Local government. in Maharashtra State follows the general structure of Local Governance in India and is broadly classified into two categories: Urban Local Governance and Rural Local Governance.
Urban Local Governance
Maharashtra is the third most urbanised state in India with 42.23% of its population living in urban areas, compared with the national average of 31.16%. The urban population grew by 23.7% in the 2001–2011 period to 50.8 million and now has the highest number of people living in urban areas.[1] Maharashtra has 255 Statutory Towns and 279 Census Towns.[2]
Municipal Acts
There are three municipal acts in effect in Maharashtra;
Name of Act
Area of Effect
Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965[3]
All Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats, and Industrial Townships in Maharashtra
Section 3 of Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, and Sections 3,4, and 341A of Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 create the following categories of urban areas based on their population.
Types of Urban Areas according to the Municipal Acts in Maharashtra
Type
Population Criteria
Type of Local Body
Larger Urban Area
Population more than 300,000
Municipal Corporation
Smaller Urban Area
Type A
Population more than 100,000
Municipal Council
Type B
Population of more than 40,000 but not more than 100,000
Type C
Population of 40,000 or less but more than 25,000
Transitional Area
10,000 to 25,000
Nagar Panchayat
Further, depending on the population size, the Acts prescribes the minimum and maximum number of councillors/wards allowed within each type of local government.
Minimum and Maximum number of Councillors Allowed in Municipalities in Maharashtra
Population Range
Minimum
Incremental Number
Maximum
Municipal Corporations
Above 2.4 million
145
For every additional population of 100,000, one additional councillor
221
1.2 million – 2.4 million
115
For every additional population of 40,000 above 1.2 million, one additional councillor
145
600,000 – 1.2 million
85
For every additional population of 20,000 above 600,000, one additional councillor
115
300,000 – 600,000
65
For every additional population of 15,000 above 300,000, one additional councillor
85
Municipal Council
Class 'A' Municipal Council
38
For every 8,000 of the population above 100,000, there shall be one additional elected Councillor
65
Class 'B' Municipal Council
23
For every 5,000 of the population above 40,000 there shall be one additional elected Councillor
37
Class 'C' Municipal Council
17
For every 3,000 of the population above 25,000 there shall be one additional elected Councillor
Section 66A of Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 mandates the setting up of wards committees in municipal areas with a population more than 300,000.[3] Thus, Nagar Panchayats, and Type B and C Municipal Councils are automatically relieved of setting up Wards Committees, as well as Type A Municipal Councils with population less than 300,000. More than one ward may constitute one Wards Committee and it is left to the discretion of the municipal body to decide upon the number of such wards.
Section 29A of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act mandates the setting up of wards committees in areas with Municipal Corporations.[4] It gives more details about the number of wards committees to be formed according to population size:
Number of Wards Committees allowed according to Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act
Population
Minimum Number of Ward Committees
Additional Wards Committees for Additional Population
Maximum Number of Ward Committees
Above 2.4 million
13
600,000
25
1.2 million – 2.4 million
9
300,000
13
450,000 – 1.2 million
4
150,000
9
300,000 – 450,000
3
-
4
While bigger cities like Mumbai and Pune have formed Wards Committees which are active, smaller cities are yet to have active wards committees.[8][9]
Rural Local Governance
Rural governance in India is based on the Panchayati Raj system. It is a three tier system, with the Zilla Parishad at the district level, Taluka panchayat at the Taluka or sub-district level and Grampanchayat (Village Council) at the lowest level. Maharashtra was one of the first states to implement the three tier system under the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Acts 1961 of Maharashtra State. That act was amended with Act XXI to bring it in line with 73rd amendment to the Indian constitution in 1994.[10][11]
Zilla parishad
Zilla Parishad (commonly known as ZP) is a local government body at the district level in India. It looks after the administration of the rural area of the district and its office is located at the district headquarters.
There are 34 Zilla Parishads in Maharashtra which are as follows.
Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the Taluka (sub-district)( level in India. It works for the villages that together are called a Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad.
There are 351 panchayat samitis or block panchayats in Maharashtra.
Gram panchayat
Gram panchayat office at Chinawal village in Maharashtra
Gram panchayats are local self-government bodies at the village level. They are a cornerstone of the panchayati raj system. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with a population of more than five hundred. There is a common gram panchayat for two or more villages if the population of these villages is less than five hundred, whereupon it is called a group-gram panchayat. The panchayat members are elected by the voters in the village but seats are reserved for different categories. 33% of the seats are reserved for women. The scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes(ST), and other backward classes (OBC) get seats allocated in proportion to their population in the village. The office holder positions (sarpanch and the deputy sarpanch positions) are rotated between different demographics such as women, SC, ST., general category etc.[12]
There are 28,813 gram panchayats in Maharashtra.[13]
