movement. After Independence, the Constitution of India was framed on federal principles. Indian Constitution makers divided the government functions in three lists: Federal, State and Concurrent. Local government bodies are covered in the State List and are governed by the State Statutes or in the case of Union Territories by the Union Parliament.

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest and a growing consciousness of the need and importance of local self-government as provider of services to the local community as well as an instrument of democratic self-government. Local government is an integral part of the national government structure, the level of government closest to the citizens and in the best position both to involve them in the decision making process of improving their living conditions and to make use of their knowledge and capabilities in the promotion of all round development. There are two types of local government: urban local government and rural local government. Until recently, urban local government was manifested in Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Town Area Committees and Notified Area Committees. However, the Seventy-Fourth Constitution Amendment Act adopted in 1992 proposes to form a uniform structure of Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in transitional areas. Rural local government operates through Zilla Panchayats (Parishads), Taluka Panchayats and Village Panchayats.

Figure 1. Political Structure at the National Level

Figure 2. Political Structure at the State Level

Figure 3. National, State and Local Planning

Local government bodies

Urban local bodies are supposed to be formed as democratic institutions based on the principle of self-government and should represent people's desires and strengths. Due to massive urban growth during the past two decades, the urban quality of life has deteriorated and creates an urgent necessity for having vibrant and efficient urban local government bodies that can deliver adequate services and improve living conditions.

Evolution

Urban local government bodies are synonymous with municipal government have a long history. Municipal bodies are the creation of the British. The first such body called a Municipal Corporation was set up in the former Presidency town of Madras in 1688 and was followed by the establishment of similar corporations in Bombay and Calcutta in 1762. Lord Mayo's Resolution of 1870 encouraged the introduction of an elected President in the municipalities. However in their present form and structure, the municipal bodies owe their existence to Lord Ripon's Resolution on local self-government, adopted on 18 May 1882.

Since then the structure of municipal bodies has remained by and large the same even though the number of urban areas has increased and their problems have become more and more complex. There are two kinds of statutory provisions creating a municipal authority. Either the statute itself may establish a municipal authority, like the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act (1888), the City of Nagpur Corporation Act (1948) and the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act (1957). Or it may empower the State Government concerned to create a Municipal Corporation (Municipality, Municipal Authority, Municipal Council or Municipal Board) such as the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act (1949) and the Gujarat Municipalities Act (1964). The extent of the municipality's power as well as the extent of government control over a Municipality/Municipal Council depends on the statute enacted for its creation. Presently, the statutes confer wider controlling and supervisory powers on the state government. This is due to two reasons: firstly, the Constitution does not demarcate the power and the duties of the municipal authorities and secondly in the absence of any clear-cut demarcation, it is obvious that state governments control municipal authorities.

In view with the problems faced by urban local government bodies, the Rural-Urban Relationship Committee set up by the Government of India in 1963, pointed out that local government can no longer remain merely instruments of political education and civic conscience. Instead they have to become institutions for the promotion of social and economic development of local communities as well as an integral part of the National Government. The Committee also made significant recommendations on various aspects of local government like the criteria for constitution of municipal bodies with the need for a clear delineation of powers, functions and resources of urban bodies. As far as the municipal government was concerned, it was assumed to be a State Function. Entry 5 of the State list in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India gives legislative power to the State with regards to municipal laws, establishments, constitution and powers of local governments. Except for recognizing local self-government as an essential part of the system of Government, the Constitution does not confer any independent status or powers to local government bodies. The newly introduced Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) of 1992, has acted upon the recommendations of the Rural-Urban Relationship Committee and seeks to provide more power and authority to urban local bodies. It is the first serious attempt to ensure stabilization of democratic municipal government through constitutional provisions. The Constitutional Amendment Act seeks to introduce fundamental changes in the 3,000 urban local bodies presently existing. Its features are:

• Introduction of the Twelfth Schedule which lists the functions of the urban local bodies, covering planning, regulation and developmental aspects;
   
• Establishment of District and Metropolitan Planning responsible for the election of representatives for the preparation of development plans at district and metropolitan levels;
   
