The rise of Zohran Mamdani as the Mayor of New York City in the United States has brought focus to the lack of visibility of similarly elected civic officials in Indian cities. Why do citizens in urban areas of India have no elected official to turn to in times of crisis or to help improve civic infrastructure and amenities?

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the governing civic body of Mumbai, is set to have elections in 2026 after several years. In Telangana, 27 municipalities are being merged into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has been divided into five corporations. Will these measures help improve governance of cities? Do we need to change how cities are governed in India?

Guests: Thoniparambil Raghunandan, Former IAS officer and a consultant on decentralisation and planning; Anant Maringanti, Director of Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change at the University of Minnesota

Host: Serish Nanisetti

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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