Eighth meeting of the Urban Think Tank on building municipal capacity to deliver services to the poor

F IL E C O P u r Y lylilil lvEighth Meeting Of The Urban Think Tank Building Municipal Capacity S Deliver Services To The Poor May 13, 1999, Nainital _Xll _ . _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~r . _ --- -- Water and Sanitation Program An international partnership - to help the poor gain sustained access to -- improved water supply and sanilalion services FOREWORD by Pankai Aggarwal (-||.e,,n .1u U, ,P V+ E ^_ t*" The issues facing mun cipalities in ,F ihe nexln millennium are for- -.- - reaching and challeng,ng In additc.n to Ihe well-docunmented problems of inadequate revenues, lock of accounitability and ,iransporency w.orn out roads and blocked drains urban local bodies mnusi tackle a new agenda to safeguard the inierests of the growing numilber of urban poor protect the environment and re'erse the decline n service prov.sion The E.ghlh Urbon Think Tank concentrated its efforts on one of the most important and urgent tasks processes for building municipal Aim capacity to improve serrice delivery to the poor. Municipalities will have to chonge their approach E and poss.bly their structure This is - not an easy task in India, but the notion of change as an agent of Z reform threvw up some challenging ideas which are examined in ,,iis publication. The debate also recognized that motivated people can make a difference and that consumer education is an important part of the process of transforming our cities. ,. .  The Structure Of Municipalities In The Millennium Initiated by an invitation from the ____ UP Academy of - Q , ,-i5 Administration, the i Eighth Urban Think Tank grappled with - W i the complex issues of how municipalities _ can build capacity to XT deliver services to - - the poor. The basic P -_ three Rs - reform, reassessment and retraining - were I -~@w~(^:v,=. i much in evidence; but there was certain a ___ agreement on one crucial point. As the VW- bottom line, iL - a_.' capacity building is , P v- about getting - - things done. In the , end there should - n..-_ s be water in pipes, -' housing, security, -- _ ____ employment and concern for local issues. a more efficient work force, and ensure that citizens are made aware Different visions, practicalities, individual responsibility for of their rights and responsibilities. incentives and structural reforms grievances and complaints. * A quality service backed by underpinned the practicalities of * A decentralized management consumer guarantees which are working out a system to make the structure which would be transparent and easily understood by dreams of change a workable reality. accountable to an elected body and all sections of the community. The boldest theme for transforming responsible to the consumers. This * The establishment of a municipalities to face the challenges could involve the privatization of professional group of municipal of the new millennium were: service provision and lead to a more managers who would specialize in all * Incentives for staff performance cost-effective system. aspects of urban development - and the right to hire and fire. This * Active participation of elected finance, housing, employment, would involve clear job descriptions, members to enforce the law and to service provision, etc. The Urban Think Tank The Urban Think Tank is a participatory forum information note is to share lessons learnt, highlight which enables experts and practitioners to address emerging issues, illustrate examples of best practice a wide range of issues on urban development and provide a link between municipalities and other linked to the provision of water supply and sanitation stakeholders to foster a better operating environment services for the poorest sectors of the community. in the sector of water supply and sanitation services. Regular meetings have been hosted by the Water The Eighth Urban Think Tank met in Nainital on May and Sanitation Program - South Asia (WSP-SA) in 13, at the invitation of the UP Academy of collaboration with the UK Department for Administration, and examined ideas for building International Development (DFID) since municipal capacity to improve service delivery to the December 1994. poor. We would welcome your feedback on any of the Through the publication of Nagari, the proceedings issues discussed in this publication. Please also write in and key issues of each meeting are disseminated to any comments and suggestions on topics that you feel municipalities all over India. The purpose of this are important for managers of local urban bodies.  