Unpacking Local Self-Government

The Uncertain Power of Cities in the Indian Constitution

Bibliographic Data

ID4258883
AuthorsMathew Idiculla (corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume53
Issue1
Pages30-50
Publication date2020-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueVerfassung in Recht und Übersee (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0506-7286
PublisherNomos Verlag (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5771/0506-7286-2020-1-30
OpenAlexW3036630161
LanguageEN
Citations received3

While cities are increasingly becoming powerful economic and political units, legal scholars have paid inadequate attention to the role of local governments in the constitutional division of powers. This paper examines the legal authority of city governments in India's constitutional architecture and analyses the nature and extent of powers exercised by them. While globally city governments seldom derive their powers directly from the Constitution, in India the passage of the 74th Amendment has ensured that they have a definite space in its Constitution. Despite constitutional entrenchment, urban local governments in India find themselves powerless to administer some of the core municipal functions including urban planning. This paper seeks to analyse the reasons behind this contradiction. It argues that city governments continue to be weak because of the inherent limitations of the scope of the 74th Amendment as well as the way in which it is translated and implemented by the states. It examines the constitutional authority of urban local governments by analysing the key provisions of the 74th Amendment and its judicial interpretations. To understand how the constitutional reform has translated on the ground, this paper closely examines the role and functioning of the city government of Bangalore

Central government · Constitution · Constitutional amendment · Contradiction · Local government · Political science · Politics · Law · Law in Society and Culture · Public Administration · South Asian Studies and Conflicts

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