Inspiring Leadership of Mayors and Councillors for Inclusive Urbanisation

It has been nearly three decades since significant constitutional amendments in India gave statutory mandates to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) as institutions of self-government, responsible for planning and implementation of policies and programmes for economic development and social justice. While many state governments continued to hesitate for devolving constitutionally-mandated functions, funds and functionaries to ULBs, several recent national policies and programmes also reduced the decision-making responsibility of elected leadership. Despite affirmative action for reservation of women and SC & ST communities, and largely regular five-yearly elections, the governance of cities has remained in the hands of appointed officials and technical bureaucracy. Thousands of elected mayors/chairpersons and councillors have not been so ‘capacitated’ as to claim responsibility for planning and decision-making about socio-economic development of its habitations and citizens. The recent pandemic, and huge migration of urban poor from cities back to their rural homes, further demonstrated the leadership vacuum in governance of urban habitations in the country.

Over this period, urbanisation proceeded at fast pace, and cities and towns developed in haphazard and mostly unplanned manner. Large sections of urban informals settled into informal settlements, where basic public services of water and sanitation were largely absent. The pace and complexity of growth of urbanisation has now resulted in more than ten thousand habitations… small, medium, large and mega. Nearly 5000 of these have elected mayors and councillors.

Despite affirmative action for reservation of women and SC/ST communities, and largely regular five-yearly elections, the governance of cities has remained in the hands of appointed officials and technical bureaucracy. Elected mayors and councillors have not been so ‘capacitated’ as to claim responsibility for decision-making about socio-economic development of its habitations and citizens.

The recent pandemic, and huge migration of urban poor from cities back to their rural homes, further demonstrated the leadership vacuum in governance of urban habitations in the country. While some capacity building programmes have been periodically conducted for them, they do not seem to have generated a sense of ‘ownership’ amongst them to envision and drive inclusive and sustainable urbanisation of their jurisdictions.

The very argument justifying elected local urban government was to enable locally rooted leadership, responsive for and accountable to its citizens, to learn to govern the city as per local requirements and challenges. That vision is yet to be realised, in the land where many prominent leaders of its independence movement were mayors of various cities. The general situation of leadership responsible for governance of cities in most countries of the global south is not very different from India. Yet, there are some encouraging examples of local leadership taking responsibility for making their cities more inclusive and sustainable.

The general situation of leadership responsible for governance of cities in most countries of the global south is not very different from India. Yet, there are some encouraging examples of local leadership taking responsibility for making their cities more inclusive and sustainable.

Over the past twenty years, PRIA (and some of its partners) have engaged elected leadership of cities in matters of inclusive governance, access to services for all citizens and making cities safe for all. Many other public agencies, like National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), and civil society agencies have worked to strengthen the capacities of elected mayors and councillors.

As PRIA approaches its 40^th Anniversary in February 2022, we are co-convening a Digital Symposium on Inspiring Leadership of Mayors and Councillors for Inclusive Urbanisation on 6 October 2021 from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm IST, in partnership with National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and Commonwealth Local Governance Forum (CLGF). The Conversation will delve into the following key questions for reflection:
 

1. What lessons can be drawn from efforts to inform and strengthen leadership of city mayors and councillors?
2. In what ways can they be supported to provide inspiring and responsive leadership to governance of cities for all its citizens?

For more detailed webinar report: Click here

For webinar recording: Click here