Municipal Corner - Which Model Do You Prefer? AI participants in the Eighth a radical new approach to move structure but can't approach change UrbaniThink Tank agreed that reform quickly from the dream of change head on, then the gradual change was necessary but needed to be to the reality of improved should attract you. / ar underpinned \by measurable client functioning. A lean, responsive, Small steps approach: Existing satisfacti\n, increased resources and accountable municipolity assumes a structures need reform but a well-motivated staff. Some argued small, well-trained, user friendly dismantling of the entire system is that a change of approach could be executive which is: not necessary: accommodated within existing * consumer oriented; * Begin at the motivational level by structures; others felt this could only * closely monitors processes and introducing clear job descriptions be achieved by a change in structural systems using an information and manageable targets for all arrangements and recruiting technology-based approach; employees. procedures. The structure of a model * contracts technical skills through * Seek out and introduce models of municipality in the next millennium the free market/private sector and best practice. should look something like the works in partnership with civil * Exchange ideas and information diagram below. society; about what works with other But the question of the * is well motivated both by municipalities. appropriate route to take from financial incentives and client * Ease financial constraints by today's reality to tomorrow's ideal satisfaction; improving revenue collection. municipality definitely attracted two * has a Chief Executive recruited on * On the legal front, ensure schools of thought. the open market, bringing skills consumers are aware of their Giant leap forward: Aiming for acquired in the private sector. rights and that legal requirements excellence in capacity building needs If you like the vision and the are simple and sensible. The Model Municipality Of The Next Millennium ACCOUNTABILITY CHAIRMAN Elected Body VISIONARY + FORWARD LOOKING Exec-utive Bo)dy C.E.O. MEMBER OF SPECIALIZED CADRE Local Ward OR INDEPENDENTLY APPOINTED Committees - Elected < , 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~Consumer Finances\ Tchnical Contract s\ ~~~~~~~Desk Revenue \ anagement RESPONSIVE \\ Service contracts to TRANSPARENT/ private sector/NGOs/ PARTNERSHIP APPROACH ACCOUNTABLE communities/government \ \ K ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~agencies EFFICIENT DEPENDABLE,/ Consumers SERVICES . Water Sanitation < < , >~~~~~~~~~~~ Roads Waste > Electricity  The Mirzapur Model - Good News For Small Cities Anor_dinary place: A 1 I , vi |*l pdopulation of 200,000, poor but not I destitute, b'roken down . infrastruRcture little civic leadership- = , u! by 1995, Mirzapur was bankrupt. Heaps of garbage littered the streets, drains were blocked and broken, water was largely untreated and distributed at low pressure, salaries went unpaid for up to six months and z . strikes were routine. Records were no i r7 longer properly maintained and a , 'babu raj' was the result. A discouraging scenario, but _ , representative of many Indian cities, when the GANGA ICDP project started in 1995. Four years later, ( 1'- the dramatic improvement in the city's appearance has raised public spirits with new 't. expectations and optimism -i .. + i, 4' among the local people. How did this transformation occur? 7 A model for regeneration: ; .V- I Priority number one was to correct, ; _ update and computerize the records which allowed, for the first time, the at- creation of property tax maps. The * ,i first municipal Geographical Information System (GIS) in India ,j began operations; within three years, tax collection more than doubled and the computerized valuation analysis *r.