Urban governance

UN Habitat defines Urban Governance as the enabling environment that requires adequate legal
frameworks, efficient political, managerial and administrative processes to enable the local
government response to the needs of citizens (Governance UN-Habitat, n.d.). Effective urban
governance requires a strong body that caters to the need of the people and at the same time,
pursues a citys developmental objectives. In India, the 74th Amendment made a bold step by
assigning them, through law, various powers and responsibilities so that they can take care of a
regions social and economic development. The act demarcated the composition, budgetary
support, roles and responsibilities of Municipalities.

There is a heightened need for strong and effective urban governance in the tier 1 cities, mainly
because of the rapidly rising population and economic contribution of these cities. This means that
the needs of the people, in terms of important services and utilities, has gone up.

Structure and Responsibilities of Urban local bodies

The 74th amendment defines three kinds of urban local bodies (ULBs) namely Nagar Panchayat
for an area in transition from rural to urban, municipal council for a smaller urban area, and a
Municipal corporation for a larger urban area. While most of the seats in the municipalities shall
be filled elected candidates, nominated candidates, having special experience in municipal
administration, would hold some of the seats. The duration of a municipality has been set at 5 years
from the date of its appointment.

A municipality would be provided the necessary roles and responsibilities through the state
government by law, for carrying out economic and social development. The same law, by which
the municipality would derive its powers, would mention the means by which a municipality would
earn its revenue, be it taxes, duties fees, aid etc. However, the maintenance of their accounts would
be done in accordance with the state law. (Ministry of Urban Development)

Municipalities in tier 1 cities handle multiple departments such as Roads, transportation, health,
water, sewerage, education, licensing, taxes etc. Therefore, it becomes important to review the
performance of these ULBs in the current context and suggest improvements, if any.
Bibliography
Governance UN-Habitat. (n.d.). Retrieved from Unhabitat.org: https://unhabitat.org/governance/

Ministry of Urban Development. (n.d.). 74th_CAA13.pdf. Retrieved from

http://moud.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/74th_CAA13.pdf