Fixing Guwahati’s governance mismatch

Guwahati's exclusion in the NITI Aayog's latest report titled 'Moving Towards Effective City Government-A Framework for Million-Plus Cities' is purely technical, arising from the use of the Census 2011 figures that keep the city below the threshold of a million plus. In reality, Guwahati's population has already surpassed the million mark, and therefore, the NITI Aayog's framework can serve as a timely and relevant blueprint for strengthening governance and service delivery in the capital city. The report highlights that "with higher population density, cities are shouldering a disproportionate share of climatic impact, with the majority of emissions emerging from urban areas, and cities bearing a higher incidence and impact of climate-related risks of floods, heatwaves, public health shocks, and pollution." The Apex policy think tank also sounded the caution that these problems will worsen with rapid population growth placing escalating demands on land, housing, mobility, water supply, sanitation, public health, and environmental management and reasonably argues that "city governments must be suitably equipped to deal with the emerging challenges in a proactive and time-bound manner." Worsening urban flooding, hill encroachment, lack of designated space for street vendors, and deepening traffic gridlock in Guwahati are stark reminders of weakening governance and service delivery by Guwahati Municipal Corporation and poor enforcement of land use and curb encroachment in accordance with the city master plan by Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority. The report points out that city governments remain inadequately empowered to perform their mandated roles as they lack direct control over several core functions essential to the effective functioning of a city. The Comptroller General of India, in one of its reports, highlights that the 74th Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 1992, empowers the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) to perform 18 functions enlisted in the XIIth Schedule of the Constitution of India. The Central Finance Commissions and the State Finance Commissions have emphasized the need for a complete transfer of the funds, functions, and functionaries (3Fs) to the ULBs related to these functions for meaningful devolution, the CAG report adds. The CAG, however, found that out of the 18 functions, ULBs in Assam were solely responsible for three functions and had no role in two functions, and in the remaining 13 functions, the ULBs were mere implementing agencies with minimum roles or were having overlapping jurisdiction with state departments and parastatal bodies that are controlled by the state government. It pointed out that in the case of GMC, though the sanitation and solid waste management-related works are done by the corporation, sanitation works are also done by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, and water supply is provided by Guwahati Jal Board, GMDA, PHE Department, and GMC in different parts of the city. Further, the licensing of shops/restaurants and property tax, etc., is done by GMC. The NITI Aayog's report explains that these limitations are further compounded by fragmented service delivery arrangements. It rightly argues that the continued treatment of municipalities as subordinate administrative units, instead of an empowered third-tier of governments, has resulted in states retaining control over key functions and decision-making, either directly or through parastatal agencies. The resulting parallel institutional structure weakens municipal authority, fragments service delivery, and dilutes accountability, as no single institution is responsible for overall urban outcomes, it adds. A key recommendation proposed by the NITI Aayog is amending the State Municipal Acts or other relevant legislation to empower political and executive leadership with a directly elected mayor having a fixed tenure. It underscores the need for filling up the post of mayor directly elected by voters of the municipal area to ensure that the mayor derives a direct democratic mandate from the citizens, rather than indirectly through elected councillors. It also recommends that state governments should amend the state municipal acts or other relevant legislation to clearly designate the mayor as the head of the city government and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the mayor and the municipal commissioner. The CAG also made critical observations in its report titled "Performance Audit of Efficacy of Implementation of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act" with reference to the performance of GMC and other ULBs in Assam: "The devolution of functions to the local bodies can meet its intended end only with a commensurate devolution of powers with sufficient autonomy and revenue by the state government. Further, without the administrative, institutional, and financial reforms and capacity building, the ULBs may not be able to execute their functions successfully." Empowering the mayor with more executive powers will provide the space for the city residents to seek accountability from the mayor and councillors. The elected councillors must face the electors after five years, but the GMC Commissioner, who is the executive head of the corporation, cannot be made directly accountable, as he is appointed by the state government and not an elected representative. Addressing the prevailing governance mismatch in Guwahati is indeed an urgent necessity, as it affects the ability of residents to hold their leaders accountable and ensure effective management of city resources.