CRESCENT SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

LOCAL GOVERNANCE
HUMAN SETTLEMENT AND PLANNING
NOTES COMPILED BY
AMEER, AMREEN, ANUSHA, RAAFEE, VIGNESH, HAFIL, SHUNOON
11/7/2014

LOCAL GOVERNANCE
CONTENTS

PARTICULARS OF ORGNIZATION, FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF

VILLAGE PANCHAYAT
MUNICIPALITIES
CORPORATIONS
UREN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES

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VILLAGE PANCHAYAT
RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT
(GRAM PANCHAYAT OR VILLAGE PANCHAYAT)
Under the three tier system of democratic decentralization of Panchayat Raj Gram Panchayat
function at village level. It is the primary unit of local self-government. Now the Panchayats
are the agency for planning and executing the local development programme.

WHAT IS GRAM PANCHAYAT?

A Gram Panchayat is a local self-government which is responsible mainly for administration
of the village and which also looks after the welfare of the people in the village.

IMPORTANT OF GRAM PANCHAYAT:

1. It helps to train the villagers in the art of governing themselves.
2. It trains and develops local leadership.
3. It helps in securing participation of local people.
4. It trains rural people in democratic procedure.

WORKING OF GRAM-PANCHAYAT:
1. The meeting of members is arranged once in a month to take decisions about different
activities of panchayat.
2. Gram Sabha is arranged twice in a year. The first meeting is arranged in the month of April
or May and the second Gram-Sabha is arranged in the month of November. If required more
meeting can be arranged. All the voters are invited for meeting. In the first meeting progress
report, account and audit report of last year and in 2nd meeting budget and activities of the
next year are discussed.

SOURCE OF INCOME:
1. Land revenue of village.
2. Collection of various taxes such as house tax, water tax, marriage tax, professional tax,
vehicle tax, entertainment tax etc.
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3. Income from stray cattle pen (Kondwade) fines and sale of compost.
4. Grants from ZillaParishad.
5. Annual fair and festival tax.
6. Marketing tax.

FUNCTIONS:
1. Supply of water for domestic use.
2. Construction and repairs to public roads, drains, small irrigation bandharas.
3. Maintaining sanitation and public health.
4. Construction, repairing and maintaining public buildings, grazing lands, forest public wells
and tanks in good condition.
5. Lighting on roads and public places.
6. Controlling fairs, bazaars (public market) bullets cart stands.
7. Controlling and marinating village cemetery.
8. Taking part in Agricultural development.
9. Maintaining a library and opening elementary school.
10. Providing and maintaining a playground for children.
11. Construction and maintaining public latrines.
12. Watch and ward work.
13. Planting and preservation of trees on the sides of the public roads in the village.
14. Collection of taxes.
15. Providing recreational facilities through establishment of T.V. unit.

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MUNICIPALITIES
Local governments are the lowest level of government and municipal councillors are the
elected representatives closest to the people.
OBJECTIVE
They represent their electoral constituencies, provide a vision for development, and oversee
public finances. In order to fully respond to the needs of the community, elected
representatives must engage properly with their constituents.
FUNCTIONS
i)
ii)
iii)

policy making,
executive oversight and
constituency

improvement. Simply put, councillors make laws, approve budgets and raise questions of
public importance.
As members of the Council and Wards Committees, councillors monitor the Corporations
activities in the provision of all municipal services
RESPONSIBILITIES
To provide Basic amenities such as
1. drinking water, roads, public toilets and bathrooms in hutments
2. Bus shelters
3. Corporation school classrooms, auditoriums, playgrounds and computers
4. Bins and tricycles for collection of garbage
5. Maternity homes, pharmacies, nutrition centres
6. Mortuaries, burial and cremation sites
7. Parks, children play devices in parks
8. Rain water collection and drainage at places owned by the Corporation, road-side
drainage,culverts across canals and roads
9. Roads and platforms, subways, traffic islands, fountains and road medians
10. Toilets, urinals and bathrooms

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CORPORTION
OBJECTIVE
Maintaining all the basic records pertaining to the corporation lands. Monitoring all the
developments in the city like building construction. Sub division of plots, layouts of lands.
Looking over to give approval for all developments in the city.
FUNCTION
The Corporation maintains roads, streetlights, and flyovers across the city and also the city's
cleanliness and hygiene levels. It maintains 1,160 roads measuring a total of 370 km and
storm water drain measuring 962 km and has 213,045 streetlights. Power consumption by the
streetlights amounts to 50 megawatts a day, costing 14,00,000. The Corporation has 260
parks and maintains 113 community halls for public use. The corporation registers about 400
births and 180 deaths every day. The Corporation also runs an abattoir. There are 23,538
staffs working in the Corporation. In 20112012,

190 million was allotted by the Tamil

Nadu government for the development of the city areas within corporation limits.] In 2014,
the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) planned to change its
11-kilo volt transformers with 1,784 ring main units (RMUs) that are compact and safe.

