Municipal Governance (Urban Local Bodies) | WBCS Preparation: All Subjects - WBCS (West Bengal) PDF Download

Municipal Governance (Urban Local Bodies)

Municipalities are established by the State Government, taking into account public opinion in the respective areas. The division of municipal regions into wards is primarily based on population size, with each ward electing a representative directly. Women are allocated one-third of the total seats, while proportional reservation is made for marginalized sections such as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Elected by the public, councillors govern municipalities, and elections are conducted every 5 years under the oversight of the State Election Commission. Mayors/Chairpersons are directly elected by councillors.

Constitution of Municipal Governance 

The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 outlines criteria for constituting municipal areas, with possible relaxations for notified areas. Criteria include a population of at least 30,000, a population density not less than 750 inhabitants per sq km, half the adult population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits, and adequate income for municipal functions.
Municipal governance in the state is categorized into Municipal Corporations for large cities and Municipalities for smaller ones. 

Municipal Corporation 

A Municipal Corparation is the legal term for a local governing body including cities, towns, townships, charter townships, villages and boroughs. In West Bengal, Municipal Corporations are formed by the Municipal Corporation Act, 1980. The Municipal Corporations are established in big cities that have large populations. These corporations have elections once in 5 years where the mayor and his council members are chosen by the people. The mayor has the power to access all records of the corporation, issue directions to the Commissioner and call for reports.
In West Bengal, there are 7 Municipal Corporations. Kolkata, the state capital and a metropolitan city, is managed by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). Bidhannagar is managed by Bidhannagar Municipality. Chandannagar that was a French colony during British rule has now a Municipal Corporation. Siliguri which is an important railway junction and the gateway to North-East is managed by Siliguri Municipal Corporation.
Howrah, Asansol and Durgapur have other Municipal Corporations of West Bengal. Municipal Affairs of the State was administered by the Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. Later, the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 has been enacted on 13th July, 1994 by replacing the Bengal Municipal Act, 1932.

• Municipalities
  Municipalities handle the local self-government of towns and small cities. North 24 Parganas has the highest number of Municipalities, with areas like Raniganj, Asansol, and Durgapur falling under Bardhaman district. Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, and Mirik host municipalities in Darjeeling district, while Haldia's dockyard is in East Midnapore. Municipalities like Diamond Harbour and Budge Budge are situated in South 24 Parganas. The region also includes one cantonment, Barrackpore cantonment, and 252 census towns.