• Proposed establishment of ward committees in areas having a population of over three hundred thousand;
   
• Specification by law of the powers and responsibilities entrusted to municipalities and ward committees;
   
• Holding of periodical and timely elections; if a municipality is dissolved for any reason it should be reconstituted within 6 months;
   
• Specifying by law the sources of municipal finance and their periodic review by a statutorily constituted State Finance Commission and by making it obligatory on the part of the Central Finance Commission to recommend measures needed to augment state resources to assist the municipal governments;
   
• Restrictions on the power of state governments to do away with democratically elected municipal governments;
   
• Reservation of one-third of seats for women and weaker sections in municipal bodies; for minorities there are no reservations.
   

The CAA envisages enabling people to participate in development processes at ward, municipal, district and metropolitan regional level. The empirical evidence of such optimism could be realized only after the incorporation of the CAA in the existing Municipal Acts.

Figure 4. Twelfth Schedule of the Seventy-Fourth
Constitutional Amendment Act (1992)

1. Urban planning, including town planning
2. Regulation of land use and construction of buildings
3. Planning for economic and social development
4. Roads and bridges
5. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes
6. Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management
7. Fire services
8. Urban forestry, protection of environment and promotion of ecological aspects
9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the disabled and mentally retarded
10. Slum improvement and upgrading
11. Urban poverty alleviation
12. Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens playgrounds
13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects
14. Burials and burial grounds, cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoriums
15. Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals
16. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths
17. Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences
18. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries

The State Governments need to adopt the Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act with reference to their respective municipal bodies. A case of the State Madhya Pradesh may provide an appropriate example. After the passing of the Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act, the local body acts of Madhya Pradesh were amended and the provisions contained in the constitutional amendment were incorporated in those acts. Subsequently, a number of workshops were organized. A workshop for Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Municipal Commissioners and Opposition Leaders came up with a number of suggestions and was followed by workshops for Presidents and Vice-Presidents of all municipalities and Nagar Panchayats. In the final round, 45 workshops for 45 districts for the councilors of all municipalities and Nagar Panchayats were organized to ascertain their suggestions regarding the amendments in the above-mentioned acts. These workshops gave valuable suggestions and recommendations for amending the local body acts. All these workshops culminated into an amendment of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act (1956) and Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act (1961) on 21st April 1997.

Election and term of a Mayor

In the earlier act, a Mayor was elected by the elected councilors of the municipal corporation. The new amendment provides that a Mayor shall be elected by direct election from the municipal area and that his term be raised from two and a half to five years.

Election expenses

The provisions regarding maintenance of election expenses and lodging of account of election expenses were not very clear in the earlier amendment. It has now been made mandatory for every candidate to keep a separate and correct account of all the expenditure incurred during election and submit it within thirty days to the State Election Commission. Failure to lodge a true account of expenses may result in disqualification of the candidate for a period of five years from the date of the order.

No confidence motion

A motion of no confidence cannot be moved against the speaker or Mayor within a period of two years from the date on which he or she enters office. Similarly, such a motion cannot be moved if the remaining period of a corporation is less than six months. A motion of no confidence needs a majority of two thirds of the elected councilors present and voting if such a majority is more than half of the total number of elected councilors. However, as far as a motion of no confidence against the Mayor is concerned, such a motion needs a majority of more than three fourths of the elected councilors, i.e. more than two thirds of the total number of elected councilors.

Local Government Categories and Hierarchies

Municipal structure

The structure and composition of the municipalities vary widely. There is generally no accepted set of criteria with reference to urban agglomerations resulting in wide differences of definitions and structures between states.

The CAA sought to bring some uniformity in the constitution of the municipal bodies by classifying them as follows:

• Nagar Panchayat, to be constituted in rural-urban transition areas. These have been conceived to properly channelize the growth impulses in such settlements and also to bring some sort of order in their growth and provision of service;
   
• Municipal Councils for smaller urban areas;
   
• Municipal Corporations for larger urban areas.

