Janaagraha Urban Governance Report for Mumbai November 2009 Urban Governance for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy Knowledge Partner to Bombay First for Urban Governance Chapter: Urban Governance For The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Draft 1. Executive Summary 1 2. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region 13 3. Operational Challenges In Managing Mumbai 19 4. The Case For Urban Governance 21 5. Assessment And Recommendations On Urban Governance 25 6. Annexures 65 7. References 72 R - Regional Perspective The REED Framework E - Empowering Local Governments and Citizens E - Enabling Local Governments and Citizens D - Direct Accountability Chapter: Executive Summary 1 Summary of recommendations No RECOMMENDATION 1 REGIONAL SYSTEM 1.1 INCLUDE COMPLETE DISTRICTS IN METROPOLITAN AREA 1.2 FULLY EMPOWER MPC TO PRODUCE METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1.3 REVISE MPC COMPOSITION 1.4 SET UP SECTORAL COMMITEES IN MPC 1.5 PROVIDE TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR MPC 1.6 ESTABLISH UINFIED METROPOLITAN TRANSPORT AUTHORITY 1.7 ESTABLISH UNIFIED METROPOLITAN ENVIRONMENT AUTHORITY 1.8 ESTABLISH DIRECTORATE OF METROPOLITAN ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS 1.9 ESTABLISH METROPOLITAN SPATIAL DATA CENTRE 1.10 RESTRUCTURE MMRDA 1.11 ELIMINATE DPC AND DPDC IN ALL DISTRICTS 1.12 RECLASSIFY AND CONSOLIDATE RURAL LOCAL BODIES TO URBAN LOCAL BODIES 1.13 NOTIFY LOCAL BODIES AS SOLE PLANNING AUTHORITIES 1.14 CREATE INTEGRATED METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1.15 RETHINK CURRENT PROPOSAL ON CONCEPT PLAN FOR MMR 1.16 CHANGE LAWS RELATED TO LAND-USE PLANNING 1.17 ESTABLISHM GUARANTEED LAND TITLE SYSTEM 1.18 DECENTRALISE PLAN ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM 2 EMPOWERED LOCAL BODIES AND CITIZENS 2.1 TRANSFER PLANNING FUNCTION TO LOCAL BODIES 2.2 ESTABLISH MAYORAL SYSTEM 2.3 EMPOWER WARD COMMITTEES 2.4 ESTABLISH OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN 2.5 ESTABLISH AREA SABHAS 2.6 STRENGTHEN CIVIL DEFENCE SYSTEM 3 ENABLED LOCAL BODIES AND CITIZENS 3.1 GIVE INDEPENDENCE TO LOCAL BODIES IN APPOINTMENTS AND RECRUITMENT 3.2 STREAMLINE DEPARTMENTAL HIRING PROCESSES 3.3 UPGRADE CAPACITIES IN URBAN MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE 3.4 ESTABLISH E-GOVERNANCE SYSTEMS 3.5 ESTABLISH ROBUST GIS SYSTEM 3.6 IMPLEMENT E-PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS 3.7 CREATE COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE ON URBAN SERVICES 4 DIRECT ACCOUNTABILITY 4.1 IMPROVE ELECTORAL ACCOUNTABILITY 4.2 CREATE SINGLE WINDOW SERVICES AND STREAMLINING URBAN SERVICES 4.3 ESTABLISH CITIZEN CHARTERS 4.4 DEVELOP PARTICIPATORY PLANNING PROCESSES 4.5 PRODUCE CITIZEN CHARTERS 4.6 BUILD COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE FOR ALL LOCAL BODIES 4.7 ESTABLISH OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN 1 1. REGIONAL SYSTEMS 3. The state government should not have the power to confer “SPA” status for any parcel/s of 1.1 Governance Recommendation: land in the MA, and cede this process completely to the MPC and the PA/SPA bodies in the region. INCLUDE COMPLETE DISTRICTS IN METROPOLITAN Note that the setting up of the MPC in this form AREA will have implications on other existing regional structures like DPC/DPDC etc. these are referenced There should be complete districts within the MMR, in section.... This recommendation is consistent with with no fragmentation. This means that Thane and the recommendations of the 2nd Admi nistrative Raigad districts should be re-districted to cover only Reforms Committee Report on Local Governance that territory which is inside the MMR region, and the (section 3.7.6.2.4 page 75) remaining areas of these districts falling outside the MMR should be re-allocated to other neighbouring 1.3 Governance Recommendation: districts or carved into separate districts. This will result in MMR having 4 complete districts within it REVISE MPC COMPOSITION 1.2 Governance Recommendation: Elected Members to the MPC FULLY EMPOWER MPC TO PRODUCE METROPOLITAN The size of the MPC must be expanded to a total of DEVELOPMENT PLAN 63 members of whom 42 (2/3) are elected from the constituent local governments – rural and urban in the Specific points: MA. 1. The MPC must be fully empowered to The rural – small civic – big civic share of the 42 elected have a review function of the Master Plans members must reflect their population share in the MA. of all the PA/SPA bodies in its jurisdiction Based on the 2001 census data, these proportions are: 2. The MPC must have the authority to notify its own development plan called the “Metropolitan Category Population Number of Development Plan”) for the MA, without need to (2001) Seats submit to the State Govenrment for approval and final notification. The argument for this is stengthened Rural 12,53,160 3 by the fact that the MPC is a representative body Small 13,02,854 3 with sovereign character. It could be reasonably argued that clause (1) of Article 243 ZE merely civic states that the MPC shall be constituted “to prepare Big Civic 1,67, 31,375 36 a draft development plan for the metropolitan area as a whole”;or that clause (4) of the Article