Application of Urban Local Governance Provisions to Union Territories

The President of India is empowered to direct the provisions of this act that shall apply to any union territory subject to such exceptions and modifications as he might specify.

Exempted Areas under the 74th Amendment Act

The Act doesn’t apply to the scheduled areas and tribal areas in the state. It shall also not affect the functions and powers of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council of West Bengal.

District Planning Committee

The District Planning Committees or the DPCs are constituted at the district level. The DPCs are tasked with the consolidation of plans prepared by the panchayats and municipalities in the district. They also prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole. The state legislature makes provisions with respect to the following matters:

• The composition of district planning committees.
• The manner in which the elections shall be carried out for the members to be elected to such committees.
• The functions of such committees in relation to the district planning.
• The manner of the elections of the chairpersons of such committees.

The act directs that four-fifths of the members of the district planning committee must be elected by the elected members of the district panchayat and municipalities in the district from amongst themselves. The representation of such members in the committee must be in proportion to the ratio between the rural and urban populations in the district.

Factors to be considered while preparing draft development plan:

The chairperson of the committee shall forward the development plan to the state government. While preparing the draft development plan, the district planning committee must provide due attention to the following:

• Matters of common interest between the Panchayats and the Municipalities include spatial planning, sharing of water and other physical and natural resources, the integrated development of infrastructure and environmental conservation.
• The type of available resources whether financial or any other type.
• Consultancy to any such institutions and organisations as the governor may specify.

Metropolitan Planning Committee

The Act provides that every metropolitan area shall have a metropolitan planning committee. The committee shall prepare a development plan. The state legislature shall make provisions with respect to the following:

• The composition of such committees.
• The manner of election of members and chairpersons of such committees.
• The representation in such committees of the central government, state government and of other organisations as may be deemed necessary for carrying out functions assigned to such committees.
• The functions of such committees in relation to planning and coordination for the metropolitan area.

The Act provides that two-thirds of the members of the metropolitan planning committee shall be elected by the elected members of the municipalities and chairpersons of the panchayats in the metropolitan area amongst themselves. 

Factors to be considered while preparing developmental plans:

While preparing the plans, the metropolitan planning committee shall consider the following:

• The plans prepared by the Municipalities and the Panchayats in the Metropolitan area.
• Matters of common interests between Municipalities and the Panchayats. For instance, sharing of water, or other natural and physical resources.
• The objectives and priorities set by the Government of India and the government of the state.
• The extent and nature of investments likely to be made in the Metropolitan area by agencies of the Government of State and other available resources whether financial or otherwise.  
• Consultations with any such institutions and organisations as the governor may specify.

Judicial Non-Interference in Municipal Electoral Matters

The act bars the court from interfering in the matters of elections of municipalities.

• The act declares that any law relating to the  delimitation of constituencies or allotment of seats to such constituencies cannot be questioned in any court.
• The act also directs that no election to any municipality can be questioned except by an election petition presented to such authority and manner as provided by the state legislature.

Twelfth Schedule: Functions and Responsibilities of Municipal Bodies

Municipal bodies are empowered by the twelfth schedule to perform functions in relation to matters mentioned therein.

The following are the 18 functional items mentioned in the twelfth schedule-

Type of Urban Governments in India

Urban Local Bodies can be classified into eight types in India on the basis of their formation, composition, and mandate of their functions.

Municipal Corporation

The Municipal corporations in India are mostly formed for the administration of big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Bhopal, etc. Before independence, there were only three municipal corporations in India (In Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta). A municipal corporation in a state is established by the act of the respective state legislature and it is established in Union Territories by an act of the parliament.

Composition: The Municipal Corporation comprises three authorities: the council, a standing committee and the commissioner. 

• Council: 
  • It is the deliberative and legislative wing of the corporation.
  • The council consists of councillors who are directly elected by the people. Persons who have knowledge or experience of municipal administration can also be nominated to the council.
  • The council is headed by a Mayor. He is assisted by a Deputy Mayor. In the majority of states, the mayor is elected for a one-year renewable term. The mayor is the formal head of the corporation and presides over the meetings of the council.
• Standing Committees: 
  • They facilitate the working of the council.
  • They deal with education, health, public works, finance, taxation etc. They can make decisions in relation to work allocated to them. 
• Commissioner:
  • He/she is the chief executive authority of the corporation.
  • He/she is appointed by the state government and is generally a member of the IAS.
  • He/she is entrusted with implementation of decisions taken by the council and the standing committees. 

The municipal corporations have more powers, greater financial autonomy and wider functions as compared to other urban local bodies.