Kerala has an urbanisation rate of 47.42%, as compared to the national rate of 31.16%, making it the 2nd most urbanised major state in India. Within Kerala, the rate of urbanisation varied from 3.9% inWayanad district to 68.1% inErnakulam district.^[1] Municipalities are the urban local governments that deal with civic functions and local development functions in the municipal area. The state of Kerala has 87 municipalities and six municipal corporations.^[2] With 13 municipalities, theErnakulam district has the most municipalities in the state.

At the state government level, theLocal Self Government Department (LSGD) is responsible for policy formulation and administration. The Department of Urban Affairs, functioning under the LSGD, oversees the administration of Municipalities and Municipal Corporations (collectively referred to as Urban Local Bodies) inKerala. TheDepartment of Urban Affairs with the Director (Urban) as the head functions as the controlling authority of entire Urban Local Bodies in their working.^[3]

Municipalities in Kerala

The urban councils of Kerala date back to the 17th century when theDutch Malabar established the municipality ofFort Kochi. In 1664, the municipality ofFort Kochi was established byDutch Malabar, making it the first municipality inIndian subcontinent, which got dissolved when the Dutch authority got weaker in 18th century.^[4] However, the first modern kind of municipalities were formed in the state in 1866 inMalabar District. In 1866,Fort Kochi municipality was reestablished.Kannur,Thalassery,Kozhikode,Palakkad, andFort Kochi, which were parts ofMalabar District until 1956, were made the first modern municipalities of Kerala on 1 November 1866, according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850)^[5][6][7][8] of theBritish Indian Empire.

The74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 provided for a national framework for municipal governance in the country, and Kerala has been following that pattern since 1994. Consequent to this amendment, several changes have occurred in the functions, powers, and responsibilities of the municipalities, and the states had to make necessary amendments to the legislation on the local governments in the respective states. The Kerala Municipalities Act of 1994,^[9] enacted as per the constitutional amendment, governs the pattern, functions and services of the municipalities in Kerala. The act, which was integrated for the municipalities and corporations in the state, laid out the constitution of thetown panchayats,municipal councils, andmunicipal corporations.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to this, the urban areas of Kerala were governed by the following acts, which were repealed when the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 was introduced:^[10]

• Kerala Municipalities Act, 1960
• Kerala Municipal Corporations Act, 1961
• Guruvayur Township Act, 1960

Hence, instead of having separate acts for municipal corporations and other types of municipal bodies, from 1994 Kerala has the same act to govern all its municipal bodies. Since then, the structure of municipal bodies has essentially remained the same, even though the urban areas have multiplied. The 74th amendment^[11] to theConstitution of India resulted in increased roles for the municipalities in every state in India, where they have been perceived to be great contributors to the social and economic development of the country, as they are the level of government that is closest to the citizens.^{[citation needed]}

The Kerala Municipality Act 1994 envisage creation of three kinds of urban local governments

• Town panchayats for transitional areas.
• Municipalities for less urbanised areas and
• Municipal corporations for more urbanised areas.

Kerala has not created any town panchayats so far.

The functions of the municipalities are enlisted as schedule appended to Kerala Municipality Act. The functions can be divided into civic functions and development functions in areas of agriculture, industry, health, education etc.

Their mandatory responsibilities include urban planning and building control; protection and maintenance of public places, roads and water bodies; solid and liquid waste management; sanitation, street lighting and public infrastructure facilities; public health and food safety regulation; prevention and control of communicable diseases; registration of births and deaths; environmental protection; and implementation of State and national programmes.^[9]

In addition to these essential civic duties, municipalities also undertake general functions such as community mobilisation, awareness activities, disaster relief support and promotion of social welfare initiatives.

They are further entrusted with sectoral development responsibilities in areas such as housing, water supply, education, public health, social welfare, poverty alleviation, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe development, small-scale industries, agriculture, fisheries, sports, culture and disaster management.^[10]

The municipality is administered by an electedmunicipal council headed by the Municipal Chairperson and functions through six Standing Committees—Finance, Development, Welfare, Public Works, Education, and Health. Each of these committees is chaired by an elected member. Elected councillors and officers are the other functionaries. Two types of officers now exist – officers belonging to the municipality as full-time officers and officers transferred to the municipality from the state government.

The Municipal Chairperson leads the municipality, while the Municipal Secretary serves as the chief administrative officer.^[9]

• Chairperson
  • Head of the Municipality.
  • Elected from among the councilors
  • Presides over Municipal Council meetings.
  • Leads policy formulation and implementation.

• Vice-Chairperson
  • Assists the Chairperson.
  • Acts on behalf of the Chairperson in their absence.
  • Elected from among the councilors
• Standing Committee Chairpersons
  • Chaired by elected councillors, with each Chairperson elected from among the members of the municipal council.^[10]
  • Lead specific committees like:
    • Finance
    • Public Works
    • Development
    • Welfare
    • Health and Education
• Municipal Councillors
  • Elected from each municipal ward.
  • Form the Municipal Council.
  • Participate in decision-making and budget approval.

• Municipal Secretary
  • Chief executive officer of the Municipality.
  • Appointed by the State Government
  • Implements council decisions.
  • Belongs to the Municipal Common Service.
• Engineers (Civil, Electrical, etc.)
  • Plan and execute infrastructure projects.

• Health Officer / Sanitary Inspector
  • Supervise sanitation and public health.

• Revenue Officer
  • Manage municipal taxes and revenue.

• Accounts Officer / Accountant
  • Maintain financial records and prepare budgets.

• Clerical and Support Staff
  • Includes clerks, assistants, overseers, and other staff.

The Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 mandates the establishment of ward committees in each ward of the municipality.^[10] In case the municipality has less than one lakh population, then every person from the ward on the electoral roll becomes a member of the committee. In case the population of the municipality is more than one lakh, then the following become the members of the ward committee:

• the councillor of the ward;
• fifteen persons to be elected in the manner prescribed, from among the members of the resident's association of that ward, which are registered in the municipality;
• twenty members to be elected in the manner prescribed from among the members of the registered neighbourhood groups of that ward which are registered in the municipality;
• one person each nominated by every political party having representation in the municipality;
• the heads of all recognised educational institutions functioning in that ward;
• twenty persons nominated jointly by the chairperson and councillor of the ward

In both cases, the local councillor is the chairperson of the Ward committee. The Kerala Municipality (Constitution of ward Committee and Procedure for Meeting) Rules, 1995 provides further rules for the setting up and functioning of these committees.^[12] Ward committees have been set up in Kerala and are regularly cited as a good example of functioning micro level urban governance in India.^[13] Ward committees played an important role in combating the spread ofCOVID-19 in Kerala.^[14]

• List of municipal corporations in Kerala
• Local Governance in Kerala
• Local Self Government Department (LSGD), GoK
• Municipal Governance in India
• Non-Municipal Census Towns in Kerala

• Website of Local Self Government Department in Kerala
• Local Self Government

• Municipalities of Kerala
• Populated places in Kerala

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