74th Constitutional Amendment
The urban areas include various classes of municipal bodies by type, area, and value of various towns and cities. Corporations, Municipal Committees, Notified Area Committees, Town Area Committees, and Cantonment Boards are the usual types of municipal bodies.
The first four types were formed under the state municipal laws. The Cantonment Boards by Central Act called the Cantonments Act of 1924. In most of the states, all these types of urban local bodies existed except the Town Area Committees, which are abolished and transformed into class – III Municipal Committees.
Town Area Committees were semi municipal committees established for small towns by a separate act of the state legislative assembly. (74th Amendment) Act, 1992, the Government of India notified the Amendment in June 1993.
The Act of 1992 provided for one year of the date of its commencement, the states were required to amend or change their law to include the Central Amendment.
Many states and union territories have passed legislation for the governance of the urban local bodies in their corresponding jurisdictions. For example, the Punjab government enacted the Punjab Municipal Bill, 1998 to replace the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911.
A three-tier arrangement of urban local bodies was suggested in the 74th Constitutional Amendment act particularly, Nagar Panchayat or Town Panchayat, Municipalities, and Municipal Corporations.