Urban local government is not hierarchical. However, the Municipal Corporation, as an institution, enjoys a greater measure of autonomy than other forms of local government. It enjoys the power of dealing directly with the state government whereas the municipalities have no direct access to the state government and are answerable to the District Collector and Divisional Commissioner.

Municipalities and Corporations have deliberative and executive wings. In general, deliberative wings of Municipal Corporations comprise the Corporation Council, the Standing Committee and the Mayor, whereas the executive wings comprise the Municipal Commissioner, the Deputy/Assistant Municipal Commissioner, the Municipal Engineer and subordinate administrative staff.

Deliberative wing

This is the General Body of the Municipal Corporation, comprising of elected members (councilors). Councilors are people's representatives and thus articulate the wishes of the population. The council is elected for a term varying between three and five years. The new Constitutional Amendment Act provides that every Municipal Corporation and every Municipal Council shall have the following two categories of councilors:

• Directly elected councilors;
   
• Nominated councilors.

The number of elected councilors is to vary according to the size of the population of the territorial area of the Municipal Corporation or the Municipal Council concerned. Nominated councilors are to be nominated by the elected councilors of the Municipal Corporations/Councils concerned. The nominated councilors shall be persons having special knowledge or experience in municipal administration.

Mayor

The Mayor in the Municipal Corporation is a representative elected by the councilors from amongst themselves for a term of one year, which is renewable. The Mayor exercises administrative control over the secretariat of the corporation. Furthermore, some statutes specifically empower him, in case of an emergency, to direct the execution or stoppage of any work or any act. The Mayor in India is bereft of any executive authority. The indirect election of the Mayor combined with his short one-year tenure makes him more a figurehead than an active functionary.

Calcutta model

The Mayor-in-Council form of city governance grew out of local government idealism with a view to making city government really local self-governing fully responsible and accountable to the people. It can better be described as Cabinet government that replicates the political system as it operates at the state and central levels. It supports union or integration with a cabinet in the form of the Mayor-in-Council drawn from the Corporation or Council and accountable and responsible to it. The system therefore provides the much-needed plural, political leadership, coordination of policy and administration and a clear focus of responsibility.

Committees

Various Statutory and Non-Statutory Committees that are set up by the council do most of the work of the corporation. A Statutory Committee is set up by the statute which constitutes the Corporation, such as executive committee, standing committee, planning committee, health committee and education committee. Non-Statutory Committees include transport committee, women and child welfare committee etc. The number and composition of the committees vary from state to state. The most important committee, both regarding power and range of functions allotted is the Standing Committee of the Corporation. It acts as the steering committee exercizing executive, supervisory, financial and personnel power. The Standing Committee consists of elected members varying between seven and sixteen through a system of proportional representation of councilors.

Executive wing

The Municipal Commissioner is the chief Executive Officer and head of the executive wing of the Municipal Corporation. All executive powers are vested in the Municipal Commissioner. Although the Municipal Corporation is the legislative body laying down policies for civic governance of the city, it is the Commissioner who is responsible for execution of the policies. The Commissioner is appointed for a fixed term that is mentioned in the respective state's statutes. However, his tenure in a corporation may get either extended or reduced. The Commissioner's powers are classified into two broad categories: those listed in the statute creating the corporation and those delegated by the Corporation or the Standing Committee.

Municipal Councils

A municipality is a politic and corporate body constituted by the incorporation of the inhabitants of a city or town. Normally, Municipal Councils cover smaller areas than the Municipal Corporations. The municipal acts of the states govern the Municipal Councils. The State Government can, by notification, propose an area, except a military cantonment, to be a municipality, define its territorial limits and make alterations in them. The Municipal Council, President, the Committees and the Executive/Chief Officer constitute the main components of the structure of municipal government. The Municipal Council makes laws that are called by-laws within the framework of the municipal act for the civic governance of the city or town. Generally, there is a provision for reservation of seats for scheduled castes and for women. The size of every Municipal Council varies from state to state; the municipal acts prescribe both the maximum and the minimum number of councilors.

