Attitudinal orientation of first level managers for improvement of municipal service delivery: Experience of training intervention in Kolkata

摘要

This paper discusses a program of attitudinal orientation courses provided for functionaries of a large municipal corporation in India. Almost 450 Assistant Managers from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation took part in the training, which was held at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) of the Government of West Bengal, India.Under the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, Indian Municipalities/Corporations (Urban Local Bodies) are empowered and entrusted to perform planning, development and governance for the city/ town and to provide services to the citizens. The change in outlook towards the local government reflected in the Act has highlighted the need for?greater awareness and a better attitude amongst municipal staff as well as elected representatives towards service delivery. Good governance can be achieved through the overall performance of officials of an organization, provided they possess the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes and competencies. For historical reasons, knowledge, skills and attitudes amongst officials of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India have been traditionally of a low standard. Willingness to perform better in the role of municipal service delivery is not common. Therein lies the need for training for improvement in service delivery, especially for organizations like large municipal corporations and municipalities.