Faculty

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Mathew Idiculla

Visiting Faculty

Teaching

Courses

Nov 2023

Education

  • B.A., LL.B., School of Law, Christ University

Profile

Mathew Idiculla is an independent legal and policy consultant based in Bangalore and a visiting faculty at Azim Premji University.

For over a decade, Mathew has engaged with the field of urban law and governance in varied ways: academic research, legal consultancy, policy engagement, public advocacy, and popular writing. He has been part of multiple international research projects and worked as a consultant with the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR), Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), and WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing).

He was a legal consultant to the Expert Committee on BBMP Restructuring, Government of Karnataka and led the drafting of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2018. He has also been associated with various civil society initiatives in Bengaluru and is the founder of a discussion forum on urban issues. He writes frequently on various law and policy issues and his scholarly work has appeared in several well known journals.

Research Interests

His research interests are broadly in the intersection of public law, politics, and public policy, with a focus on issues concerning cities, local governance, and federalism.

Publications

Journal Articles

  • “The Travails of India’s Urban Planning: An Examination of the Planning Law Regime of Bangalore”, Chinese Journal of Comparative Law, Volume 11, Issue 1, April 2023, cxad002
  • “Unpacking Local Self-Government: The Uncertain Power of Cities in the Indian Constitution” VRÜ Verfassung und Recht in Übersee (World Comparative Law), Volume 53, Issue 2, 2020, pp 30-50
  • “A Right to the Indian City? Legal and Political Claims for Housing and Urban Space in India”, Socio-Legal Review, Volume 16, Issue 2, 2020, pp 1-25
  • “The Transformation of Governance in ‘India’s Silicon Valley’, Seminar, 694, June 2017, pp 17-21.
  • “New Regimes of Private Governance: The Case of Electronics City in Peri-urban Bangalore,” Economic and Political Weekly: Review of Urban Affairs, Volume 51, Issue 17, 2016, pp 102-110.
  • “Decoding ‘Public Authority’ under the RTI Act”, Journal of National Law University, Delhi (JNLUD), Volume 2, Issue 1, 2014, pp 115-123.

Book Chapters

  • “Local Governments, Federalism, and the Governance of Public Health in India” (co-authored with Gaurav Mukherjee), in Local Governance in Multi-Layered Systems: A Comparative Legal Study in the Federal-Local Connection, edited by Matteo Nicolini and Alice Valdesalici, Springer, 2023 (forthcoming)
  • “New Governance Regimes and Urban Development” in Inclusive Urbanisation edited by Tikender Panwar, Penguin 2023 (forthcoming)
  • “The Rise of Private Governance in Bengaluru’s Electronics City” in India’s Greenfield Urban Future: The Politics of Land, Planning and Infrastructure edited by Loraine Kennedy and Ashima Sood, Orient Black Swan, 2023
  • “Governing the City-Region: Rethinking Urban and Regional Governance in India” in Future of Cities: Planning, Infrastructure, and Development edited by Ashok Kumar, Routledge 2022
  • “Strengthening Towns through Sustainable Employment”, (co-authored with Amit Basole and Rajendran Narayanan), in Reviving Jobs: An Agenda for Growth edited by Santosh Mehrotra, Penguin, 2020
  • “Integrating Information Disclosure with Indian Environmental Policy”, (co-authored with Rajeev Gowda) in India’s Risks: Democratizing the Management of Threats to Environment, Health, and Values, edited by Raphaelle Moor and M.V. Rajeev Gowda, Oxford University Press, 2014

Policy Briefs and Working Papers

  • “Urban Planning and Informal Livelihoods in India: An Analysis of Urban Planning Laws and Processes in Delhi and Bangalore”. WIEGO Working Paper No. 44. Manchester, UK: WIEGO
  • “The ‘Right to the City’ and Emerging Indian Jurisprudence: Implications for Informal Livelihoods” (co-authored with Roopa Madhav), WIEGO Law & Informality Insights, No 3, March 2021
  • “Strengthening Towns through Sustainable Employment- A Job Guarantee Programme for Urban India” (co-authored with Amit Basole and Rajendran Narayanan), State of Working India 2019, Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University, March 2019
  • “Who Should Plan for the City?” – Briefing Note on the Constitutional and Legal framework for Urban Planning in Bengaluru (co-authored with Sudhir Krishnaswamy), Centre for Law and Policy Research, February 2018
  • “Reforming Bengaluru’s Governance: Political Devolution and Democratic Accountability” – Note to Expert Committee on BBMP Restructuring (co-authored with Sudhir Krishnaswamy), Azim Premji University, January 2015
  • “The Delayed BBMP Elections and Governance Reforms in Bangalore”, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies: Working Paper, August 2009

Op-eds and Commentaries (Selected)