BharatNotes Municipality
noun (plural: municipalities)Usage in a UPSC answer
The 74th Constitutional Amendment sought to transform every municipality from a mere agent of the state government into a genuine third tier of self-governance, yet the persistent reluctance to devolve finances and functionaries has left urban local bodies fiscally hollow and administratively dependent.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
municipal (adj.), municipality (n.), municipalities (n. pl.), municipalise (v.), municipally (adv.)
Root
Latin municipium = free city/township; mūnus = duty, service + -ceps = taker
Etymology
From French municipalité, from Latin municipalis, from municipium ("free city, township"), from mūnus ("duty, service") + -ceps ("taker").
Memory Hook
Think MUNI + CIPALITY: from Latin munus ('duty') + capere ('to take') - a town that 'takes up its own duties', i.e. governs itself. Recall the 'muni-' in municipal bonds that fund a city's own services.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
An urban local body under Part IX-A, inserted by the 74th Amendment in 1992, which provides three types graded by the character of the 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 one, with the State fixing the thresholds. The distinctive institutions deserve listing because they are frequently omitted: a Ward Committee is mandatory in municipalities with a population above three lakh, a District Planning Committee under Article 243ZD consolidates rural and urban plans for the district, and a Metropolitan Planning Committee under Article 243ZE performs the same function for metropolitan areas. The Twelfth Schedule lists eighteen subjects. The structural weakness that recurs in every answer is fiscal, since municipalities depend heavily on State transfers while their own revenue base narrowed with the abolition of octroi and the subsuming of local levies into GST, and property tax remains under-assessed and under-collected.
Don’t Confuse It With
A Nagar Panchayat serves an area in transition from rural to urban, a Municipal Council a smaller urban area and a Municipal Corporation a larger one, with the State setting thresholds. A Ward Committee is required in municipalities above three lakh population. The District Planning Committee consolidates rural and urban plans for a district, while the Metropolitan Planning Committee does so for metropolitan areas. The Twelfth Schedule lists eighteen subjects for municipalities, against twenty-nine for panchayats in the Eleventh.
Hindi Meaning
नगरपालिका (nagarpālikā); नगर निगम (nagar nigam) for a Municipal Corporation.
Common Questions
- What are the three types of municipality?
- 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 one.
- Why are municipalities fiscally weak?
- They depend on State transfers while their own revenue narrowed with the abolition of octroi and the subsuming of local levies into GST, and property tax remains under-assessed and under-collected.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
