Published Paper Details:

There has been a huge migration of rural population in urban parts of India in last three decades. Factors like growing economic prosperity in cities, poor employability in agricultural sector and aspiration for better standards of living are major drivers for consistent increase in urban population. The administration of urban affairs is managed by multiple agencies working under the aegis of central, state and local governments. The poor condition of urban infrastructure and lack of civic facilities for majority of population in cities warrants for review of existing urban policies and working of agencies handling urban administration. By virtue of the 74th constitutional amendment, the provisions were made for empowerment of municipal bodies and for greater public participation in the process of governance. This article discusses the salient features of good urban governance and issues and challenges in implementation of governance practices in India. The author has also made an attempt to evaluate the role played by the urban local bodies in making the urban governance more effective and people oriented. The state governments have not been very forthcoming in vesting of powers with the municipal bodies and these institutions are performing very basic civic services. The remedies and alternatives for fulfilling the objectives envisaged by 74th constitutional amendments have also been proposed by the author in this article.