City Corporate cum Business Plan for Kotagiri Town Panchayat Final Report Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu - 1 - 1 PROJECT OVERVIEW 1.1 ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND The World Bank has been a partner in urban reform program of Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) with engagement through Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project (TNUDP) - TNUDP-I, TNUDP-II and TNUDP-III (in progress). Towards taking forward the urban reform agenda, the GoTN is now implementing the TNUDP-III with focus on furthering the reforms initiated under TNUDP-II. The Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL), as a financial intermediary, intends to assist the Commissionerate of Town Panchayats (CTP) in strengthening and improving the financial position of its Town Panchayats for effective capital investment management and urban service delivery. These towns possess a good potential for implementation of such financial reforms for which it is essential to formulate a City Corporate Cum Business Plan. The CTP has started the process of capacity building in Town Panchayats through this process to enhance the vision of the ULBs in growth of their towns. 1.1.1 CITY CORPORATE PLAN A City Corporate Plan (CCP) is the ULB’s corporate strategy that presents both a vision of a desired future perspective for the city and the ULB’s organization, and mission statements on how the ULB, together with other stakeholders, intends to work towards achieving their long-term vision in the next ten years. A CCP translates mission into actions and actions into outcomes. When a CCP is developed in close consultation with, and endorsed by all relevant local stakeholders, a ULB and others who commit themselves to action can be held accountable for their mission statements, actions and expected outcomes. The CCP will make economic development and improved quality of life the long-term objective for all of the actions defined in the plan. The full set of proposed regulations, tax policies, infrastructure and other local government program expenditures will be framed with long- term economic development and improved quality of life, especially for the poor, firmly in mind. City Corporate Plan A City Corporate Plan (CCP) helps a city take stock of its opportunities and endowments, gauge its place in relation to its hopes for the future, and to link these objectives to choices for improving its competitive position, for instance in producing tradable, identifying critical investments, mobilizing private sector partnerships, and to reduce poverty. A CCP is visualized as a document that would provide a perspective and a vision for the future development of a city. It should present the current status of city’s development; set out the directions of change; identify the thrust areas; and suggest alternative routes, strategies and interventions for bringing about the change. It should establish a logical and consistent framework for evaluation of investment decisions. A CCP will specifically comprise of the following: Situation analysis, with regard to the context i.e., demographic and economic trends, city governance, service provision & delivery including systems & structures, financial status of the city government and agencies concerned with service provision including an analysis of their creditworthiness; and effectiveness and efficiency of the institutional frameworks; Community Consulting India Private Limited City Corporate cum Business Plan for Kotagiri Town Panchayat Final Report Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu - 2 - Perspective and a vision for the city; Strategy identifying key strategic issues, risks and opportunities facing the city, with focus on reform and reform priorities; and City Investment Plan, referring to order of investment needed to implement the perspective and alternative financing strategies. A CCP clearly defines how a ULB will a) serve its customers (businesses and citizens), e.g. how it intends to guarantee basic level of urban services to all citizens, make urban planning responsive to emerging needs, become responsive to the needs of, and improve its services, to local businesses; b) run its business, e.g. how it intends to manage public finance in a modern and transparent way, execute urban planning and governance in line with an established framework, become more responsive, cost and time efficient through integrating technology in their governance and service delivery processes; and c) manage its resources, e.g. how it intends to increase revenues and expand its tax base to allow for self- sustaining urban service delivery, improve its creditworthiness, but also how it intends to recruit and retain a skilled workforce. Context of a City Corporate Plan Past efforts to produce this kind of broad, integrated approach have been fraught with coordination problems and multiple implementation agencies, which have lead to confusion and wasted resources. Moreover, past planning, like city master plans, have been excessively technical and unresponsive to citizen input and demand. The CCP is different from master planning as cities are now more open to outside influences in a globalized economy, and more able to act on opportunities for growth. At the same time, decentralization is giving cities more scope for action, and democratization is opening the planning and political process to much greater participation and accountability. A CCP is geared to respond to these new circumstances. 1.1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT The aim of the assignment was to prepare consensus-based city corporate plan for a period of 10 years (2007-2017 with 5 yearly updates and if desired, the annual plans) indicating policies, programmes, strategies and funding mechanisms to meet the development requirements. The corporate plan was formed as shared vision for the city involving various stakeholders with a long-term development perspective. The coverage of the CCP should focus on the following: What does the analysis of town’s profile show? Where are the opportunities and where are the key constraints? Given the opportunities and constraints, where does the town wishes to move in a medium-term perspective? While the vision is forward-looking, it is also a realistic vision, achievable with a given time frame. What strategic options are available to achieve the vision? What are the costs and benefits of alternative strategic options? Which of the strategies will help the town achieve the vision at least cost or maximum impact? What would be the aggregate investment needed to implement the vision? What are the options for mobilizing resources for implementing the City Corporate Plan (CCP)? What reforms other than those embodied in the JNNURM, UIDSSMT & IHSDP are necessary for effectively implementing the City Corporate Plan (CCP)? The specific objective of this exercise is to visualize the town in the next 10 years and to– Define the growth directions and service up-gradations in relation to the activity mix / growth; Look at the demand for the projects specified by the ULBs, and come out with gap in services with respect to the vision; Broadly outline the infrastructure needs; Community Consulting India Private Limited City Corporate cum Business Plan for Kotagiri Town Panchayat Final Report Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu - 3 - Define specific rehabilitation and capital improvement needs with regard to priority city infrastructure in both slums and other areas; Define revenue enhancement and revenue management improvements required to sustain the rehabilitation proposed; Reforms required in local administration and service delivery; Management changes required at the local level to improve O&M of assets, and Measures to address common growth and infrastructure issues. 1.1.3 SCOPE OF WORK OF THE ASSIGNMENT The general scope of work for the assignment covers following three key stages: City Assessment & Optional Strategy Formulation Stage: This stage of the assignment will focus on fact finding and analysis with regards key development elements of the city and will be based on secondary data and extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders at the disaggregate level. Following are the components: Demography, Economic Development & Growth Assessment; Institutional Arrangements; Infrastructure - Housing and Urban Basic Services ; Physical and Environmental Aspects; and Financial Assessment covering a detailed financial assessment of key stakeholder agencies and a preliminary Financial Operating Plan and Project Cash Flows Stakeholder Consultation: A City-level Stakeholder Consultation Workshop to discuss the “State of the City Report” covering elements of growth and economic development; institutional framework for service delivery; current service levels, gaps and future requirements in terms of services and investments; and key financial issues; optional strategy elements for service delivery enhancement and financial sustainability. This stage would articulate stakeholders’ expectations and formulate city’s development vision, prioritize city development issues, strategy / action consensus and choice of strategy options Finalization of City Corporate Plan: This stage would finalize and recommend strategies to achieve the city’s development vision, in consultation with the concerned stakeholder agencies. The strategies will be supported with specific projects and action points as relevant, phased over a 10-year horizon, with specific annual action plans for the first five years, indicating stakeholder roles and responsibilities. The scope of work specifically