Municipalities and municipal corporations serve as local self-government units in urban areas, similar to panchayats in rural areas. There are two types: municipalities and municipal corporations. Municipal corporations are meant for larger cities with populations of 10 lakh or more, while municipalities are for smaller towns. Municipal corporations have more powers and responsibilities due to their larger populations and service areas. They also interact directly with state governments, while municipalities must go through district administrations first.

1. Urban Bodies
Municipalities and Corporations
In rural areas the Panchayati Raj Institutions- Panchayats, Block
Samitis and Zilla Parishads - serve and help the people.
Municipalities and Municipal Corporations do the same work in
urban areas.
There are two types of Local Self Government units in urban
areas:
i) Municipalities, and (ii) Municipal Corporations.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
AND A MUNICIPALITY
There are some differences between a Municipal Corporation
and a Municipal Committee.
(1) Municipal Corporations is meant for big cities having
population as big as that of a district. Generally, their
population is 10 lakh and above. On the other hand,
Municipal Committees are meant for small cities and towns.
(2) As Municipal Corporations has to serve larger populations,
they have more powers than the Municipal Committees or
Panchayats.
(3) As Municipal Corporations has more responsibilities and
more functions to do, they have larger resources at their
disposal as compared to Municipal Committees.
(4) The Municipal Corporations usually deal directly with the
State Governments but the Municipal Committees have to
first of all go to the district administration and through to
the State Government.
In our country, there are more than fifty cities, which have
corporations. A few of them are Delhi, Mumbai, Pune,
Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Kanpur,
Allahabad, Lucknow and Patna.
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
Composition: A corporation is an elected body. The number
of the elected members depends upon the population of the
city. The residents of the city whose age is not less than 18 years
and who are registered as voters are for the purpose elect the
members. A person who wants to contest an election for
membership must not be less than 25 years of age. For the
purpose of elections, the city is divided into several wards. Each
ward has to elect one member. There are special wards for
Harijans, which are called ‘Reserved’ seats. Only Harijan
members can contest elections from these wards. The number
of wards and the members elected are not the same in all the
corporations.
All those members who are elected directly by the residents of
the city are the elected representatives of the people. They are
called Councillors. These Councillors elect some other members
who are respected citizens and are known for their experience

2. and eminence. These members are known as Aldermen.
Office Bearers - Mayor and the Deputy Mayor: All the members
of the Corporation elect a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor. The
Mayor presides over the meetings and looks after the work of
the Corporation with the help of the executive officers like the
Municipal Commissioner, the Chief Engineer, and the Chief
Medical Officer. In the absence of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor
discharges his duties. The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor are
elected for one year.
Permanent Officials: Besides the above office-bearers, there are
several paid officers who help the former in running the
administration of the Urban Local Bodies like the Corporation
and Municipalities. The chief among them are the Executive
Officer, the Secretary, the Health Office, the Sanitary Inspectors,
the Municipal Engineer, Overseers, Octroi Inspectors, Education
Officers, etc. all these officials have to perform specific
functions of their own. The Chief Executive Officer is generally
the senior most officers or the local body. He supervises the
work of the body. The health officer assisted by the sanitary
inspector look after the health and sanitary and medical services
for which the local body is responsible. The chief engineer,
assisted by the overseers, look after the construction of
buildings, roads and bridges etc. the education officers look
after primary education of the city. The octroi inspector is
responsible for the collection of octroi duty or the terminal tax
on goods brought into the city or town.
All these officers help and advise the elected members in solving
the different problems of the city or town. Unlike them
however do not belong to any political party.
MUNICIPALITY
Municipalities or Municipal Committees manage the cities with
a population of more than twenty thousand. The members of
Municipal Committee, who generally number between 15 to 60,
are also elected in the same way as the members of a Corporation.
These members elect a President and a Vice President.
Their duties are the same as of the Mayor and the Deputy
URBAN BODIES
INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
Mayor. The President of a Municipal Committee presides over
the meetings and carries out the functions with the help of the
executive members in accordance with the policies approved by
the elected members. As mentioned above, a number of
permanent officers like the Executive Officer, the Secretary, the
Health Officer, the Education Officer, the Municipal Engineer,
etc. carry out the different functions of the Municipality.
A few important cities wh ich have Municipal Committees are
Meerut, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Rohtak and Chandigarh.
M AIN FUNCTIONS OF M UNICIPALITIES AND
CORPORATIONS

