An Unfinished Journey Towards Urban Decentralisation

Three Decades of the 74th Constitutional Amendment: The analysis by Praja Foundation (https://tinyurl.com/2p94edvt) of the devolution of financial powers to urban centres across India reveals an unsettling reality. It indicates that despite the provisions of the Act, a significant number of urban local bodies have not yet been granted full financial autonomy

- Bibek Debroy, Amit Kapoor, Aditya Sinha

THE DISCIPLINE of routine policy outcome assessment is not a matter of convenience but a critical pillar of effective governance and policy implementation.  It's akin to a seafarer's relentless verification of their intended course. Absence of such due diligence may allow unnoticed deviations, a situation captured by the dilemma of Alice from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, who found herself disoriented within a perplexing rabbit hole. Consistent tracking offers policymakers the leeway to modify their direction, amend errors, hone strategies, and ascertain that policies align with their predetermined outcomes. It also serves as a bulwark of accountability, providing tangible evidence of policy impacts. A potent example that accentuates this fact is the "Metric Martyrs" incident in the UK during the early 2000s. Local traders, under a policy aimed at metrication, faced penalties for selling commodities in conventional imperial units. Regrettably, the supervising authorities failed to effectively gauge and respond to public sentiment and understanding of the new system, leading to an outcry and an eventual reversion to the age-old system - a preventable outcome of a policy failure.

Drawing on these insights and casting them upon the backdrop of India's 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, a monumental legislation that took effect three decades ago on 1st June 1993, it is incumbent upon both the central and state governments to rigorously evaluate whether the desired objectives of this landmark constitutional amendment have been realised or not. The impetus to examine its impacts and outcomes is both a responsibility and a necessity, to ensure that the promise of this transformative act, intended to reshape the landscape of local self-governance, is not just on paper but effectively enacted in practice.

Amit Kapoor