74th Amendment: how municipalities got constitutional status in India

Why cities needed a constitutional amendment

Before 1992, urban local bodies existed only under state laws. That meant their powers, elections and even their existence depended on the state government of the day, with no uniformity across India and no constitutional protection if a state government delayed elections or dissolved a body. The 74th Amendment, passed alongside the 73rd Amendment for rural panchayats, was meant to fix exactly that gap for towns and cities.

The amendment's stated aim was to give urban local bodies a common framework for their structure and mandate, so that they could function as effective democratic units of local self-government rather than as departments of state governments. Together, the 73rd and 74th Amendments completed the constitutionalisation of local self-government in India, rural and urban respectively.

What the amendment added: Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule

The 74th Amendment added Part IXA, titled 'The Municipalities', covering Articles 243P to 243ZG, and added the Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution. The Twelfth Schedule lists 18 functional items placed within the purview of municipalities, including urban planning, regulation of land use, public health, sanitation, water supply, fire services, urban forestry and environmental protection.

Being in the Constitution matters because it makes municipalities constitutional entities, not merely creatures of state legislation. States still pass their own municipal laws and decide how much power to devolve, but the basic structure, elections and institutional safeguards now have constitutional backing that a state law alone cannot remove.

Three types of municipalities, elected every five years

The amendment mandates three types of municipalities, matched to the size and character of the urban area: a Nagar Panchayat for an area in transition from rural to urban, a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area, and a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area. Each is constituted as a democratic body with a fixed five-year term and regular elections, with timely elections if a municipality is dissolved before its term ends.

Two further safeguards run through the design. Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and for women, so that urban bodies represent weaker sections rather than only dominant local interests. Ward Committees are provided for, to bring decision-making closer to neighbourhoods, and State Election Commissions are constituted to conduct, supervise and control municipal elections independently of the state government.

Money and powers: finance commissions and devolution

A municipality can only act if it has money and functions to perform. The amendment therefore requires State Finance Commissions, which review the financial position of urban local bodies and recommend how resources should be shared between the state and the municipalities, and measures to improve municipal finances. Devolution of powers and responsibilities is meant to let municipalities function as institutions of self-government, handling the Twelfth Schedule subjects in their area.

In practice, the exam point and the real-world caution are the same: the Constitution sets the framework, but how much power and money a municipality actually gets still depends on the state government devolving functions, funds and functionaries. That is why two cities in different states can have the same constitutional status and very different municipal capacity.

Editorial disclosure

This article was researched and published with AI assistance. No human prepublication review is claimed. Report factual errors through our contact page.