Gender and Development

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India

Strengthening Government-Citizen Connections in Urban Local Bodies — Center for Social Research

Background of the project

The rate of urbanization has increased rapidly in India over recent years. The distribution of the population shows that this growth has concentrated in larger cities and towns at the expense of smaller towns. This puts enormous pressure on the resources of large municipalities; most are unable to keep up with the provision of even basic services and infrastructure. The irregular availability of basic services like water, sanitation, and public amenities (such as streetlights, parking lots, bus stops, and public conveniences) has aggravated risks to public health and safety. The uneven concentration of the population is partly due to urban policies that encourage the concentration of development in some regions. In other words, urban and regional planning has sometimes exacerbated the problems of larger towns and cities.

Good governance involves more than the direct provision of goods and services. According to the Global Plan of Action adopted during the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlement (Habitat II), governance is also an approach that enhances the achievement of sustainable human settlements. It involves three main strategies:

1. decentralizing responsibilities and resources to local authorities
2. encouraging the participation of civil society; and (iii) using partnerships to achieve common objectives

It is in this context that the Government of India introduced the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) that gave recognition and impetus to municipalities as democratic units of self-governance. It was expected that decentralization initiated by the act would promote interaction between councilors and the people and would produce local governments that could address the needs of specific municipalities. It recognized that decentralizing without devolving administrative and financial power can result in the failure of local government. A particular feature of the act was the reservation of one-third of seats for women at all levels of urban local bodies (ULB) to address the deficiency of women's representation in government.

The Center for Social Research has conducted several local, national, and regional studies on gender, democracy, and governance. The current study aims to assess the efficacy of the local governments in two large cities in relation to the provisions of the 74th CAA. It aims to promote effective governance by enhancing the capacity of various stakeholders including elected councilors, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), corporate houses, local associations, people's groups, and women and by strengthening links between stakeholders to increase accountability and transparency in the system.

Project Components

The governance study was carried out in two districts of Rajasthan: Jaipur and Jodphur. Rajasthan has experienced a rapid increase in urbanization due the influx of people from rural areas. Migrants are drawn to the larger towns and cities as they look for more permanent, labor-intensive, nonagricultural employment.

Rajasthan, Jaipur, and Jodphur were selected for a number of reasons. Firstly, Rajasthan has gone through two ULB elections since the introduction of the 74th CAA. This provided an opportunity to analyze the performance of elected members and the effectiveness of the ULBs under the new conditions. There had also been no major interventions in terms of research or training in regard to governance in Rajasthan's municipal corporations. Jaipur was chosen because it is both the capital of Rajasthan and a popular tourist destination. It has high urban population growth due to the scarcity of land and other resources in its rural hinterland. For these reasons, the pressure on the city for infrastructure and basic amenities is very great. Jodphur was selected because of its geographical location in the western desert area which is highly vulnerable to drought and hence to agricultural scarcities. Jodphur, like Jaipur, is also a world-famous tourist destination. Hence the demand to keep the city clean and well equipped in terms of basic amenities is great.

The project began with action research in the selected districts. The aims were as follow:

• to understand and analyze the administrative structure and function of city municipalities
• to measure the extent of devolution of power and resources to the ULBs
• to determine the socioeconomic profile of councilors as well as the barriers they faced, especially women and those economically disadvantaged
• to identify gaps between the desired and the current levels of performance
• to explore the possibility of establishing links with other local stakeholders

Councilors, administrative staff, corporate houses, NGOs, and citizens' groups were identified as key stakeholders in local governance. Interviews and discussion groups were conducted among them using questionnaires tailored to each group. The questionnaires asked respondents about

1. their socioeconomic profiles
2. electoral backgrounds
3. knowledge of legislation, especially the provisions of the 74th CAA

Respondents were also asked to comment on

4. the extent of devolution of power in the municipality
5. the nature of governance skills
6. the impact of gender
7. the importance of collaboration for achieving governance goals

The data collected from the fieldwork was supplemented by secondary data collected from published and unpublished sources. It offered a detailed picture of the problems and the knowledge levels of the different categories of stakeholders surveyed. From this picture, two training modules were developed aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of participants in local government. One training program was developed for councilors. The second addressed the other groups of stakeholders. At the conclusion of the project, a 2-day workshop was organized with government representatives, corporate houses, and NGOs working towards improving local governance. The workshop was held to report on the outcomes of the research and training, to share strategies aimed at improving the functioning of municipalities, and to analyze the implications of the involvement of different stakeholders.

