Municipal Finance

This study is essentially a fiscal exercise in economic growth of urban local bodies. It is concerned with an analysis of Revenue and Expenditure Patterns in a developing economy of Urban Local Bodies with reference to Gudivada Municipality of India.One reason is that over a period of time, the functions and responsibilities of Local Bodies have increased considerably without commensurate enhancement of their resource base. Constitutionally built-in imbalances in functions and finances assigned to various levels of government eventually reflect in the high dependency of local bodies on State Governments and the latter, in turn, on Central Government for funds. Moreover, in the absence of financial support coming from the upper tiers of Government, these bodies may have to resort to borrowings from financial institutions and the capital market. The key objective is to obtain a holistic view on local government finances and factors affecting municipal fiscal performance. It is strongly believed that vast amount of potential resources can be generated if structural and administrative changes are brought about with regard to the own (internal)tax and non-taxes.