Urban Local Self-Government in Kashmir valley: Challenges and Problems

Urban local government institutions/municipalities are constituted for the maintenance and planned development of urban areas. The objective is to ensure that suitable levels of infrastructure and services are available to the citizens. In many parts of State Jammu & Kashmir, the quality of life in urban areas is despondent and the citizens lead a difficult life. To overcome this problem, sequences of reforms have been initiated by the Indian government as well as state governments to strengthen local-level governance. The main purpose of this work is to describe the major issues of governance at the local level and to identify some important challenges for urban local government institutions in the district Bandipora. The findings of this study show that urban local governments in Bandipora continue to remain overwhelmed by ample problems, which affect their performance in the efficient discharge of their duties. These problems relate to the extent of participation and the rule of law in the municipal decision-making process, transparency in the planning and implementation of infrastructure projects, delays in elections, lack of free & fair election.