Why this chapter matters for UPSC: Street lights, garbage collection, water supply, drains, dispensaries and parks are run by municipal bodies, and how well they do it shapes city life for hundreds of millions. The 74th Amendment (Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule), municipal finance, and urban missions such as Smart Cities, AMRUT and PMAY-Urban are regular GS2 and GS3 material. In the rationalised 2023-24 edition this is Chapter 6, "Urban Administration", with the same content.

Contemporary hook: The Smart Cities Mission, launched on 25 June 2015 in 100 cities, was completed on 31 March 2025; as of 9 May 2025, 7,555 of its 8,067 projects (94%) had been finished (PIB). The special purpose companies created for it continue under a Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs advisory, now advising and implementing other city projects.

🧠 First Principles — Read This First

NCERT's story is set in Pune. Rehana hits a cricket ball so hard that it breaks a street light. Who pays, and to whom? The children ask Yasmin Khala, who has retired from the Municipal Corporation. She explains:

  • There is "no one person" to pay: a big organisation called the Municipal Corporation looks after street lights, garbage collection, water supply, clean streets and markets, disease prevention (such as the malaria signs), schools, hospitals, dispensaries and gardens. A big city has a Municipal Corporation; a smaller town has a Municipal Council.
  • The city is divided into wards, each electing a Ward Councillor. Councillors decide, in committees for water, garbage, street lighting and so on, and together make the budget. The Commissioner and administrative staff, who are appointed, carry out those decisions.
  • The Corporation's money comes from taxes: property tax (larger houses pay more), water and other service taxes, taxes on shops, hotels and cinema tickets. Property tax is only 25-30% of what a Municipal Corporation earns.

Then the story turns: when garbage piled up in their locality, Gangabai led women to the Ward Councillor's house, gathered a petition, and confronted the Commissioner, who blamed a shortage of trucks. "But you seem to have enough trucks to collect garbage from the rich localities," she replied. After a second, bigger protest, collection became regular. The lesson: elected representatives and citizens' action make the administration respond.

PART 1 — Quick Reference

Who Runs the City (NCERT)

Elected or appointed?Role
Ward CouncillorElected by the wardRaises the ward's needs; councillors' committees decide on water, garbage, lighting; councillors make the budget
Commissioner and administrative staffAppointedImplement the councillors' decisions
DepartmentsStaffWater, garbage collection, gardens, roads, sanitation, accounts
Citizens—Petitions, protests, contacting their councillor

The 74th Amendment: What the Constitution Says

The Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 inserted Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule, in force from 1 June 1993.

ArticleProvision
243QThree kinds of Municipality: a Nagar Panchayat for an area in transition from rural to urban, a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area, a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area (population thresholds are fixed by each State)
243SWards Committees in every Municipality with a population of three lakh or more
243TSeats for SCs and STs in proportion to population; not less than one-third for women
243UFive-year term
243WState law may give Municipalities powers, including on the Twelfth Schedule's 18 matters
243YThe State Finance Commission also reviews Municipal finances
243ZAThe State Election Commission conducts Municipal elections
243ZDA District Planning Committee in every district consolidates Panchayat and Municipal plans
243ZEA Metropolitan Planning Committee in every Metropolitan area (population ten lakh or more, Art. 243P(c))

The Twelfth Schedule: 18 Matters (Article 243W)

  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 · 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, including the handicapped and mentally retarded · 10. Slum improvement and upgradation · 11. Urban poverty alleviation · 12. Urban amenities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds · 13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects · 14. Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoriums · 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, bus stops and public conveniences · 18. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.

Rehana's broken street light is item 17.

PART 2 — Concepts & Narrative

Councillors, Committees and the Commissioner

Explainer

Decisions that affect the whole city, such as improving bus stands, clearing a crowded market more often, or cleaning a drain that runs through the city, are taken by groups of councillors in committees. Problems within a ward go to its councillor: for dangerous hanging wires, the councillor can put residents in touch with the electricity authority. Councillors meet, make a budget, and press their wards' demands before the whole council. The Commissioner and staff, appointed rather than elected, implement the decisions.

NCERT's fill-in-the-blanks exercise sums it up: in a panchayat the elected members are Panchs; in a municipal corporation, councillors; elections are held every five years for both; councillors decide and the administrative staff led by the Commissioner implement.