3. As you have already read, the main functions of the local bodies
are to solve the
local problems of the citizens and to look after their needs for
better living conditions. Their main functions can be divided
into compulsory and voluntary functions:
Compulsory Functions
1. Public H ealth: The first thing that the civic bodies do is to
take necessary steps for public health. For the treatment of
diseases, hospitals and dispensaries are opened in different
localities employed. Even costly medicines are given free to
the poor patients.
Vaccination and inoculations are carried out against such
diseases as Smallpox, Cholera, Tuberculosis and other
epidemics. Steps are also taken for sanitation and cleanliness,
which include removal of rubbish and garbage and cleaning
of drains. Efforts are also made for the supply of fresh
drinking water.
2. Public Conveniences: For the convenience of the public, the
local bodies in urban areas undertake the following
measures:
(i) Construction and maintenance of good and wide roads
and streets.
(ii) Plantation of trees along the roadsides.
(iii) Supply of electricity to houses and factories.
(iv) Construction of public urinals and latrines at busy
centers.
3. Public Education: Education prepares an individual to be a
better citizen. An educated person proves more useful both
to himself and to the society.
For this purpose, the local bodies open schools for small
children. Primary education in our country is free and
compulsory. Therefore, the municipalities open Primary
Schools and organize special drives to see that all children
below 14 years of age go to the schools. The local bodies
also open reading rooms, public libraries and museums, etc.
4. Public Security: Every municipality or a corporation maintains
fire engines for saving the people and their property from the
great disasters caused by fire. It can also pull down old and
dangerous houses, which may cause any mishappening. It
takes steps for maintaining the quality of goods and checks
food adulteration.
Voluntary Functions
Besides the above compulsory functions, a municipality or a
corporation can take up several other functions if its finances
permit. These functions are called voluntary functions. The
chief among them is as below.
1. To develop parks and gardens to keep the citizens healthy and
fit.
2. To develop a zoo, a museum and some picnic resorts as well.
3. Construct and maintain children’s homes, orphanages, nightshelters,
rest houses, etc.

4. 4. In bigger towns and cities, local bodies can provide their own
cheap and efficient transport facilities.
5. Construction of toilets and bathrooms also comes under the
voluntary functions of a corporation or a municipality.
Sources of Income
To discharge all these functions properly, the local bodies need
money, which they get from the following sources:
(i) Octroi duty on goods brought into the city or taken out of
the city.
(ii) Taxes on property, i.e., house shops and lands.
(iii) Taxes on vehicles.
(iv) Income from water and electricity supplied to houses and
factories.
(v) Income from municipal properties.
(vi) Financial grants from the State Governments.
(vii) Loans from the State Government whenever a municipality
undertakes a
M unicipal Administration
Functions
Urban Local Bodies are committed to provide all residents of
urban areas the following:
• Adequate and effective sanitary arrangements
• Adequate and safe drinking water
• Proper roads and drains
• Adequate street Lighting
• Sufficient No. of parks / lung space
• Prompt registration of Births and Deaths
M unicipalities and M unicipal Corporations w ill
ensure
• Commitment for quality and standard of service
• Courtesy, time bound and helpful attitude
• Objectivity and transparency
• Promptness and efficiency
• Procedural leaflets will be provided for obtaining
permissions/ certificates.
AUGMENTATION OF RESOURCES
1. Property Tax
In the Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 Government have been
empowered to prescribe minimum and maximum rates of
basic property tax having regard to the existing property tax, the
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INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
value of the building and land, usage of the building. Rates of
additional property tax shall also be prescribed based on its
location and type of construction.
2. Computerisation
The assessments of property tax are computerized in all the
municipalities. The Software for this is under final stages of
operationalisation.
3. Service Tax Component
Provision is available in the new act for levy of water tax and

5. sewerage tax.
4. Exemptions
The provision available in the existing municipal and Corporation
acts exempting the educational institutions from payment
of property tax continues in the new Act also.(Section 87).
5. General Revision
According to section 86 of the new act the general revision of
the property tax shall be made once in five years.
6. Collection Procedures
It is proposed to make provision in the draft Taxation and
Licensing rules framed under the new act for paying the taxes by
the assesses themselves and issue of passbook/ license book.
Section 99 of the new Act empowers levy of fine for belated
payment of property tax. However, no provision has been
made for rebate for prompt payment.
7. Staffing Pattern
It has been recommended that the Government may examine
the need for creation / strengthening the engineering cell in
respect of town Panchayats. In the year 1996-97 , a separate
engineering wing has been formed for town Panchayats to look
after the implementation of various works including the general
fund works.
8. Human Resources Development and Training
With a view to impart training to municipal commissioners and
employees of municipalities and municipal corporations for
achieving greater efficiency in the functioning of civic administration,
the government, in G.O.(Ms).No.1227,Rural
Development and Local Administration, dated 11.08.1982,
ordered the registration of the Institute of urban studies at
Coimbatore under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act
1975.The income of the institute shall be from the contribution
from urban local bodies and government. The institute has
imparted training to the chair persons and members of urban
local bodies after they assumed office in October 1996.Separate
training programme was conducted for women members and
women chairpersons. The institute is imparting training to the
municipal employees.Proposal to upgrade the institute is under
consideration of the government.
9. Community Participation in Local Administration
According to section 70 of the urban local bodies bodies act
1998, the commissioner shall make arrangements to publish in
one prominent local news paper the important features of the
budget and the details of the work/ programmes in accordance
with the rules prescribed.
The Industrial business house, NGOs and social service
organization will participate in planting and maintaining trees
under Green Cover Project to be implemented during 2000-
2001.
10. Adequacy of Pow ers of Local Bodies and Stream
Lining the Procedures
After the newly elected members assumed office in the urban

