Improving Urban Service

Delivery through Local

Governance

A CMD Study Presentation

14 August 2007
Why Local Governance?

• Subsidiarity principle

▫ Accountability
▫ Responsiveness

Improving Urban Service Delivery through Local 2

Governance
Constitutional provisions
• Part IX-A-“The Municipalities”
• Structure, composition, and duration
• Reservation of seats for women, scheduled
castes, and scheduled tribes
• A threshold of functions and powers, including
power of taxation

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Functions
Twelfth Schedule- 18 items, spanning across
▫ Planning (urban planning, town planning, land use
regulation, economic and social development planning)
▫ Economic infrastructure (roads and bridges, water supply,
conservancy)
▫ Social infrastructure (public health, sanitation, solid waste
management)
▫ Public amenities (fire services, burial grounds, cattle
pounds, vital statistics)
▫ Environmental services (forestry, parks, regulation of
slaughterhouses) and
▫ Poverty alleviation (weaker section interests, slum
improvement)

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Are services available and satisfactory?

• Urban service coverage and quality poor

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Reasons of poor delivery

Poor service delivery attributed to

▫ Inadequate democratization and

▫ Poor empowerment of urban local bodies

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 Democratization
• Direct election
• One-third seats reservation for
women
• Proportional reservation for
scheduled castes and tribes
• Five years tenure
• No dissolution through statute
amendments
• Fresh election before term expiry
• Supervision, direction and control
over electoral rolls to be with
State Election Commission
• Election-related matters by laws
made by State legislature (Article
243-ZA)
Improving Urban Service Delivery through Local
Governance
• SEC set up on 3rd December 1993
• It has superintendence, direction
and control of voters’ list and
conduct of elections
• Full powers in the matter of
elections
• Unique powers–
▫ Chairs Delimitation
▫ Commission Elections held in
1995, 2000, 2005
• No super-session of elected
members or bodies
• No other interventions in election
process
7
Finances I
Article 243-X –ULBs to levy KM Act ( S 283)-ULBs
and collect i. to have a Municipal Fund and
•Taxes
ii. to levy
•Duties
• Property tax
•Tolls
• Profession tax
•Fee and a share from state tax
revenues • Tax on animals and vessels

•Grants-in-aid • Show tax

•A municipal fund to be • Tax on advertisements, and

constituted at the ULB level • Tax on timber brought into the
municipal area (Section 230)
• Surcharge on any tax for providing
a specific civic service

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Governance
 Finances II
TVM
• Revenue surplus in all 5 years and
capital surpluses in 2 years
• For a projected investment of
Rs.191 crores on sewerage and
sanitation, drainage, and roads,
revenues sufficient to cover O & M
costs
• ULB can meet debt service
obligations on a 49% investment
loan component. with a good debt
service coverage ratio
• Property tax-43 % collection
(database last updated in 1988-
89)
Improving Urban Service Delivery through Local
Governance
THRISSUR
• Revenue and capital surpluses
in 4 of 5 years
• In separate budget, electricity
distribution had revenue
surpluses all 5 years
• For a projected investment of
Rs.180 crores for water supply,
drainage, roads, and solid
waste management with a 49%
loan component, ample ability
to meet full O&M costs with
safe debt service coverage ratio
• Property tax-75 % collection
(database last updated in
1980s)
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Urban Planning
The Town Planning Act [IV of 1108 Malayalam Era]
▫ Municipality has the primary responsibility to prepare
a town planning scheme( Section 7)
▫ What the plan to consist of (Section 3)
▫ Power to prepare master plan with “focus on scientific
spatial planning” (Section 51(3))
▫ Municipality to “prepare and implement detailed town
planning schemes” (Section 51(4))

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Water Supply and Sewerage I
K M Act 1994, overrides Kerala Water Supply and Sewerage
Act,(14 of 1986)
• KWA assets in ULB area “to vest in and stand transferred to ULB”
(section 315)

If in more than one local government institution

“ to
vest in a committee including the municipality
Chairperson and panchayat presidents” (Section 315A)
• ULB has “power and right to”
▫ prepare and implement water supply or sewerage scheme”
▫ impose water & sewerage charges (Section 315B)

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Water Supply and Sewerage II
Kerala Decentralization of Powers Act 2000 further
amended Act 14 of 1986
▫ KWA to render technical services to local bodies [Section
34(1)(5)]
▫ Local governments are “free to
start own water supply and sewerage schemes either
individually or as a group” and
“ fix their own user charges” [Section 34(1)(6)]
▫ obligatory on KWA to transfer water supply/sewerage service
to ULB on request [Section 34(2) (1)(b)]

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Thrikkannapuram WS scheme
Graph 1

450
Cumulative Payments (Rs. lakhs)

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

ULB to KWA KWA Payouts

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Capacity for Governance
Capacity is
▫ the ability of people, organizations and society as a whole
to manage their affairs successfully (OECD, 2006)
▫ not a technical process
▫ both organizational and individual issues (OECD, 2006)
▫ requires higher degrees of knowledge

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Organization
Needs to have control over
▫ Goals,
▫ Output,
▫ Property,
▫ Technology,
▫ Structure and
▫ Individuals (Richard Osborn, 1980)
When an organization adopts a new strategy,
it also requires changes in its structure

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Goals
Goals are made up of Purpose, Mission & Objectives
1.Purpose= a broad aim, a primary role
2.Mission=unique aim, narrower than purpose
3.Objectives=target for achievement, more specific than
mission statement

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Strategy
• A broad programme for achieving objectives & for
implementing mission

• Creates unified direction in terms of objectives &

resources

Has a relationship with the environment

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Structure
The setting in which

▫ power is exercised,
▫ decisions are made, and
▫ organization’s activities are carried out”(Peter Blau)

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Considerations in evolving a structure
• Technology.
• People
• “Fit” or Agreement

Organizational capacitating efforts

a post of superintending engineer to
“take care of all kinds of engineering
works”

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JNNURM
“meaningful association/engagement of ULBs”

▫ in planning function of para-statals and

▫ delivery of services to citizens”(GOI,2006)

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A new organizational structure

• Hierarchical
• A company owned by ULB
• A networking solution
• Need of Support organizations

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Structure
Irrigation KWA KSEB KWA

Government of Kerala

Street
Drainage lighting
for TVM ULB Council
for TVM
Water Sewerag
Mayor
supply e for
Secretary TVM
for TVM

Council General
Dept. Admn. Revenue Healt Town Engineerin
Dept. Dept. h Plg. g Dept.
Dept. Dept.

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