GOV STATE
risk of becoming immortal. But
what we need to be concerned is
about the relationship we have with
this tier of government through our
lifetime. The Twelfth Schedule to
Part IX of the Constitution of India
(Article 243W) added through
74th Amendment Act provides an
illustrative and rather exhaustive list
of municipal functions.
The paradox of the population
accretion into urban areas is that
the major expansion begins at
the lowest economic strata with
economic refugees pouring into
the cities. From much before the
days of Dick Whittington (1354-
1423) and his cat who migrated to
London believing that the “streets
of London were paved with gold”,
urban areas always lured rural
folk in seek of excitement and
fortunes. In our own times the
story of Dhirubhai Ambani from
the remote village of Chorwad to
the opulence of “Sea Wind” might
well be the Whittington tale of our
times. While that might be the lure
for the more gifted and ambitious,
the vast majority are just economic
refugees defeated by a hard land and
diminishing holdings and prospects.
As per census estimates, India’s
urban population has grown from
290 million in 2001 to 377 million
in 2011; accounting for over 30
percent of the country’s population.
Urban India accounted for 62 to
63 percent of the country’s GDP
in 2009–10. By 2050 India will
have almost a billion people living
in urban areas and less than 700
million living in rural areas. That is
the kind of swing that is under way.
Clearly management of urban areas
is now a major national priority.
Because of their dense
population and breakdown of
traditional hierarchies that ensured
a degree of conformal behavior,
urban areas are highly volatile and
can bring about social and political
destabilization rather suddenly
and quickly. India is entering a
dangerous phase. Delhi must show
the way.
The erstwhile Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was
that governed 8 of the 11 Districts
of Delhi was among the largest
municipal bodies in the world
providing civic services to more
than estimated population of 11
million citizens in the capital city.
It covered an area of 1,397.3 km²
(539.5 mi²). In 2012 it was divided
into three, for what many believe
was essentially for political reasons
by the Congress governments at the
center and the state to gerrymander
its way back to power. It didn't work
and for fourteen long years at a
stretch the BJP has kept control of
them.
But the three new MCD’s are
socially and economically very
different. South Delhi has the most
affluent areas and hence its vast
property tax base is now no longer
available to the less fortunate area
North and East corporations.
The other two are dependent on
handouts from an increasingly
assertive state government, which
insists on knowing how the money
given is utilized.
Delhi’s municipalities are
notorious for their corrupt ways
and sloth. A drive around Delhi
will give you a good idea how badly
the city is managed with rampant
unauthorized constructions and
occupation of public spaces. Delhi
practically has no pavements any
38 February 2020 | www.smartgovernance.in