NCERT Book Class 6 Social Science Grassroots Democracy Part 3 Local Government in Urban Areas PDF Download

Chapter 12: Grassroots Democracy - Part 3: Local Government in Urban Areas

I desire that ... a full-fledged local body should be immediately formed, ... so that people may know really what is an administration, what are the franchise, what are the powers, what are the rights and what are the privileges in a small sphere, in their own town, in their own villages.

- Rustom K. Sidhwa, Member, Constituent Assembly (during the Constituent Assembly Debates, 13 October 1949)

[Figure 12.1: The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (originally 'Bombay Municipal Corporation') was created in 1865, See in your textbook]

The Big Questions

1. What are urban local bodies and what are their functions?
2. Why are they important in governance and democracy?

Introduction

Earlier chapters have shown us how, in a democracy, good governance aims to empower the citizens so they may actively participate in their country's functioning, whether it is at the rural, regional, urban, state or national level. This is the broader concept of participatory democracy.

We saw the basics of the system in a rural context. Let us now see how it works in an urban scenario. Since the latter is generally more complex and diverse than the former, it is understandable that the urban governance system needs to be more complex too. We will however limit ourselves here to its basic principles.

Let's Explore

• Why is a city like Kolkata, Chennai or Mumbai more complex and diverse than a village or a town?
• With your classmates, make a list of diverse communities residing in any city that you are familiar with. How many were you able to list? What else do you observe in the list?

Before we explore governance and administration in urban areas, it helps to take an overall look at the Indian system of governance, from rural to national, as depicted in Fig. 12.2 below. The base of the pyramid is the local level, closer to the people, while the top is the national level. In Chapter 11, we explored the left side of the pyramid; we will now take a look at the right side.

[Figure 12.2: Indian system of governance pyramid showing Union Government at national level, State Government, Local Government, and at the base Rural Panchayati Raj Institutions (Zila Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat, Gram Sabha) on the left and Urban Local Bodies (Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council or City Council/Nagar Panchayat, Ward Committee, People of the Ward) on the right. Not to scale, See in your textbook]

Let's Explore

In Fig. 12.2 above, what similarities and differences do you notice between the Panchayati Raj system and the urban local government?

Teacher's Note

The pyramid structure shows you that both rural and urban areas have local government systems that work on similar levels of authority. The key difference is in the names and specific structures: rural areas use Gram Sabhas and Panchayats, while urban areas use Municipal Corporations or Councils. Both are meant to bring government closer to the people.

12.1 Urban Local Bodies

Local government structures in urban areas are called urban local bodies. They are decentralised, which means that instead of operating under a central authority at the

Key Points

• Urban local bodies are decentralised government structures in cities that operate independently rather than under a single central authority.
• The concept of participatory democracy means citizens at all levels - rural, urban, state and national - should actively take part in their country's governance.
• Urban areas are more complex and diverse than villages, so their governance systems need to be more structured and organised to handle different communities and needs.
• The Indian system of governance operates as a pyramid with local government at the base closest to people, and the national government at the top.

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