Decentralized Urban Governance Participation and Accountability in West Bengal's Municipalities

One of the major promises of decentralization is that it brings popular participation and accountability to local governance and, therefore, makes local government more responsive to citizens' desires and more effective in delivering services. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in India provides the much needed platform to operationalize the rhetoric of decentralization into reality. This amendment marks a distinct watershed in the concept and practice of citizens' participation in urban governance. Acknowledging the importance of participation in democratic local government, this article, using primary data, evaluates the implications of constitutional provisions for participation and accountability at the municipal level in West Bengal. The study finds that a large gap exists between the rhetoric surroundings the constitutional provisions and their actual implementations. Political nature of the ward committee and thin attendance of the citizens in the meetings put a question mark on the efficacy of the WC as a true participative forum at the municipal level. The numerical representation has not transformed into effective representation with respect to participation of elected representatives and their accountability in municipal governments.