FINANCING OF URBAN SERVICES IN INDIA - A CASE FOR APPROPRIATE PRICINGAND COST RECOVERY

The paper makes an attempt to examine financing of urban services with in the broader macro-economic liberalisation and decentralisation cont ext in India. It estimates the resource gap between the present flow o f funds and financial requirements for urban civic services on the bas is of the existing un-met demand and projected population growth trend s. While making a case for appropriate pricing and cost recovery for g enerating more resources for financing urban services, the paper focus es on the changing attitude towards full-cost recovery, existing pract ices of pricing and cost recovery of urban services, provides empirica l evidence of poor cost recovery from four Indian cities and identifie s key institutional, conceptual and managerial issues that need to be addressed. Finally, the paper presents the emerging directions for pol icy reforms and action for meeting the growing needs for urban infrast ructure and services, which includes some measures for fiscal reforms to increase the flow of finances for urban infrastructure and services , strengthening the resource base of local agencies and capacity build ing of local agencies. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reser ved.