Amdavad Municipal Corporation
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, or the AMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Leadership | |
Bijalben Patel | |
Municipal Commissioner | Mukesh Kumar, IAS |
Deputy Mayor | Dineshbhai Makwana |
Chairperson of Standing Committee | Amolbhai Bhatt |
Leader of Opposition | Dinesh Sharma[1] |
| Seats | 192 |
| Motto | |
| Handwork, Self-help, Service | |
| Meeting place | |
| Sardar Patel Bhavan Ahmedabad | |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
Ahmedabad Municipality was founded in 1873, which became a borough municipality in 1926. Ahmedabad Municipality was upgraded to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in 1950.[2]
General Elections
The general elections for the elected wing of the corporation is held every 5 years, the last election being in 2015. Previously, 1/3 of the seats were reserved for women, but the current amount is 1/2. There are 62 wards which will be soon reduced to 50 wards. The last election was held for 62 wards consisting of 186 seats. Bharatiya Janata Party secured a majority, winning 148 seats, with the second-place Indian National Congress winning 38. 3 seats were won by independents.
Services
As per section 63 and 66 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, the AMC is responsible for certain obligatory and discretionary services.
Obligatory services
- Erection of boundary of city defining city limits.
- Watering, Scavenging and Cleansing of all public streets and places
- Sewage services
- Drainage services
- Fire services
- Health & Medical services
- Street Lighting services
- Maintenance of a monuments & open spaces
- Identification of streets & houses
- Regulation and abatement of offensive and dangerous trades or practices
- Maintenance of burial houses and funeral homes
- Construction or acquisition of public markets and slaughter houses
- Construction or acquisition of cattle-pounds
- Primary education services
- Health and hygiene services
- Construction, maintenance and alternation of bridges
- Water supply services
- Preventing and checking the spread of dangerous diseases
- The securing or removal of dangerous buildings and places
- Construction of conservancy staff quarters
- Maintenance of relief works in scarcity
Discretionary services
- Construction and maintenance of maternity homes & infant welfare houses
- Maintenance of central laboratories
- Swimming pool and other public health services
- Tree plantation on road sides
- Construction and maintenance of public parks and gardens
- The holding of exhibition, athletics or games
- The maintenance of an ambulance services
- Construction and maintenance of theaters, community halls and museums etc.
- Building or purchase of staff quarters
- Construction and maintenance of public transport facilities
- Construction and maintenance of educational institutes
- Construction and maintenance of infirmaries and hospitals
- The destruction of animals and birds causing a nuisance
- Construction and maintenance of factory for the disposal of sewage
- The building or purchase and maintenance of suitable dwellings for the poor and working classes
- Provision of shelter to homeless persons and poor relief
- Surveys of buildings or lands
- Measures to meet any calamity affecting the public in the city any measure to promote public safety, health, convenience or instruction
Achievements
| Achievement | Year | By | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRISIL National Award 2003 | 2003 | Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd. | Best Financial Management System |
| International Best Practices 2004 | 2004 | CMA International City/Country Management Association, Washington D.C | Best Practices in City Civic Centers & eGovernance |
| Prime Ministers Award for excellence in "Urban Design & Concept" | 2004 | Prime Minister of India | Excellence In "Urban Design and Concept to Sabarmati River Front Development Project" |
| UNHABITAT Dubai International Awards | 2006 | - | Best Practices to Improve the Urban Environment (Slum Networking Project) |
| Commitment to Reforms | 2007 | Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd. | Excellence in Municipal Initiatives 2007 (A Leader among Category A- Mega Cities) |
| India Tech Excellence Awards | 2008 | India Tech Foundation | Main Streaming Urban Poor Slum Networking to improve habitat of Urban Poor & providing livelihood opportunities |
| National Urban Water Awards | 2008 | Ministry of Urban Development | Effective Water Supply Management & successful development of market based Financing System |
