Meerut Municipal Corporation Explained

Meerut Municipal Corporation
Native Name:Meerut Nagar Nigam
Coa Res:100px
Coa Alt:Logo of Meerut Municipal Corporation
House Type:Municipal Corporation
Foundation:31 May 1994
Leader1 Type:Mayor
Leader1:Harikant Ahluwalia, BJP[1]
Leader2 Type:Municipal Commissioner
Leader2:Amit Pal, IAS[2]
Official Language:Hindi
Seats:90
Structure1:Meerut Municipal Corporation 2023.svg
Structure1 Res:300px
Political Groups1:NDA (42)

Opposition (49)

Session Room:Meerut Town Hall, 1886.jpg
Session Res:250px
Meeting Place:Town Hall, Jali Kothi, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Motto:(Hindi: नगर का विकास, नगर निगम के साथ)
(Development of City, With Municipal Corporation)

The Meerut Nagar Nigam (MNN) also known as Meerut Municipal Corporation (MMC) is the civic body that governs Meerut city. Established under the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act-1959, it is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city.

The municipal corporation covers an area of 450km2.[5] The first mayor of Meerut was Late Mr. Arun Jain from independent and first Deputy Mayor was Late Mr. Mohd. Ashraf Advocate. Since then, the Municipal Body has always been alive in its constitution and functioning to the growing needs of citizens.[6] [7]

Meerut is the second largest city in the National Capital region, and as of 2011 the 33rd most populous urban agglomeration and the 26th most populous city in India.[8] [9] It ranked 292 in 2006 and is projected to rank 242 in 2020 in the list of largest cities and urban areas in the world.[10]

History

Meerut Town Hall was constructed in 1886 while Municipal Board (Nagar Palika) was established in 1892. On 15 June 1982 it was upgraded as Municipal Council (Nagar Mahapalika). On 31 May 1994 after enactment of Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act 1959, it was further upgraded as Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam).

Objective

MMC work for providing necessary community services like health care, educational institution, housing, transport etc. by collecting property tax and fixed grant from the Finance Commission and Government of Uttar Pradesh. Its sources of income are taxes on water, houses, markets, entertainment and vehicles paid by residents of the town and grants from the state government. Its annual budget in 2017–18 was ₹4812.2 million.[11]

Amendment

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments were introduced in 1992 and were meant to facilitate greater decentralization at the rural and urban level respectively. They did so through providing legal status to local assemblies and entrusting them with greater functions and powers. The inclusion of certain social categories that had historically been marginalized from policy making and implementing structures was fundamental to the project of decentralization. These social categories were the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women. While the 73rd Amendment applies to the Panchayati Raj system, the 74th Amendment applies to Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats depending on the size of the city. The 74th Amendment states:

"Not less than one – third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality.

Functions

The Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution lists the subjects that Meerut Municipal Corporation is responsible for. The Corporation is entrusted to perform functions and implement schemes including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule.

Legislative Branch

Mayor is elected to serve as the de jure head of the municipal corporation. He is the head of the house (Meerut Town Hall) and belong to the party which is in majority. The office of the Mayor has ceremonial role associated with being the First Citizen of the city.

In every five years an election is held to elect corporators to power. The corporators are responsible for overseeing that their constituencies have the basic civic infrastructure in place, and that there is no lacuna on the part of the authorities. Position of Mayor is currently reserved for woman from Scheduled Caste category. Mrs. Sunita Verma from BSP is the incumbent Mayor of the city. Her husband Mr. Yogesh Verma is former MLA from Hastinapur.

Wards

As of 2017, the Meerut Municipal Corporation's legislature, also known as the Corporation Council, consists of 90 directly elected corporators while additional 10 corporators are nominated by state government. Out of 90 directly elected corporators; 35 seats are unreserved, 17 seats are reserved for women coming from any category, 16 seats are reserved for people belong to Other Backward Class category, 7 seats are reserved for women from Other Backward Class category, 10 seats are reserved for people belong to Scheduled Caste category and 5 seats are reserved for women from Scheduled Caste category.