6. local bodies in October’96, the Government enhanced the
monetary limit for the sanction of administrative approval by
the commissioner, the Mayor,The Ward committees and the
Council in the corporations.It was also ordered that once the
government accorded administrative approval for a scheme , the
approval of the Government is not necessary for approval of
the tender for those schemes.It enabled the urban local bodies
to implement the schemes without avoidable delay. Similar
decentralization of monetary powers are given to Municipalities
also.
Further Reforms in Property Tax Act
Under the new act, property tax shall be determined on the
extent of the building, its location and type of construction.
Vacancy remission is not allowed in the new act.
In the District Municipalities Act, 1920,provision was available
for filing of appeal against the revision of property tax every
half-year. This has already been deleted. It was provided that
against the orders of the taxation appeal committee, the
taxpayers can approach the District court after remitting the
property tax so assessed. In the new act also appeals can be
made to taxation appeal committee/ Taxation appeals Tribunal
only during general revision/ revision of property tax.
CORE CIVIC SERVICES IM PROVING CIVIC SERVICES
1. Water Supply
Recommendations No.28, 50,71,93
Water supply schemes are being implemented in urban areas
conforming to the following per capita norms.
1. Corporations 110 liters per capita per day
2. Municipalities 90 liters per capita per day
3. Town Panchayats 70 liters per capita per day
The above norms are higher than the norms recommended by
the First State Finance Commission.
2. Solid w aste management (recommendations 35,57,78
& 99)
In the Municipal Corporations the garbage is collected daily to
the extent the same is practicable. The Municipal Administration
and water supply department has initiated steps to take up
effective measures to collect 100& garbage daily in the Municipalities.
The Government is taking action to ensure an overall
improvement in solid waste management in town Panchayats.
Recommendations in respect of other core civic services such as
fixing up of norms for the provision of streetlights, laying of
roads, etc., are accepted in principle and it will be implemented
by the local bodies subject to their resources.
3. General
Recommendations 113 to 118 relate to general item. It is
recommended that with the increased use of cost recovery
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INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
through the user charges and by privatization of civic services
wherever possible investment capital works can be increased.

7. The Government in G.O. No.69, Municipal and Water supply
department dated 04.05.1998 issued orders accepting in
principle the privatization of municipal services. In the G.O. the
government identified that the privatization can be experimented
in the following areas: -
1. Solid waste management
2. Maintenance of Street light
3. Maintenance of roads and bridges
4. Maintenance of water supply and conservancy services
5. Maintenance of parks, Commercial Complex and stands
This covers the recommendation nos.127 to 132 under
privatization.
4. Project Finance
Section 66 Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 empowers the
Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and town Panchayats to
raise funds by way of debentures, or by issue of bonds, with
the approval of the government for specific capital works.
5. Streamlining the Delivery System Organisation
Recommendation No.10 to 14 relate to the constitution of
Town Panchayat, Municipality and Corporation. In section 3 of
the Tamil Nadu urban local bodies act, minimum population
and income have been prescribed for the constitution of town
Panchayats, Municipality and Corporation. Norms are prescribed
in the rules prescribed in the rules framed thereunder.
The rules have since been notified and they will come into force
with effect from 1.8.2000.
Devolution of Function
Out of the 18 items mentioned in schedule XII to he constitution
(74th amendment) Act 1992 seven items have been included
as obligatory functions in section 40 of the Tamil Nadu Urban
local bodies Act 1998.The Government by notification delegate
the remaining 11 items to the council. The power of identifying
the beneficiaries under the social welfare schemes vests with the
urban local bodies. The recommendations of the State Planning
Commission on the devolution of powers on all the 18 items
to urban local bodies are under consideration of the government.
The government also ordered for the creation o the mayor fund
at 5% of the total receipts of the last available audited accounts
of the corporations or not exceeding Rs.50 lakh whichever is
less for carrying out the works relating to roads, street lights and
storm water drain. Similar fund was created for the chairperson
of the municipality.
Control System
In the new act the municipal council prescribes (section 70) time
frame for the approval of the budget. The new accrual, double
entry system of accounting introduced in 12 urban local bodies
in 1999-2000 is proposed to be extended to all corporations
(other than Chennai) and municipalities in the year 2000-
2001.proposal to introduce accounting manual is under
consideration. The recommendations contained in the chapter
are covered in the new rules. They have since been notified and

8. will come into force with effect from 1.8.2000
M echanism for accountability
Under the Tamilnadu right to information act,1992, the public
has the right of ascertaining to information about the administration
and details about the schemes of the government
implemented by various departments etc. This will cover urban
local bodies also.
Database for Urban local bodies
Computerisation of key municipal functions is almost completed.
Data entry of over 65 lakh records relating to the
previous years has been completed and it is expected that all
municipalities will start issuing computerized formats for birth
and death certificates by July 2000.operationalisation of other
functions will also be done during the current financial year
(2000-2001)
Challenges in Urban Planning for local bodies in
India
Introduction
The urban population of India has rapidly increased in recent
years. In 1961 about 79 million persons lived in urban areas of
the country, by 2001, their number had gone up to over 285
million, an increase of over 350 percent in the last four decades,
which will increase to over 400 million by the year 2011 and 533
million by the year 2021. In 1991 there were 23 metropolitan
cities, which have increased to 35 in 2001. As a result, most
urban settlements are characterized by shortfalls in housing and
water supply, inadequate sewerage, traffic congestion, pollution,
poverty and social unrest making urban governance a difficult
task.
Censu
s
Total
Population(Milli
on)
Urban
Population(Milli
on)
% of Urban
population to total
Population
Decadal Urban
growth
rate(Percent)
1951 361.08 62.44 17.29 -
1961 439.23 78.93 17.97 26.41
1971 548.15 109.11 19.91 38.24
1981 683.32 159.46 23.34 46.15
1991 846.30 217.61 25.71 36.47
2001 1027.01 285.00 27.78 36.47
Urban Local Bodies [ULBs] which are statutorily responsible for
provision and maintenance of basic infrastructure and services

