Municipal Corporations or Large Urban Area

3. Municipal Corporations or Large Urban Area

An Urban area with a population exceeding 3, 00,000 and having potentialities for international trade and commerce can be constituted into a Municipal Corporation (This criteria differs from state to state).

In the light of the vast experience gained over several decades of the functioning of the elected local authorities what can be suggested is that there should be clear demarcation of responsibilities rather than powers among different political and administrative authorities of Urban Local Government in order to ensure greater accountability of the ULGs to the citizens.

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are among the well-organised States in enforcing an efficient urban administration in the States, despite the poor financial position of certain Urban Local Governments. Each higher grade Municipality is organised in such a way that it functions like a State Government writ small, since it encompasses all the subjects of the State Government and even more.

In the year 1965, the Government thought it desirable to enforce a uniform system of administration in the entire state duly enacting a common law. Thus, the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965 (A.P.M. Act, 1965) was enacted which came into force on April 1, 1965 in order to securing uniformity in the laws prevailing in both the regions, and with a view to providing more scope for the elected representatives on the Municipal Councils to have greater voice and control in administration and also to minimise the control of the Government over the Municipal Bodies to the extent possible.

The enactment of APM Act, 1965 brought with it several problems and administration of Municipalities in the State had almost come to a stand-still for 4 years due to innumerable lacunae in the law. Most of the powers of the Commissioner, who is the chief executive authority of the municipal council, were transferred to the Chairperson and the Commissioner was reduced to a stooge simply to nod his head to the tune of the elected Chairperson. Owing to various reasons the Chairperson did not pay proper attention to the administration of the Municipality with the result that the official machinery was baffled and was quite unable to deliver the goods. An accountable and service- minded administration had gone out of the reach of urban dwellers,

86 Urban Governance in India

necessitating urgent amendment to the A.P.M. Act, 1965. The amendment transferred certain powers to the Commissioner. In the year 1971, a comprehensive legislation was made clearly defining the functions, powers and responsibilities of the Commissioner. The Act was further amended in 1993 in order to set things right in the light of the working of the Act for over 28 years. In Tamil Nadu the District Municipalities Act, 1920 governs the functioning of the ULBs in the state. In other states, the ULBs function according to the local state acts.

Structural Organisation of Urban Local Governments

The ULGs in most of the states in India have a similar official structure with six (6) main sections each performing a specific function: (1) Establishment Section; (2) Accounts Section; (3) Revenue Section; (4) Engineering Section; (5) Town Planning Section; and (6) Health section. After Poverty All eviation hass been added to the essential functions of the ULG, a separate section colled Urban Poverty Allenviation Cell is established in all ULGs which is called by different names in different staes, like MEPMA in A.P., Kudumbasri in Kerela soon. Each Section is headed by an officer and the entire official machinery functions under the overall administrative control and supervision of the Commissioner or Chief Officer of the Municipality or Municipal Corporation. The appointment of the officers heading each section is as follows:

• Commissioner or Chief Officer: He is the Chief Executive

Authority (CEA) of the ULB (Urban Local Body). He is appointed by Government mostly on the recommendation of the Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration.

• Manager: He is a member of the State Municipal Ministerial

Service. He is appointed by the Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration. He heads the Establishment Section of the ULG.

• Municipal Engineer: He is appointed by the Engineer-in-

Chief (Public health) in respect of lower grades and the Government in respect of higher grade engineers. He heads the engineering section of the ULG.

Organisation of Urban Local Government

• Accountant: He is a member of the State Accounts Officers

cadre. He is appointed by the Director of Local Fund Audit in certain states and the Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration in other states. He heads the accounts section of the ULG.

• Revenue Section: He is a member of the State Municipal

Ministerial Service. He is appointed by the Head of the Department of Municipal Administration. He heads the Revenue Section of the ULG.

• Town Planning Officer: He is called as Chief City Planner or

City Planner or TPO based on his cadre and the grade of the ULG. He is appointed by Government on the proposal of the Director of Town Planning. In respect of ULGs of lower grade there are only Town Planning Supervisors or Town Planning Building Overseers who are appointed by the Director of Planning.

• Municipal Health Officer: He is a Civil Assistant Surgeon

with a Diploma in Public Health (D.P.H.) who is deputed by the Director of Health but the Director of Health is, however, not within the purview of the Municipal Administration Department. He heads the health section of the ULG. In certain states there is no Municipal Health Officer and the Public Health wing is headed by a Sanitary Officer.

The Functions of Each Section

It is an established fact that most of the Urban Local Governments are only perfunctorily, but not perfectly, performing their functions. The reasons are not far to search. It is, therefore, necessary to probe into the reasons for the dismal performance of the Urban Local Governments so that the deficits can be identified and the measures to tone up the functioning of the Urban Local Governments can be arrived at in order to ensure cent per cent accountability of the ULGs to the urban dwellers.