Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Explained

Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation
Native Name Lang:	te
Coa Pic:	GVMC Logo.png
Coa Res:	200px
Coa Alt:	Logo of GVMC
House Type:	Municipal Corporation
Foundation:	^[1]
Leader1 Type:	Mayor
Leader1:	Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari
Party1:	YSRCP
Leader2 Type:	Deputy Mayor
Leader2:	Jiyyani Sridhar K.Satheesh
Party2:	YSRCP
Leader3 Type:	Municipal commissioner
Leader3:	C.M. Saikanth Varma, IAS
Seats:	98
Last Election1:	10 March 2021
Next Election1:	2026
Structure1:	Gvmc wards list.svg
Structure1 Res:	300px
Political Groups1:	Government (47) YSRCP (46) IND (1) Opposition (48) TDP (37) JSP (8) BJP (1) CPI(M) (1) CPI (1)
Meeting Place:	Tenneti Bhavan, Ramnagar, Visakhapatnam
Motto:	City of Destiny

Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is the civic body that governs the city of Visakhapatnam, largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its jurisdiction encompasses an area of 640sqkm.^{[2] [3]} It is also part of the planning body of the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority.^[4] Established in the year 1979, the executive power of the GVMC is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an Indian Administrative Service officer appointed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The position is held by Saikanth Varma.^[5] Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari (YSRCP) was elected as the Mayor and Jiyyani Sridhar (YSRCP) as the Deputy Mayor by the newly elected general body in March 2021.^[6] In January 2021, the number of wards were increased to 98 from 81 earlier.^[7]

History

Visakhapatnam is one of the earliest municipalities in the southern region of India. It was first established as a municipality in 1858, later established as a corporation in 1979. On 21 November 2005 Government of Andhra Pradesh released a Government Order to form a Greater Municipal Corporation with the merger of Gajuwaka Municipality and 32 other Gram Panchayats.^[8] In the year 2005 it was officially declared as Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation.^[9] and it was the first Greater municipal corporation in the state of Andhra Pradesh.^{[10] [11]} Subsequently in 2017 the Anakapalli and the Bheemili municipalities were incorporated into GVMC raising the wards from 72 to 81 according to the 2011 census.^[12]

Administration and about

The area of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is 681.96km2 spread across Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts.^{[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]} The corporation is administered by an elected body headed by the mayor.

List of mayors

Party!Notes!

Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (VMC)
1.	N.S.N.Reddy			1981	1986	5 years	Bharatiya Janata Party		First mayor of VMC	^[18]
Elections not held (1986 - 1987)
2.	D. V. Subba Rao			1987	1992	5 years	Telugu Desam Party			^[19]
Elections not held (1992 - 1995)
3.	Sabbam Hari			1995	2000	5 years	Indian National Congress			^[20]
4.	Rajana Ramani			2000	2005	5 years			First women mayor of VMC	^[21]
Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC)
Elections not held (2005 - 2007)
1.	P.Janardhan			2007	2012	5 years	Indian National Congress		First mayor of GVMC	^[22]
Elections not held (2012 - 2021)
2.	Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari	J.Sridhar K.Satheesh		2021	Incumbent	Currently	YSR Congress Party		First women mayor of GVMC	^[23]

Functions

Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is created for the following functions:^{[24] [25]}

• Planning for the town including its surroundings which are covered under its Department's Urban Planning Authority .
• Approving construction of new buildings and authorizing use of land for various purposes.
• Improvement of the town's economic and social status.
• Arrangements of water supply towards commercial, residential, and industrial purposes.
• Planning for fire contingencies through Fire Service Departments.
• Creation of solid waste management, public health system, and sanitary services.
• Working for the development of ecological aspect like development of Urban Forestry and making guidelines for environmental protection.
• Working for the development of weaker sections of the society like mentally and physically disabled, old age and gender biased people.
• Making efforts for improvement of slums and poverty removal in the town.

Revenue sources

The following are the Income sources for the Corporation from the Central and State Government.^{[26] [27] [28]}

Revenue from taxes

Following is the Tax related revenue for the corporation.

• Property tax.
• Profession tax.
• Entertainment tax.
• Grants from Central and State Government like Goods and Services Tax.
• Advertisement tax.

Revenue from non-tax sources

Following is the Non Tax related revenue for the corporation.

• Water usage charges.
• Fees from Documentation services.
• Rent received from municipal property.
• Funds from municipal bonds.

Zones

GVMC is divided by 8 Zones and each Zone had a Zonal Commissioner ^[29]

Zone	Location
Zone 1	Bheemunipatnam
Zone 2	Madhurawada
Zone 3	Asilmetta
Zone 4	Suryabagh
Zone 5	Gnanapuram
Zone 6	Gajuwaka
Zone 7	Anakapalli
Zone 8	Vepagunta

Awards and achievements

• Best Municipal Corporation Award by Government of Andhra Pradesh^[30]
• Cleanest Religious City Award by India Today (2015)
• Smart Campus Award (2018)^[31]
• Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) (2011)^[32]
• Smart City Project Award (social aspects) (2018)^[33]
• 3rd Cleanest City of India by Swachh Survekshan 2017.^[34]
• 5th Cleanest City of India (2016)^[35]
• 1st place in Andhra Pradesh Green Awards (2017)^[36]