9. in cities and towns are under fiscal stress. To even operate and
maintain existing services, let alone augment them, would be
difficult. There has been little or no increase in their revenue
base; user charges continue to be low or non-existent. Faced
with such a situation the ULBs barring a few exceptions are
becoming increasingly dependent on the higher levels of
government for their operation and maintenance requirements.
What is worse, many ULBs have accumulated ‘large’ debts and
face serious problems in servicing them. Besides the restriction
to a small resource base poor planning process, lack of periodical
revision of municipal tax rates / user charges, and poor
information system and records management are some of the
basic weaknesses in the present municipal administration.
According to Census of India 1991, there are 3255 ULBs in the
country classified into four major categories of municipal
corporations, municipalities (Municipal council, municipal
179
INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
State/ Union
Territory
Municip
al
Corpo
Ration
Municip
al
Council
Municipal
Committe
e
Munici-pal
Board
Municipality
Town
Commi
ttee/
Township/ t
own area
commiTtee
Town
Nagar
Panchayat
Notified
area
Total
Andhra
Pradesh
3 - - - 109 - 141 2 255
Assam 1 - - 24 - 49 - - 74
Bihar 6 - - - 70 - - 92 168
Goa - 13 - - - - - - 13

10. Gujrat 6 - - - 62 - 100 10 178
Haryana - - 81 - - - - - 81
Himachal
Pradesh
1 - 19 - - - - 30 50
Karnataka 6 - 20 - - 136 - 14 176
Kerala 3 - - - 61 2 - - 66
Madhya Pradesh
-
- 17 - 357 - - 7 381
Maharashtra 11 - - - 227 - - - 238
Orissa - - - - 30 - - 72 102
Punjab 3 - 95 - - - - 11 109
Rajasthan - 19 - - 168 - - 5 192
Tamil Nadu 3 - - - 98 8 212 - 321
Uttar
Pradesh
8 - - 228 - 418 - 33 687
West Bengal 3 - - - 95 - - 10 108
Delhi 1 - 1 - - - - - 2
Andaman &
Nicobar
Islands - - - 1 - - - - 1
Chandigarh - - - - - - - 1 1
Pondicherry - - - - 4 - - - 4
Manipur - - - - 7 - - 21 28
Meghalaya - - - - 1 - - - 1
Sikkim - - - - - 7 - - 7
Tripura - - - - 1 - - - 1
Total
55 32 233 253 1290 620 453 319 3255
180
INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
board, municipal committee), town area committees and
notified area committees.
The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA74) has been
flaunted as an initiative to decentralize power and strengthen
democracy at local level. The CAA74 accords constitutional
status to urban local bodies (ULBs) and prescribes a near
uniform local governance structure valid across the country. It
provides a framework for electing local-level governments and
for their ‘effective’ functioning to ensure provision of urban
services and infrastructure. It also provides urban local bodies
with political, functional and fiscal empowement for good
governance.
1. Urban planning, including town planning;
2. Regulation of land use and construction of buildings;
3. Planning for economic and social development;
4. Roads and bridges;
5. Water supply for domestic, industrial, and commercial
purposes;

11. 6. Public health, sanitation, conservancy, and solid waste
management;
7. Fire services;
8. Urban forestry, protection of the environment, and
promotion of ecological aspects;
9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society,
including the handicapped and mentally retarded;
10.Slum improvement and up-gradation;
11.Urban poverty alleviation;
12.Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks,
gardens, and playgrounds;
13.Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects;
14.Burials and burial grounds; cremation grounds and electric
crematoria;
15.Cattle pounds, prevention of cruelty to animals;
16.Vital statistics, including registration of births and deaths;
17.Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, busstop,
and public conveniences;
18.Regulation of slaughterhouses and tanneries.
Importantly the CAA74 expressly recognizes a role for the
ULBs within the constitutional framework and provides for
devolution of financial powers from the state government for
strengthening of municipal finances. The CAA74 also provides
for constitution of Ward Committees in municipalities with a
population of more than 3 lakh, Metropolitan Planning
Committees and District Planning Committees for consolidation
and preparation of plans of spatial, economic and social
development. From a “ top down “ approach, the emphasis has
thus shifted to the” bottom up” approach.
In view of the challenges facing by ULBs the planners have to
prepare themselves for a new role and much wider responsibilities.
As a bridge between the civil society and the
politico-economic structure, the planners have to perform the
role of the catalysts of change. With the ongoing globalization,
economic liberalization and devolution of power to local
bodies, gone are the days of armchair professionals. In the
context of decentralization of power from Central / State
Governments to local levels, there is a clear need to strengthen
the Urban Local Bodies and endowing them with the finances,
commensurate with their assigned responsibility. The experience
indicates that the first and foremost priority should be to
strengthen the local bodies and improve their performance that
has the primary responsibility to provide urban services. This
would involve the following key initiatives: -
• The introduction of short and medium-term, Integrated
Action Planning, to complement comprehensive long-term
objectives.
• Simplification of plans and procedures.
• Assets inventory for optimum utilization and the increase of
the revenue base.
• A new urban land policy, to match with the national

