Reforms in Municipal Elections in India

Context

The Supreme Court judgment on the Chandigarh mayor election bringing the issues associated with the elections to municipalities in news. 

Recent Supreme Court Verdict on Chandigarh Mayor Election

• The Supreme Court in the Chandigarh mayor election case quashed the result of the elections for the post of Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation on account that the presiding officer intentionally defaced eight votes.
• The Supreme Court asserted its responsibility to do complete justice under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution to ensure that the process of electoral democracy is not thwarted by subterfuge at all levels of the electoral process.

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Municipality in India

• Origin & Evolution: This institution has existed in India since British time. 
  • The British for the first time setup Municipal Corporation at Madras in 1687. 
  • Lord Ripon’s Resolution of 1882 has been hailed as the ‘Magna Carta’ of local self-government and he is called the father of the local-self government in India. 
  • The Royal Commission on decentralisation was appointed in 1907, and it submitted its report in 1909. (Its chairman was Hobhouse). 
  • Government of India Act, 1919: By this act, under the dyarchical scheme introduced in Provinces, local self-government became a transferred subject. 
  • Government of India Act, 1935: By this act, local self-government was declared a provincial subject. 
  • 74th Constitutional Amendment Act: It was passed in 1992 and provided a uniform law for urban local government.
    • The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act has added a new Part IX-A to the Constitution of India, which is entitled as ‘The Municipalities’ and consists of provisions from Articles 243-P to 243-ZG.
    • This act has also added a new Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution. It contains 18 functional items of municipalities. 
      • It deals with Article 243-W.
    • The act gave constitutional status to the municipalities and has brought it under the purview of the justiciable part of the Constitution.
• Tenure: Article 243U of the 74th CAA stipulates that the duration of urban local governments is five years and that an election to constitute an urban local government should be completed “before the expiry of its duration”. 
  • Further, in case of dissolution of the elected council by the State, the election should be held before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution.
• Elections Conducted by: State Election Commissions (SECs)
• Structure of Urban Local Government in India: There are 8 types of Urban local bodies:
  • Municipal Corporation: These are usually found in big cities such as Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, etc.
    • A municipal corporation is a type of local government in India which administers urban areas with a population of more than one million.
  • Municipality: These are usually found in smaller cities and are often called upon by other names such as the municipal council, municipal committee, municipal board, etc.
    • Municipality is an urban local body that administers a smaller urban area with a minimum population of 100,000 but less than 1,000,000.
  • Notified Area Committee: These are set up for the fast-developing towns and the towns lacking the basic amenities.
  • Town Area Committee: The town area committee is found in small towns. It has minimal authority such as street lighting, drainage roads, and conservancy.
  • Cantonment Board: It is usually set up for a civilian population living in the cantonment area.
  • Township: It is another form of urban government to provide basic facilities to the staff and workers living in the colonies established near the plant.
  • Port Trust: These are established in the port areas such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, etc. 
  • Special Purpose Agency: These agencies undertake the designated activities or specific functions belonging to the municipal corporations or municipalities.

Issues with Respect to Municipal Elections

• Non-Compliance by State Governments: Despite the Supreme Court stating in Suresh Mahajan v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2022) that this constitutional mandate is inviolable, State governments do not hold timely elections for urban local governments.
  • As per Janaagraha’s Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems 2023 study, over 1,400 municipalities did not have elected councils in place, as of September 2021.
  • The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India’s report on the implementation of the 74th Constitution Amendment Act (74th CAA) revealed that, between 2015 and 2021, over 1,500 municipalities did not have elected councils.
    • Major cities like Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru faced delays in holding elections ranging from months to years.
• Delay in Council Formation: In certain cases of elections to urban local governments, councils were not constituted, and elections of mayors, deputy mayors and standing committees were delayed. 
  • In Karnataka, there was a delay of 12-24 months in the formation of elected councils after the declaration of election results in most of the city corporations. 
• Discretionary Powers: There are various associated issues such as the discretion of government officials in scheduling elections on time, there is undue influence on officials to delay elections and discretion of officials in identifying the presiding officer.
• On Election Process: There is the manual ballot paper-based process, which raises concerns over the accountability and transparency of the election process.
• Concern over Accountability: Unlike the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, where there is a clear distinction between the legislature and the executive, in the case of a municipality, the mayor heads both the elected and the administrative wings of the city government.
  • There is also a concern over the independence of the presiding officer.
• On Tenure of Mayor: The duration of urban local governments is five years and that an election to constitute an urban local government should be completed “before the expiry of its duration”. 
  • However, the terms of mayors, deputy mayors and standing committees being less than five years is a concerning challenge. 
  • In India, 17% of cities including five of the eight largest ones have mayoral terms less than five years. 
• On Ward Delimitation: There are various concerns that arise over the conduction of ward delimitation in India.
  • Except for Meghalaya, all States have constituted SECs, only 11 have empowered them to conduct ward delimitation.
  • Municipal areas shall be divided into territorial constituencies to be known as wards.

Way Forward – Ensuring Timely, Free, and Fair Municipal Elections in India

• Policy Reforms: A reform roadmap for timely, free, and fair elections is much needed. 
• Standardisation of Tenure: There is a need for a standardisation of mayoral terms of five years.
  • The terms of mayors, deputy mayors and standing committees being less than five years is a concerning challenge that also needs attention.
• Evaluation & Accountability: Action needs to tackle issues such as discretion of government officials in scheduling elections, in identifying the presiding officer, undue influence on officials to delay elections, on independence of the presiding officer and the manual ballot paper-based process. 
  • It is the right time to also evaluate a potential role for the SECs in the elections of mayors, deputy mayors and standing committees. 
• Empower State Election Commissions (SECs): SECs need to play a more significant role. The Court has emphasised that in the domain of elections to panchayats and urban local governments under Part IX and Part IXA of the Constitution, SECs enjoy the same status as the Election Commission of India.
• Empowerment of SEC for Ward Delimitation: There is a need to empower and strengthen the Wards and its delimitation process.
• Clear Distinction on Roles: Like the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, there is a need for clear distinction between the legislature and the executive.
• Need for Judicial Interventions: Similar to the Chandigarh mayoral case, the Supreme Court needs to take such independent actions. Judiciary can bring greater salience to municipal elections.
  • There is a need to hold timely elections, which requires determined enforcement with the Supreme Court’s intervention. 

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