Introduction
Municipality is usually known as an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self –government or jurisdiction. The term municipality is also used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A Municipality is a general – purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special – purpose. The term is derived from French “municipalite” and Latin “Municipalis”.
There are 188 urban local bodies in Rajasthan After enactment of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, the Local Bodies, which were previously not the part of the Constitution of India, have now been assigned the Constitutional Status. There are 7 Corporations 34 Councils and 147 Municipalities. Total 188 ULBs in the State.
The purpose of municipal governance and strategic urban planning in a country is to create effective, responsive, democratic, transparent, accountable local governance framework organized according to a rational structure that promotes responsiveness and accountability; to provide responsive policy guidance and assistance to sub-national entities; to strengthen the legal, fiscal, economic and service delivery functions of municipalities; and to foster greater citizen participation in the governance of local bodies.
The functions of municipal bodies broadly relate to public health welfare, regulatory functions, public safety, public infrastructure works, and development activities.
Public health includes water supply, sewerage and sanitation, eradication of communicable diseases etc. welfare includes public facilities such as education, recreation, etc. regulatory functions related to prescribing and enforcing building regulations, encroachments on public land, birth registration and death certificate, etc. public safety includes fire protection, street lighting, etc. public works measures such as construction and maintenance of inner city roads, etc. and development functions related to town planning and development of commercial markets.