The tenure of the Municipal Council varies from three to five years. The council elects, from among the councilors, a President whose term may be co-terminus with that of the council. In certain states Presidents are elected directly by the citizens. In a number of states the term of the President varies from one to three years and is not co-terminus with that of the council. The President occupies an important position in the municipal administration and enjoys considerable authority and power both in the deliberative and executive organs of the municipality. He convenes and presides over the meetings of the council and gives his rulings on all controversial matters. He also holds the power to take disciplinary action against offending councilors and can suspend or adjourn any meeting in case of pandemonium. The President not only guides the deliberation of the council but also executes its decision as its chief Executive Officer. He is aware of day-to-day administration and he is supposed to convey to the council the working of the administrative machine. He is also the chief spokesman and the link person with the government. The President enjoys power and exalted position but his power depends on the support of the majority. There is provision in the municipal act for setting up of committees to assist the parent body to perform its tasks. The Standing Committee is the most important of all committees. The powers and functions of the Municipal Council Committees are the same as those of the Municipal Corporation. The elected President being dependent on the council, the Chief Executive Officers face a lot of pressure and influences in exercizing their executive authority. In most states the state government appoints the Executive Officer. In some states the council makes the appointment, but his or her independence has been confirmed by making it difficult his removal from office - generally by a three-fourth-majority vote.

Cantonment board

Cantonments are predominantly military-occupied areas along with a sizeable civil population that necessitates the municipalization of its administration. The Cantonments are centrally administered areas, placed under the direct administrative control of the Ministry of Defence and the Central Government in contrast to other forms of local government, which are under the control of state government. The Cantonment Board is a special form of urban government, constituted under the Cantonments Act (1924). However, certain changes have been made with the Amendment of 1953. Cantonments are generally classified into:

• Class I cantonments in which the civil population exceeds 10,000;
   
• Class II cantonments in which the civil population is between 2,500 and 10,000;
   
• Class III in which the civil population is less than 2,500.

Class I and Class II Cantonment Boards consist of the Military Officer commanding the station (or his nominees), a first class Magistrate nominated by the District Magistrate, a health officer; an executive engineer; four military officers nominated by the Commanding Officer and seven people's representatives elected by the people. Class III Cantonment Boards consist of the Officer commanding the station, one nominated military officer and one elected member. In a Cantonment Board the role of the elected representative is restricted to a great extent. Generally, the Officer Commanding the station acts as the President of the Board if he is a member of the Cantonment Board. In every Board in which there is more than one elected member there is a Vice-President elected by the elected members from among themselves. The functions of the Cantonment Board are very much like the functions of a municipality. The functions entrusted to the Board are both obligatory and discretionary. The income of the Cantonment Board is derived both from tax and non-tax revenues.

Local Government Functions

Local Bodies are expected to have a profound impact on the performance of the economy of the country by utilizing local resources and tapping human potentialities to the fullest. In the present context of Indian economy, with massive urban growth and the economic liberalization, heavy responsibility is placed on urban local bodies. They are responsible for the improvement of the efficiency of programmes and services, to mobilize local resources and to provide coherent planning and delivery of the services at the local level. All municipal acts in India provide for functions, duties and responsibilities to be carried out by the municipal government. These are divided in two categories obligatory or discretionary.

Obligatory functions

• Supply of pure and wholesome water;
   
• Construction and maintenance of public streets;
   
• Lighting and watering public streets;
   
• Cleansing public streets, places and sewers;
   
• Regulation of offensive, dangerous or obnoxious trades and callings or practices;
   
• Maintenance or support of public hospitals;
   
• Establishment and maintenance of primary schools;
   
• Registration of births and deaths;
   
• Removing obstructions and protections in public streets, bridges and other places;
   
• Naming streets and numbering houses.

