BMC Full Form

BMC is the acronym for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation which is the local self governing body of Mumbai. As of today, it is the richest municipal corporation in India and works towards the development of the people in the country. It is also the largest municipal corporation in terms of the population that it administers. In order to understand the significance of BMC, one should read about the municipal corporation of India discussed below.

Municipal Governance in India

The municipal setup of India as seen today dates back to the pre-independence era in the year of 1664 with the formation of a municipal government in Kochi. This was established by the Dutch but was revoked after the power of Dutch in the country decreased. 

The municipal corporation of Bombay was formed by the British colonial government in India in the year 1726 after the inception of the municipal Corporation of Madras in the year of 1687. Since the year of existence of the BMC, it has experienced immense growth because of the city being commercial as well as the political centre of the country. Although municipal corporations played a major role in development of cities since the time of their formation, their democratic presence in the eyes of government was recognized in the year of 1882 when the former viceroy of India, Lord Ripon gave powers to the municipal corporations which made him known as the father of local self government in India. 

After the enactment of the Government of India Act in the year 1919, municipal elections started taking place giving the body a more democratic and powerful presence in the country.

74th Constitutional Amendment Act 

It should be kept in mind that even though municipal bodies had elections and powers, they were not recognized in the constitution. This happened in the year of 1992 when constitutional validity was given to municipal bodies and the local governments of India. After the constitutional validation of these bodies, it was specified that only three types of municipal bodies will exist in the country.

• Municipal Corporations- Also known as the Nagar Nigam, municipal corporations are the authorities which administer a large metropolitan city with a population of more than ten lakh in India. It should always be kept in mind that municipal bodies are divided and authorised to administer on the basis of the population and not geographical or political significance.
• Municipal Council- Municipal council which is also known by the name of Nagar Palika or municipality is the local self governing body administering a large population of more than one lakh but less than ten lakh. It is smaller in terms of population but has the same administrative setup as that of the municipal corporation.
• Notified Area Council- It is the smallest form of municipal government which exists in a town with the population of more than 11,000 but less than 25,000. It is also known by the name of Nagar panchayat In India.

A municipal government irrespective of its size is directly elected by the people it administers. Every part of the city or town is divided in a certain number of wards and every ward has one representation in the government. 

This leads to every ward electing one person on their behalf to represent and this person is known as a corporate who was elected for a time span of five years in normal circumstances. Every state has many municipal bodies which work for the upliftment of their city or town but the powers are different in every state. Every state government in India provides a certain amount of power and authority to its municipal governments and it has to work with that without violating the limits set by the state government.

BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation)

BMC which stands for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is the local self governing body of Mumbai which works towards the development of the people of Mumbai and some of its suburbs. Since Mumbai is one of the most prominent cities of the country in terms of revenue as well as growth , the municipal corporation is considered significant here. BMC was incorporated in the year of 1888 with the purpose of promoting development at root level in the city. 

BMC directly deals with the state government as well as people of the city making it one of the most efficient links between the two. It is the largest municipal corporation of the country in many terms, one of which is the budget that it gets from the government. It is the richest municipal corporation of the country and plays a significant role at national level for its contribution towards the growth of the country. The head office of BMC is opposite the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway Terminus and is a heritage site because of its breathtakingly beautiful building of historical and architectural prominence.

Administrative structure of BMC

The municipal corporation of Mumbai works in line with the 74th amendment act of the constitution which defines the working of all the municipal governments. It has wards in the city where people elect their representatives and these representatives become corporators in the BMC. The governing body plays a very active role in civic development and the elections are considered as important as that of the legislative assembly in the city.

The election takes place every five years, which is the time span of the ruling party in the municipal corporation. Once a party has won , it gets to choose a Mayor who must be an IAS officer. There is also a position of Deputy Mayor who can fill in the absence of mayor. As of today, there are 227 seats in BMC and the motto is ‘’Where there is Righteousness, there shall be Victory’’. 

Responsibilities of BMC

The island city of Bombay is the commercial core of the country and BMC is at the core of its everyday life. Each and every basic necessity is handled by the BMC in Mumbai so much so that its absence can make the city go haywire.

 BMC looks after the sanitation and hygiene facilities in the city . It looks after the hospitals as well as roads. The flyovers and toll revenues are under the jurisdiction of the BMC. All the parks and public spaces as well as all the waste disposal and water supply systems are controlled under this authority. BMC is also responsible for recording all the births and deaths in the city. To sum up , BMC is authorized for the maintenance as well the upliftment of everyday  life of people in Mumbai. 

Conclusion

Since the time of its inception in the year 1888, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has been working towards the all round development of the city and its suburbs. BMC is known to have unbiased behavior towards its people and has taken steps for their growth irrespective of the occasional criticism that it attracts. It is one of the most prominent examples of the positive aspects of decentralization of power in India where people are actually experiencing growth in terms of basic necessities.