Departments
The Corporation has the following departments:

S.No.

Department

Council

Headed by

Council Secretary

Responsibility

Functions as the Secretariat of the Council, the

Mayor and the various standing committees.
Aids the Mayor in the discharge of his duties
as well as the Council and Standing
Committees.

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General

Assistant

In charge of the personnel and administrative

Administration

Commissioner

matters for the Corporation as a whole

Financial

Financial Adviser

Preparation of Corporation budget, receiving

Management

loans and grants from the government and

overseeing and controlling the expenses of the
Corporation

Land & Estate

Revenue

District Revenue

Leasing out Corporation lands and buildings

Officer

and renting out shopping complexes

Revenue Officer

Collection of taxes such as property,

professional, advertisement, parking fees and
other taxes. At the head office, change of
name of ownership of properties, revision
petitions against fixation of tax review of
progress in collection of taxes and scrutiny and
approval of assessment proposals.

Works

City Engineer

Town planning, sanction of plan and permits

(up to first floor) for industrial and residential
buildings, and maintenance of private streets
and central asphalt plant and central yard.

Mechanical

Superintending

Purchase and maintenance of all vehicles of

Engineering

Engineer

the Corporation, attending to body building and

(Mechanical)

repairing of lorries, and purchase and

maintenance of school and office furniture.
The Printing Press, General Stores, and
General Workshop of Corporation function
under the control of this department.

Electrical

Superintending

Installation and maintenance of all street lights,

Engineer (Electrical)

laying of cables, and maintenance of electric

crematoriums

Solid Waste

Superintending

Removal of solid waste and executing night

conservancy in all important roads and

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10

Management

Engineer

commercial areas of the city

Buildings

Superintending

Construction of school buildings, public

Engineer

conveniences, community halls, shopping

complexes and hospitals

11

12

13

Storm Water

Superintending

Construction, maintenance and desilting of

Drain

Engineer

storm water drains

Bridges

Superintending

Construction and maintenance of bridges,

Engineer

causeways and subways

Medical Officer

Administration of dispensaries, public health,

Health

sanitation, prevention of food adulteration,

issue of birth, death, and sanitation certificates

14

Family Welfare

Medical Officer

Administration of maternity and child welfare

centers, family welfare and immunization
programmes

15

Education

Education Officer

Administration of schools from elementary to

higher secondary levels, community colleges
and nutritious meals centers

16

Parks & Play

Director, Urban

Maintenance of parks, play fields, and

Fields

Forestry Wing

swimming pools

(assisted by two Park

Superintendents and
one Stadia Officer)

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URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

CONSTITUTION :
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is a statutory body constituted under
the Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, as amended by TamilNadu Act 22 of 1974. The
Authority was initially set up as an adhoc body by G.O.Ms.No.2380, RDLA, dated
13.11.1972 and it acquired statutory status on 07.03.1975 (G.O.Ms.No.364, H&UD Dept.
(H&UD ) Department of the Government of TamilNadu (GTN).
JURISDICTION:
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has jurisdiction over the
Metropolitan Area (CMA) covering 1189 sq.km. Which includes Chennai
Municipalities, 20 Town Panchayat, 10 Panchayat Unions and 2 Cantonments.

Chennai
City, 16

OBJECTIVES:
The main objectives of the Authority are:
a) Planning for physical, infrastructure and economic development of the CMA.
b) Implementing the Master Plan for CMA and enforcing the Development Control Rules
framed under the Master Plan.
c) Formulating, co-ordinating and implementing projects for Metropolitan Development.
OUR MISSION:
Improving environmental quality as well as quality of life in CMA through the planning
process and implementation of plans and urban development projects
ORGANISATION:
CMDA consists of 7 functional units viz.
I. Area Plans Units (APU)
II. Area Development Unit (ADU)
III. Master Plan Unit
IV. Project Management Unit
V. Enforcement Cell
VI. Construction Wing
VII. General Unit

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Also supported by Administration and Accounts Wings. The total number of employees of
the Authority 776. The organization chart of CMDA is annexed.
COMMITTEES:
The Authority has constituted the following committees to assist in its deliberations.
I. Administrative and Finance Committee
II. Technical Committee

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://agriinfo.in/?page=topic&superid=7&topicid=619
http://supremeupbeatk.hubpages.com/hub/PANCHAYET-rural-self-government-in-IndiaWHAT-AND-HOW
http://www.transparentchennai.com/wpcontent/uploads/downloads/2013/07/Roles%20and%2
0responsibilities%20of%20municipal%20councillors.pdf
http://www.chennaicorporation.gov.in/departments/land-estate/index.htm

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