Local Finance in Metropolitan Cities

Metro cities being major centres of economic activities, attract a large segment of migrants to flock to these cities. The explosive rate of demographic growth and the swift physical sprawl occasions severe strain on services and amenities with serious consequences. The metros process the requisite resource base which is not exploited properly due to politico-administrative reasons. This is taken as one of the hypotheses in the present study; the other is that the rate of urbanisation significantly affects the revenue and expenditure of the urban local body. It conceptualises the theoretical foundations of local finance in a metro city by presenting a conceptual and the socio-economic and cultural interactions with the hinterland which have fiscal implications for the local bodies. The premier metropolitan city of Delhi is studied in the backdrop of the above theoretical postulates by selecting a few key indicators of urban growth. The efficacy of the civic authority in exploiting the local resource base is studied by regressing revenues and expenditures to the selected key indicators. The fiscal weakness of the civic authority is studied on the basis of cash balances. The study enhancing the fiscal capabilities of the civic authority. 

Dr. Gangadhar Jha (b. 1943) M.A. (Economics), Ph.D. is currently on the faculty of the Centre for Urban Studies of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. With specialisation in Urban Finance, Urban Development and Urban Administration, he has extensively written on these in journals published for India and abroad and also contributed chapters to a number of edited books and a Gazetteer. He participated in an overseas programme on Local Government Finance at the Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham. He has co-edited a book entitled Integrated Development of small and Medium Towns: Problems and Strategic Policy issues. He is Assistant Editor of Nagarlok.