Local government in Maharashtra

Republic of India

This article is part of a series on the politics and government of India
Union Government Constitution of India Fundamental rights Executive: President Vice President Prime Minister Union Council of Ministers Parliament: Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha The Chairman The Speaker Judiciary: Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India High Courts District Courts
Elections Election Commission: Chief Election Commissioner
Political parties National parties State parties National coalitions: Left Front National Democratic Alliance (NDA) United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
State and Local gov. Governor Chief Minister State level: Vidhan Sabha Vidhan Parishad District level: Panchayat samiti Zilla Parishad City level: Nagar Nigam Nagar Palika Nagar Panchayat Village level: Gram Sabha Gram Panchayat
Other countries Atlas Government of India portal

Local government in Maharashtra State follows the general structure of Local Governance in India and is broadly classified into two categories: Urban Local Governance and Rural Local Governance.

Urban Local Governance

Urban local governance can be classified as either by Municipal Corporation or by Municipal Council.

Municipal Corporations

Large urban areas are governed by Municipal Corporations (also called just Corporations). The area under each Corporation is further divided up into Wards. An individual ward or collection of wards within a corporation sometimes have its own administrative body called a Ward Committee.

There are 26 Municipal Corporations in Maharashtra, as follows:

Municipal councils

Smaller urban areas are governed by Municipal councils or Municipal Boards (also called just Municipalities). Municipalities are further subdivided into Wards, which may be grouped together into Ward Councils. One or more corporators are elected to represent each ward. There are 433 municipalities in Mahaharashtra.

Rural Local Governance

Rural governance in India is based on the Panchayati Raj system. It is a three tier system, with the Zilla Parishad at the district level, Blocks at the middle level and Village Council at the lowest level.

Zilla parishad

Zilla Parishad (commonly known as ZP) is a local government body at the district level in India. It looks after the administration of the rural area of the district and its office is located at the district headquarters.

There are 34 Zilla Parishads in Maharashtra, one each in every district. now it is 36

Panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the Tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad.

There are 355 panchayat samitis or block panchayats in Maharashtra.

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayat office at Chinawal village in Maharashtra

Gram panchayats are local self-government bodies at the village level. They are a cornerstone of the panchayati raj system. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with a population of more than five hundred. There is a common gram panchayat for two or more villages if the population of these villages is less than five hundred, whereupon it is called a group-gram panchayat.

There are 28,813 gram panchayats in Maharashtra.^[1]

Elections

After every five years, Maharashtra State Election Commission conducts elections in all local bodies.^[2]

References

↑ - Panchayat raj Portal
↑ "SEC Milestones". Archived from the original on 2 Aug 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2013.