Discretionary functions

• Laying out of areas;
   
• Securing or removing dangerous buildings or places;
   
• Construction and maintenance of public parks, gardens, libraries, museums, rest houses, leper homes, orphanages and rescue homes for women, etc.;
   
• Planting and maintenance of roadside and other trees;
   
• Housing for low income groups;
   
• Making a survey;
   
• Organizing public receptions, public exhibitions, public entertainment, etc.;
   
• Provision of transport facilities with the municipality;
   
• Promotion of welfare of municipal employees;
   
• Providing music for the people

Compulsory Primary Education is the responsibility of the local bodies in a large number of states. The Municipalities elect the school-based members. Some of the functions of the urban bodies overlap with the work of para-statal agencies. The CAA provides for the Twelfth Schedule listing the functions of municipal bodies. The functions of the municipality, including those listed in the Twelfth Schedule are left to the discretion of the State Government. These local bodies have to be bestowed with sufficient powers, authority and responsibility to discharge the additional functions entrusted to them by the CAA. However, the act fails to provide any powers directly to the municipalities and it has left it to the discretion of the state government. Some of these functions mentioned in Twelfth Schedule of CAA are of highly technical nature and are likely to render municipal bodies ineffective. The CAA has a provision regarding devolution of powers and responsibilities. However, the devolution of powers commensurate with such responsibilities is left to the discretion of the concerned State Government.

Thus, local governments are required to provide for services irrespective of their administrative capacity to do so and have to face unexpected new terms of their own as a consequence of new sets of standards. In pursuing decentralization objectives, it is important to ensure that existing municipal structures are updated to undertake added responsibilities. Where, the administrative functions of State Government for development of urban infrastructure are transferred to the local level, it will become necessary to examine whether local government is capable of handling such responsibilities. If such capacity does not exist or is inadequate, it needs to be created or strengthened.

To channelize the environmental improvement at national, state and local level, the Government has created many authorities that control environmental pollution.

Figure 6. Structure of Environmental Management

Local Government Finances

Municipal bodies (corporations and councils) are prescribed to perform a vast array of functions (obligatory and discretionary) for which adequate financial resources should be available. However, there is no separate list of taxes exclusively for municipal bodies. Many Commissions like the Local Finance Inquiry Committee (1951) and Taxation Inquiry Commission (1953-1954) have been set up from time to time to look into the issue of municipal finance. However, municipal finance was left to the discretion of the respective state governments to specify by law matters relating to imposition of taxes.

Municipal Revenues are basically of the following types:

• Tax revenue;
   
• Non-tax revenue;
   
• Grants-in-aid;
   
• Borrowings or loans.

Figure 7. Local Urban Financial Set-Up

Figure 8. Local Urban Non-Tax Sources

Tax revenue

Major taxes levied by urban local government are the following:

• Tax on property including service levy for water supply, conservancy, drainage, lighting and garbage disposal;
   
• Tax on entry of goods into a local area for consumption use of sale therein, popularly known as octroi;
   
• Tax on Professions;
   
• Tax on vehicles (other than motor vehicles).

The scope of taxation of Municipal Corporations is broader; they are generally empowered to impose or increase taxes within the limits laid down in the State Acts.

Property tax

Generally property tax is the largest single source of revenue for municipal bodies in the states where there is no provision for octroi. Property tax is levied on buildings and lands. Its basis of taxation is the annual rental value or market rent. A municipal body can impose, suspend, reduce or abolish the tax or partly/wholly exempt any person or class of persons of any such tax on any property or description of property by a resolution passed at a special meeting and confirmed by the state government.

Octroi

It is the tax levied on entry of goods into a local area for consumption or sale therein. Octroi is the most traditional tax and a major source of local revenue. It accounts for about 60 to 80 per cent of total revenue of the urban local bodies where it is imposed. In the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra for example, this tax is the major source of revenue. However, due to scathing criticism from many front states such as Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya have abolished octroi. The state of Gujarat has taken a policy decision to abolish octroi and introduce an entry tax.

Non-tax revenue

Every Municipal Act has provisions, for issuance of licenses. Likewise, every local authority is empowered to charge and collect fees both regulatory (for license issued) and for services provided. There is a vital difference between tax and fee: tax is a compulsory levy, while a fee is a charge made in return for a benefit allowed or conferred. When the service is extensively used and it takes on the character and form of a public utility, then the fee charged is called a user charge or user fee. Normally a user fee is to be charged for public utilities, parking, entry fees for play ground, swimming pools etc.

