{"id":57093,"date":"2023-11-27T11:46:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T06:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=ncert-books&#038;p=57093"},"modified":"2024-09-24T13:14:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T07:44:28","slug":"empowering-urban-india-the-impact-of-74th-constitutional-amendment","status":"publish","type":"ncert-notes","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/ncert-notes\/empowering-urban-india-the-impact-of-74th-constitutional-amendment","title":{"rendered":"Empowering Urban India: The Impact of 74th Constitutional Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>The Role of Local Government in Shaping Democracy &#8211; 74th Constitutional Amendment<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>&#8220;Urban Local Government&#8221; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">signifies the mechanism by which the urban population exercises governance over a specified urban area, subject to the <\/span><b>state government&#8217;s delineation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, democracy means that power should be shared by the people;<\/span><b> people in the villages and urban localities <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">must have the power to decide what <\/span><b>policies and programmes <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they want to adopt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act: An Overview<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Amendment of The Constitution: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 came into effect on <\/span><b>1 June 1993<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, introduced <\/span><b>Part IX A (the Municipalities) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which deals with the issues relating to municipalities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Urban Local Bodies: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Act provided constitutional status to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>State Legislatures&#8217; Authority: Article 243W of the 74th Constitutional Amendment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> authorized the <\/span><b>State Legislatures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to enact laws to endow local bodies with powers and authority as necessary to enable them to function as institutions of Self-Government<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0It also makes provisions for devolution of powers and Responsibilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>12th Schedule Functions: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 12th Schedule of the Constitution enumerates <\/span><b>18 specific functions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to be devolved to ULBs<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the Significance of the 74th Constitutional Amendment for Urban Governance?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Urban Population: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per the <\/span><b>2011 Census<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, about <\/span><b>31% of India\u2019s population lives in urban areas, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hence the importance of the 74th Amendment Act increased multifold.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In many ways, the 74th Constitutional Amendment is <\/span><b>a repetition of the 73rd Amendment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, except that it applies to urban areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Transfer of Functions: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Constitution also mandated the <\/span><b>transfer of a list of functions from the State government to the urban local bodies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These functions have been listed in <\/span><b>the Twelfth Schedule<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Constitution.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>A Diverse Tax Approach: How Are Municipal Services Financed?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> Municipal Corporation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> finances its services by collecting money through various means, primarily taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Property owners<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> pay property taxes based on their property&#8217;s size, contributing around <\/span><b>25-30% <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the Corporation&#8217;s income.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Additional taxes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are charged for education, businesses, and even movie tickets.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This mix of taxes ensures both property owners and a wider population contribute to the <\/span><b>Corporation&#8217;s revenue.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\"><b>Positive and Negative Outcomes of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments: Did They Truly Empower Local Bodies?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Empowering Local Governance: Positive Outcomes of the 73rd and 74th Amendments in India<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>State Implementation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All States have now passed legislation to implement the provisions of the <\/span><b>73rd and 74th Amendments.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Uniform Structures: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>73rd and 74<\/b><b>th<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> amendments <\/span><b>have created uniformity in the structures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika institutions across the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reservations for Women: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The provision for reservation for women at the Panchayats and Nagarpalikas has brought a new perspective and a greater sensitivity to discussions at local bodies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b style=\"font-family: var(--heading--font-family); letter-spacing: var(--heading--letter-spacing-h2); background-color: var(--global--color-background); color: var(--global--color-primary);\">Downsides of Local Governance: Reservations, Limited Empowerment, and Financial Dependency<\/b><\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reservations and Representation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reservations for <\/span><b>Scheduled Castes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Tribes, Backward classes <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have made local bodies more representative of the social reality they operate within, sometimes leading to tensions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Limited Subject Transfer: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many States have<\/span><b> not transferred most of the subjects to the local bodies, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">making the local bodies toothless.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Financial Dependence: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dependence of local bodies on the State and central governments for financial support has greatly <\/span><b>eroded their capacity to operate effectively.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Revenue Generation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While rural local bodies raise 0.24% of the total revenues collected, they account for 4% of the total expenditure made by the government.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, they earn much less than they spend.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Grant Dependency: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That makes them dependent on those who give them grants.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Local governments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> continue to be agencies implementing the welfare and development schemes of the Central and State government. <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Giving more power to local governments means that we should be prepared for real <b style=\"background-color: var(--global--color-background); color: var(--global--color-primary); font-family: var(--global--font-secondary); font-size: var(--global--font-size-base);\">decentralization of power.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","notes-subjects":[4567],"subject-chapters":[4756],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ncert-notes\/57093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ncert-notes"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ncert-notes"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"notes-subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notes-subjects?post=57093"},{"taxonomy":"subject-chapters","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject-chapters?post=57093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}