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Municipal or local governance refers to the third tier of
governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, social norm, norms, power (social and political), power or language of an organized society over a social system (family, tribe, formal organization, formal or informal organization, a ...
in India, at the level of the municipality or urban local body.


History

Municipal governance in India in its current form has existed since the year 1664. In 1664, Fort Kochi Municipality was established by Dutch, making it the first municipality in Indian subcontinent, which got dissolved when Dutch authority got weaker in the 18th century. British followed with the formation of Madras Municipal Corporation in 1687, and then Calcutta and Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1726. In the early part of the nineteenth century almost all towns in India had experienced some form of municipal governance. In 1882 the then
Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
,
Lord Ripon George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, (24 October 1827 – 9 July 1909), styled Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and known as the Earl of Ripon in 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British p ...
, known as the Father of Local Self Government, passed a resolution of local self-government which lead the democratic forms of municipal governance in India. In 1919, a Government of India Act incorporated the need of the resolution and the powers of democratically elected government were formulated. In 1935 another Government of India act brought local government under the preview of the state or provincial government and specific powers were given.


74th Constitutional Amendment Act

It was the 74th
amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...
to the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
in 1992 that brought constitutional validity to municipal or local governments. Until amendments were made in respective state municipal legislations as well, municipal authorities were organised on an ''ultra vires'' (beyond the authority) basis and the state governments were free to extend or control the functional sphere through executive decisions without an amendment to the legislative provisions. As per the 2011 Census, the key urbanised areas were classified as follows # Statutory Towns: All areas under statutory urban administrative units like Municipal Corporation, Municipality, Cantonment Board, Notified Town Area Committee, Town Panchayat, Nagar Palika, etc., are known as Statutory Towns. According to 2011
Census of India The decennial Census of India has been conducted 16 times, as of 2021. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881. Post 1949, it has been conducted by ...
, there were 4041 statutory urban local bodies (ULBs) in the country as compared to 3799 as per Census of 2001. #
Census Towns In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...
: All Administrative units satisfying the following three criteria simultaneously: i) A minimum population of 5,000 persons; ii) 75 percent and above of the male main working population being engaged in non–agricultural pursuits, and iii) A density of population of at least 400 persons per km2. As per the 2011 Census, there were 3,784 Census Towns against 1,362 in 2001. Statutory towns are of various kinds and the major categories include # Municipal corporation (Nagar Nigam) (नगर निगम) # Municipality (municipal council, municipal board, municipal committee) (Nagar Parishad)(नगर परिषद्) # Town area committee # Notified area committee The municipal corporations and municipalities are fully representative bodies, while the notified area committees and town area committees are either fully or partially nominated bodies. As per the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
, 74th Amendment Act of 1992, the latter two categories of towns are to be designated as municipalities or Nagar panchayats with elected bodies. After the 74th Amendment was enacted there are only three categories of urban local bodies: * Mahanagar Nigam (Municipal Corporation) (महानगर निगम) *
Nagar Palika In India, a Municipal Council (also known as Municipality, Nagar Palika, or Nagar Palika Parishad) is an Urban Local Body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. However, there are exceptions to that, as previously Nagar Palikas co ...
(Municipality)(नगर पालिका) *
Nagar Panchayat A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...
(Notified Area Council or Town Panchayat)(नगर पंचायत) Among all urban local governments, municipal corporations enjoy a greater degree of fiscal autonomy and functions, although the specific fiscal and functional powers vary across the states. These local governments have larger populations, a more diversified economic base, and deal with the state governments directly. On the other hand, municipalities or Nagar panchayats have less autonomy, smaller jurisdictions, and have to deal with the state governments through the Directorate of Municipalities or through the collector of a district. These local bodies are subject to detailed supervisory control and guidance by the state governments.


State Municipal Acts

State Municipal Acts are legislations enacted by state governments to establish municipal governments, administer them, and provide a framework of governance for cities within the state. Every state has its own municipal act and some states have more than one municipal act, governing larger and smaller municipalities under different acts. Various processes including rules for elections, recruitment of staff, and demarcation of urban areas derived from the state municipal acts. Most Municipal Acts are enforced across all statutory urban areas in the respective states except the cantonment areas. The Government of India had issued a Model Municipal Law in 2003 which aimed to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the municipal governments in the various states and bring them into conformity with the provisions of the 74th CAA.