How the Corporation Gets Its Money

Key Term

Tax: "a sum of money that people pay to the government for the services the government provides" (NCERT).

  • Property tax, plus taxes for water and other services, paid by home owners; larger houses pay more.
  • Taxes for education and other amenities; taxes on shops and hotels; tax on cinema tickets.
  • Property tax forms only 25-30% of a Municipal Corporation's earnings. So "while rich people account for property taxes, a much wider population pays more general taxes."

NCERT's question on fairness: slum dwellers who clean the city and work in homes often live without water or sanitation, because, the Corporation says, they do not own the land or pay taxes. Yet middle-class areas pay little in taxes compared with what is spent on their parks, lights and garbage collection. Why should the Corporation spend more on slums?

Grants: besides its own taxes, a municipality receives Finance Commission grants. The XV Finance Commission set aside Rs 1,21,055 crore for urban local bodies for 2021-26, out of Rs 4,36,361 crore for all local governments (PIB, 1-Feb-2021).

Garbage: Protest, Sub-contracting and Surat

Explainer

Gangabai's protest shows citizens using their elected councillor, a signed petition and public pressure. NCERT adds what Yasmin Khala did not mention: to save money, many municipalities now hire private contractors to collect and process garbage (sub-contracting). Contract workers are paid less, their jobs are temporary, and they often lack safety equipment or care if injured.

Surat, 1994: a plague scare struck one of India's dirtiest cities, where garbage was dumped into drains and streets and collection was irregular. Several people died and over 300,000 fled. The scare made the Corporation clean up the city, which "continues to remain one of the cleanest cities in India" (NCERT).

Separate dustbins: the Corporation asked households to keep two bins, because sorting garbage at home reduces its work. NCERT also notes the kabadi wallah's long-standing role in recycling paper, metal, glass and plastic, and the Swachh Bharat Mission, launched on 2 October 2014.

[Additional] 7a. Urban Missions

Key Term

Key Terms: Urban Missions (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs)

MissionWhat it does
Smart Cities MissionLaunched 25 June 2015 in 100 cities; completed 31 March 2025; central outlay Rs 48,000 crore
AMRUT 2.0Launched 1 October 2021 for 2021-22 to 2025-26; aims at household tap water in all 4,378 statutory towns and sewerage and septage coverage in the 500 AMRUT cities
Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0Continued to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 1,41,600 crore
PMAY-Urban 2.0From 1 September 2024, housing support for 1 crore additional eligible urban families; demand-driven, with no fixed target
PM SVANidhiThe "first dedicated micro-credit scheme" for street vendors (PIB); see Chapter 9
UPSC Connect

[Additional] Smart Cities and Housing: Results (GS2: Urban Governance; GS3: Infrastructure)

Smart Cities Mission (PIB):

IndicatorFigure
Projects8,067 worth Rs 1.64 lakh crore; 7,555 (94%) completed, worth Rs 1,51,361 crore, as of 9-May-2025
Integrated Command and Control CentresIn all 100 cities
Smart classrooms9,433 in 2,300 government schools in 71 cities, and 41 digital libraries (as of 15-Nov-2024)
After completionThe special purpose vehicles continue under MoHUA Advisory No. 27, with roles such as technology and consulting support (PIB, 10-Jun-2025)

Housing (PIB, 27-Jul-2026): across PMAY-U and PMAY-U 2.0, 127.68 lakh houses sanctioned (16.20 lakh of them under PMAY-U 2.0), 121.03 lakh grounded and 99.07 lakh completed or delivered, as of 13 July 2026.

What next: on 13 February 2026 the Cabinet approved an Urban Challenge Fund with Rs 1 lakh crore of central assistance for 2025-26 to 2030-31; its guidelines were launched on 15 April 2026 (PIB).

The governance question: Smart Cities projects were carried out by special purpose companies, which critics argue bypass elected councils. NCERT's model, in which councillors decide and the Commissioner implements, is the benchmark for that debate.

