Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
Type
Type	Municipal Corporation
History
Founded	1873
Leadership
Mayor	Gautam Shah
Municipal Commissioner	D. Thara
Deputy Mayor	Pramodaben Sutariya
Chairperson of Standing Committee	Pravin Patel
Leader of Opposition	Dinesh Sharma[1]
Seats	192
Motto
उद्योग स्वाश्रय सेवा(Handwork, Self-Reliance, Service)
Meeting place
Sardar Patel Bhavan, Ahmedabad
Website
www.egovamc.com

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.

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 2010. 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, floe etc.

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

Administration

Organisational structure of the AMC

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 3 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

External links

• Official website of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation