BOOK REVIEW

1. BOOK REVIEW
GOVERNING INDIA’S METROPOLISES
EDITORS
JOEL RUET
STEPHANIE TAWA LAMA -REWAL
1
AMUKTHA | MICHELLE | RINOSH | SAMEER
Submitted by

2. 2
In the first chapter the author broadly discusses about the need of good
governance in India’s metropolis and why the urban governance is important in India for todays
context ,this is explained by considering four major metropolis of India viz. Delhi , Mumbai ,
Hyderabad and Kolkata. They were part of top ten megacities world wide and one tenth of the
world’s urban population lives in these cities .
Living conditions of an increasing number of people
Economic development
Political in nature-decision making (decentralisation policy)
THREE MAJOR ISSUES
Governance is considered to be a complex reality , a fuzzy concept
Ubiquitous
Ambiguous
Indispensable
The word governance was used in 13th century itself but came into discussion
after the world bank report in 1989 on the weak governance in sub-Saharan regions .
Governance is increasingly used by the global actors and corporate governance is increasingly
used in management studies and political sciences of institutional set-up.
COMPONENTS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
Transparency
Accountability
The fight
against
corruption The rule of
law
The respect
for human
rights
Decentralization
Public
participation
The major criticisms on
urban governance suggested the
“depoliticizing effect”- a project for
the elimination of the politics (i.e.)a
society centred perspective . Thus a
good governance means a dissolvent
of democratic nation . The term
participation in good governance is
still a notion , as good governance
suggest the managerial powers ,
public action is fragmented and the
state is always considered as an apex
of decision making .
urban governance
implies the role of government in
urban affairs and reconsiders the
participation of other bodies
Interaction
Negotiati
on
Co-
ordinatio
n
Co-
operatio
n
Networks
Partnersh
ips
PLURALISM IN GOVERNANCE

3. 3
POLYCENTRISM –URBAN GOVERNANCE
Public sector Private sector Market actors Non -market actors
The research methodology mentioned tries to explore the urban governance through economic
liberalisation and politico-administrative decentralisation . Authors try to justify the reason for
selecting the four metropolitan cities
DELHI MUBAI KOLKATTA HYDERABAD
Capital of India
City - State
National capital
territory
Legislative
assembly
Government
British colonisation
Restructuring economic activities
Commissioner
system
Mayor in
council
Pre –colonial city
New metropolis
Liberalisation
URBAN GOVERNANCE ANALYSED IN TERMS OF SOCIAL ,POLITICAL ,ECONOMIC AND SPATIAL DIMENSIONS
Semi-
directed
interviews
Focus group
discussions
Direct
observation
of events
Analysis of
official
documents
QUALITATIVE METHODS FOR THE STUDY
Sector within
an city
Sector across
cities
Management
of urban
affairs
Integration across states
Interaction between actors
Formal
Informal
The second chapter gives a brief
overview of the governance structure in four
cities through comparative analysis between the
relevant institutions, reforms and various actors .
The analysis of governance form is started
through the decentralisation concept proposed
in the 74th constitutional amendment act,1992. In
urban context the involvement of many bodies in
the governance has made the centric governance
obsolete and promotes decentralisation.
The sketch of the four urban cities
are drawn in terms of democratic decentralisation
principles
MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS
Actors pertaining to a state at various levels
Civil society actors
Industry and the corporate sector
Key private and multi-lateral actors

4. DELHI
Delhi
municipal
council
Delhi
cantonment
board
2 ULB’s
Administration city
Service sector
Central
Delhi vidyut board
Electricity
Delhi transport corporation
Mass transit
Delhi jal board
Water
Delhi development authority
Central ministry of urban development
Central ministry of home affairs
INSTITUTIONAL FRAGMENTATION
State
• BagidarI scheme in welfare of
civic activities along with
resident welfare association
(RWA) and market traders
association (MTA)
• 2006 is noted as the worst day
in Delhi urban governance
during the period of Sheila
Dikshit
Participatory schemes
Social empowerment
HYDERABAD
VISION
World class city High tech sectors
POLICY
INSTITUTIONAL FRAGMENTATION
HYDERABAD METROPOLITAN WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION BOARD(HMWSSB)
Implements world banks ideas since 1980’s
MANAGER
HYDERARBAD MUNICIPALITY AND SURROUNDING AREASINTEGRATE
• 1995-2004 is noted as the best period of Hyderabad as they received lot world bank funds , e-
seva was implemented during this time which was a great success
• PPP-HITEC city, planned metro system and new international airport
Good governance idea
Against decentralisation
CORPORATE SECTOR
Municipal services for the urban poor ,Indian population project (viii)
World bank
World bank and UNDP
Water and sanitation programme
UK’s department for international development
Report on civic centres in Hyderabad and centre for good governance
UN-HABITAT and cities alliance
City development strategy
4