- e . increased property tax assessments . Rs from Rs 30 lakh to over Rs 7 crore. *>,'S't ; But the municipality did not sit still co - ' during the years it took to restore adequate revenues and get the tax i records in proper working order. Visible improvements were required high impact/low investment items. To Most cities in India do not collect to encourage public officials to tackle solid waste, creative thinking enough revenues to fund the undertake, and elected and appropriate technology, such as basic services they must provide representatives to support, the long the introduction of rickshaw trolleys and in that sense, they are all term process. Mirzapur used two and direct loading ramp platforms, Mirzapurs. Given that the model is strategies: have solved the problem of street primarily an approach and strategy, it Firstly, matching grants of up to piles and allowed old garbage can be replicated in other cities 80 per cent were provided to poor collection points to be converted into regardless of size or level of service. communities who were willing to urban gardens. Low-cost, effective invest in new hand-pumps, street and supported by municipal emplo- For further information, contact: drains and infrastructure repair. yees and the public, this approach Mr Scott Gibbons, The fact that over 10 per cent of the has helped generate civic pride. Team Leader/Urban city's population has participated Replication of Mirzapur Management Specialist in this program, and new model elsewhere: In view of the GANGA ICDP applications greatly exceed the remarkable success of the Mirzapur Community Center, Lal Diggi money available, demonstrate a model, the government of Uttar Mirzapur, UP huge pent-up demand. Pradesh has requested that it be Ph/Fax: 05442 62061 Secondly, a deliberate focus on implemented at Kanpur as well.  Resources Available For Development And Training |flyou have read this far and your Human Resources imagination has been captured by Development: A the idea of changing your progressive enhancement organization, you may want to of latent capabilities and /1/% consider what resources/skills/ideas talents; establishment of are available to carry your vision optimal staffing incentives, forward. structures and appropriate First of all, do not fall in to the monitoring and S e6\ trap of thinking of Human Resources development of skills to Development as being concerned ensure organizations grow with training and little else. Human from within to achieve a resource development is part of a vigorous life. larger capacity building process Training: Systematic which aims at getting things instruction and practical done so that they work experience in a profession satisfactorily - whether it is access or occupation with a view to safe drinking water or basic to achieving the greatest sanitation facilities or clean proficiency in it. drains and a healthy If you look at it this way, environment. So think of HRD as you realize that HRD being like an egg. cannot thrive alone. While Capacity building: A process of it has training at its heart, it acquiring new ideas and knowledge is also firmly embedded in to strengthen an organization's the notion of capacity vision, structure, direction and talent building, which is the and enable it to contribute to route that must be followed waste off the streets in India's common goals. to get water in the pipes and urban centers. Academy For Human Resources Development The Academy for Human - neither money, technology or external environment is also Resources Development was infrastructure can deliver excellence important. And this is where a founded in 1991 to promote without the requisite human resource new acronym, OCTAPACE, comes knowledge generation, bonk. Nor can money buy human in. Those letters stand for knowledge dissemination and in- resources - for this is one resource openness, confrontation, trust, house capacity building. Main which develops and appreciates over authenticity, proactivity, clients are from the corporate time, while other resources autonomy, communication and sector, but also include the depreciate. experimentation. government and NGO sectors. The development of human Blended together, these The success of any organization resources depends on three essential qualities produce a value culture - is dependant on humon resources building blocks, or the three Cs: a climate in which HRD can be Culture initiated and facilitated. Competence Commitment - 1_ .-'_ Every organization has its For further information, contact: own culture which is Mr P. Sudershan 0 ,, -;SI f technical, behavioral and Academy for Human conceptual. This culture can be Resources Development acquired and developed. Plot 6, Journalist's Colony Similarly, competence levels Road 3, Banjara Hills can, and must, also be Hyderabad 500 034 ,,z, - ~ * - G enhanced from time to time. Ph: 040 335 2406 Commitment can depend on Fax: 040 335 2413 -fi . *i./_ :; S s .