A+| A| A-
Municipal Elections and the Constitution
Some of India’s largest cities with a population of a little more or less than one crore, have gone without a municipal government for several years. This is another key failing of the 74th amendment to the Constitution—the lack of provisions ensuring that urban governance can be carried out without state government interference. This article uses the example of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to highlight some of the problems with the constitutional provisions relating to urban local bodies and the inconsistent intervention by the courts.
As of January 2023, the city of Bengaluru has been without an elected municipal government for over two years and three months since the term of the last council of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) came to an end on 10 September 2020 (Joshi 2020). At present, an administrator appointed under the BBMP Act, 2020 is responsible for carrying out the functions of the BBMP.
This is not even the first time in the last couple of decades that elections to the BBMP council have not taken place on time. Between November 2006 and March 2010, no council elections were held—a period of three and a half years where Bengaluru went without a representative municipal corporation (Hindu 2009).
Dear Reader,
Or
To gain instant access to this article (download).
(Readers in India)
(Readers outside India)