Grants-in-aid

An important element of municipal finance is grants-in-aid. There are two types of grants: a general purpose grant (GPG) and a specific purpose grant (SPG). The GPGs are intended to augment the revenue of the local bodies for discharging their normal functions. The SPGs are used for specific requirements, e.g. the increase of wage bills due to inflation, education grants, public health, road maintenance etc. Grants are ad-hoc and discretionary in nature.

Borrowings and loans

Municipal bodies can borrow from the state government and other agencies when they cannot afford to meet their expenditures with their existing revenues. The borrowing power of a local government is regulated under Local Authorities Loans Act (1914). This act provides that Municipal Corporations can borrow for development activities and for payment of debt charges. Local bodies are permitted to borrow for the following activities:

• Construction of municipal works;
   
• Provision of relief and the establishment or maintenance of relief work in times of scarcity or famine;
   
• Prevention of the outbreak of any dangerous epidemic disease;
   
• Acquisition of land;
   
• Repayment of outstanding loans.

Typical municipal finances

The Bombay Municipal Corporation is the largest Municipal Corporation in India in terms of population. The details of its finances over 1996 and 1997 will throw some light on the typical income and expenditure pattern of million plus cities.

Table 6. Income and Expenditure of Bombay Municipal Corporation (in million US$)

Finance commission

With the increasing pace of urbanization, municipal bodies are finding it difficult to deliver the required level of services. Moreover, with the Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) and the addition of eighteen functions in the Twelfth Schedule, the functional responsibilities of municipalities have increased beyond the provisions of only civic amenities. Local Bodies are expected to play a crucial role in the preparation of plans for local development and in the implementation of development projects. In view of this, proper assessment of the resources of the municipal bodies is required. Thus, the Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act under article 2430-I proposes the setting up of State Finance Commission. The Governor of the State constitutes a State Finance Commission within one year from the commencement of the Constitutional Amendment Act. Its term is for 5 years. The recommendations of the State Finance Commission will be in the following aspects:

• Distribution between the state government and municipalities of the net proceeds of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the state;
   
• Allocation of a share of such proceeds between the municipalities at all levels in a state;
   
• Determination of taxes, duties, tolls and fees to be assigned or appropriated by the municipalities;
   
• Grants-in-aid to municipalities from the consolidated fund of the state;
   
• Measures needed to improve the financial position of municipalities.

Under the new Amendment, it is at the discretion of the Governor to refer any matter to the Finance Commission. This Commission chalks out its own procedure within the framework of powers given to it by state law. Another important aspect is that the Governor has to present to the state legislature every recommendation made by the Finance Commission along with explanatory notes on the actions taken. The setting up of a Finance Commission as proposed by the Constitutional Amendment Act will thus help the urban local bodies to deliver the increased level of services, which are required in the context of increasing urbanization. These additional responsibilities allotted to them under the twelfth schedule also make it imperative to make regular assessment of financial resources of the local bodies. Regular assessment of the financial resources, would help in the proper channelization of resources as well as the devolution of resources from state to local government and give the local bodies a firm footing.

Personnel Systems in Local Government

Effective urban management and improved urban planning and development efforts need to converge at the local government level to deal with the problems arising as a result of urban growth trends at the city level. All municipal programmes can be translated into action only through well-recruited and trained personnel at the disposal of urban local authorities. Development and maintenance of adequate and skilled manpower with growth potential depend upon the nature and type of recruitment policies and procedures adopted and the efficiency with which they are administered and executed. The policies, methods and procedures adopted by an organization to build up its personnel are of vital significance. However, municipal institutions from their inception seem to have overlooked this important aspect of personnel administration.

The State Government normally appoints the Municipal Commissioner in Municipal Corporation on a three-year term basis. Usually he belongs to the Indian Administrative Service and has the seniority of a deputy secretary to the state government. He is the Chief Executive of the city government. Apart from the post of municipal commissioner, there is a special provision in the Act for the appointment of the posts of city engineer, medical officer of health, municipal chief auditor, municipal secretary, deputy municipal commissioner and assistant municipal commissioner. The Commissioner prepares a regular statement setting forth the number, designation and grade of officers and other employees that should be maintained as well as the amount and nature of the salaries, fees and allowances which may be paid to each of them and brings his statement before the Standing Committee.

