The recent flood devastation across all major cities, was preceded by frequent fire accidents in offices, coaching classes, hospitals, gaming zones etc. Then, the monsoon rains saw the collapse of dozens of dilapidated buildings, with the death of their occupants. The diverse nature, and wide geographical sweep, of such tragedies, points to serious shortcomings in municipal administration across India. Things were much better earlier. Urban Local Bodies have a long history; the first Municipal Corporation was set-up in Madras (now Chennai) in 1688, which was preceded only by London; similar corporations were established in Bombay (now Mumbai) and Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1726.

Eminent people headed these Municipal Corporations and tourists and residents, both, swore by their efficiency. Later on, in 1882, Lord Ripon, ‘the Father of Local-Self Government in India’, gave Indians the right to local self-government. By the time of Independence, almost all cities had a municipality. Still later, the 74th Amendment to the Constitution (1992) gave legal shape to Urban Local Bodies, comprehensively defining their powers and responsibilities. However, despite legislative empowerment, and allocation of considerable resources to Urban Local Bodies, their performance has been less than satisfactory.

Almost all ULBs are mired in politics, because political leaders want to control cash-rich municipal corporations. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, one of the largest municipal bodies in the world, catering to more than two crore citizens, witnesses a daily tug-of war between the LG and the CM. Then, for political reasons, elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have been on hold since March 2022 and polls for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahaagara Palike are pending since September 2020.

Advertisement

The public is the sufferer; with no effective supervision at ground-level, municipal hospitals, schools, waste management systems etc. function suboptimally, and dishonest contractors make merry. Corruption is so deeply ingrained in municipal administration that even High Courts find themselves unable to enforce their writ in municipal matters; after the devastating floods of 2023, the Delhi High Court issued a slew of directions to ensure better coordination between different departments, control waterlogging, manage drainage systems, and........

© The Statesman