Local Government

The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by Parliament in 1992 alongside the 73rd Amendment and came into force on 1 June 1993. It gave constitutional status to urban local government bodies — collectively called Nagarpalikas. In many ways, the 74th Amendment mirrors the 73rd Amendment, applying its provisions to urban areas. **What is an urban area?** The Census of India defines an urban area as having: (i) a minimum population of 5,000; (ii) at least 75 per cent of male working population engaged in non-agricultural occupations; and (iii) a density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km. As per the 2001 Census, nearly 28% of India's population lived in urban areas. **Types of Urban Local Bodies:** - Corporations (for large cities like Mumbai, Kolkata) - Town Municipalities (Municipal Councils) - Nagar Panchayats (for areas transitioning from rural to urban) **Constitutional Status and Structure:** The 74th Amendment Act added a new Part IX-A to the Constitution, titled 'The Municipalities', consisting of Articles 243-P to 243-ZG. The Act also added the Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution, which contains eighteen functional items for municipalities under Article 243-W. The act gave constitutional status to the municipalities and brought them under the purview of the justiciable part of the Constitution, meaning state governments are under constitutional obligation to adopt the new system of municipalities in accordance with the provisions of the act. **Provisions (parallel to 73rd Amendment):** - Direct elections to urban local bodies. - Reservations for women (one-third of total seats), Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and (optionally) OBCs — same pattern as PRIs. - Reservations apply to both ordinary seats and positions of Mayors/Presidents/Adhyakshas. - Transfer of functions from State to urban local bodies — the functions are listed in the Twelfth Schedule (not the Eleventh Schedule, which is for PRIs). - State Election Commissioner conducts elections and has superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of all elections to municipalities. - State Finance Commission reviews financial arrangements for both PRIs and urban local bodies every five years. **Numbers (as of text):** Over 100 city Corporations, 1,400 town Municipalities, over 2,000 Nagar Panchayats in urban India. More than 30 women Mayors in Corporations, over 500 women Adhyakshas of Town Municipalities, nearly 650 Nagar Panchayats headed by women. **Implementation challenge:** Like PRIs, urban local bodies also suffer from inadequate transfer of functions and financial dependence on State and central governments. Local bodies raise very little revenue of their own and depend heavily on grants — this limits their autonomy in practice. **Importance:** The 74th Amendment aimed at revitalising and strengthening the urban governments so that they function effectively as units of local government. The constitutional amendments have created uniformity in structure of both PRIs and Nagarpalikas across India. The presence of these local institutions creates a platform for people's participation in government. The significant number of women in positions of leadership through mandatory reservation is a transformative outcome.

The Gram Sabha is the foundational democratic body at the village level, created by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. It comprises all adult members registered as voters in the Panchayat area. Unlike the Gram Panchayat (which is an elected body with a fixed number of members), the Gram Sabha is a general assembly of all eligible voters in the village. The 73rd Amendment mandated the creation of the Gram Sabha — its existence is constitutionally required. However, the role and functions of the Gram Sabha are decided by State legislation, which means different States may empower their Gram Sabhas differently. **Significance:** - The Gram Sabha is the lowest and most direct form of democratic participation — it represents the idea that democracy means decentralisation of power down to ordinary people. - It is the platform through which common citizens are involved in decision-making concerning their lives, needs, and development. - It exercises a degree of accountability over the Gram Panchayat. **Special Role in Scheduled (Adivasi) Areas:** Under the PESA Act (1996, extending PRI provisions to Scheduled Fifth Schedule Areas), the Gram Sabha has been given significantly more powers. Elected village Panchayats in these areas must get the consent of the Gram Sabha on many matters. This protects traditional community customs — particularly regarding common resources like forests and small water reservoirs — while introducing modern elected bodies. The idea is that local traditions of self-government should be protected even as elections are introduced. **In Practice:** The chapter acknowledges that Gram Sabhas do not always meet regularly and their functioning varies significantly across States. The gap between constitutional promise and actual practice is a major issue in the working of local government.

Urban local government in India refers to the governance of urban areas by the people through their elected representatives. The jurisdiction of urban local governments is limited to specific urban areas demarcated by state governments. India has eight types of urban local governments established under different constitutional and legislative frameworks. These vary in their composition, powers, territorial scope, and administrative structure. While municipal corporations and municipalities are the primary elected bodies created under the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, other types such as notified area committees, town area committees, cantonment boards, townships, port trusts, and special purpose agencies serve specific administrative or functional roles. Some urban bodies are wholly elected, others are nominated, and some have a mixed composition. The system was constitutionalised through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, which gave constitutional status to municipalities and brought them under the justiciable part of the Constitution, making state governments constitutionally obligated to adopt this system.

A municipality is a form of urban local government established for the administration of towns and smaller cities in India. Municipalities are created and governed in accordance with the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, which came into force on 1 June 1993. This Act granted constitutional status to municipalities and brought them under the justiciable part of the Constitution, placing state governments under constitutional obligation to adopt the new system of municipalities. The 74th Amendment Act provides for three types of municipalities to be constituted in every state: a nagar panchayat for transitional areas, a municipal council for smaller urban areas, and a municipal corporation for larger urban areas. The governor determines the classification of an area as transitional, smaller urban, or larger urban based on factors including population, population density, revenue generation for local administration, percentage of employment in non-agricultural activities, economic importance, and other relevant factors. Like municipal corporations, municipalities also have three authorities: the council (the deliberative and legislative wing), standing committees (created to facilitate council functioning), and a chief executive officer responsible for day-to-day general administration. Unlike the mayor of a municipal corporation who is primarily an ornamental figure, the president or chairman of a municipality plays a significant role and is the pivot of municipal administration, enjoying executive powers in addition to presiding over council meetings. All members of a municipality shall be elected directly by the people through territorial constituencies known as wards. The 74th Amendment provides for reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in proportion to their population, and requires reservation of not less than one-third of total seats for women. Every municipality has a five-year term of office, though it can be dissolved before completion of its term.

