Effective Decentralisation-Going beyond Reconciled Planning Scales and Capacities: The Need to Recognise Specific Socio-political Drivers

• Published in: Space & polity Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 73 - 91
• Main Authors: Mohan, Anjali K., Mercier, Bérengère
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01-04-2012; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Area planning & development; Bangalore; Case studies; Constitutional Amendments; Decentralization; Decision making; Development planning; Economic growth; Empowerment; Governance; India; Inflation; Inflation controls; International Trade; Legitimacy; Liberalization; Local Government; Metropolitan areas; Municipal council; Open economies; Organizational effectiveness; Patronage; Planning; Planning systems; Policy implementation; Reform; Ruling parties; Spatial analysis; Tax reform; Urban areas; Bangalore India
• ISSN: 1356-2576; 1470-1235
• DOI: 10.1080/13562576.2012.698135

The 1990s ushered in two parallel changes in India. The first pertains to liberalisation, which meant the opening-up of the country to international trade and foreign investment, and the introduction of tax reforms and inflation control measures. The second, internal to India, albeit linked intrinsically to liberalisation, is decentralisation as initiated through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA). The CAA seeks to strengthen urban local bodies as units of local self-government through functional and financial empowerment. Two decades hence, the country continues to suffer from a poorly executed decentralisation agenda. This paper, through the case study of the Bangalore Metropolitan Region (BMR), traces the impact of the decentralisation agenda on the socio-spatial fabric of the region. It highlights how, in the absence of empowered local governments, the state government is increasingly vesting decision-making powers in non-elected task forces, the latter being more or less individuals patronised by ruling parties. The approval of the statutory planning tool for the BMR was stalled on account of the lack of legitimate planning bodies. Consequently, growth continues to be investment-driven, with the metropolitan region emerging as a distorted spatial fabric. The paper argues that the reconciliation of planning scales and capacities renders decentralisation incomplete. In parallel, contending socio-political challenges are an imperative.