Discuss the major provisions of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. Do you think that the Act remains an ‘unfulfilled dream’? Argue your case.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Route 1 74th CAA gave cities a constitutional voice → form built, but is the substance real?
Route 2 urban governance long neglected → Part IX-A finally constitutionalised municipalities → promise vs delivery
Part IX-A + Arts 243P–243ZG + Twelfth Schedule → three municipal types (Nagar Panchayat / Council / Corporation) → ward elections + 5-yr term → SC/ST/women reservation incl. chairperson → SEC + SFC → Art 243W + 18 functions → Ward Committees + DPC/MPC → turn: form without substance → devolution left to state discretion → parastatals + SPVs bypass councils → mayors ceremonial, commissioners hold power → planning committees idle → Ahluwalia (unwillingness to devolve funds + responsibility) → Raghunandan (councils as “mere agents”)
dream not empty → constitutional status + regular polls + reservation = democratic floor → women + weaker sections enter urban government → what is missing is power, not presence
Route 1 structure of urban democracy built, but no authority / money / accountability → unfulfilled, not abandoned → awaiting completion
Route 2 shift needed: from constitutional framework to real self-government → empower mayors, councils, Ward Committees, municipal finance → then the dream is met
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
Also asked on this head
Grassroots Democracy — 12 questions in the Vault.
- Enunciate the impediments to women’s participation in local governance in the process of political decentralisation.
- Gram Sabha in the Panchayati Raj system is a forum which gives expression to the collective wisdom, aspirations and the will of the people. Comment.
- Examine the unique features of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. Do you think this Amendment would contribute in achieving the goal of empowerment of marginalised sections of...
How this is taught
The same flow snapshot, built for every head of the syllabus, with the answer written in class.
The first session of Foundation 2027 is published in full.
Six programmes across three levels.