5. 5
MUMBAI
Peninsular territory
BRIHAN MUMBAI CORPORATION
Cosmopolitan city
Global city-region
• Better off city
• Western
suburbs
• Working class
eastern
• North western
suburb
INSTITUTIONAL FRAGMENTATION
BMC
• Education
• Water supply
• Sewerage
• Slum
improvement
• Electricity
MMRDA
Urban local bodies
Thane & Kalyan
Parastatals
• MHADA
• MSRDC
• Mumbai
transformation
project unit fetched
support from world
bank and cities
alliance programme
• CAG-citizen action
group was setup
denoting the
empowerment of the
prominent public in
governance
• CREDAI came up with
slum de-congestion
plan for central core
city in 2006
Liberalisation
KOLKATTA
Northern
Kolkata
STATE-CENTRIC GOVERNANCE
Industrial development
PPP (new Kolkata scheme)
East and south –east
Central
Kolkata
Southern
Kolkata
NEW DEVELOPMENT-
HISTORICAL GROWTH
INSTITUTIONAL FRAGMENTATION
KMDA
KMPC
KMA
• Gram panchayats
• Panchayat samitis
• Zilla parishads
URBAN
MIC model
Municipal authority
• Corporation
• Mayor in council
• Mayor
• Women have stronger
representation than in other
metropolitan cities
Borough
committee
Ward
committee
• WBIDC
• WBIDFC
PPP
Against
democratisation

6. NGO & CBO
AGNI Action for good governance and networking in India
Lok satta Activist group in hyderabad
ODA Calcutta slum improvement project
COVA Confederation of voluntary association
SPARC Urban development
Slum adoption programmes & slum sanitation programmes(in BMC)
ALM Local area citizen groups
6
Co-
production
of services
Policy inputs
and service
delivery
Involvement
of urban
poor
Participatory rationales
Bhagidari
scheme
Management of civic affairs
ALM Solid waste management –residents in
Mumbai

7. THE RISE OF MIDDLE CLASS IN METROPOLITAN INDIA
India is transforming into an international image were we see
ourselves prioritized to IT economic growth than rural poverty and the
expanding middle class is consuming like the elite of other world whose
behaviors of choosing commodities are much influenced by the western
societies .
Road side shops
Traditional Markets
Cycles and Scooters
Conservative housing
Malls
Multiplex
Luxury Cars
Gates communities
Replaced By
Thus urban sees the rich getting rich and poor getting less as
the slums are driven to its periphery and the middle class is emerging
the powerful which can been proven in too important dynamics of its
ever own they are :
EDUCATION DEMOCRACY
• The quality of educational
spaces demanded bye the
middle class who aspire to
get into the higher section of
the society and every parent
wish better living standards
of their children .
• The ambiguous nature makes
them part of the part of elite
creating a huge gap between
them and those below
poverty line.
• To lessen the variations
caused implementation of
free and compulsory
education by the government
have benefited the poor
• The positive increase in the
abstention of middle class as
they are frustrated with the
goods and services provided
by the local govt body
• Greater association with
activism and new
participation schemes like
community participation
mainly targeting middle class
made a counter balance of
their abstention .
• The vice of middle goes
beyond scripted objectives
people’s participation
makings governance more
transparent and accountable

8. The global aspired of the middle class for better educational
facility as it being their main identify of survival and ready to
pay huge amounts made drastic increase of private schools .
The abstention of the elite categories making the Politian's
concentrate more on the slum dwellers which is actually
made to target the middle classes making it activist
EDUCATIONAL IMPACTS
CONCLUSION
• Increase in the education
quality and important of
Private education in rural
India
• Decreasing the private
providers than the
government . No
institutional Segregation
• Satisfying the concentration
of the urban middle thirst in
the locality
• Increase the accountability
and transparency of the
governance . “rise in
generality“
• Re-awakening the interest
of middle class voters in
local politics
• Political organization should
be built around a civil
society rather than a
political party
DEMOCARCY IMPACTS
In education lower classes do no get benified as a collective
as the middle class tendency to exist the low quality
institutions .
While the local democracy in collective as the activism of the
middle class remains in a long term benefits the others as
well.

9. VERTICAL GOVERNANCE IN INDIAN METROPOLITAN
GOOD GOVERNANCE
TRANSPARENCY
ACCOUNTABILITY[Private and Public participation]
Face 1
New opportunity
Hidden Transactions
Corrupt Practices
Face 2
Weak linkages with citizens
Lack Of Incentives
Overlapping of roles
URBAN GOVERNANCE Corruption + Cilentelisum
Top officials
+
Common Person
Socio-political Practices
Patronage
Brokerage
The Vertical Governance =
Practices
+
Inter relationships
of various actors .
The vertical pattern that
exist dominant in the city
linking with the social
capital hierarchies including
different levels of powers
which contribute to an
urban space

10. PATRONAGE : A system in person
who controls the non market
exchange of goods and services
outside the legal frame
Personality
Reciprocity
Dependency
Inequality makes patronage a fundamental vertical , social
relationship between the dominant and dominated persons .
Indian society of caste and religious differences in a favourable
place for patronage which creates mobility between different social
and economical communities .
CORRUPTION:
Social Corruption
Economic Corruption
Dependent
Patronage and corruption are mostly the same which gives access to
good and services which are cannot be reached without them .
Positivity makes conditions favourable to reach by the person . The
following examples illustrates how Corruption and Patronage acts
Ilike a knife with two edges which can either provide or restrict
The Public Distribution System :
The ration cards are provided at the PDS to access the food subsidies
and making it as a fundamental document to produce for calming
any services like passport residency proof ect. Manking the neccicity
of the poor including many people t take the advantage throught
brokerage . Reason being the immigrants and emigrates . Where
paying bribes making access to serices which re actull prevented and
officially illegal .