12. Housing and Habitat Policy. Whereby the local authorities act
as the facilitators and harness the resources of private sector
/ Community.
• Upgrading technology and environment focus for
infrastructure services and transportation.
• Exploring new options and public-private partnership for
development and financing of infrastructure, land
development, housing, conservation, and environmental
improvement.
• Networking with international and national urban
programmes, e.g. Citynet Healthy Cities, UMP etc.
• Mandatory performance management system and MIS.
• Networking with NGO’s CBO’s and private sector for
planning, management and maintenance.
Issues in Urban Planning
It is now being recognized that cities are the engines of growth
at both regional and national level. To facilitate and sustain this
growth, cities have to provide both a high quality of life and an
efficient infrastructure for economic activities.
Environment management and protection strategy addresses
the critical environmental problems, which mainly concerns
preservation of lakes and water bodies, its catchment area and
its water quality and land use management in catchment areas.
The other environmental issues relate to the disposal and
treatment of urban waste and its recycling and the socioeconomic
problems caused by the displacement of population,
in context to future city spread. Environment management of
lakes and water bodies is vulnerable to urban pressure in its
close vicinity. It is essential to enforce land use control measures
in the catchment areas to prevent further environmental
degradation and thereby achieve desired level of sustainability.
The sustained efforts are needed for plan implementation to
improve the quality of city life. Hence an effective plan implementation
strategy needs to be evolved to achieve the following
objectives
1. Protect natural environment.
2. Conservation of areas of cultural heritage.
3. Optimize land use and land utilization
181
INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
4. Provide services and infrastructure
5. Participatory approach for supply of land and infrastructure
development.
Urban planning is basically resource generation, resource
development and resource management exercise. The efficiency
of urban settlements largely depends upon how well they are
planned, how economically they are developed and how
efficiently they are managed. Planning inputs largely govern the
efficiency level of human settlements. There is a widely held
view that the Master planning methods adopted over the last
few decades have not produced a satisfactory physical environment.

13. The urban development planning process in the past has
been unduly long and has been largely confined to the detailing
of land use aspects. The plans have paid inadequate attention to
the provision of trunk infrastructure, environmental conservation
and financing issues. They have been unrealistic and have
not been accompanied by investment programmes and capital
budgets. Integrated urban development planning approach,
taking into account regional, state and national strategies, and
spatial, functional and other linkages between human settlements,
has not been given much recognition. Also the planning
and plan implementation processes have not paid adequate
attention to the integration of land use and transport planning.
The fact that transport is a key determinant of land use and
“ leads” development is sometimes ignored.
The Five Year plans laid stress on the need to undertaken town
planning and evolve a National Town Planning Act so as to
provide for zoning and land use, control of ribbon development,
location of industries, clearance of slums, civic and
diagnostic surveys and preparation of Master plans. Although a
significant step in urban development was undertaken in the
Plan in the form of Central assistance to the states for the
preparation of master plans for selected areas, comprehensive
action was not taken by the states for the adoption and
implementation of the plans. The urban development
planning should, essentially, be supportive of the economic
development in the country. At present, hardly 20 percent of
the urban centers have some sort of a Master Plan, which is
many cases is just a policy document. It is estimated that there
are about 1200 master plans prepared by various Agencies
responsible for plan preparation but their implementation is
not encouraging. The implementation of master plan facilitates
the orderly and planned development of cities in a sustainable
manner, which would ultimately help in good governance.
The M aster plan Approach – Concepts, Objectives
and Functions
The master plan, which was perceived to be a process rather
than a conclusive statement, provides guidelines for the physical
development of the city and guides people in locating their
investments in the city. In short, Master Plan is a design for the
physical, social, economic and political framework for the city,
which greatly improve the quality of Urban Governance also.
The functions of the Master Plan / Development plan are as
follows:
19.To guide development of a city is an orderly manner so as to
improve the quality of life of the people
20.Organize and coordinate the complex relationships between
urban land uses
21.Chart a course for growth and change, be responsive to
change and maintain its validity over time and space, and be
subject to continual review
22.Direct the physical development of the city in relation to its

14. social and economic characteristics based on comprehensive
surveys and studies on the present status and the future
growth prospects; and
23.Provide a resource mobilization plan for the proposed
development works.
Critique of the M aster Plan Approach
There is a widely held view that the Master Planning methods
adopted over the last few decades have not produced a satisfactory
physical environment. The urban development planning
process in the past has been unduly long and has been largely
confined to the dealing of land use aspects.
The major criticisms of the Master Plan approach adopted in
the country are as follows :
6. Plan Preparation Techniques: The Master plan details out the
urbanized and urbanisable areas under its jurisdiction and
suggests land use up to the neighborhood level. The
tendency to over-plan the urban environment, with minute
detailing, has resulted in lack of flexibility and has hindered
individual self-expression.
7. Plan perspective: The plan projects and ’end state’ scenario
for 20-25 years and is not detailed enough for short and
medium-terms actions.
8. Static Plan: The plan is mostly static and not amendable to
quick mid-course corrections.
9. Delays: Inordinate delays in Master Plan preparation and
approval and, in addition, difficulty in obtaining possession
of land sought to be acquired for the purpose is one of the
main handicaps in the speedy and successful implementation
of the Master Plan.
10.Growth of the City: The efficacy of the master Plan is
adversely effected by the divergence between the precept and
practices concerning the preparation of the Master Plan and
its implementation.
11.Ineffective Public Participation: The mechanism for public
participation is ineffective in the process of development
planning, in both its preparation and implementation. It is
more top-down than a bottom-up approach.
12.Weak information Base: Master Plan preparation is
undertaken with a very weak information base especially on
socio-economic parameters, housing and environment.
13.Impractical Physical standards: The plans prescribe impractical
densities and layout high standards in an effort to improve
the quality of life in a city. These are generally higher than
what the city population, particularly the poor, can afford.
14.Lack of Financing Plan: Estimates of financial outlay do not
match the development works envisaged in the Master Plan.
The strategies for raising resources required for plan
implementation are never an integral part of the plan.
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15.Spatial planning vis-à-vis Development Planning: Urban

