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Urban areas contribute a considerable part to the economic development of a country. So, it becomes necessary that the administration must focus on building up the urban areas efficiently. Not only their development, but these areas also play a significant role in taking the rural hinterlands to the path of economic development. To keep the facilities in line with the demands of the people in urban areas, there is a need for an urban body to take care of the demands of the people. This is where the role of municipal bodies comes into being.
Interestingly, we have provisions for village-level bodies in our Indian Constitution but not for the urban areas. Consequently, a requirement was felt to keep the municipal governance for the urban areas. This is when the authorities passed the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act to constitutionalize the system of Urban Local Government, also known as the Municipalities.
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About 74th Constitutional Amendment Act
Introduced in 1993, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act is the Act that gave the Urban local bodies distinct powers and superiorities, thus constitutionalising the urban local body. With the introduction of this act, an institutional framework was created to focus on the grassroots level and ensure efficient administration of the urban areas through self-governing urban local bodies.
It is with this act that the urban local body, Municipalities, came under the purview of the provisions mentioned under the Indian Constitution. The main aim was to strengthen and revitalise the urban local bodies so that developments can occur at all the levels of the nation. The Amendment Act added a new part to the Constitution, Part IX-A, which consisted of Articles from 243-P to 243-ZG, ensuring uniformity in the laws made for the municipalities.
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The 73rd and 74th Amendment Act: Differences
It lies in the very area of focus of both these acts. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act focuses on the working of the Panchayati Raj System at the village level areas. On the other hand, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act focuses on the urban local bodies, the municipalities. Both these Amendment Acts have proved to be the milestone for the efficient decentralisation of powers at various levels of the country.
The impact of the 74th Amendment on the local administration is the fact that this had increased the participation of people in the governance of the society as a whole. After the central and the state levels of government, adding the third tier to the administering authority keeps the administration more effective. Apart from that, the act has also added a uniformity in the legislation or the laws for the various governmental bodies at the urban level.
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Characteristic Features of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1993
The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act has numerous distinct features that provided the municipalities with the title and legality that was necessary for their upliftment in the urban society.
1) Types of Municipalities
Municipalities can be categorised into three distinct categories of Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Corporation and the Municipal Council.
- The Nagar Panchayat can be found in those areas that are on the verge of transition from rural to urban areas
- Next is the Municipal Council which is responsible for urban areas that are small in area
- Contrasting to the Municipal Council is the Municipal Corporation which takes care of the large urban areas
2) Composition of Municipalities
To fill seats in the municipalities, elections are conducted. It is here that the municipal areas are further categorised into different wards or territorial constituencies. Different people are elected from these individual constituencies which make up part of a municipal body in that urban area. It is in the hands of the state legislature to decide the manner of conducting elections for the urban local bodies.
3) Reservation of Seats
The authorities have made numerous prerequisites to provide an acceptable representation of the weaker and backward classes of society. In the case of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe, they would have those many seats in the municipality, relative to their population in the municipal areas. Like the village-level bodies, women of the backward category here too have 1/3rd representation or quotas for their seat in the urban local body.
4) Duration of Municipalities
Like the Panchayati Raj bodies, the municipalities also have a tenure period of five years. Elections for the new municipalities should be conducted before the ending date of the existing municipal body. However, if the body is dissolved before the decided tenure of five years, then the election for the municipalities should be conducted within a time span of six months.
5) Powers and Functions
It is the State Legislature that decides the extent of the powers and functions that are to be handed over to the Municipal bodies. The powers are bestowed to the Municipalities keeping in mind the very necessity of this body in the urban areas.
6) Finance Commission
The Governor of the state holds the responsibility of setting up a State Finance Commission to look after the finances of the urban areas. It is the Consolidated Funds of the State that funds the activities of the State authorities and the urban level bodies under the state.
7) State Election Commissions
State Election Commission is the body that takes care of the Independent elections which are conducted every five years, for electing the municipal bodies in different urban areas of the state government. The responsibility of controlling, maintaining, and preparation of the electoral rolls lies in the hands of the State Election Commission.
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Conclusion
If we have to closely evaluate the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, then perhaps the act has significantly contributed to the development of the urban local bodies. Further, it has also succeeded in ensuring transparency for these bodies that have existed at the urban level. Urban local bodies have indeed been empowered with their abilities of decision making, ensuring financial autonomy and acts of revenue generation for the fulfilment of the demands and necessities of the people.