-- -i:_ internal motivation but the  Capacity Building For Urban Governance Lessons From Recent Debates r Following two national 'M' '. ' < v. , seminars, by NIUA and HSMI in 19-9-7and an ADB- :, i '. supported study by PS.A. ., Sundaram on capacity ! building in 1999, there has v A ,, been a major shift in \\,x * -v - s\! thinking which can be \ . EL summarised as: 1. Capacity building is q ' r not only training; it is also strengthening of: * Managerial capacity: i iif Recruitment, performance - appraisal, day-to-day i operations, efficiency, accountability, responsiveness. * Technical capacity: Improved skills to perform _ regular functions and to 'r .- design and implement new - projects. * Financial capacity: Resource generation, investment efficiency, rules, * ; - k- regulation. , / f -' * Institutional capacity: 1 i,. . - - Institutional arrangements, organizational reforms and restructuring, autonomy. 2. Capacity building has q ' S". been more focused on individuals. It should shift to include institutions and the operating environment: * Government policies, ---. regulations; * interaction with political groups, civil society and other partners. 4- 3. Training has been largely supply-led, not demand-induced: *Some institutions are more innovative, such as N-IUA, M I ' 1_~ t HSMI, DTUDP; * general training versus project/ program-specific training. For further information, contact: 4. Training is not redundant Dr Pushpa Pathak but new approaches are needed: Urban Specialist * Has to be made more relevant UNDP-World Bank Water and Sanitation Program within the broader capacity building 55, Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110 003 context; * strengthening and upgrading of Ph: 0091 11 4690488/89, Fax: 0091 11 4628250 training institutions is needed.  Themes From The DFID-sponsored Human Resource Development Study In The Water And Environmental Sanitation Sector In India VThe recent DFID-sponsored study This need was also articulated by devolve responsibility for water on Hum-an Resource Development in several participants of the Eighth and environmental sanitation to the the water and environmental Urban Think Tank. lowest appropriate level. sanitation sector in India endorsed Key elements of a multi-pronged The five-month study concluded the need to shift from a narrow Human Resource Development that elements of reform and emphasis on training to a wider approach to address this need organizational restructuring must go interpretation that includes would include: hand-in-hand with training in order institutional development. Targeting 1. Building of individual capacities as to change the way in which services isolated individuals in public sector well as those of teams; are currently designed and delivered organizations for specialized training 2. adequately rewarding innovation, to consumers. Training alone will be without simultaneously creating an performance and customer unable to deliver better services to enabling environment where they satisfaction; the poor. The problem is one of can use their new skills and 3. enhancing the quality and scope human resources development - knowledge is futile. of what the organization does; involving a multiplicity of factors from The primary need identified 4. emphasizing the customer- the size and mandate of organi- during the consultative process of the oriented nature of the sector with a zations to recruitment procedures, study was for capacity building of focus on the poorest and the job charts and evaluation. corporators, councillors and unreached; chairpersons to provide a cadre of 5. equipping individuals and For further information, contact urban managers who could organizations to respond quickly to Ms Archana Patkar undertake effective financial and demand and to change and evolve as Social Development Consultant technical management of water and required; 21, Golf Links, Palli Hills sanitation services and guarantee 6. working within the politico- Khar, Mumbai 400 052 quality, uninterrupted services to institutional framework indicated by Ph: 022 6040874 consumers, including the poorest. the 74th Constitutional Amendment to Municipal Managers - An Idea Whose Time Has Come? It's hard to do capacity independent building without knowing cadre? where you are going. How could A recurring theme in the this be debate was the idea of developing tackled? a corps of specialists who would * Include chart the way. Such a 'cadre' of specialized specialized municipal managers aspects of would not only improve municipal urban functioning, but also provide a development - > . forum for the exchange of ideas (finance, - and experiences for better service housing, , -- delivery. However, some questions employment, remained: poverty, utilities, ': -.