15. planning in India has been totally over-shadowed by its
spatial content instead of realization of social and economic
objectives. Town planning exercises have tended to
concentrate on physical order and environmental quality of
city, and have been isolated from the mainstream of
development planning, decision-making and
implementation strategies.
16.Land Policy and Management: The absence of machinery for
systematic and continuous collection of data on the
movement of land and tenement prices undermines the
implementation of the master Plan.
17.Private Sector Participation: Through a significant portion of
the development is due to the initiative of the private sector,
this factor is not recognized in the Plan.
18.People’s Needs: The Master Plan does not incorporate the
exact needs and priorities of the people. Instead of reflecting
the aspirations of the community at large, the plan more or
less reflects the values of the administrators and planners.
19.Regulatory mechanism: The regulatory mechanisms in the
Master Plan are to enable better management of the city.
However, development control mechanisms are observed
more in breach than in compliance.
20.Plan Implementation: The root-cause of the urban maladies
has been the divorcing of the plan preparation from plan
implementation.
21.Ineffective plan Monitoring: An Institutional and
information system does not, generally, exist for plan
monitoring. Since the budgetary system does not explicitly
take into account the requirement of plan implementation,
problem of resources are not periodically highlighted.
Constitution (74th) Amendment Act.
The Constitution (74th) Amendment Act, 1992 provides for a
democratic and participatory planning process so as to incorporate
the needs of the people, particularly the poor and socially
disadvantaged, in the planning process. The act stipulates the
setting up to District planning Committees (DPCs) and
Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) for integration of
spatial and economic development and rural and urban
planning. This is in recognition of the need for integrated
regional planning with due attention to regional and local
infrastructure, environmental conservation and investment
planning and their spatial and other impacts. The DPCs /
MPCs need to be constituted under the State Zilla Panchayat /
Regional and Town Planning Acts. A three tier planning
structure is envisaged in the states – Panchayats / Municipalities
level, district and metropolitan level and state level. Under this
framework, Panchayats/ Municipalities would prepare plans for
their areas, which would be consolidated at the district level in
the form of draft district development plans. The MPCs would
prepare the metropolitan development plan. All district and
metropolitan development plans would then lead to the

16. formulation of a plan at the state level.
District Planning Committee
The constitution of DPCs recognizes the need for integrated
regional planning based on the investment patterns, its spatial
impact and development. The DPCs should be vested with
enough powers to undertake the following functions, besides
preparation of draft development plan for the district.
24.Preparation of draft development plans including spatial
plan for the district, keeping in view matters of common
interest between Panchayats and municipalities.
25.Advise and assistance to local bodies in preparation of
development plans and its effective implementation.
26.Coordination and monitoring of the implementation of
District Development plans.
27.Allocation of resources to local bodies for planning and
implementation of local level projects contained in the
District Development plans.
M etropolitan Area planning committee.
The constitution of MPCs in every metropolitan area under
Article 243 ZE of the 74th Amendment accords constitutional
recognition to metro-regional planning when seen in the
context of agglomeration economies, a metro region is the
most preferred area for investment in economic activities and
infrastructure but these areas are normally deficient in spatial
planning inputs. The functions to be assigned to MPC are as
follows :
22.Preparation of draft development plan for the metropolitan
areas.
23.Spatial coordination of plans prepared by the municipalities
and panchayats in the metro area and recommending
modifications in local area plan, if any taking an overall view.
24.Advise and assistance to local bodies in preparation of
development plans.
25.Monitoring effective implementation of approved
development plan of the region.
26.Undertaking formulation and implementation of projects
involving provision of infrastructure such as major roads,
trunk services, electricity, telecommunications, etc.
The 12th Schedule of the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act
lists the 18 functions of the municipalities which among others
include: (I) urban planning including town planning; (ii)
regulation of land use and construction of buildings; and (iii)
planning for economic and social development. In this regard,
the state governments could be more specific and definite in
assigning functions to the local bodies, In the absence of clarity
in assignment of functions, the State Finance Commission
would not be able to assess the fiscal needs of and allocate
adequate resources to the municipalities. For a rational integration
of spatial and economic development, functions related to
spatial and socioeconomic planning and development should
be assigned to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). To facilitate the

