74 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDEMENT

 

  • Classification of municipalities: The act provides for the constitution of the following three-types of municipalities in every state- Nagar panchayat, municipal council, municipal corporation
  • Composition: 
    • All members of the municipality should be elected directly by the people.
    • For this purpose, each municipal area shall be divided into territorial constituencies known was wards
    • The state legislature is empowered to provide for the manner of election of the chairperson of a municipality
    • The state legislature can also provide for representation of- persons having special knowledge who will not have the right to vote in the meeting, members of LS, RS, state legislature and council from the municipal area
    • The chairpersons of the committees other than wards committee
  • Wards Committees:
    • Article 243S of the Constitution make the provisions for constitution and composition of Wards Committees, etc. consisting of one or more wards, within the territorial area of a Municipality having a population of three lakhs or more.
    • A member of a Municipality representing a ward within the territorial area of the Wards Committee shall be a member of that Committee. Where a Wards Committee consists of two or more wards, one of the members representing such wards in the Municipality elected by the members of the Wards Committee shall be the Chairperson of that Committee.
  • Reservation of seats:
    • Article 243T makes the provisions for the reservation of seats. Seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in every Municipally and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that Municipality as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the Municipal area or of the Scheduled Tribes in the Municipal area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality.
    • Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved Scheduled Caste are reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes.
    • Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality are reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality.
    • The office of Chairpersons in the Municipalities shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.
  • Duration of Municipalities: As per Article 243U of the Constitution, every Municipality, unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer provided that a Municipality shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before its dissolution.
  • Disqualification : A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as or for being a member of a municipality if he is so disqualified
  • Under any law for the time being in force for the purpose of elections for state legislature
  • Under any law made by state legislature. .However, no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than 25 years of age if he has attained 21 years of age. All questions related to this will be decided by an authority so determined by the state legislature
  • State Election Commission: The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to the municipalities shall be vested in the state election commission
  • Powers and functions: As per Article 243W of the Constitution states the powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities, etc. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Legislature of a State may, by law, endow:
    • the Municipalities with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Municipalities, subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, with respect to-
      1. The preparation of plans for economic development and social justice;
      2. The performance of functions and the implementation of schemes as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule;
    • The Committees with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to carry out the responsibilities conferred upon them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule.
  • Finances: The state legislature may
    • Authorize a municipality to levy, collect and appropriate taxes
    • Assign to municipality taxes, levies, tolls and fees levied and collected by state government
    • Provide for making grants-in-aid to the municipalities
    • Provide for constitution of funds for crediting all moneys to the municipalities
  • Audit of account: The state legislature will specify the manner in which the auditing has to be done
  • Application to union territories: It shall apply with such modification and exception has the President may determine
  • Exempted areas: It does not apply to the scheduled areas and tribal areas in the states

 

 

District planning committee: It is the committee created as per article 243ZD. As per this, every state shall constitute at the district level, a district planning committee to consolidate the plans prepared by panchayats and municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole. The state legislature may make provisions with respect to the following:

  • Composition of such committees
  • Manner of election of members of such committees
  • Functions of such committees in relation to district planning
  • Manner of the election of the chairpersons of such committees

The act lay down that 80% of the members of this committee will be elected by the elected members from the municipalities and panchayats in the region amongst themselves.

While preparation of the plans following areas have to be considered:

  1. Matters of common interest between the panchayats and municipalities.
  2. The extent and type of available resources
  3. Consult such institutions and organization as specified by the governor

 

Metro planning committee: As per Article 243ZE of the constitution, in every Metropolitan area, a Metropolitan Planning Committee may be constituted to prepare a draft development plan for the Metropolitan area as a whole.

The state legislature may make provisions with respect to the following:

  • Composition of such committees
  • Manner of election of members of such committees
  • Functions of such committees in relation to district planning
  • Manner of the election of the chairpersons of such committees

 

The act lay down that 66% of the members of this committee will be elected by the elected members from the municipalities and panchayats in the region amongst themselves.

While preparation of the plan the following things have to be kept in mind:

  • Plans prepared by the municipalities and panchayats
  • Matters of common interest between the local bodies
  • Overall objectives and priorities set by the GoI and government of the state
  • Available resources of investment
  • Consult such institutions as specified by the governor

The act also bars the interference of the court in electoral matters relating to municipalities. It empowers the state legislature to determine the manner in which a petition questioning the election and also to the authority as it deems fit

Popular posts from this blog

ELEMENTS OF STATE

    The state has four essential elements. These are: (1) population, (2) territory, (3) government, (4) sovereignty   1. Population: The state is a human institution. So population is its primary element. There is no hard and fast rule about population. The ancient Greek writers like Plato and Aristotle favoured a small population. According to Plato, an ideal state should have a population of 5040. Aristotle laid down a general principle that the population of a state should be large enough to make it sufficient and small enough to make good government possible. It must be remembered that both of them were thinking in terms of small city-states. In modern times, Rousseau, prompted by considerations of direct democracy, fixed the number at 10,000. In modern times states vary greatly from the few thousands of Monaco or of San Marino to the crores of China or of India. The modern tendency is in favour of large states. All that can be said is that a large populatio...
Read more

Politcal science and other social science

Political Science and other Social Sciences All social sciences are closely related to one another insofar as each influences the other and is influenced by the other. Political Science as a social science, deals with the political aspect of man’s social life. However, it is closely related to other social sciences such as History, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Ethics, etc. In recent times, the study of social sciences has assumed an interdisciplinary character in the sense that the researchers and students of one specialized social science works in coordination with those of other specialized social sciences.  Political Science and History John Seeley once remarked that, “History without Political Science has no fruit and Political Science without History has no root.” Seeley might have exaggerated the relationship between the two yet there is an intimate relationship between the two social sciences and they borrow heavily from each other. Political science deals with sta...
Read more

Scope of political science

A study of the State and Government: Political Science primarily studies the problems of the State and government. The state is defined as a group of people organised for law within definite territory. The State possesses four characteristics, viz. Population, territory, government and sovereignty. Government is an agent of the State. Political Science studies the activities of the State and explains the aims and objectives of the State and government.  A Study of Political Theory: Political theory is a major branch of Political Science. On the basis of the political ideas or thoughts of political thinkers, political theory formulates definitions or concepts like democracy, liberty, equality, grounds of political obligation, etc.   A Study of Political Institutions: The field of Political Science is rather vast. It includes the study of political institutions. This covers a study of constitutions and comparative government, explains their merits and demerits, their struct...
Read more