CONTENTS List of Tables 3 List of Figures 3 Acronyms 4 Preface 5 Executive Summary 6 1. Background Study 18 1.1 Small Towns and their importance 19 1.1.1 Small Towns in India 21 1.2 Classification Criteria for urban areas 24 1.3 Existing scenario of service delivery 25 1.3.1 The Paradigm for Service delivery 26 1.4 Institutional Framework 26 1.5 Development Initiatives by the Government of India 27 1.5.1 UIDSSMT 27 1.5.2 ILCS 30 2. Research Components 33 2.1 Statement of Problem 34 2.2 Aim 34 2.3 Objectives 34 2.4 Research Questions 34 2.5 Relevance of Study 35 2.6 Methodology 35 2.7 Scope and Limitations 36 3. Literature Review 37 3.1 Problems of Small Towns 38 4. Study Area 39 4.1 Selection Criteria 40 4.2 Methodology for Case study 40 4.3 Selected ULBs for the study 41 4.3.1 Bhimili Municipality 42 4.3.2 Bobbili Municipality 45 4.3.3 Salur Municipality 48 4.3.4 Amadalavalasa Municipality 50 4.3.5 Palasa Municipality 52 4.3.6 Icchapuram Municipality 55 5. Data Analysis 58 5.1 Service level Benchmarking 59 5.1.1 Framework Overview 59 5.1.2 Sector wise SLB Indicators 60 5.2 Comparative Study of the Indicators 61 5.2.1 An Overview 61 5.2.2 Aggregate analysis 62 5.2.3 Comparison to State averages 65 5.3 Identifying Issues 66 5.4 Common Issues 67 5.5 Prioritization of Issues - ULB specific 67 5.5.1 Priorities for Bhimili Municipality 67 5.5.2 Priorities for Bobbili Municipality 68 5.5.3 Priorities for Salur Municipality 68 5.5.4 Priorities for Amadalavalasa Municipality 69 5.5.5 Priorities for Palasa Municipality 69 5.5.6 Priorities for Icchapuram Municipality 70 6. Recommendations & Conclusion 71 6.1 Recommendations 72 6.2 Conclusion 73 Bibliography 74 Annexure - I 75 Annexure - II 76 Annexure - III 77