GIS use by an urban local body as part of e-governance in India

Government organizations in the developing world have been at the forefront of ongoing reforms that have prompted their use of GIS and other information and communication technologies for urban governance. However, there have been very few examinations of GIS spatial knowledge construction in a non-Western context. Particularly, very little is known about the growing and varying use of GIS and spatial information by urban local bodies in India in the midst of India’s changing urban governance culture. This article presents an in-depth examination of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), one of India’s leading urban local bodies as the corporation implements e-governance strategies including the use of GIS and spatial information. Drawing from Critical GIS literature and GIS implementation and diffusion literature, this article uses an integrated approach to examine SMC’s GIS spatial knowledge construction. The article demonstrates that in the case of SMC, GIS knowledge construction is not only shaped by SMC’s proactive role in positioning itself with the national government’s priorities and agendas, but also by the presence of powerful actors who play an instrumental role in introducing change and innovation. This article is part of a larger project that aims to investigate the process of GIS spatial knowledge construction situated in contemporary India.