State of Urban Services in India's Cities

Spending and Financing

With increasing population and expanding demand for urban infrastructure services, the capacities of local governments in many developing countries are overburdened. Adequate infrastructure is not only necessary for increasing productivity but also improving the quality of living. Given the primacy of public service delivery for cities to become engines of growth, this book answers two critical questions: Does low spending explain the state of poor public service delivery? How can urban local bodies have access to greater resources so as to enable them to improve public service delivery? Using case studies of four citie—Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Bangalore—the book examines urban services such as water supply, sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, municipal roads, and street lighting. It compares the state of these services with international norms and suggests new ways in which they can be financed and improved. More specifically, the book examines the role of land as a revenue-generating source in India's cities.