Municipalities

In urban areas, the municipalities are described as local self-government units, constitutionalised through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. This system in India was established before the invasion of Britishers in 1688 Madras. The second municipal corporation was established in 1726 in Bombay, now known as Mumbai. 

Historical background of the municipality 

In India, the first-ever municipal corporation was formed in 1688 in Madras, soon before the Britishers entered India. The second municipal corporation came into power in 1726 in Calcutta and Bombay. Lord Rippon, then Indian Viceroy, issued the resolution of the Local Self-Government in the year 1882. Later, he was named as Father of Local Self Government in India. Mahatma Gandhi was a strong supporter of Gram Swaraj. Therefore, he requested to transfer the rights to the masses in the rural areas. 

Constitutional provisions of the municipality 

As per the Indian constitution, there are no principles formed for establishing the local self-government except in the article 40. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 offers a basic understanding of the decentralisation of authorities and powers to different municipal bodies at various levels. It holds two more articles, namely the articles 243ZG and 243P. Also, the 12th constitution schedule was added, consisting of 18 items in total. 

The act offered constitutional recognition to Municipalities. As per article 243ZD, District Planning Committee is formed at the district level whereas Metropolitan Planning Committee Article 243ZB in all metropolitan areas. Apart from this, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 also states that there should at least be two committees in each state.

Municipality Evolution

On 2nd October 1952, the Community Development Programme started. In 1953, the National Extension Scheme was launched, which was an experiment. However, it failed. Several committees, such as Ashok Mehta Committee in 1977, Balwant Mehta Committee in 1957, L.M. Singhvi Committee in 1986 and GVK Rao Committee in 1985, were established to look after the issues regarding democratic decentralisation in India. 

Based on the report released, the 64th Amendment Bill was passed, which, however, also failed to provide the necessary support. Later in 1990, one more attempt was made to pass the bill but even that was proven unsuccessful as the parliament dissolved. Finally, in 1992, the bill was given as the 73rd and 74th Amendment Act, 1992. During this time, P.V. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister of India. 

Constitution of municipality 

According to Clause 234K, every state needs to have self-government institutions referred to as municipalities. Further, municipalities are classified into three different types. These include- 

• Nagar Panchayat in areas transforming from rural to urban 
• Municipal Corporation for developed urban areas 
• Municipal Council for underdeveloped or developing urban areas. 

Composition of municipalities 

The municipal area people directly elect the members of the municipalities. The chairpersons of the municipality will be elected in a way suggested by the legislature. 

Seat reservations 

From the total number of direct election seats, 1/3rd of the seats need to be reserved for women only. It also includes the reserved seats of S.C. and S.T. women. To promote the population of S.T. and S.C. in municipalities, Part IX reservations of seats need to be formed in favour of the S.C. and S.T. 

Municipalities Duration 

Every municipality gets to complete 5 years and is given several reasonable opportunities to bring improvements before their dissolution. The next municipality elections should be done before the completion of 5 years. If there is a dissolution of the municipality, elections need to take place within six months of dissolution.

Urban governments types 

There are mainly eight different types of urban government in India. These are as follows – 

• Notified Area Committee
• Special Purpose Agency
• Town Area Committee 
• Municipal corporation
• Cantonment Board
• Municipality
• Township
• Port Trust

Municipal Personnel 

In India, there are three types of municipal personnel. These include – 

• Separate Personnel System
• Integrated Personnel System
• Unified Personnel System

Municipal Revenue

The urban local bodies earn from these five sources – 

• Non-Tax Revenue
• Tax Revenue
• Devolution 
• Grants
• Loans

Conclusion 

Mahatma Gandhi once said the future of our country majorly lies in rural areas; the local government is taking adequate steps to meet the needs of their people. The municipalities are described as the local self-government units, which were constitutionalised through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. Urban local government is a term referred to the urban area governance by the people through their leader. It came into existence way before Britishers entered India.