A municipal corporation is a type of local government in India that administers urban areas with a population of more than one million. The growing population and urbanization of various Indian cities highlighted the need for a type of local governing body that could provide services such as healthcare, education, housing and transport by collecting property taxes and administering grants from the state government. The Municipal corporation carries out its function through well organized divisions or departments. For example water supply and sewage disposal Undertaking, Housing Board, Education Department and Electricity Department. Each of these Departments are looked after by experienced and qualified persons. The 74th Amendment Act defined the formations of urban local governments and their activities.

Other names for municipal corporations

Municipal corporations are referred to by different names in different states (due to regional language variations), all of which are translated to "municipal corporation" in English. These names include ''Nagar Nigam'' (in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,

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 Ben ...

, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and

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 ...

), ''Nagara Nigama'' (in Punjab), ''Mahanagar Palika'' (in Goa and Maharashtra), ''Mahanagara Palike'' (in Karnataka), ''Mahanagar Seva Sadan'' (in Gujarat), ''Pouro Nigom'' (in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur t ...

), ''Pouro Nigam'' (in West Bengal), ''Pur Porishod'' (in

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east ...

), ''Nagar Palika Nigam'' (in

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prades ...

and Madhya Pradesh), ''Nagara Paalaka Samstha'' or ''Mahaanagara Paalaka Samstha'' (in

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 ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

), ''Nagara Sabha'' (in Kerala) and ''Maanagaraatchi'' (in Tamil Nadu).{{Citation needed, date=February 2022 The

Vadodara Municipal Corporation The "''Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan''" or Vadodara Municipal Corporation or VMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act, 1949, is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Vadodar ...

of the city of Vadodara in Gujarat is typically called by the name "Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan" and the Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation of the city of

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 ...

in Karnataka is typically called "Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike". The detailed structure of these urban bodies varies from state to state, as per the laws passed by the state legislatures, but the basic structure and function is almost the same.

Composition

The area administered by a municipal corporation is known as a municipal area. Each municipal area is divided into territorial constituencies known as wards. A municipal corporation is made up of a wards committee. Each ward has one seat in the wards committee. Members are elected to the wards committee on the basis of adult franchise for a term of five years. These members are known as councillors or corporators. The number of wards in a municipal area is determined by the population of the city. Some seats are reserved for scheduled castes,

scheduled tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are design ...

backward classes The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, ...

and women. A state can choose to constitute additional committees to carry functions of urban local governance, in addition to the wards committees. In addition to the councillors elected from the wards, the legislature of a state may also choose to make provisions for the representation of persons having special knowledge or experience in municipal administration, the MPs or MLAs representing the constituencies which comprise wholly or partly the municipal area, and/or the commissioners of additional committees that the state may have constituted. If a state legislature appoints a person from the first category to a wards committee, that individual will not have the right to vote in the meetings of the municipal corporation, while MPs, MLAs and commissioners do have the right to vote in meetings.

Superlatives

The largest corporations are in the ten major metropolitan cities of India, viz. Mumbai, Delhi,

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, in the northern part of Southern India. ...

, Kolkata,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

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 (p ...

, Lucknow,

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as ...

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation ( help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations ...

. The

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC; IAST: ), also known as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. It is India's richest municipal corporation. The BM ...

(BMC) of the city of Mumbai in Maharashtra is the richest municipal corporation in India.{{cite web , url=http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/15/20100720201007200513356955a0576d5/Gold--beautiful.html , archive-url=https://archive.today/20120903164108/http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/15/20100720201007200513356955a0576d5/Gold--beautiful.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=2012-09-03 , title=Gold & beautiful, News - Cover Story , publisher=Mumbai Mirror , access-date=2010-07-21 Greater Chennai Corporation of the city of

in Tamil Nadu is the oldest municipal corporation in India and second oldest municipal corporation in the world only behind City of London Corporation in United Kingdom.{{cite news, title= Chennai Corporation to celebrate 320 years , url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/23/stories/2008092357680100.htm, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923115809/http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/23/stories/2008092357680100.htm, url-status=dead, archive-date=23 September 2008, first=Kannal, last=Achutan, date=23 September 2008, work= The Hindu, location=Chennai, access-date=2012-09-01

Administration

The Mayor is the head of the municipal corporation, but in most states and territories of India the role is largely ceremonial as executive powers are vested in the Municipal Commissioner. The office of the Mayor combines a functional role of chairing the Corporation meeting as well as ceremonial role associated with being the First Citizen of the city. As per the amended Municipal Corporation Act of 1888, a Deputy Mayor is appointed by the Mayor. The tenure of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor is five years. However, in seven states:

, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,

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 Sc ...

, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand; Mayors are directly elected by the people and thus hold the executive powers of the municipal corporations. Executive officers monitor the implementation of all the programs related to planning and development of the corporation with the coordination of mayor and councilors.

Functions

The Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution lists the subjects that municipal corporations are responsible for. Corporations may be entrusted to perform functions and implement schemes including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule. * Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings . * Urban planning including town planning . * Planning for economic and social development . * Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes . * Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management . * Fire services . * Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects. * Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the handicapped and mentally disabled * Slum improvement and upgradation. * Repair street lights * Urban poverty alleviation. * Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds. * Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects. * Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoriums. * Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals. * Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths. * Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences. * Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries

Sources of revenue

* Water supply bills * Property taxes * Rents from municipal corporation-owned markets, houses, plazas, etc. * Taxes from commercial vehicles registered in the city * Grants provided by the respective state governments.

Municipal corporation headquarters of major metropolitan cities

File:MCD HQ.jpg,

Municipal Corporation of Delhi Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is the municipal corporation that governs most of Delhi, India. The MCD is among the largest municipal bodies in the world providing civic services to an estimated population of more than 11 million cit ...

,
Delhi,

National Capital Territory of 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 ...

File:Bombay Municipal Corporation.JPG,

Greater 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-m ...

, Maharashtra File:Kolkata Municipal Corporation - Kolkata 2013-04-15 6065.JPG, Kolkata Municipal Corporation,
Kolkata, West Bengal File:Ripon building (12232197345).jpg, Greater Chennai Corporation,
Greater Chennai, Tamil Nadu File:Bbmp..jpg, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike,
Greater Bengaluru, Karnataka File:GHMC Main Building.jpg, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation,

Greater Hyderabad The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, commonly known as the GHMC is the civic body that oversees Hyderabad, the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the local government for the cities of Hyderabad and Secund ...

References

{{Reflist {{Local government in India Local government in India