Evaluation of Urban Basic Services and the Role of Urban Governance: A Case Study of Selected Wards of Chandernagore Municipal Corporation

Abstract

Basic services such as safe drinking water, proper garbage disposals, adequate sewage systems, sufficient street lighting and strong infrastructure in places like schools and hospitals, among others are all fundamental prerequisites to a decent urban life. Yet, the vastly increasing rural-to-urban migration, as is common in developing countries today, presents intricate difficulties for local urban bodies, as they struggle to accommodate and provide basic services to a rapidly increasing population. Efficiency in managing and maintaining urban infrastructure, combined with adequate public services and full citizen accountability, defines the quality of any urban government. In this context, the present paper tries to evaluate the performance and public role of urban governance as concerns selected wards of the Chandernagore Municipal Corporation (CMC). The CMC was chosen due to its status as the fifth-ranked city among Class-I cities situated in the west bank of the Hooghly River (within the Kolkata Metropolitan Area). As this is the oldest municipal corporation in West Bengal, is located only 35 km north of Kolkata and is a densely populated urban area (with a population density of 8800 person/km2), the demand for efficient and adequate basic services is an enormous challenge. In this paper, the evaluation of basic services has been done through the application of The Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI) index, an index based on the judgement of citizens’ regarding the performance by urban services. The study also tries to focus on new initiatives by the CMC—such as the Citizen Charter—in order to inform citizens about institutional targets regarding the supply and maintenance of basic services as well as future plans regarding the expansion and improvement of these services.