Decentralisation and Devolution in Growing Megacities: Case of Bangalore, India

Through the 74th Amendment Act of 1992, India sought to change the role of municipalities through devolution of power and functions, envisioning them as “democratic units of self-government” (74th Amendment Act, 1992). While, the past years have witnessed the contrary, undermining the decision-making power and fiscal control of the urban local bodies. This paper uses Bangalore as a case to explore the nature and forms of this “capture” (Benjamin, 2010) . Creation of parallel modes of governance through parastatals and task-forces laterally shifts the decision-making power away from the ULBs. Scholars of the Collaborative for Advancement of Studies on Urbanism through Multi-Media (CASSUM) have discussed have widely discussed such cases in the Bangalore context. One such example is, the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development Task Force (ABIDe) which was instituted in 2009 to provide recommendations to address challenges of the city consisting of the city’s ‘elite’. Though the scale and complexity of the megacity functions demand technical expertise and support how do we retain the decision-making power within the democratic realm. As beneficiaries of loans from International Financial Institutions, megacities in growing economies are faced with conditionalities that affect its municipal functioning, passing the reigns of control to neoliberal interests. Bureaucratically controlled Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) is another example of a specially established financial intermediary that prepares, formulates and implements infrastructure development projects, in-turn weakening the urban local body by capturing fiscal control and re-routing decision making. Earmarking new planning areas by carving out jurisdictions adds new stakeholders, taking away the authority from the urban local body like in the case of Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) and from the local planning authority as in the case of Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA). Despite these manoeuvres, the balance of power tips through processes such as “occupancy urbanism” (Benjamin, 2008), increasing role of ward committees, “vote bank politics” (Benjamin, 2008) as well as leverage of agency by the “civil and political society” (Chatterjee, 2004) to name a few. In the context of these contestations, this paper explores the possibilities of enhancing the democratic processes and strengthening the role of Urban Local Bodies in megacities, preventing it from becoming subservient to the neoliberal forces. Concurrently, addressing the challenges that lie in the process of decentralisation in megacities to address issues of regional economic stability and equitable income distribution. Key informant interviews form the basis for the primary research. The paper also looks at secondary sources, focusing on the institutional architecture; responsibility matrix and delivery mechanisms. Rooted in a constitutional provision, this research is applicable to the Indian context while the conceptual understanding of decentralization and devolution in governance is critical across megacities globally, especially as cities continue to seek autonomy not just in functioning but identity and influence in the network of global flows. Following the enquiry of decentralisation and devolution in megacities it becomes evident that devolution does not necessarily translate into decentralisation and decentralisation does not guarantee devolution. While unpacking this dynamic, a third element of 'disconnectedness' emerges in the equation. 'Disconnectedness' between the parts affecting the whole, embodied as intents as well as outcomes through tools of planning, administrative, legal, political and economic choices. Can globally connected and regionally important megacities afford this disconnect? What is the role of a central system to negotiate the outcome of 'disconnectedness' in favour of not just the whole (megacity) but also its parts?