Responsibilities of urban local bodies

The municipal bodies of India are vested with a long list of functions delegated to them by the state governments under their respective municipal legislations. The Twelfth Schedule of Constitution (Article 243 w) provides an illustrative list of ''eighteen functions'', that may be entrusted to the municipalities. Public health includes
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
,
sewerage Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drainage, drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, a ...
and
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
, eradication of communicable diseases etc.; welfare includes public facilities such as education,
recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
, etc.; regulatory functions related to prescribing and enforcing building regulations, encroachments on public land,
birth registration A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensui ...
and
death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
, etc.; public safety includes
fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...
,
street lighting A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...
, etc.; public works measures such as construction and maintenance of inner-city roads, etc.; and development functions related to
town planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
and development of commercial markets. In addition to the legally assigned functions, the sectoral departments of the state government often assign unilaterally, and on an agency basis, various functions such as
family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...
, nutrition and slum improvement, disease and Epidemic control, etc. Besides the traditional core functions of municipalities, it also includes development functions like planning for
economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
and
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
, urban
poverty alleviation Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics clas ...
programs, and promotion of cultural, educational, and aesthetic aspects. However, conformity legislation enacted by the state governments indicates wide variations in this regard. Whereas
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
,
Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
,
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
have included all the functions as enlisted in the Twelfth Schedule in their amended state municipal laws,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
has not made any changes in the existing list of municipal functions.
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
,
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
,
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
,
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
,
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
and
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
states have amended their municipal laws to add additional functions in the list of municipal functions as suggested in the twelfth schedule. There is a lot of difference in the assignment of obligatory and discretionary functions to the municipal bodies among the states. Whereas functions like planning for the social and economic development,
urban forestry Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming of care and ...
and protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects are obligatory functions for the municipalities of
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, in
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
these are discretionary functions. The provision of water supply and sewerage in several states has either been taken over by the state governments or transferred to state agencies. For example, in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, water supply and sewerage works are being carried out by the state-level Public Health Engineering Department or the Water Supply and Sewerage Boards, while liability for repayment of loans and maintenances are with the municipalities. Besides these state-level agencies, City Improvement Trusts and Urban Development Authorities, like
Delhi Development Authority The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is a planning authority created in 1957 under the provisions of the Delhi Development Act "to promote and secure the development of Delhi". It is responsible for planning, development and construction of h ...
(DDA), have been set up in a number of cities. These agencies usually undertake land acquisition and development works and take up remunerative projects such as markets and commercial complexes, etc. In terms of fiscal federalism, functions whose benefits largely confine to municipal jurisdictions and may be termed as the ''essentially municipal'' functions. Similarly, functions that involve substantial economics of scale or are of national interest may not be assigned to small local bodies. For valid reasons, certain functions of higher authorities are appropriate to be entrusted with the Municipalities – as if under principal-agent contracts and may be called ''agency'' functions that need to be financed by intergovernmental revenues. Thus instead of continuing the traditional distinction between ''obligatory'' and ''discretionary'' functions the municipal responsibilities may be grouped into ''essentially municipal'', ''joint'' and ''agency'' functions.


Suggested municipal functions

The suggested functions to municipal corporations, municipalities, and Nagar panchayats are listed in the table below.Reforming Municipal Finances: Some suggestions in the context of India's Decentralization Initiative, by Mohanty P.K., Urban India, January–June 1995.


Municipal Corporation

Nagar Nigam and other names in different states (translated as "Municipal Corporation/City Corporation") in India are state government formed departments that work for the development of a
metropolitan city A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...
, which has a population of more than 1 million. The growing population and urbanisation in various cities of India were in need of a local governing body that can work for providing necessary community services like health centres, educational institutes, and housing and property tax. They also replace street lights. They are formed under the Corporations Act of 1835 which mainly deals in providing essential services in a major city. Their elections are held once in five-year and the people choose the candidates. The largest corporations are in the eight metropolitan cities of India, namely
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
,
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
,
Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
, and
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
. These cities not only have a large population but are also the administrative as well as commercial centres of the country.


City Municipal Council

A Nagar Palika or Town Municipality is an urban local body that administers a city with a minimum population of 100,000 but less than 1,000,000. However, there are exceptions to that, as previously Nagar Palikas were constituted in urban centers with a population over 20,000 were reclassified as Nagar Palika even if their population was under 100,000. Under the Panchayati Raj system, it interacts directly with the state government, though it is administratively part of the district it is located in. Generally smaller district cities and bigger towns have a Nagar Palika. Municipalities are also a form of local self-government, entrusted with some duties and responsibilities, as enshrined and guided upon by the Constitutional (74th Amendment) Act, 1992.
Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...
is a city which is big but its population is 451,000 so it has a Nagar Palika. The members of the Nagar Palika are elected representatives for a term of five years. The town is divided into wards according to its population, and representatives are elected from each ward. The members elect a president among themselves to preside over and conduct meetings. A chief officer, along with officers like an engineer, sanitary inspector, health officer, and education officer who come from the state public service are appointed by the state government to control the administrative affairs of the Nagar Palika. City Municipal Councils are known regionaly by different names, including Town Municipal Council, Town Municipality, Nagar Palika, Nagarasabe, Purasabe, and Nagaraatchi.


Town Board

A
Nagar Panchayat A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...
or Town Board is a form of an urban political unit in India comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 11,000 and less than 25,000 inhabitants is classified as a "Nagar Panchayat". Each Nagar Panchayat has a committee consisting of a chairman with ward members. Membership consists of a minimum of ten elected ward members and three nominated members. The NAC members of the Nagar Panchayat are elected from the several wards of the Nagar Panchayat on the basis of adult franchise for a term of five years. There are seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, backward classes, and women. The Councillors or Ward Members are chosen by direct election from electoral wards in the Nagar Panchayats. Town boards are also known by different names depending on the region, including: Town Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat, Notified Area Council, Municipal Board, Nagar Panchayat, and Pura Panchayat.


See also

* List of municipal corporations in India *
Local government in India Local government in India refers to governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state.Local self-government means that residents in towns, villages and rural settlements are the people elect local councils and their heads authorising th ...
*
Municipal council (India) In India, a Municipal Council (also known as Municipality, Nagar Palika, or Nagar Palika Parishad) is an Urban Local Body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. However, there are exceptions to that, as previously Nagar Palikas co ...


References


External links


Official site of Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) Municipal Corporation

Official site of Ministry of Panchayat Raj, Govt of India

Official site of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Govt of India
{{Local government in India