Municipal Finance

Janaagraha signed an MoU with the 15th Finance Commission, and undertook a study on Municipal Finance Blueprint for India. The Terms of Reference included the following:  

• Root cause analysis of issues and challenges in municipal finance  

• Study of institutional Design  

• Study of fiscal decentralisation  

• Study of fiscal responsibility and budget management  

• Study of transparency and accountability  

• Study of institutional capacities 

Janaagraha’s draft report which includes analysis of methodologies and bases for levy of major revenue streams, and of collection efficiencies ULBs, can be accessed here.  

Janaagraha signed an MoU with the Department of Local Self Government, Government of Rajasthan, in November 2017, to partner with the state government on implementing municipal finance reforms in ULBs of the state. Janaagraha helped the State in putting in place a systematic process to improve quality of financial reporting in Rajasthan ULBs.  

Janaagraha engaged with the Shivamogga City Corporation for the study and collection of data towards improving financial planning of the ULB, and publish a model Medium Term Fiscal Plan (MTFP) for the ULB. The report can be accessed here. 

Analysis of Workforce Management: Janaagraha has undertaken a study of best practices related to Cadre and Recruitment Rules in relation to recruitment and performance management of staff in the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Karnataka. The report can be accessed here.

Financial Brief: Janaagraha also published a brief on financial and operational management of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation. The report can be accessed here.  

Janaagraha has conducted a study on the adequacy of workforce and skill sets in accounting and revenue departments – CDMA, Telangana. Also published model provisions and advocated for amendments to Cadre and Recruitment rules specifically for Accounting and Revenue Departments in ULBs. The report can be accessed here. 

The guidelines, published in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan, was shared with key stakeholders across state governments.

Janaagraha has also developed a model report on Medium-term Fiscal Plan for Municipalities in India. The report can be accessed here.  

A closed-door consultation on municipal finance reforms in India’s municipalities was held on 30 October 2018 in Bengaluru. The event brought together a select group of over 20 domain experts from government and civil society to draw out and synthesize hands-on experiences to identify pathways to fast-track solutions in this sector. Our focus in this consultation was to quickly cover the diagnosis, technocratic solutions and pathways to the solution. The report can be accessed here.  

Janaagraha has also published a brief on roadmap of municipal bond markets in India, which was done in partnership with the Bridgespan group. The report can be accessed here.  

Data compilation for study of role of select state urban infrastructure development agencies in ensuring financial sustainability of cities. Report on the State urban Infrastructure development agencies – KUIDFC, Karnataka OUIDF, Odisha – can be accessed here. 

The convening, held on 3 October 2019 in New Delhi, brought together a select group of subject matter experts from government, private sector, civil society and academia. Serious conversations on pathways and triggers to break the current status quo and hasten the process of systemic reforms in property taxation in Indian cities were facilitated.  

We have entered into partnerships with the Governments of Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh for implementation of municipal reforms in these states. We have also disseminated the various publications such as the Guidelines for Accounting and Audit reforms in ULBs, fiscal sustainability roadmap for ULBs and the Model Annual Report to all states and key stakeholders including financial institutions who have a key role to play in enabling private investment in municipal infrastructure 

Janaagraha has undertaken studies on respective Municipalities Act on provisions related to powers to impose taxes, cess, fees, tolls, including powers to set rates and define coverage (threshold, exemptions etc); covered 10 ULBs across 10 States. The provisions regarding revenue generation in State Municipal Acts were extracted and compiled to enable study of the same and inform recommendations to the partner states for enhancement of revenues of ULBs. A copy of the compilation can be viewed here. 

Janaagraha has undertaken a study of collection practices including outsourcing of collections, online payment facility, penalties to improve collection practices.  

Local Self-Governments (LSGs) have realized the importance of GIS mapping for enhancing property tax. Hence, Janaagraha conducted studies to explore the area of enhancing revenues via property management, which currently is a neglected area of focus within ULB’s. The report on Study on Framework for Strategic Management of Municipal Assets published in 2019 can be accessed here. Further, Janaagraha also engaged with the Government of Odisha to implement the recommendations from the case study conducted at Puri Municipality (Case Study can be accessed here). 

Janaagraha has put together a compilation of case studies related to collection of cess and fee towards improvement of public transport services. The report can be accessed here.