17. municipalities to discharge these functions, a provision could be
made in the State Municipal Acts for devolution of necessary
power and authority along with financial resources and manpower.
For an effective urban planning system, there is the need
to have a package of inter-related plans at three levels namely
long-term perspective structure plan (20-25 years) short term
integrated infrastructure Development plan (5 year) and Annual
Action plan as part of Infrastructure Development plan. The
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short-term integrated Infrastructure plan and Annual plan
could be in the form of “ rolling” plans to enable the ULBs to
continuously review and monitor the plan, and to update it
every year / five years. The aim should be to make urban
planning system as a continuous process. Each level of plan
must include measures for infrastructure development and
environmental conservation:
1. Perspective Structure Plan: The long-term Perspective
Structure Plan could be prepared by the MPCs broadly
indicating goals, policies and strategies for spatio-economics
development of the urban settlement. The perspective plan
may include:
• Physical characteristics and natural resources:
• Direction and magnitude of growth and development –
area and population (Demography)
• Arterial / grid road network and mass transit corridors
with modular development block.
• Infrastructure network – water, sewage, drainage, roads,
bus and truck terminals, rail network, etc.
• Broad compatible and mixed land use packages and
zones :
• Community open space system and organization of
public spaces :
• Environmental conservation and preservation of areas
of architectural, heritage and and ecological importance ;
• Major issues and development constraints;
• Financial estimates and fund flow patterns; and
• Policy and plans for EWS housing.
2. Infrastructure Development Plan: Integrated infrastructure
Development Plan should be prepared by ULBs in the
context of the approved Perspective Plan. The scope of the
Plan should cover an assessment of existing situation,
prospects and priorities and development including
employment generation programs, economic base,
transportation and land use, housing and land development,
environmental improvement and conservation programs.
The development plan may include.
• Identification of gaps and shortcomings in the delivery
of municipal services ;
• Identification of service and remunerative projects and
their prioritisation along with capital budgeting and

18. investment programmes; and
• Housing and land development programmes, including
identification of areas for residential and non-residential
development and development of trunk infrastructure.
3. Action Plan: Within the framework of Development Plan,
Annual Action plans for the urban areas should be prepared
by the ULBs specifying the projects and schemes with costing
and cash flow for both on-going and new projects. The
Annual action plan should provide and in-built system for
implementation of the Development Plan. In this plan
various urban development schemes should be integrated
spatially and financially. Annual plan may consist of :
• targets to be achieved – physical and fiscal;
• fund flow ; and
• Project design and specification, including tender
document for implementation.
4. Projects and Schemes: As part of the Development plans
and Action plans, projects and schemes within towns / cities
could be taken up for any area / activity related to housing,
commercial centers, industrial areas, social and cultural
infrastructure, transport, environment, urban renewal etc. by
governmental bodies / local agencies / private sector and
through integer-governmental public private-partnership.
Such projects could be both long-term and short-term and
in conformity with the development requirements of the
respective town / city.
Challenges for local bodies:
The existing municipal laws are totally inadequate to enable to
ULBs to discharge the new responsibilities delegated to them
under the Constitutional (74th Amendment) Act. Although
the state governments have amended their municipal Acts, as a
follow - up of the 74th Amendment, the amended acts do not
specifically assign functions to the local bodies especially urban
including town planning. The following measures may be
undertaken to enable the ULBs to serve as agencies for plan
preparation, enforcement and implementation:
Clear division of functional responsibilities and linkage among
different levels of government to ensure upward and downward
accountability and to enable the SFCs in their
constitutional task of devolution of funds to ULBs.
Division of municipal functions into essential functions, agency
functions, and joint functions with state and central governments.
Avoiding the traditional distinction between ‘obligatory’ and
‘discretionary’ functions since such classification results in
uncertainties and non-transparent system of municipal
accountability.
Essential functions of municipalities to include urban planning,
including town planning regulation of land use and construction
of buildings and planning for economics and social
development and amendments to the Municipal Acts.
As an effective alternative, the authority to prepare urban

19. development plans may be placed with municipalities under the
town and country planning laws. The planning functions could
be undertaken by the municipalities under the state Town and
Country planning Act in states where such power has not been
provided in the Municipal Acts. A standing planning Committee
may be constituted to assist the ULBs in this task and the
members of the committee could include representatives of
elected members, administrators and professional experts. The
chairman of the local authority could head the standing
planning committee and the municipal Town Planner could be
the member secretary.
It is necessary to build effective legislative support for the
preparation of 3-tier Development plans discussed earlier. The
Town & Country planning Acts would have to be modified to
incorporate formulation of these plans along-with their
definition, scope and contents, provision could be made in the
Act to empower the state Town and Country Planning Depart184
INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
ment to prepare and get approved the perspective plan and / or
Development plan, following the prescribed procedure at the
cost of the concerned in case of failure by the ULBs to initiate
actions to prepare the Plans within the stipulated time period.
Providing a clause in the Act allowing for automatic approval in
situations where the approval or rejection with reasons, is not
communicated within the stipulated time by the appropriate
authority could increase the efficiency in approval of plans. The
local authority should carry out the modifications suggested by
the Town Planning Department and re-submit the modified
plan. But at the same time, undisputed sections / part of the
draft Development plan could be processed, got approved and
implemented.. Provision could be made for approval of
Annual Plans by the local authority and that of the projects and
schemes formulated in accordance with the approved development
plan and Development Promotion Rules, by the
Municipal Town Planners with appropriate accountability. The
notice of preparation of development plan may be linked with
section 4 of the land acquisition Act. 1984 in the municipal /
Town planning Acts so that any land required for compulsory
acquisition is notified as per the Act. Consequently compensation
for land would be as on the date of the publication of the
draft Development Plan and this would minimize the speculative
elements. Similarly, the publication of the notice of the
final development plan may be linked with section 6 declaration
under the Act. Appropriate legal support to the land assembly
efforts of the private sector should be provided to facilitate
private sector participation in the implementation process.
Development plans, in the past, were prepared in the context of
centralized planning. This context is changing in the era of
liberalization where cities have to identify their competitive
advantage for growth and development. Decentralization of
development planning to the local level, under the constitutional