The Twelfth Schedule is a constitutional schedule added to the Indian Constitution through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. It contains eighteen functional items that define the scope of work and responsibilities of municipalities in India. The schedule deals with Article 243-W of the Constitution, which pertains to the powers, authority and responsibilities of municipalities. By listing these functional items, the Twelfth Schedule establishes the legal and constitutional framework for municipal governance, delineating the areas in which urban local bodies are expected to exercise their powers and provide services to their constituencies.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by Parliament in 1992 and came into force on 24 April 1993. It gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) — rural local governments. Before this, local government was merely a State subject mentioned in the Directive Principles as a non-justiciable advisory directive; Panchayats had no constitutional guarantee. The 73rd Amendment implemented recommendations from several key committees. The P.K. Thungon Committee (1988) had recommended constitutional recognition for local government bodies and periodic elections. Prior committees—Balwant Rai Mehta (1957), Ashok Mehta (1977–78), G.V.K. Rao (1985), and L.M. Singhvi (1986)—had also advocated for revitalising Panchayati Raj. The Gadgil Committee (1988) recommendations formed the basis for drafting the constitutional amendment bill. **Three-tier Structure:** All States now have a uniform three-tier Panchayati Raj structure: 1. **Gram Panchayat** (village level): directly elected representatives. 2. **Mandal / Block / Taluka / Panchayat Samiti** (intermediary level): the intermediary level need not be constituted in smaller States (population not exceeding 20 lakh). 3. **Zilla Parishad** (district level): covering the entire rural area of the District. At higher levels, chairpersons are elected indirectly by and from amongst the elected members. **Gram Sabha:** The 73rd Amendment mandated the creation of the Gram Sabha — comprising all adult members registered as voters in the Panchayat area. It is described as "the embodiment of direct democracy" and its role and functions are decided by State legislation. **Elections:** All three levels have directly elected members. Chairpersons at intermediate and district levels are elected indirectly; chairpersons at village level are elected in a manner determined by state legislature. Term is five years. If a State government dissolves a Panchayat before its five-year term, fresh elections must be held within six months (unless the remainder is less than six months). A reconstituted panchayat after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder of the dissolved panchayat's term, not a full five-year period. **Reservations:** - One-third of positions reserved for women at all three levels — including positions of Chairpersons (Adhyakshas/Sarpanch) at all levels. - Reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, at all three levels. - States may also provide reservations for OBCs (Backward Castes) if they find it necessary. - Important: Women's reservation applies within reserved SC/ST categories too — so a position may be simultaneously reserved for a woman from SC/ST. - SC/ST reservations cease after the period specified in Article 334 (presently 70 years, i.e., till 2020). - Exception: SC reservation does not apply to Arunachal Pradesh (added by 83rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 2000). **Transfer of Functions:** 29 subjects from the State List (listed in the Eleventh Schedule) are identified to be transferred to PRIs. These include agriculture, land reforms, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, fisheries, social forestry, minor forest produce, small-scale industries, rural housing, drinking water, roads, rural electrification, non-conventional energy sources, poverty alleviation, education, technical/vocational education, adult/non-formal education, libraries, cultural activities, markets/fairs, health/sanitation, family welfare, women/child development, social welfare, welfare of weaker sections, public distribution system, and maintenance of community assets. Actual transfer depends on State legislation — each State decides how many of the 29 subjects to transfer. **State Election Commissioner:** States must appoint a State Election Commission with a State Election Commissioner (autonomous, like the Election Commissioner of India) to conduct elections to PRIs. The SEC cannot be removed except in the manner and on grounds prescribed for removal of a state High Court judge. The State Election Commissioner is NOT under the control of the Election Commission of India. **State Finance Commission:** States must appoint a State Finance Commission once every five years to examine the financial position of local governments, review distribution of revenues between State and local governments, recommend measures to improve panchayat finances, and advise on other financial matters referred by the Governor. **Adivasi Areas:** The 73rd Amendment was not made applicable to tribal areas in many States. In 1996, a separate Act (PESA — Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas) extended provisions to these areas, with more powers given to Gram Sabhas and elected Panchayats required to obtain Gram Sabha consent on many matters. **Numbers (as of text):** Nearly 500 Zilla Panchayats, about 6,000 block/intermediary Panchayats, and 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats in rural India. More than 32 lakh members elected every five years; at least 10 lakh are women. **Part IX and Constitutional Framework:** The Act added Part IX ("The Panchayats") consisting of Articles 243 to 243-O and the Eleventh Schedule (29 functional items) to the Constitution. It gave practical shape to Article 40 of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The Act distinguishes between compulsory (mandatory) and voluntary (discretionary) provisions; States are constitutionally obliged to adopt compulsory provisions, while voluntary provisions allow consideration of local factors. **Decentralization and Democratic Debate:** With the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments, the base of democratic debate widened and there is greater push towards decentralization. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) noted that though India's overall record as a working democracy is worthy, the bases of democratic debate have widened with these amendments.

A municipal corporation is the largest and most complex form of urban local government in India, established for the administration of big cities. Municipal corporations are created by acts of state legislatures in states and by acts of Parliament in union territories. They may be governed by a common act applicable to all corporations in a state or by a separate act for each corporation. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 provides the constitutional framework for municipal corporations, placing them within Part IX-A of the Constitution (Articles 243-P to 243-ZG) and bringing them under the justiciable part of the Constitution, thereby imposing constitutional obligations on state governments to adopt the municipal corporation system in accordance with the Act's provisions.