| Horizontal Transfer of ICT-based Best Practice GOLD Awards | 2008 | Government of India | Best Practices in e-Governance |
| eGovernance, eIndia 2009 | 2009 | Centre For Science Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) | ICT Enabled Municipal Initiative of the Year |
| Urban Environmental Accord | 2009 | - | Being The most Committed City in India for Urban Environmental Accord |
| Best Mass Transit System | 2009 | Government of India | anmarg – Ahmedabad BRTS Project |
| International Awards on Sustainable Transport Award | 2010 | TRB at Washington DC USA | - |
| National Award for Innovations in servicing the needs of the Urban Poor | 2010 | Govt. of India, India Urban Space Foundation, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)& the World Bank | - |
| International Award of Outstanding Innovation in Public Transport | 2010 | International Transport Forum (ITF) and International Association for Public Transport (UITP) | Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd. – Ahmedabad BRTS |
| The Largest Metropolitan Region in Gujarat, perhaps the most market-oriented and business-friendly of Indian states and the third Fastest growing city in the world | 2010 | Forbes Magazine | - |
| Knowledge and Research Award | 2010 | 59th UITP World Congress | Janmarg – BRTS Ahmedabad |
| Daring Ambition Award | 2010 | 9th UITP World Congress | Janmarg – BRTS Ahmedabad |
| Initiatives for Social Housing | 2010 | 41st ANNIVERSARY OF HUDCO | - |
| Innovative Infrastructure Development | 2010 | 41st ANNIVERSARY OF HUDCO | - |
| AIILSG Nagar Ratna Award | 2011 | President of India | Best Performing City |
Administration
The corporation is headed by a Municipal Commissioner, an IAS officer who is appointed by the government of Gujarat. He discharges the executive power of the house. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into 5 zones—Central, East, West, North and South. In 2006, a new zone has been formed, named the "New West Zone." The area covered in this zone was formerly governed by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority.
Wards
Each zone is further divided into 9 wards (with the exception of the South Zone, which is divided into 7 wards). Each ward is represented by 4 (Minimum 2 female) corporators. An election is held to elect corporators to power. The mayor heads the party, with the largest number of corporators elected. The post of mayor is largely ceremonial, however.
Track Record and Reforms
Civilian confidence stems from the fact that the city government has proven their efficiency in delivering services. Over the years, AMC has faced growth challenges effectively and provided urban services at a level significantly higher than the national averages, making it one of the top tier service providers in the country. Coverage levels in water supply, solid waste collection and sewer disposal are well above national averages.
The recent focus on city transportation, encroachment removal and cleanliness has been maintained with impressive improvements over the past. More roads have been resurfaced, more encroachments removed and more solid waste collected recently than in any comparable period in the past.
AMC's service delivery is matched by its high quality of governance, which has set benchmarks for other municipal corporations in the country. AMC has undertaken several novel initiatives including:
- Issuing municipal bonds: AMC was the first municipality in Asia to have accessed the capital markets, and enjoys a high credit rating (AA+ by CARE). This has been made possible by AMC's sound financial management, which has resulted in a healthy revenue surplus in recent years.
- Implementing property tax reforms: Ahmedabad was the first large city in India to have implemented property tax reforms, and set a "zero litigation" record. CRISIL recognized this as the best urban practice in financial management and extended the CRISIL Award for Excellence in Municipal Initiatives to AMC in 2004 for setting benchmarks in the areas of e-governance, slum improvement and other urban management areas.
- Environmental improvement: The civic centers of Ahmedabad are a model in governance, which has greatly benefited citizens. Not surprisingly, these models are being adopted by several other cities.
- Implementing the public private partnership model in municipal transport: This novel step, involving 220 environment-friendly CNG buses, led to 33 per cent reduction in AMC's operating costs. AMC intends to procure 180 more CNG buses.
References
- "Bus services opting for diesel over cleaner CNG". The Times of India. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- Cases in Financial Management, 2/E By Pandey & Bhat; pp-7
