Nagaland has been ranked at the bottom of the Urban Governance Index (UGI) 2024 with a score of 19.57 out of 100, reflecting significant challenges in urban governance. Released jointly by the Mumbai-based Praja Foundation and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), the report evaluates cities and states based on their performance in urban governance, identifying critical inefficiencies in civic administration. The top-performing states in the report are Kerala, followed closely by Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, while Nagaland ranks among the lowest alongside Manipur and Meghalaya.
The Urban Governance Index evaluates four key dimensions of governance: empowered city elected representatives and legislative structures; empowered city administration; engaged citizens; and fiscal empowerment. For every one of these categories, 13 sub-themes are released to encompass a total of 42 indicators.
Each of these dimensions is further broken down into 13 sub-themes comprising a total of 42 indicators. Nagaland’s poor performance across all categories reflects a lack of robust systems and empowerment in urban governance.
Nagaland’s Scores in Key Categories:
Empowered City Elected Representatives & Legislative Structure: 4.79 out of 30
Empowered City Administration: 1.98 out of 15
Engaged Citizens: 8.0 out of 25
Fiscal Empowerment: 4.80 out of 30
Despite having the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001 and the newly introduced Nagaland Municipal Act, 2023, it was found that the state’s urban governance structure lacks the necessary provisions to empower city governments effectively.
Major Shortcomings Identified:
Nagaland’s municipal framework does not grant sufficient executive power to mayors, including the inability to appoint chairpersons of standing committees, limiting effective governance. Similar to Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland’s municipal acts do not provide for the establishment of zonal or ward committees, reducing localized decision-making and community engagement.
The city councils lack the authority to independently frame rules, regulations, or bye-laws, nor do they have the power to pass no-confidence motions against the Mayor, weakening accountability. There are no structured provisions for regular training for councillors, which limits their governance capabilities. Additionally, fixed remuneration for councillors is insufficient for their responsibilities.
The city governments cannot introduce new taxes or modify tax rates independently, nor can they approve budgets autonomously. This limits their ability to respond to financial needs or crises at the local level. City administrations do not have independent authority to sanction recruitment or provide training to municipal employees, which hampers the efficiency and functionality of urban services.
While Kerala, which ranked first, has empowered its city administrations with more autonomy over taxation, recruitment, and budget approval, Nagaland lags behind due to weak fiscal empowerment and insufficient authority for its city councils.
Recommendations for Nagaland:
To address these challenges, PRAJA’s UGI report recommends several reforms for Nagaland, including granting the Mayor the authority to appoint the chairperson of Subject/Standing Committees, ensuring that the State Municipal Act provides for regular training for Councillors, and establishing fixed remuneration for them. Additionally, the council should be empowered to independently frame rules, regulations, and bye-laws, as well as to pass no-confidence motions against the Mayor. The city administration must hold the authority for recruitment and provide training to employees. Furthermore, the State should empower the City Government to introduce new taxes or charges, modify tax rates, and have independent authority to approve budgets as per the State Municipal Act. Lastly, City Governments should be required to regularly publish their accounts on their websites.