UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 2 : Questions on electoral reforms and urban local bodies (Week 88)

QUESTION 2

Critically analyse the effectiveness of past electoral reforms and suggest further measures to code these persistent issues specified arsenic the power of achromatic wealth and criminalisation of politics.

General points connected the operation of the answers

Introduction

— The instauration of the reply is indispensable and should beryllium restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a modular introduction.

— It whitethorn dwell of basal accusation by giving immoderate definitions from the trusted root and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the cardinal portion of the reply and 1 should recognize the request of the question to supply affluent content.

— The reply indispensable beryllium preferably written arsenic a premix of points and abbreviated paragraphs alternatively than utilizing agelong paragraphs oregon conscionable points.

— Using facts from authentic authorities sources makes your reply much comprehensive. Analysis is important based connected the request of the question, but bash not implicit analyse.

QUESTION 1: Despite the law mandate of the 74th Amendment Act, municipality section bodies successful India proceed to look challenges successful autonomy and assets management. Critically analyse the factors contributing to this concern and suggest measures to fortify municipality section governance.

Introduction:

— Urban section bodies (ULBs), besides known arsenic Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, oregon Nagar Panchayats, are the instauration of municipality governance successful our cities. They are the archetypal constituent of interaction for citizens and are successful complaint of providing captious services specified arsenic trash management, sanitation, and municipality planning.

— During the assemblage era, the British developed city-level entities specified arsenic betterment trusts to code sanitary issues. The archetypal municipal assemblage was formed successful Madras successful 1687, followed by Bombay and Calcutta. In 1882, Lord Ripon (commonly referred to arsenic the laminitis of section self-government successful India) projected the solution for section self-government, establishing the groundwork for a democratically elected municipal medication to tally cities.

— By 1935, the Government of India Acts recognised the value of section self-government, and they were classified arsenic state oregon authorities subjects.

Body:

Challenges successful autonomy and assets management

— Municipalities are stretched thin, handling everything from rubbish postulation to metropolis planning. ULBs person insufficient resources and manpower to lick a wide scope of hard municipality issues. The main obstacles to ULB effectiveness are inadequate fiscal resources, limiting governmental autonomy, and insufficient authorities capability.

— ULBs conflict with their finances. Property taxes are a cardinal root of gross for municipalities, with the remainder coming from the authorities government. While ULBs tin rise funds done bonds oregon different instruments (such arsenic the Ahmedabad Municipal Bonds issued successful 1994), a deficiency of administrative and method cognition remains a challenge.

— ULBs person an elected caput and an enforcement caput chosen by the authorities government. The exemplary delegated much enforcement authorization to municipal commissioners than mayors. This often results successful administrative overlaps, which seemingly origin decision-making delays, peculiarly during times of crisis.

— Furthermore, ULBs’ debased authorities capableness limits their quality to supply service. According to a survey conducted by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, determination is 1 planner for each 75,000 municipality residents, a debased proportionality erstwhile compared to different section governments astir the world. There are conscionable 5,000 qualified municipality planners, and Indian towns would request astatine slightest 3 lakh planners by 2031. The ULBs conflict with municipality absorption owed to a deficiency of manpower and competence.

Measures to fortify municipality section governance

— Greater fiscal autonomy could let ULBs to gain gross portion reducing reliance connected authorities authorities financing.

— Innovative fiscal strategies with galore sources of income alteration ULBs to beryllium much adaptable and innovative successful addressing their challenges.

— ULBs whitethorn purpose to fortify their method expertise and authorities capableness by hiring experts and professionals for amended work delivery.

Conclusion:

— The Part IX-A of the Indian constitution details the compositions, roles and responsibilities of these ULBs and grants them powers to negociate a scope of services, from municipality readying and onshore usage to nationalist wellness and discarded management.

— The 12th Schedule of the constitution specifies 18 functions that are devolved to these ULBs. The amendment besides mandated elections each 5 years, with municipal councillors elected from section constituencies (wards).

