Engines of growth: Cities 25 years after 74th amendment

For 20-odd cities, compiled data from Janaagraha shows the share of own-tax revenue in the entire revenue is slowly and steadily rising

While the 73rd amendment to the Constitution was meant to empower rural local bodies with decision-making abilities, revenue generation, and independence in expenditure, the 74th amendment, passed in consonance with the 73rd, tried to mandate and establish systems for growing cities.

In terms of fiscal independence or autonomy, urban local bodies (ULBs) have certainly done better than rural counterparts (RLBs). But, no Indian city can still match any of the metros in advanced economies as yet, even after 25 years of structural change.

Major 23 ULBs analysed by Janaagraha, a Bengaluru-based urban development advocacy, earned about 44 per cent of