Elected govts at local body levels key to India’s developed nation goal: Report

The report was released by Bengaluru-based non-profit Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

Lack of duly elected governments at the city or urban local body levels is an obstacle to India’s ambitious goal of being a developed nation, a report released on Wednesday. The report by Bengaluru-based non-profit Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy argued that developed cities are a key to India’s economic growth, and globally, there are no examples of cities being developed well without strong urban local governments.

(Representative file photo)

To make their case, the authors said Indian cities already contribute 60% of GDP. But, compared to the global average of 3.9% increase in per capita GDP for every 1% increase in urbanisation, India delivers only a 1.7% increase.

The study noted that a 932% increase in central government budgets for the urban sector from 2009–10 to 2024–25, along with a similar rise in investments by respective state governments, has failed to deliver optimum results. “59% of urban residents face water scarcity, 80% are exposed to unhealthy air quality, 36.4 crore urban residents faced very strong heat stress, and recurring urban floods across major cities, with the 2015 Chennai floods alone costing ₹15,000 crores. This signals deeper governance issues,” the authors of the report said.

Titled ‘Delays in Urban Local Government Elections in India: Analysis and Reform Pathways’, the report flagged an average 22-month delay in conducting municipal elections, an 11-month average delay in electing mayors and forming councils, despite the Constitutional mandate of holding elections before council term expiry or within six months after dissolution.

The study also shed light on many Constitutional silences, particularly in terms of laying down defined timelines and the lack of independence of state election commissions, with only eight of the 34 SECs having powers over both ward delimitation and reservation.

As remedies, the report recommended reforms at the centre, state governments, and state election commission levels. Srikanth Viswanathan, chief executive officer at Janagraha, said, “The centre should consider stopping central sector funding to states that do not facilitate duly elected city councils altogether, as done for 15th Finance Commission grants for cities without duly elected bodies.” He also said states should be incentivised for empowering state election commissions.

The study collated findings from 13 court orders of various high courts and the apex court, CAG reports, interviews with state election commissioners, municipal legislations at the state level, and a roundtable organised with MPs, mayors, and sectoral experts held earlier in July. Janaagraha said that they will share the report with the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Housing and Urban Affairs who had chaired their roundtable, state governments, the public accounts committee, and state election commissions.