-. . ('. * Is such expertise needed at all etc) in graduate municipal levels or just and post-graduate programs; municipal commissioners have corporations and large * set up a national urban cited the need, not only for municipalities? management institute for specialized specialized training in urban * What sort of numbers would be higher education along the lines of management, but also for a clear required? business management institutes; career path for successful * Should they be drawn from the * introduce an urban cadre in the municipal managers to ensure IAS, at least in the short term, or Central and state civil services. that experience garnered in the established from the outset as an Many officers who have served as field is not subsequently lost.  Eighth Meeting Of The Urban Think Tank Building Municipal Capacity To Deliver Services To The Poor May 13, 1999 at Nainital Participants MUNICIPAL Government of UP * Dr Behnam Ta'i Community Center, Lal Diggi MAIIIAGERS Lucknow Town Planner Mirzapur, UP Ph: 0522 238958 Human Settlement Management Ph/Fax: 05442 62061 Fax: 0522 238967 Institute (HSMI) * Ms Sharad Bala Joshi * Mr Manmohan Singh * Mr Sumeet Chatterjee HUDCO House, Lodi Road Senior Program Officer Metropolitan Commissioner Section Officer New Delhi 110 003 German Development Corporation Mumbai Metropolitan Region Ministry of Urban Development Ph: 011 4367535 GTZ Coordination Office DevelopmentAuthority New Delhi Fax: 011 4641292 C/o Nagpur Municipal Corporation Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East) Ph: 011 3016551 * Prof Gangadhar Jha Mahanogar Palika Marg, Civil Lines Mumboi Professor Nagpur 440 010 Ph: 022 6523536 NOOS National Institute of Urban Affairs Ph/Fax: 0712 524002 * Ms Prabha Joseph 1st and 2nd Floor, Core 4-B * Mr S.V.K. Babu Chairman India Habitat Center Assistant Manager-Project Development Kakinada Municipality 0 Mr P Sudershan Lodi Road, New Delhi Anglion Water Intemationol Pvt Ltd Kakinada, AP Academy for Human Resources Ph: 011 4617543 1079, 12th Main, HAL llnd Stage Ph: 0884 374336 Development Fax: 011 4617513 Indiranagar * Mr Ram Chimurkar Plot # 6, Journalist's Colony 0 Mr K.G. Batra Bangalore 560 008 Project Director Rood # 3, Bonjara Hills Projec Mnager Ph: 080 5294601 Nagpur Municipal Corporation Ph: 040 3352406 PMU Urban Affairs Fax: 080 5263692 Mahanagar Palika Marg Fax: 040 3352413 Center for Development Studies * Mr V. Vikramaditya Civil Lines, Nagpur 440 010 UP Academy of Administration Senior Project Manager Ph: 0712 524002 Nainital 263 001 PMU Urban Affairs Fax: 0712 539584 OTHER AGENCIES Ph: 05942 35011 Center for Development Studies * Mr Sanjay Agarwal Fax: 05942 36260 UP Academy of Administration District Magistrate 0 Mr Anand Rudra 0 Ms Kathleen Nainital 263 001 Meerut, UP Assistant Program Officer Graham Harrison Ph: 05942 35011 Ph: 0121 642232 Regional Urban Development Editorial Consultt Fax: 05942 36260 Fax: 0121 647200 Office, USAID 5/14, Shanti Nisetan * Mr Sanjay Sanju B-28, Qutab Institutional Area New Delhi 11 0 021 Chairman NewMehrauli Road Ph: 011 4100049 PROGRAM Nainital Municipal Council New Delhi 11 0016 0 Mr Nisheeth Kumar Noinital, UP Ph: 01 1 6865301 Ph: 05942 35153 Fax: 011 6865894 Deputy Director * Mr Piers Cross Fax: 05942 36260 0 Ms Archna Patkar UP Academy of Administration RegionalTeamLeader-SouthAsia * Mr PS. Chauhan Social Development Consultant NPinitl 2635001 0 Ms Barbara Evans Executive Officer 2 1, Golf Links, Palli Hills Ph 05942 35011 Nainital Municipal Council Khar, Mumbai 400 052 Fax: 05942 36260 Regional Urban Specialist Noinital, UP Ph: 022 6040874 * Mr Rakesh Sharma 0 Ms Fiona Ph: 05942 35153 * Mr Ashim Chawla Additional Director Fanthome Fax: 05942 36260 Program Officer UPAA and Vice Chairman, CDS Operations Officer Social Development UP Academy of Administration * Mr Parameswaran GPOVERNMENT Departmentfor International Nainital 263 001 lyer Development (DFID) Ph: 05942 35011 Ie B-2, Anand Niketan Fax: 05942 36260 Team Leader - India Country Team * Mr Pankal Agarwal New Delhi 110 021 * Mr Scott Gibbons * Dr Pushpa Pathak Secretary, Planning Ph: 011 6876684 Team Leader/Urban Management Urban Specialist Yoiana Bhowan Fax: 011 6882554 Specialist, Ganga ICDP For more information on the Think Tank, please contact: The Urban Think Tank C/o UNDP-World Bank, Water and Sanitation Program - South Asia PB 416, 55, Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110 003 Tel: (91)-(0) 11-4690488/9 Fax: (91)-(0) 11-4628250 E-mail: wspsa@worldbank.org Designed and produced by Media Workshop India Pvt Ltd, Noida. 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