Report No. 138

20. Need for local authorities to carry out their obligation.-

There is some discussion in one of the papers included in the report of the National Commission on Urbanisation,1 about the need on the part of the local authorities to carry out their obligation regarding urban development. In this paper, the following recommendations (so far as is material to the point under consideration) have been made:-

1. All India Institute of Local Self Government, Bombay, paper included in N.C.U. Report (August, 1988), Vol. V. Part II, pp. 87, para. 6.7.2.

"6.7.2. It would be preferable to enact a special act (as was done for the urban land ceiling act) by Parliament with a provision that the provisions shall be implemented either by the States or be entrusted to the Municipal Corporations. The transfer of a share of municipal revenue (it need not be limited to property tax only) supplemented by a grant from the State Government should form an Account from which normal municipal service, as lasted in Municipal act as duties and functions) and economic and welfare functions-all economy to be properly listed as detailed in the various chapters of this report should be undertaken.

(i) The new enactment can be termed-An Act to provide for the provisions of civic, economic, developmental and welfare services to the urban poor.

The definitions must include a specification of:

(i) Urban poor;

(ii) Economic Functions; (iii Welfare Services;

(iv) Civic Services.

(ii) The Act should provide that each State/Municipal Body should provide in the building bye-laws or development control rules, special provision to govern the schemes of:

(i) Sites and Services and Construction thereon;

(ii) Low Income Group Housing/Poor Class Housing;"

No such law seems to have been enacted.