(Source: Significance of empowering section bodies for effectual municipality governance successful India)

Points to Ponder

Read much astir municipality section bodies

Read astir panchayats

Read important articles of Constitution related to municipal corporations

Related Previous Year Questions

Analyse the relation of section bodies successful providing bully governance astatine the section level and bring retired the pros and cons of merging agrarian section bodies with municipality section bodies. (2024)

Assess the value of the Panchayat strategy successful India arsenic a portion of section government. Apart from authorities grants, what sources tin the Panchayats look retired for financing improvement projects? (2018)

QUESTION 2: Critically analyse the effectiveness of past electoral reforms and suggest further measures to code these persistent issues specified arsenic the power of achromatic wealth and criminalisation of politics.

Introduction:

— The predetermination reforms purpose to support the voting system’s integrity and openness by fostering an ambiance devoid of manipulation, money, and musculus power, portion inactive adhering to antiauthoritarian norms and principles of fairness and justice.

— In the 1950s, institutions specified arsenic the Election Commission of India (ECI) encountered trouble implementing predetermination regulations owed to illiteracy, corruption, caste-based politics, booth capture, and a deficiency of technological technology.

Body:

Electoral reforms since independence

— According to the ECI’s book, Leap of Faith, the Model Code of Conduct was archetypal introduced during the 1960 Kerala Assembly elections erstwhile the authorities attempted to make a “code of conduct” for the governmental parties. Since then, it has undergone respective revisions, with large updates made successful 1979, 1982, 1991, and 2013.

— Several committees person been important successful recommending improvements to code issues with the electoral process. Key reports were those of the Tarkunde Committee (1975), the Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990), and the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998).

— These committees projected important improvements to guarantee escaped and just elections. Some of them person already been adopted, specified arsenic requiring candidates to disclose their financial, educational, and transgression records, decreasing the voting property from 21 to 18, implementing physics voting machines (EVMs), and enhancing security.

— Despite these reforms, the past Chief Election Commissioners cited 4 important issues that proceed to impede India’s escaped and just elections. These are the 4 Ms: muscular power, monetary power, misinformation, and Model Code of Conduct infractions.

— In July 1993, the P.V. Narasimha Rao authorities established the Vohra Committee, which is chaired by erstwhile Home Secretary N.N. Vohra. The committee investigated the criminalisation of authorities and the relationships betwixt Indian officials, politicians, and criminals. The probe elaborate however this web operated a parallel authorities and demonstrated the favouritism criminals received from politicians of each parties, arsenic good arsenic extortion from authorities officials.

— To analyse the contented of excessive predetermination spending, the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) was established. The committee advocated authorities backing for elections, claiming that determination was “full justification — constitutional, legal, and successful the nationalist interest” for the connection to level the playing field, peculiarly for parties with minimal fiscal means.

— The Second Administrative Reforms Commission’s report, Ethics successful Governance (2008), besides advocated partial authorities enactment to trim “illegitimate and unnecessary funding” successful predetermination expenses.

Conclusion:

— Internal ideology wrong parties, arsenic good arsenic wide campaigner enactment criteria, are vital.

— Furthermore, unfastened debates involving governmental parties and candidates whitethorn beryllium organised successful the aforesaid mode that they are successful nations specified arsenic the United States.

(Source: Can electoral reforms fortify India’s antiauthoritarian process?)

Points to Ponder

Read astir electoral bonds

Read astir T.N. Seshan’s reforms

Read astir Model Code of Conduct

Related Previous Year Questions

Examine the request for electoral reforms arsenic suggested by assorted committees, with peculiar notation to the ‘‘One Nation–One Election’’ principle. (2024)

To heighten the prime of ideology successful India the Election Commission of India has projected electoral reforms successful 2016. What are the suggested reforms and however acold are they important to marque ideology successful? (2017)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains reply signifier — GS 1 (Week 86)

UPSC Essentials: Mains reply signifier — GS 1 (Week 87)

UPSC Essentials: Mains reply signifier — GS 2 (Week 86)

UPSC Essentials: Mains reply signifier — GS 2 (Week 87)

UPSC Essentials: Mains reply signifier — GS 3 (Week 88)

UPSC Essentials: Mains reply signifier — GS 3 (Week 87)

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