The corporation regularly prescribes the qualifications required for each post. The power of appointment rests in the corporation and is subject to the approval of the state government. The state government may, pending on such approval, make modifications or additions to the qualifications prescribed by the corporations as it deems fit. As per provision of the act certain statutory posts in the municipalities are created: the Chief Officer, the Municipal Engineer and the Health Officer. In most of the municipalities, the recruitment is made by a selection committee appointed by the resolution of the Council or by the President of the Council. With an exception of Bombay Municipal Corporation, salaries of the staff of central government and state government employees are higher than the salaries of personnel working in urban and rural Local self-government bodies. Due to lower pay scales, competent candidates, especially the candidates having a technical background are reluctant to join municipal services.

Central-Local Links

The central government controls the overall development initiatives in urban areas through the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment. However, state governments have a significant control on the staffing, finances and administration of the Municipal Corporations and councils. The state governments exercise control through their urban development departments. The directorates of municipal administration also have a town planning (and valuation) department to exercise control on the physical planning of the urban areas as this department prepares the development plans for the cities and towns in their respective states. There is an increasing emphasis on the training of municipal employees. There are a number of renowned training institutions that provide training to elected and executive personnel in local authorities in different subjects such as engineering, human resources development, capacity-building, solid waste, water supply and information systems. These include the Indian Institute of Public Administration, the National Institute of Urban Affairs, All India Institute of Local Self-Government and the Regional Centres for Urban and Environmental Studies (Mumbai, Lucknow and Hyderabad are the major institutions in India).

Extent of Public Participation

Traditionally it is the responsibility of elected councilors to bring about public participation in the decision-making process. However, direct public participation is difficult to realize due to various reasons such as time available to the council and the public and the large number of people living in cities and towns. In general, people contribute and participate through media such as letters in newspapers, posters and books.

There are a number of tasks specific in every city that concentrate on the fight for certain developmental or remedial issues. People are involved in such activities and contribute to the council and state level decision-making process. The Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act and the Conformity Municipal Legislation by different state governments have paved a new path for public participation through the ward committees, which are supposed to act as public auditor in the development process.

The Way Ahead

The above discussion focuses on the evolution, structure, functions and finances of urban local bodies. It also highlights the changes that are sought to be brought about by the Constitutional Amendment Act (1992). In a modern development setting involving urbanization, it is necessary to take note of urban local government as it is through establishing a strong local government structure that full fledged democratic decentralization can be brought about. The present CAA in India is a step towards bringing about changes in the existing framework of urban local bodies and is in conformity with the world process of democratic decentralization. It is expected to be a harbinger of a new era, by making the urban local bodies an efficient and democratic form of government in the true sense.

The reforms required by urban local bodies are multifaceted encompassing political, social, administrative, financial and technological dimensions. The act provides a constitutional form of the structure and mandate for municipal bodies to enable them to function as effective democratic institutions of local self-government. However, it is worth mentioning that the constitutional status alone is not sufficient to make the municipal bodies vibrant and effective institutions of democracy. Expectations are high that it will refurbish the whole system of local self-government by implanting a new structure of municipal authorities with additional devolution of functions, planning responsibilities, new system of fiscal transfers and empowerment of women and weaker sections of the society.

References

Golandaz, H. M. and B. Mohanty (ed.), Empowerment of Urban Local Government in India (with Special Reference to the Seventy-Third Constitutional Amendment Bill of 1991), in: Urbanization in Developing Countries; Basic Services and Community Participation, pp. 376-388, Indian Institute of Social Sciences and Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 1993

Golandaz, H. M., Empowerment of Urban Local Government in India, with Special Reference to the Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, paper presented at the National Symposium on the Constitutional Seventy-Fourth Amendment Act, organized by the Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies (RCUES), Lucknow, 24-25 June 1994

Golandaz, H. M., Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act and Conformity Municipal Legislation in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in: Urban India, Vol. XV, p. 151-159 January 1995

Government of India, The Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act 1992

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