PART 3 — UPSC Integration

The chapter's Municipal Corporation is the Constitution's Part IXA. Its key ideas map onto GS2 debates: who decides (elected councillors and Wards Committees versus appointed commissioners and special purpose companies), who pays (own revenue such as property tax, only 25-30% in NCERT's account, versus Finance Commission grants), and who benefits (NCERT's question about slums versus middle-class areas). Gangabai's protest is the chapter's case for participation, and sub-contracting is its case study in informal work (Chapter 9). Urbanisation adds scale: Census 2011 counted 377 million urban residents, 31.16% of India's population, in 7,935 towns (PIB, from Census 2011).

Exam Strategy

Prelims traps:

  • Part IXA = Articles 243P to 243ZG + Twelfth Schedule (18 matters); the 74th Amendment came into force on 1 June 1993.
  • Wards Committees: population of three lakh or more. Metropolitan area: ten lakh or more.
  • Nagar Panchayat = transitional area; Municipal Council = smaller urban area; Municipal Corporation = larger urban area (Art. 243Q; numbers set by States).
  • District Planning Committee (243ZD) consolidates Panchayat and Municipal plans; Metropolitan Planning Committee (243ZE) plans a metropolitan area.
  • Street lighting is Twelfth Schedule item 17; fire services item 7.
  • NCERT: property tax = 25-30% of a corporation's income; Surat plague, 1994; Swachh Bharat Mission, 2 October 2014.
  • Census 2011 urban share: 31.16%. Smart Cities: 100 cities; ended 31 March 2025. XV FC urban local body grant: Rs 1,21,055 crore.

Mains frameworks:

  • On municipal weakness: funds (low own revenue) → functions (243W is enabling) → functionaries (commissioner-led administration) → reforms.
  • On citizen participation: Gangabai's protest → Wards Committees (243S) → limits (unequal voice of slums and rich localities).

Practice Questions

Practice (UPSC-pattern, not past papers). Real UPSC questions on this chapter are listed in the PYQ box above.

Prelims:

  1. In a Municipal Corporation, NCERT explains, the decisions of councillors are implemented by:
    (a) The Mayor alone
    (b) The Commissioner and the administrative staff
    (c) The State Election Commission
    (d) The Ward Committees

  2. How many matters are listed in the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution?
    (a) 11
    (b) 18
    (c) 22
    (d) 29

  3. Under Article 243S, Wards Committees must be constituted in every Municipality with a population of:
    (a) One lakh or more
    (b) Three lakh or more
    (c) Five lakh or more
    (d) Ten lakh or more

  4. Consider the following about the Smart Cities Mission:

    1. It was launched in 2015 for 100 cities.
    2. All of its 8,067 projects were complete by May 2025.
      Which is/are correct?
      (a) 1 only
      (b) 2 only
      (c) Both 1 and 2
      (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Mains:

  1. "Property tax is only a fraction of what a municipal corporation spends." Discuss the implications for urban services and equity, with reference to NCERT's example. (GS2, 10 marks)

  2. Do special purpose vehicles under urban missions strengthen or weaken elected urban local bodies? Examine. (GS2, 15 marks)

📦 Revision Capsule

Revision Capsule

Hard Facts

  • Municipal Corporation (big city) / Municipal Council (smaller town); wards elect councillors; Commissioner (appointed) implements
  • Property tax = 25-30% of corporation income (NCERT); Surat plague 1994; Swachh Bharat 2-Oct-2014
  • 74th Amendment: Part IXA (243P-243ZG) + Twelfth Schedule (18), in force 1-Jun-1993; Wards Committees ≥3 lakh; metro ≥10 lakh
  • Census 2011: 31.16% urban; 7,935 towns
  • Smart Cities: 2015-2025, 100 cities, 94% of 8,067 projects done (May-2025)

Core Concepts

  • Councillors decide, staff implement
  • Citizens' action (petition, protest) makes the administration respond
  • Sub-contracting cuts costs at the expense of workers' security

Confused Pairs

  • Ward Councillor (elected) vs Commissioner (appointed)
  • Nagar Panchayat (transitional) vs Gram Panchayat (rural)
  • DPC (243ZD, district) vs MPC (243ZE, metropolitan)
  • Eleventh Schedule (29, Panchayats) vs Twelfth Schedule (18, Municipalities)

PYQ Pattern

  • Mains has asked about Smart Cities and the quality of urban life, empowering urban local bodies, and merging rural and urban local bodies (see the PYQ box).

Sources

Sources