74th Constitutional Amendment

Notes

The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 (in force 1 June 1993) gave constitutional status to urban local bodies, adding Part IXA (Art. 243P-243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule (18 functions: urban planning, regulation of land use, water supply, public health and sanitation, urban poverty alleviation, slum improvement, fire services).

Types of municipalities (Art. 243Q)

Nagar Panchayat: a transitional area (rural to urban).
Municipal Council: a smaller urban area.
Municipal Corporation: a larger urban area.
Other urban bodies: Cantonment Boards (Cantonments Act, 2006), township, port trust, notified area committee, special purpose agencies.

Salient features

Direct elections to all seats from territorial constituencies called wards.
Ward Committees in municipalities with population of 3 lakh or more (Art. 243S).
Reservation: SC/ST in proportion to population; one-third of seats for women.
Five-year term; elections within six months of dissolution.
State Election Commission conducts elections; State Finance Commission reviews finances (Art. 243Y).
District Planning Committee (Art. 243ZD) consolidates plans of Panchayats and municipalities; Metropolitan Planning Committee (Art. 243ZE) for metropolitan areas with population of 10 lakh or more.
Industrial townships are exempt.

Related missions: JNNURM (2005), Smart Cities Mission (2015), AMRUT, Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).

Issues: weak finances and own revenues, parastatals taking over functions, weak mayors (many with short tenures), poor planning capacity, and State reluctance to devolve functions.

Key Points

Part IXA (Art. 243P-243ZG); Twelfth Schedule (18 functions).
Three types: Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation.
Ward Committees for population of 3 lakh or more.
DPC (Art. 243ZD) and MPC (Art. 243ZE).
In force from 1 June 1993.

MCQs

Q1. The Twelfth Schedule deals with: (a) Powers of Panchayats (b) Functions of municipalities (c) Fifth Schedule areas (d) Languages Ans: (b). 18 functions.

Q2. Ward Committees are mandatory in municipalities with a population of: (a) 1 lakh or more (b) 3 lakh or more (c) 5 lakh or more (d) 10 lakh or more Ans: (b).

Q3. The Metropolitan Planning Committee is provided for in: (a) Art. 243ZD (b) Art. 243ZE (c) Art. 243Q (d) Art. 243S Ans: (b).