The outbreak of plague in Surat in September 1994 brought to the fore the lopsided urban growth, inefficiency of the delivery system for basic services and incompetence of civic administration in urban India. The epidemic has also highlighted the significant role of urban local bodies in handling the situation in such crises. Plague in Surat: Crisis in Urban Governance is the result of a pioneering work undertaken by the research faculty of the Urban Studies Department, Institute of Social Sciences, in October 1994, immediately after the outbreak of the epidemic in Surat. What were the factors leading to the deterioration of basic amenities in the city? Why the functioning of the city government came almost to a standstill? What is the role of elected municipal councils in preventing such calamities? Based on extensive field work in Surat, this book highlights some of the crucial factors affecting life in urban India. The study also underlines the fact that the functioning of local governments in India''s rapidly growing metropolises should get utmost priority. It also looks into the premise that efficient urban management depends not only on access to adequate finances, but also on a strong city government which is stable and responsive to people''s needs.
