A gram sabha meeting was held in Chettiyapatti village near Dindigul in Tamil Nadu. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In December 1992, Parliament passed 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment, which established panchayats and municipalities respectively. These amendments mandated that state governments constitute panchayats (at the village, block and district levels) and municipalities (in the form of municipal corporations, town councils and town panchayats) in every area. They sought the establishment of a third tier of governance in a federal structure through devolution of functions, funds and functionaries to local governments.
Since local governments rarely derive their authority directly from the constitution, India’s constitutional reforms for decentralization are exceptional. But despite these improvements, municipal governments are often seen as ineffective in meeting even the most basic needs of citizens, such as reliable water supplies and walkable sidewalks. Urban residents blame “corrupt” local politicians for these civic woes.
However, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of these reforms, it is important to ask a fundamental question: Why should local governments be empowered? Why are they weak despite constitutional reforms? How can the idea of local self-government be revived?
Standard Basis of Local Self-Government
Understanding the normative basis of local self-government is important because it also informs the institutional form that local governments take. Local self-government is linked to the idea of subsidiarity and is generally based on two broad arguments. First, it provides efficient provision of public goods because governments with smaller jurisdictions can provide services according to the preferences of their residents. Second, it promotes deeper democracy because governments that are closer to the people allow citizens to engage with public affairs more easily.
Surely India’s decentralization agenda is also inspired by these values. The 73rd and 74th amendments required states to empower panchayats and municipalities to “enable them to function as institutions of self-government”, including the power to formulate and implement plans and schemes for economic development and social justice. Powers included. They also mandate the regular conduct of local elections, provide for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women in local councils, and establish participatory forums such as gram sabhas in panchayats and ward committees in municipal corporations. Therefore, the amendments sought to strengthen the core values are meant to deepen local democracy and develop functions to meet the ends of economic development and social justice. The debate on the role and responsibilities of local governments should be foregrounded by these normative values which are, at least in some respects, expressed in the Constitution.
Despite the constitutional promise of local self-government, local governments, especially municipalities, operate with limited autonomy and authority. Their weaknesses can be attributed to the inherent limitations of the 74th Amendment and the failure of state governments and courts to implement and interpret the amendment in letter and spirit. The limits include the discretion given to states with regard to devolution of powers and the levy of local taxes. State governments have been reluctant to implement the 74th Amendment because cities are economic powerhouses and controlling urban land is critical to funding state governments and political parties.
Courts have also mostly given a narrow interpretation of the 74th Amendment, allowing state governments to retain their control over cities. In this context, the recent order of the Patna High Court declaring certain provisions of the Bihar Municipal (Amendment) Act, 2021 as unconstitutional is a guide. The 2021 amendment had transferred the powers to appoint Grade C and D employees of municipalities from the empowered standing committee of municipalities to the Directorate of Municipal Administration controlled by the state government. The court held that these provisions violate the 74th Amendment because the recentralization of power and dilution of self-governance “are inconsistent with the idea, intent and design of the Constitutional Amendment”.
Local Governments and Federalism
The decision is unprecedented as it tests state municipal laws against the letter and spirit of the 74th Amendment and could potentially reset the status of local governments in India’s federal structure. As India undergoes a centralizing change in its polity, economy and culture, there has also been a renewed assertion of federalism. However, this assertion of state rights is rarely expressed in terms of value-based normative claims. If we open up to the intellectual arguments for federalism, many of them apply to local self-government as well. Therefore, the debate on federalism should include a wider discussion of how power should be divided and shared between governments at the central, state and local levels, since local governments are, normatively and structurally, an integral part of the federal structure of the Constitution. Huh.
Mathew Idicula is a legal advisor and visiting faculty at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru