Digital Legacies and Distressed Capacities

Abstract

This paper aims to understand how technology platforms affect the democratic character and functioning of municipal agencies. 1 While technological tools have been used for urban governance in India since the 1990s (Sundaram 2019), they received a boost from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Revival Mission (JNNURM) and the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) in the mid-2000s, which encouraged the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). Multiple public agencies such as the National Informatics Centers, State Computer Application Centers, and city-level Development Authorities created and embraced ICT tools under these policies for city planning, delivering urban services, and enhancing citizen engagement. The national program Smart Cities Mission (2015) reinvigorated digitalization by stressing "smart solutions" and "data-driven governance." Despite a legacy of policies and programs lasting over three decades, the literature seldom assesses the impact of digitalization on urban governance in India, which I seek to address in this paper.