Municipal elections

2021 elections

S.No.	Party Name		Symbol	Won	Change
1		YSR Congress Party		58
2		Telugu Desam Party		30
3		Independents		4
4		Jana Sena Party		3
5		Bharatiya Janata Party		1
6		Communist Party of India (Marxist)		1
7		Communist Party of India		1

See also

• List of municipal corporations in Andhra Pradesh

Notes

The corporation has a total of 95,580 street lights under its administration.^[37]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Visakhapatnam History, Visakha.in provides Visakhapatnam history, vizag history and visakha history timeline. https://web.archive.org/web/20120421130136/http://www.visakha.in/visakhapatnam-history.html. 21 April 2012.
2. Web site: Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation: Introduction . 27 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181128034907/http://www.gvmc.gov.in/wss/static_content/Introduction.jsp . 28 November 2018 . dead .
3. Web site: Municipalities, Municipal Corporations & UDAs. Directorate of Town and Country Planning. Government of Andhra Pradesh. 29 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160808132411/http://www.dtcp.ap.gov.in/webdtcp/pdf/List%20of%20ULBs.pdf. 8 August 2016. dead.
4. Web site: Profile. Greater Visakhpatnam Municipal Corporation. 12 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160131130838/http://www.gvmc.gov.in/gvmc/. 31 January 2016. dead.
5. News: Gilai . Harish . 7 June 2022 . GVMC planing to appoint Indian cricketer K.S. Bharat as Environmental Brand Ambassador of Visakhapatnam . en-IN . . 7 June 2022 . 0971-751X.
6. News: Municipal commissioner . 23 February 2015. The Times of India. 22 February 2015. Visakhapatnam.
7. Web site: TNN. Jan 5, 2020. Now, GVMC area to be reorganised into 98 wards . 2021-02-16. The Times of India. en.
8. News: 2011-12-07 . GVMC to form 'area sabhas' . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-11-18 . 0971-751X.
9. Web site: Potnuru . Vasu . 2021-03-03 . Visakhapatnam: Elections never on time here! . 2022-11-18 . www.thehansindia.com . en.
10. Web site: History. Greater Visakhpatnam Municipal Corporation. 21 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150406052926/http://www.gvmc.gov.in/gvmc/index.php/layout/introduction. 6 April 2015. dead.
11. Web site: Andhra Pradesh First Greater Municipal Corporation. The Hindu. 2005-11-29. 29 November 2005.
12. News: Merger of Anakapalli and Bheemili municipalities. The Hindu. 17 August 2017. 17 August 2017.
13. News: Vizag metro gets in-principle nod . The Times of India.
14. News: Vizag tops the list of most populated districts in AP . Yo Vizag.
15. Web site: Clean Visakha Green Visakha: Abstract. 2018. 168–172.
16. News: Now, GVMC area to be reorganised into 98 wards . The Times of India.
17. News: Stakes high for 1st GVMC polls following merger of Bheemili&Anakapalli . The Times of India.
18. News: 2020-08-24 . Tributes paid to ex-Mayor . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-11-18 . 0971-751X.
19. News: 2014-12-20 . Former Visakhapatnam Mayor Subba Rao passes away . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-11-18 . 0971-751X.
20. News: Gopal . B. Madhu . 2021-05-03 . Sabbam Hari dies of COVID-related complications . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-11-18 . 0971-751X.
21. Web site: Potnuru . Vasu . 2021-03-03 . Visakhapatnam: Elections never on time here! . 2022-11-18 . www.thehansindia.com . en.
22. Web site: Potnuru . Vasu . 2021-03-03 . Visakhapatnam: Elections never on time here! . 2022-11-18 . www.thehansindia.com . en.
23. News: 2021-03-18 . Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari is Vizag Mayor . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-11-18 . 0971-751X.
24. News: Municipal Corporation - Functions, Roles, Members Qualification and Term . 18 May 2022 . www.elections.in.
25. News: Good municipal governance key to improve quality of life . 18 May 2022 . The Times of India . 24 February 2017 . en.
26. News: Jadhav . Radheshyam . Why civic bodies in India need municipal bonds . 18 May 2022 . www.thehindubusinessline.com . 3 December 2020 . en.
27. News: Municipal corporations under severe strain as revenues sink: RBI Report . 18 May 2022 . Business Today . 2 December 2021 . en.
28. News: If cities are to deliver better quality life, need to have business models which are sustainable . 18 May 2022 . Financialexpress . 17 May 2022 . en.
29. Web site: GVMC Zones. 14 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20181118112616/http://www.gvmc.gov.in/. 18 November 2018. dead.
30. News: best municipal corporation. 15 February 2016. cdma ap. 31 July 2013. Visakhapatnam.
31. News: smart campus award. 28 July 2018. the hindu. 31 July 2018. Visakhapatnam.
32. News: best service award. 12 July 2016. the hindu. 14 December 2011. Visakhapatnam.
33. News: Smart City Project Award . 28 July 2018. hans india. 29 July 2018. Visakhapatnam.
34. News: 3rd Cleanest City of India by Award. 18 May 2017. hans india. 19 May 2017. Visakhapatnam.
35. News: 5th Cleanest City of India. 13 May 2016. The Times of India. 19 March 2016. Visakhapatnam.
36. News: 1st place in Andhra Pradesh Green Awards. 25 June 2018. the hindu. 27 June 2018. Visakhapatnam.
37. Web site: GVMC CM Dash board . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161113040902/http://core.ap.gov.in/CMDashBoard/UserInterface/Power/GVMCForm.aspx . 13 November 2016 . 12 November 2016.