C.10. Urban local government
Urban local government alludes to the populace governing an urban region through their elected officials. Local urban bodies now have constitutional status thanks to the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992.
74th Amendment to the Constitution added “The Municipalities” part IX-A and a new Twelfth Schedule with 18 useful elements for municipalities were added by this measure.
The main elements of this Act can be divided into two categories: mandatory and optional.
Some of the mandatory clauses that apply to all States include:
- The establishment of Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils, and Municipal Corporations in Transitional Areas, Smaller Urban Areas, and Larger Urban Areas, correspondingly;
- Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in urban local bodies, usually according to their population;
- Reserving up to one-third of the seats for women;
- Elections for urban local self-governing units will be held by the State Election Commission, which was established to oversee elections for Panchayati raj bodies (see 73rd Amendment);
- The local urban self-governing bodies’ financial affairs will be investigated by the State Finance Commission, which was established to handle the finances of the Panchayati Raj organizations;
- Urban municipal self-governing entities have a five-year term limit, and if dissolved early, new elections must be held within six months;