Why are Indian city governments so weak and toothless? Is it because Indian has failed to implement the 74th Constitutional Amendment, or are there fundamental flaws with the amendment itself?

Mathew Idiculla talks to host Pavan Srinath about how Indian cities need a new deal in the 2020s, with fresh imagination. Mathew explores the place of city governments in constitutional and legal regimes across the world, and how they are treated within India.

Mathew Idiculla is a lawyer, researcher and writer whose work focuses on issues concerning Indian cities and their governance systems. He is a research consultant at the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) and previously worked with the School of Policy and Governance, Azim Premji University. Mathew has actively engaged with urban policymaking in multiple capacities and led the drafting of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2018 for the Expert Committee on BBMP Restructuring. He writes frequently on various law and policy issues in the opinion pages of India's leading publications.

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