Devolution of power sounds excellent in theory. However, without commensurate devolution of funds and functionaries, pushing responsibilities onto local urban bodies is an exercise in dereliction dressed as reform.
The Urban Governance Crisis
Indian cities are economic engines, yet their mayors lack executive authority and their municipal corporations are starved of capital. Until we fundamentally restructure municipal finance and empower city-level leadership, "smart cities" will remain an empty slogan applied to a fundamentally underpowered system.