11. FORMAL AND INFORMAL ACTORS IN PDS
Elected or pertly elected Actors
The users : an Ambiguous and limited Mobilisation
The Filtering Intermediatiaries
Political Society
PERPETUATING PATRONAGE OR DEEPING DECENTRALISATION
Boosting Infrastructure
Circumventing the Decentralisation Process
Pampering Political Parties
Prompting Role Reversal

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In the tenth chapter it discuss about the reforms in solid waste management in context of
the city Mumbai and Hyderabad, the policy convergence and the process taken by the two. It
was the Supreme court of India set up a committee to look into solid waste management
following public interest litigation which later recommendations were incorporated as
Municipal solid waste rules 2000 notified by Ministry of Environment and Forest which
municipalities should follow.
Schemes adopted by the Cities
•No Garbage collection tax for both and was financed by only municipal budget.
•Hyderabad- sweeping and cleaning were given to small private contractors as well as NGOs
some were managed by RWAs.
•Mumbai- Advanced locality Management
Governance structure
Stopgap policy
•In Hyderabad decline in productivity and
efficiency as private contractors poor
performance
In Mumbai the public records were not
transparent
•In both cities role of the councillor is
marginal
Fictive participation of Low income neighbourhoods
•In Mumbai slum development programme corporator provide informal support to CBOs.
•Junior engineers are also instrumental in helping CBOs
•CBOs turned out to non participative as households are not informed of the schemes and
have no say in decision making process
Changing and Abiding features of Municipal government
•Decision making process in municipal corporations are highly centralised even though
some form of de concentration exists.
•Wards administrative capacity depends essentially on the leadership quality of municipal
commissioner and elected councillors
•Importance of elite in bureaucracy
•Transformation of relationships between public servants, the end users of services and
corporators
•Ability to reduce social and spatial disparities.
Conclusion
The author is trying to discuss about the solid waste management practices governance in
the two cities with the issues related in terms of governance analyse in depth for the reasons
behind the issues.
Additional municipal
commissioner
Assistant engineer
environments
Officers on special
duty
Hyderabad
Mumbai-centralised
with limited
responsibility to
administrative circle
ALM units are micro level associations
representing one building or a group of
buildings, covering one or two lanes.
They are registered and given a number
but not with the charity commissioner,
The funding of ALM programmes differ
from one unit to another, They either
charge a monthly fee from their
members or depend on donations
SLUM ADOPTION SCHEME aims at
ensuring waste collection and disposal
within the slums with on public
participation. Communities,
represented by community based
organisation CBOs, take charge of
implementation of the scheme with
limited support from the municipal
corporation

13. 13
In the eleventh chapter discusses about the political and social evolution of governance
through political- economy prism. Ie., modes of urban governance and the interventions of
state government by taking the case studies of Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Delhi Hyderabad Kolkata Mumbai
Centralised
reforms Vs
Decentralisation
Reluctant
decentralisation
as Delhi lack
normal state
powers
•Top- down
political decisions
•Most advanced
for reforms but
without political
decentralisation
Devolution
of most civil
functions,
but no ward
committees
•Industry led
agenda for
reforms
•Disputed
political terrain
Ambiguous state/
bureaucracy
towards
democratisation
•Discourse on
good
governance but
brutality of
public
intervention
•Commissioner
model persists
•Schemes to
bypass locally
elected people
•Mayor in
council
system
•Importance of
local area
citizens groups:
CBOs
•Distinction
unclear
between roles
of CBOs and
contractors
Multiple actors
and public-
private
interaction
•Mainly an
administrative
city
•Large economic
activities
•Policies to
constrain
industry
•City as a
laboratory
•IT and world
class city,
indigenous
capitalism
•Little co-
ordination
between
corporators
•From
monocentric
to
polycentric
developmen
t
•Outsourcing
, no real
PPPs
•Recent
industry
revival
•Land
gentrification
agenda
•Social
infrastructure
most neglected
•Outsourcing
rather than
real PPPs
Varieties in expanding urban governance and the politics of public reforms
It mainly discuss on the stands taken to develop the city by the state head for without no
much local public involvement. It also tells about the relationship between the business
corporate, bureaucrats and the politicians
On Elites and a role for the state
It mainly discuss about how the rich and the poor interact with the government. Poor will
be approaching the government with councilors as agents which is called lower
government circuit and the rich will be approaching any problem through the higher level
political or bureuacratic officials which is called upper government circuits. Both of their
priorities may be different and may have impact on each other.
Conclusion
All the above chapters discuss on the play of the state government role in cities they are in
power. It gives the idea on the existing scenario of urban governance in India with the
examples, approaches and issues on it. Also it gives the idea of the transformation of
governance system.