The first half of the 21st century is going to be the era of megacities in the developing world. Unless we manage our cities adequately, all hell is likely break loose in the not too distant future. Given the enormous poverty, the gross gender discriminations and the acute environmental degradation already present in these cities, the likelihood of their further deterioration in the coming years in a scenario of no or little reforms is rather obvious. This is a pioneering work on the governance crisis in one such city, namely Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Based on more than a year of extensive field work, the authors analyse the governance problems of Dhaka city from a holistic perspective. The work examines the role of all important service providing organizations individually as well as in relation to one another. Finally, the authors come up with a set of practicable reforms agenda for overcoming the crisis and suggests a strategy for its adoption by the policy makers. The relevance of this book extends far beyond the confines of Dhaka city.

Overcoming the Governance Crisis in Dhaka City [Jan 01, 2000] Kamal Siddiqui; Jamshed Ahmed; Abdul Awal and Mustaque Ahmed

Jamshed Ahmed

Abdul Awal

Kamal Siddiqui

Mustaque Ahmed

University Press Limited

This is a pioneering study comparing the governance arrangements in the five megacities (cities with population around 10 million) of South Asia, namely Dhaka in Bangladesh, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi in India and Karachi in Pakistan within a common analytical framework.
The book is divided into seven chapters. The first and introductory chapter lays down the theoretical underpinnings and methodology of the study, besides identifying the major urbanization trends in South Asia. In each of the five city chapters, the trends in the quality and extent of city services and the major components of good governance, namely existing legal framework of municipal government, accountability, transparency, decentralization, efficiency, coordination, minimization of corruption, financial management, personnel practices, participation/ empowerment, equity, etc are first discussed and delineated. An attempt is then made to explain these in terms of the city power structure, resistance from within the municipal government, the degree of social capital and the strength of mobilization among the intended beneficiaries    (in particular, the poor and the women) of municipal services. 
In the last and concluding chapter, the governance experiences of the five megacities are compared in order to see the similarities, differences and innovations, and at the same time to suggest ways and means to move forward from the existing situation.    
The findings and recommendations of the study will, hopefully, be useful both to academics and those involved in urban governance.

Megacity Governance in South Asia: A Comparative Study

Science & Math

Sharit K. Bhowmik

Archana Ghosh

Shahid A. Siddiqi

Madhulika Mitra

Shuchi Kapuria

Nilay Ranjan

Earth Sciences

The University Press Ltd

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Books by Jamshed Ahmed