20. (74th Amendment) Act, bring with it the responsibility
of resource and financial management.
For a more dynamic urban planning exercise, the following
modifications in the planning approach are recommended:
27.Flexibility: Plans must have flexibility to provide for evergrowing
and ever-expanding city boundaries and provide
quality of life to all inhabitants. The plan should be flexible
to respond not only to the present needs but, also, the
changing conditions in foreseeable, future.
28.Role of Actors: People’s participation in preparation of
policies, perspective plan, development plan and annual
plans should be ensured through elected representatives in
the municipal council / corporation and ward committees.
29.Information system: A well maintained information system
can make possible the fine-tuning of the plan proposals at
the various stages of implementation of the plan according
to the changing urban scenario.
30.Urbanisable Areas: The development potential may be
assessed for the areas located in the periphery of the
developed areas. A profile of the development potential and
the possibility of optimizing the existing infrastructure
should determine the prioritisation of development of
these areas.
31.Growth Centers: Given the paucity of resources, it would be
more feasible and desirable to promote strategic
development initiatives in the selected secondary cities,
growth center and their hinterlands. In the growth centers,
the location of infrastructural and environmental services
could form the ‘core’ of the Development Plan.
32.Policy Guidelines: Policy guidelines notified under law, can
help in identifying priority areas, subsequent modifications
in the plans and administration, in general.
33.Mixed Land Use: With a view to provide for development,
the zoning regulations need to be simplified. The land use
package should not be allowed to be changed by any
authority, except as a part of the review of the Development
Plan at the city / town level.
34.Financial Planning: Land development and infrastructure
investment need to be coordinated through integration of
physical, financial and investment planning. There is the need
to link spatial development plan with resource mobilization
plan focusing on credit enhancement mechanisms.
35.Services and Environment: City plans, which provide for upgradation
of the services for greater equity in the availability
of water, sewerage and sanitation throughout the city, would
have a higher probability of success.
36.Needs of the informal sector: The plan must provide for
and cater to the needs of the informal sector so as to make
them as an integral part of the city development process.
37.Land Policy and Management: As opposed to the process of
compulsory land acquisition, and the related issue of low

21. compensation rates, the ULBs should adopt collaborative
approaches within the existing legal framework.
38.Legal Framework: Plan implementation would call for a legal
framework so as to make it enforceable and mandatory. The
legal framework has to be supported by an effective and
efficient machinery which would see that no distortion of
master plan proposals take place at the ground level.
39.Standards: Plot sizes, layout and social overheads need to be
designed to reduce costs aligned to the affordability of
different income groups and also the sale price for lower
income groups can be reduced by differential pricing.
40.Building Byelaws: Building bye laws and zoning regulations
for the city / town should match the local needs. However,
the existing byelaws need to be simplified and transparent,
and there should not be an aliment of discretion. Adequate
provision for parking facilities should be made.
41.Database at Metropolitan, district and state levels: The
planning exercise needs continuous data collection, analysis
interpretation and updating of data. A computer-generated
data base and information system in GIS environment
should be developed at various levels, which would provide
support to planners in development planning.
42.Simplification of measure and Procedures: The preparation
of Development plans should be completed within a period
of 12 months and should be approved within 3 months
after the plan approval and the total period for preparation
and approval should not exceed 18 months. The approval
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INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS
authority of Development plans should be the ULB, in
consultation with the Director of Town planning
departments. The perspective plan could also be approved by
the state Government through Directorate of Town
Planning.
43.Strengthening Planning Mechanism and Institution: The
Town and Country planning acts need to be modified to
enable the formulation of inter-elated plans by specifying the
definition, scope and contents of various plans.
The administrative, technical, managerial and financial capacity
of the ULBs needs to be strengthened.
The ULBs and the town planning departments should work
under the same state department for better coordination.
The cost recovery procedures and revenue collection methods of
ULBs need to be strengthened.
SUMMARY
Municipalities and Municipal Corporations do the work in
urban area -serve and help the people. There are two types of
Local Self- Government units in urban areas: (I) Municipalities,
and (ii) Municipal Corporations. The main functions of the
local bodies are to solve the local problems of the citizens and
to look after their needs for better living conditions. Their main

22. functions can be divided into compulsory and voluntary
functions
ASSIGNMENT
What are the problems faced by the civilians in your municipal
corporation? And what are the steps taken by the corporation to
solve these problems
Interview the concerned people and make an in depth report on
it.
References-
1. Public Policy and politics in India By Kuldeep Mathur
2. Indian Political Trials By A.C. Noorani.
3. Basu, Durga Das. The Laws of the Press in India(1962) Asia Publishing House, Bombay