Have you ever been fascinated about how the cities in India are managed and governed? Well, the answer is simple yet it is quite old, which is through Municipal Corporation. India's local urban governance system is one of Asia's oldest, and it has its origins in the southern coast of Chennai. Let’s find out which is the oldest municipal corporation in India.
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Which is the Oldest Municipal Corporation in India?
Greater Chennai Corporation is India's oldest municipal corporation. Further, it is also the second oldest municipal corporation in the whole world following the lead of the City of London Corporation in the United Kingdom.
The Greater Chennai Corporation mentions: “The Greater Chennai Corporation (previously Madras) is the Oldest Municipal Institution in India established on the 29th September 1688. A charter was issued on the 30th December, 1607 by East Indian Company constituting the "Town of Fort St. George" and all the territories thereunto belonging, not exceeding the distance of ten miles from the Fort, into a Corporation. The Parliamentary Act of 1792 gave the Corporation power to levy Municipal Taxes in the City.”
People know Chennai as a city that boasts temples, filter coffee and film studios. But its municipal corporation is one that dates back more than 250 years and it has history even before Independence.
When Was Greater Chennai Corporation Established?
The Corporation of Madras was formed by a charter dated 30 December 1687 and the Corporation came into being 29 September 1688 and it became the first municipal corporation in India.
A charter was issued by the East India Company to be the "Town of Fort St. George and all other territories belonging to the same". It marked the first step towards local self-government in cities in India.
To put it in simple terms, the East India Company (on behalf of the British), established a corporation to run the city. It was for the first time that a formal, systematic structure to govern issues like sanitation, infrastructure and welfare in the city came to existence and it grew all over the nation.
What Happened Next?
The first Municipal Corporation was set up in the former Presidency Town of Madras in 1688, and then it was followed by Bombay and Calcutta in 1726.
The Know India website mentions: “Municipal bodies have a long history in India. The first such Municipal Corporation was set-up in the former Presidency Town of Madras in 1688; and was followed by similar corporations in the then Bombay and Calcutta in 1726."
This means that for 38 years Chennai (Madras) was the only city that had a municipal corporation. Mumbai and Kolkata followed much later. But then the system was replicated across the country and all the Indian cities now follow this system.
The system was formalised by the government after India gained freedom. The urban local bodies and their functions were formed by the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act. It created the municipal corporations and made them essential bodies in our democracy
The Know India website states: “In order to provide for a common framework for urban local bodies and help to strengthen the functioning of the bodies as effective democratic units of self-government, Parliament enacted the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 relating to municipalities in 1992. The Act received the assent of the President on 20 April 1993. The Government of India notified 1 June 1993 as the date from which the said Act came into force.”
Today, the Greater Chennai Corporation is responsible for one of South India's cities. It is responsible for streets and public water supply, public health and property tax collections.
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