Constitutional status was given to urban local bodies, by adding Part IX-A ('The Municipalities') and the Twelfth Schedule, through the:

The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, added Part IX-A ("The Municipalities") and the Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution, giving constitutional status to the urban local bodies.

Coming into force:

The Act came into force on 1 June 1993.

Types of municipalities:

• A Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area (an area in transition from rural to urban).
• A Municipal Council for a smaller urban area.
• A Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area.

Main features:

• All seats are filled by direct election from wards.
• Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, and not less than one-third of the seats for women.
• A fixed term of five years; elections must be held before the expiry of the term, or within six months of dissolution.
• Ward Committees in municipalities with a population of three lakh or more.
• The State Election Commission conducts municipal elections, and the State Finance Commission reviews their finances.
• A District Planning Committee in every district and a Metropolitan Planning Committee in every metropolitan area.

The Twelfth Schedule:

It lists 18 functions of municipalities, such as town planning, regulation of land use, roads and bridges, water supply, public health and sanitation, fire services, slum improvement, and the registration of births and deaths.

Relation with the 73rd Amendment:

• The 73rd Amendment (1992) gave constitutional status to the rural local bodies (panchayats), while the 74th Amendment did the same for the urban local bodies.
• Together they are the basis of democratic decentralisation in India.

Background:

• The first municipal corporation in India was set up at Madras in 1688; Bombay and Calcutta followed in 1726.
• Lord Ripon's resolution of 1882 is regarded as the "Magna Carta" of local self-government in India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The 73rd Amendment dealt with panchayats; the 64th Amendment Bill on panchayats was not passed; the 42nd Amendment dealt with other matters.