There are challenges faced by Urban Local Governments (ULGs) in India, including delayed elections and weakened State Election Commissions. These challenges highlight the need for timely elections and importance of reforms to strengthen local democracy.

Introduction

• Decentralised Units of Self-Governance: ULGs play a crucial role in decentralised governance, providing essential civic services and ensuring a high quality of life for citizens.
• 74th Amendment: The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) of 1992 was introduced to formalise the role of ULGs, yet more than three decades later, its objectives remain largely unrealised.           
• ONOE: The ongoing debate around simultaneous elections, or One Nation One Election (ONOE), presents an opportunity to address a key issue of local democracy — timely elections to ULGs, which have often been overlooked in these discussions.

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Simultaneous Elections and ULGs

• Past Reports: The 79th report of the Parliament Standing Committee on Law and Justice, submitted in 2015, advocated for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies but did not address elections to ULGs. 
  • Similarly, a 2017 discussion paper by NITI Aayog, and the 2018 draft report by the Law Commission of India, both omitted ULG elections, citing the impracticalities of synchronising elections across India’s vast number of local bodies. 
• High-Level Committee’s Recommendation: In a departure from previous reports, the High-Level Committee (HLC), constituted by the Government, recommended synchronising local body elections within 100 days of the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.

Issues within ULGs

• Delay in Election: Despite the constitutional mandate for elections every five years, delays in elections to ULGs are commonplace, often stretching for several years.

• Delays in Council Formation: Even when elections are held, there are further delays in operationalising the newly elected councils. 
  • A study by Janaagraha found that municipal corporations in Karnataka experienced an average delay of 11 months between the announcement of election results and the formation of councils.
• Disempowerment of State Election Commissions (SECs): State Election Commissions (SECs) are constitutional bodies responsible for overseeing ULG elections. 
  • However, the CAG report highlights that only four out of 15 States have empowered their SECs to handle ward delimitation. Delays in ward delimitation and disputes over reservation policies often lead to election delays.
    • Suggestion: These processes should be managed by independent authorities such as the SECs to ensure transparency and timeliness in conducting elections.

Reforming ULG Elections

• Government Initiatives and the HLC’s Recommendations: The Government has proposed the creation of an implementation group to develop a plan of action for executing the recommendations of the High-Level Committee. 
  • This provides an opportunity for comprehensive reforms aimed at ensuring regular and timely elections to ULGs.
• Need for Holistic Reform: A holistic analysis of the challenges in conducting timely elections is needed to support the necessary reforms. 
  • There is a strong case for prioritising the regularisation of ULG elections to strengthen local democracy and governance.
• Consultations and Collaborative Efforts: The Government has expressed its intent to hold consultations across the country to discuss the implementation of the HLC’s recommendations.
  • It is hoped that these dialogues will address the reforms required to make ULG elections regular, efficient, and timely, with both Union and State governments working together to strengthen local democracy.

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Conclusion

Timely and regular ULG elections are crucial for vibrant local democracies. While including ULGs in the simultaneous elections debate is positive, further reforms are needed to address systemic delays. With focused efforts, India can ensure well-governed cities that drive economic and social progress.