states that “The Chairperson of every MPC shall forward the development plan, as recommended by such Nominated members to the MPC Committee, to the Government of the State”. The Article itself, therefore, seems to contemplate that The number of nominated members to the MPC shall be the mandate of the Committee be limited to the 21, composed in the following manner: formulation or preparation of the Metropolitan/ 1) Chief Minister, GoM, as President of the MPC Regional Development Plan. The Plan so formulated 2) Principal Secretary Urban Development, Mumbai has to be forwarded to the Government of the State, impliedly for its approval (by the State government). Other Members: While it is true that changing Art 243ZE would be the strongest way to address this issue, the National level bodies provisions of the Constitution do not act as limits 3) Member, Mumbai Port Trust on what the State Government can empower the 4) Member, Central Railways MPC with; examples of functions of Schedule XII 5) Member, Airport Authority of India itself are a case in point. Moreover, the spirit of the State level bodies act - i.e. decentralisation - requires that the MPC be 6) Commissioner, Brihanmumbai MahangarPalike , mandated with the power to notify. This position is Mumbai also consistent with ARC recommendations, and the 7) Managing Director, CIDCO Kasturirangan report for Bangalore Metropolitan 8) Member, State Pollution Control Board Governance Industry representatives 2 9) A representative from the manufacturing The purpose of these consolidation committees is to industry; consolidate the sectoral plans that emerge from the 10) A representative from the service industry lower tiers of local government in the metropolitan area including IT; that have been generated in a participatory manner, 11) A representative from Trade and Commerce; and consolidate them at the level of the Metropolitan 12) A representative from the Real Estate Area, taking into account common needs/conflicts/ Industry;Civil Society representatives dependencies etc. An important point to note on the 13) Representative of urban poor federations Sectoral Consolidation Committee on Infrastructure is 14) Representative of other NGO groups that it will include the subject of Traffic and Transport, and develop plans for this in conjunction with the Subject matter experts Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (see section..... 15) Retired Chief Planner, MMRDA below). In addition to these Sector Consolidation 16) Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Committees, there will be an Integration Committee, Mumbai that will consider all the recommendations submitted 17) An individual with recognized expertise in by the sector consolidation committees on intersectoral dependencies and decide upon these recommendations, Environmental affairs making appropriatemodifications. 18) An individual with expertise in education / The Integration Committee will also prepare the Draft health Metropolitan Development Plan, which will be sent to 19) An individual with expertise in urban governance the State Government for comments and suggestions, / planning and the final plan will then be placed before the MPC for approval and notification. The Integration Member Secretary of MPC Committee shall essentially function as the Executive 20) The MMRDA Commissioner, who will also be Committee of the MPC. Each of these committees will the Member-Secretary of the MPC, will be a have a Chairperson, who will be chosen from among person not below the rank ofPrincipal Secretary the Elected Representatives of the participating local governments in the MA, and not from the nominated Special Invitees and other categories members from either the Legislative Assembly or Parliament. All Members of Parliament and Members of the This is in keeping with the spirit of decentralisation that Legislative Assembly shall be Special Invitees to the the overall process envisages and is in fact a dilution MPC. The reason these representatives are not included of the recommendations of the 2nd Adiministrative as nominated members is the political reality of their Reforms Commission in its report on Local Governance presence overwhelming the role of the local elected (see section 3.1.3.4 of ARC report). Each Committee representatives in the MPC. Other categories of special will also draft relevant state government departments/ invitees can be created by the MPC, from time to time organisations/other key stakeholders into it as it deems depending on the need. Each Sector Committee of the fit. this structure for the functioning of the MPC will MPC shall also constitute subject-matter committees require a substantive administrative support, which has and co-opt members as and when required been detailed in section.... below. It is also critical to note that a credible Metrpolitan Plan can only be done if Constituting the MPC it fulfils two critical criteria: first, that it is well-integrated with the next levels of plans (Master Plans and Ward/ The State Election Commission shall be vested with the Area plans, as discussion on Plans below in Section...) authority to conduct the process of constituting the being produced by lower tiers of governments/planning MPC.