A research advisory committee was constituted at the head office, and a regional advisory committee was formed locally. These committees advised on the direction, methodology, and implementation of the project.

Project Outcomes

Devolution of Power
The study revealed that the devolution of power and functions achieved thus far had caused significant problems for municipalities. Many parallel institutions had been created during this process such as the Jaipur Development Authority and Urban Improvement Trust to whom various municipal functions and funds were transferred. This reduced the capacity of the municipalities themselves as they were left with only core functions (sanitation, garbage collection, etc.) and little opportunity for raising revenue. Rather than achieving independence, municipalities then become dependent upon the state government for grants-in-aid or on local taxes for income to discharge their functions.

Women as Emerging Leaders
Women performed well in elections and delivered on their election promises at a higher rate than their male counterparts did. There was a perception among the electorate that female councilors are serious, honest, and committed and that they will revitalize Indian politics. Further, female representatives were perceived as working for development, and their presence in ULBs was reported to have improved the efficiency of the municipalities. It was argued by some respondents that some women councilors acted as proxies for male relatives and gave them their political responsibilities. Overall, however, reserving positions for women was viewed positively; it increased the visibility of women in public life and appears to have had a positive effect on community attitudes toward their work.

The majority of female councilors are in politics for the first time and for this reason would benefit from training and skills in governance procedures. Most juggle their civic responsibilities with family responsibilities. Male councilors tend not to have these competing demands and are generally more experienced politicians. Women also experience some difficulties combining public life with the expectations of their traditional roles. Thus business at night or the need to seek permission from family members to leave the home can make council involvement difficult.

Collaboration
Collaboration was recognized by all stakeholders to be the key to effective governance. However, the meaning and purpose of collaboration differed among the stakeholder groups. Corporate houses viewed collaboration as the provision of financial support. NGOs and citizens' groups saw collaboration as raising awareness and mobilizing to place pressure on existing urban bodies. Councilors were reluctant to collaborate because they wished to retain credit for development initiatives. Owing to the reservations and limitations of the stakeholder groups, collaboration in UBLs was found to be nascent or entirely absent. This situation seriously undermines the effectiveness of urban governance. The need for facilitation to bring groups together and find common ground was noted in the study.

Training
The training modules developed and implemented by CSR addressed areas highlighted in the research findings. A participatory model of training was implemented that included games, group discussion, lectures, presentations, role playing, and group projects. The five objectives addressed in the training were

1. to promote understanding and analysis of the structure and function of ULBs and participants' roles in them
2. to understand and analyze the importance of team building and mechanisms of conflict resolution
3. to understand the importance of effective leadership and different leadership styles
4. to understand and analyze the importance of planning and effective participation
5. to understand and analyze gender as a social construct

The project achieved its goals in both researching and implementing a course of action to strengthen the effectiveness of local governance. The implementation of training modules addressed the needs identified through the research stage and was well regarded in the evaluation. The study also received significant media attention, thus raising awareness of the issues, particularly on the need for collaboration in UBLs. The study notes that such training should be implemented in more districts to promote greater participation by stakeholders. Other recommendations include advocacy at the state and central level to devolve more power to municipalities, training to orient councilors away from party divisions and towards collaboration, and regular interaction among stakeholders to promote effective communication. Strengthening citizen-government connections requires ongoing research, analysis, and the implementation of actions that address the needs identified.

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