How Maharashtra is reforming its urban governance model

Context:

India is experiencing rapid urbanisation. Therefore, it is important to understand the pattern of this growth and its effect on the population.

Urban India:

Urban India is undergoing a major transformation with an inward net movement of people for better livelihood opportunities.
Around 590 million people would live in the cities by 2030.
While cities constitute about 3 percent of the land in the country, they generate 70 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and contribute substantially to economic growth and opportunities.

Question to existing models:

Cities grapple with challenges and pressures relating to basic infrastructure, air pollution, deficient infrastructure, social inequities, large informal sector (involving women and children), frequent mobility and migration, with increased vulnerabilities to disasters and climate change.
This leads us to question existing models and the need to reimagine urban governance models.

Need to Focus:

Need to invest in strategic thinking and investment, including private sector participation, and integrated, and coordinated actions across agencies.
This can be possible with the strong role played by the political leadership — who have been the backbone of this change.

The Case of Maharashtra:

Maharashtra reported the largest share of the urban population of India (13.5 per cent) as per Census 2011.
Maharashtra also reported the largest number of slums.
It has conceptualised and initiated the Aspirational Cities Programme (ACP) modelled on the lines of the Aspirational Districts initiative of Niti Aayog.
The ACP is based on three priority areas that will define the city’s growth paradigm:
- Integration of inclusive urban development.
- Adoption of scientific data methods for assessing and monitoring outcomes of both state and central schemes
- Enhancing the voice and participation of citizens in civic affairs through physical and digital means.

Agenda of the ACP:

It is set to focus on improved governance, address persistent civic issues, and increase funding avenues for the urban local bodies.
Property tax — the main tax revenue of urban bodies — needs reform in property assessment.
Provisioning adequate potable tap water to all households by taking advantage of the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission is part of the ACP agenda.

Selection of cities under the ACP:

The ACP has identified 57 cities that have been proposed for the programme.
The cities were individually ranked based on their own revenue and other services.
Service level benchmarking was done for the cities based on the data collected on the Performance Assessment System of the Government of Maharashtra.

Standard Digital Monitoring:

The performance of the selected cities would be monitored and ranked quarterly through a standard digital monitoring platform with indicators on the themes of — urban infrastructure, education, urban services, skill development, and climate change as of now.
This would in turn enable the state government to act with speed, take strategic policy decisions and make necessary fund allocations to enable the growth and development of the less progressive cities for an impactful boost in the state’s economy.

Conclusion:

This effort by the Government of Maharashtra is strategically contextualised with the “Viksit Bharat” vision for India in 2047.
Putting people first as part of urban development is a step in the right direction.
Cities require a holistic solution to problems instead of a piecemeal approach by individual departments.
Bringing a sense of competition amongst the cities for urban governance will catapult the state into a trillion-dollar economy as well as usher in ease of living in the ever-expanding urban space.
It is time to accept the reality that New India is moving from its villages to the cities and therefore, the need for renewed thinking and policies that are citizen-centric.