About Municipalities

Municipal bodies have a long history in India. Municipalities in India came into form in the British era. The first of the municipalities in India was in the city of Chennai as the Municipal Corporation in the year 1688. Corporation was set up to levy certain direct taxes and to provide certain amenities like education, cleaning the roads etc. This was followed by the setting up of the subsequent municipalities in India in the states of Mumbai and Kolkata in 1726. The Constitution of India has made detailed provisions for ensuring protection of democracy in Parliament and in the state legislatures.

In order to provide for a common framework for urban local bodies and help to strengthen the functioning of the bodies as effective democratic units of self-government, Parliament enacted the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 relating to municipalities in 1992. The Act received the assent of the President on 20 April 1993. The Government of India notified 1 June 1993 as the date from which the said Act came into force. A new part IX-A relating to the Municipalities has been incorporated in the Constitution to provide for among other things, constitution of three types of Municipalities, i.e., Nagar Panchayats for areas in transition from a rural area to urban area, Municipal Councils for smaller urban areas and Municipal Corporation for large urban areas, fixed duration of municipalities.