How India's Small Towns Live (Or Die): Making Sense of Municipal Finances

By 2040, over half of India's population will live in cities and towns. How many of them will live in slums? To prevent intense migration pressure on the handful of metros and state capitals and the resulting urban dehumanisation, policymakers must urgently focus on reviving India's small towns and big villages. Yet, most small town municipalities are in shambles; they lack resources, planning, data, maps, incentives and proper accounting. Corruption and power politics dog them, and citizens have no say or role in their running. This book looks at the kaleidoscope of municipal finance issues in India, keeping the small towns at the core, and argues for a radical change in the constitution and working of these municipalities, with effective devolution of funds, functions, and functionaries from the state level. It contends that municipal bodies need to function independently and with real participation of citizens to be the force of change that gives birth to a new urban India.