Janaagraha

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2001 that works to improve quality of life in India's cities and towns. It works on how cities are planned, designed, governed and funded, so that they work for everyone who lives in them. The organisation says that India's urbanisation has outpaced its ability to govern cities, and notes that 814 million Indians are expected to live in cities by 2050. Its answer is what it calls city-systems thinking. This means fixing the laws, policies, institutions, processes, capacities and frameworks that deliver urban infrastructure and services, not only the infrastructure and services themselves. Its work aims to build trust and engagement between governments, councillors and citizens so they can build inclusive neighbourhoods and cities together.

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Major Areas of Work

• Planning and Design: Putting people at the centre of how cities are shaped, with roads, public spaces and neighbourhoods that work for all.

• Decentralised Participatory Governance: Deepening democracy at the local level through empowered city governments, engaged citizens and capable councillors.

• State Capacities: Strengthening municipal finances and the capacities of institutions so cities can deliver services.

• Active Citizenship: Producing research, publications and practical tools that help citizens act on issues in their neighbourhoods.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• MyCityMyBudget: A participatory budgeting initiative in Bengaluru that brings citizens' priorities into the city's budget allocations.

• CityFinance.in: A national municipal finance platform where cities publish their financial statements, making urban public finances more transparent.

• Participation in Odisha's urban poor settlements: Work to set up platforms through which residents of urban poor settlements in Odisha take part in local decisions.

• Bala Janaagraha: A civic learning programme for school students that teaches them about local government and civic issues.

• My City My Responsibility: A handbook for active citizenship, written as a ready reckoner to help individuals become active citizens whatever their experience or expertise.

Impact

Janaagraha states that it has set up platforms for participation for 1.6 million citizens in 2,900 urban poor settlements in Odisha. It cites INR 120 crore allocated by Bengaluru through MyCityMyBudget in FY 2020-21. It also reports that more than 4,300 cities have published over 15,000 financial statements on CityFinance.in.

Leadership

• Ramesh Ramanathan, Co-founder

• Swati Ramanathan, Co-founder

Janaagraha suits people who want to work on how Indian cities are run, not just on a single service or project. Its work covers urban design, local democracy and municipal finance, and combines research and policy, capacity building with governments, and work with citizens. Staff work with city governments, councillors, state departments and residents, so they get exposure to policy, public finance and community mobilisation at the same time. It is a good fit for urban planners, policy and finance professionals, researchers and community organisers who want to work on long-term, systemic change in Indian cities.