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.