S.No.! style="padding-center:15px;"
Name of WardName of CorporatorPolitical Party
1Nai Basti LallapuraTulsavatiBSP
2MaliyanaKamla DeviBSP
3BhagwatpuraRaj Kumar SinghBSP
4ShergarhiSumanBJP
5ShivlokpuriSumitBSP
6MohakampurJyotiBJP
7Pilna SofipurMahendra Singh BhartiBJP
8LisariDharamvir SinghBSP
9KasampurPriya ShakyaBJP
10KashiVishal ChaudharyRLD
11ShivpuramRajkumari ChandnaBSP
12ShobhapurSurendra KumarBSP
13Jai Bheem NagarAjayBJP
14Jagriti Vihar Sector-8Sameer SinghBJP
15Multan NagarKuldeep SinghBSP
16Ajanta ColonyPriyaBSP
17AbdullahpurShaukat AliBJP
18Sarai QaziRavindra KumarBSP
19DayampurAshutosh MalikBJP
20Kaseru KheraVijay SonkarBJP
21Tulsi ColonyParmanandBSP
22GolabarhDimpy Alias DimpleBJP
23SubhashpuriRajesh KhannaIndependent
24Kaseru BaxurSavitaBSP
25Anoopnagar FazalpurRangeetaIndependent
26TejgarhiSunita RaniBJP
27Pallavpuram Phase-1PradeepBSP
28RithaniSarojBSP
29Subhash NagarPawan ChaudharyIndependent
30ModipuramLokeshBJP
31Shatabdi NagarHimanshiIndependent
32Civil LinesLalit NagdevBJP
33QazipurSitara BegumBSP
34Shiv Shakti NagarNeelam SharmaBJP
35Hafizabad MewlaPoonam GuptaBJP
36JahidpurShaukat AliBSP
37GanganagarGulveer SinghBJP
38KhadoliRenuBJP
39Brahmapuri WestRajeevBJP
40JatoliMunish KumarBJP
41Nagala TashiMaheshpal SinghBSP
42Jain NagarBeenaBJP
43Brahmapuri EastRanjanINC
44MohanpuriPrasanjeetIndependent
45Jagriti Vihar Sector-3Sachin TyagiBJP
46Yadgar NagarSwatiBJP
47Shah Peer GateMobin KhanIndependent
48MadhavpuramShikhaIndependent
49Purwa MahaveerKashimBSP
50Nagala BattuSanjay SinghBJP
51Sabun GodownDeepika GuptaBJP
52Bhopal Singh RoadManmohan JohriBJP
53Shastri Nagar Sector-3NidhiBJP
54Purwa Illahi BaqshShehzadIndependent
55FatehullahpurAsgariBSP
56Prahlad NagarJitendraBJP
57Pallavpuram Phase-2Vikrant DhakaBJP
58Surajkund RoadAnshul GuptaBJP
59Jaidevi NagarKishan KumarBJP
60Phool Bagh ColonyNeerajIndependent
61Shastri Nagar L-2RajeshBJP
62Indra NagarVipin JindalBJP
63L-Block Shastri NagarAnuj VashishtBJP
64North Patel Nagar (Thapar Nagar)SunitaBJP
65Khair NagarSaudi FaiziIndependent
66Sarai BehleemSalma MalikBSP
67KailashpuriRakesh KumarBJP
68Maqbara DiggiMohd. AkramIndependent
69Sarai Laal DasPankaj GoyalBJP
70Ismail NagarMohd. IqramINC
71South IslamabadMohd. AsifIndependent
72East IslamabadAisaan AnsariIndependent
73Manzoor NagarAbdul GaffarBSP
74Purwa Faiyaz AliIrfaanIndependent
75Shahjahan ColonyJaharaBSP
76Shyam Nagar WestDilshadBSP
77LakhipuraZaibunishaSP
78SwamiparaSandeepBJP
79Kidwai NagarMohd. RashidSP
80Kareem NagarZubairAIMIM
81TarapuriMohd. ShehzadIndependent
82Fakruddin Ali Ahmad Nagar EastSaed AkhtarBSP
83Fakruddin Ali Ahmad Nagar West-1Qaiyum AnsariIndependent
84Fakruddin Ali Ahmad Nagar West-2Aas Mohd.Independent
85Zakir Hussain ColonyShabbirBSP
86Zakir Hussain Colony NorthIqramuddinSP
87Zakir Hussain Colony SouthZareenaBSP
88Shyam Nagar EastShabaraBSP
89Rashid NagarNazreenSP
90Feroz NagarShaqeelaBSP

Vande Mataram row

Following the crackdown on slaughterhouses and the harassment unleashed by the anti-Romeo squad, the Mayor of Meerut told Municipal Commissioner to act to those who refused to sing Vande Mataram at the beginning of the Nagar Nigam board meeting in the city. Mayor Harikant Ahluwalia allegedly did not let seven corporators take part in a meeting after they refused to participate in the singing of the national song. He has also allegedly declared that anyone who does not comply with this rule will not be allowed to cross the threshold of the board room or join meetings. The decision has enraged some members of the council, which has around 80 members, for its undemocratic overtone.[12]

The situation came to a boiling point when some members, mostly Muslims, were leaving the room before the recital of the national song commenced. They were informed by some BJP members that "Hindustan mein rehna hai to Vande Mataram kehna hoga (If you want to live in India, you have to sing Vande Mataram)." To placate the enraged majority, the mayor was allegedly forced to pass a resolution through voice votes to make the singing of the national song mandatory at the council.[13]

Executive Branch

The Meerut Municipal Corporation is administratively headed by Municipal Commissioner, who is the de facto head of the municipal corporation, the form of government which is granted to a city of over one million in population. He is an IAS Or PCS officer appointed by the state government to head the staff of the Municipal Corporation, vested with all executive powers of Municipal Corporation and implement the decisions of the Corporation and prepare its annual budget. Municipal Commissioner is assisted by two Additional Municipal Commissioners and one Joint Municipal Commissioner at headquarters located near Ghanta Ghar, Kaiser Ganj Road, Meerut. All departmental heads reports to Municipal Commissioner.

Zones

Meerut Municipal Corporation is divided into three zones each head either by a Deputy Municipal Commissioner or by an Assistant Municipal Commissioner. The Municipal Corporation is divided into 90 wards, which is managed through 4 zones.

The three Zones are :-

  1. Headquarters
  2. Shastri Nagar
  3. Kanker Khera

Finance and Accounts Department

Finance and Accounts Department is headed by Chief Finance Officer (CFO). There is one Account Officer and Assistant Account Officer in the department.

Health Department

Health Department is headed by City Health Officer (CHO). There are many Additional City Health Officers, Veterinary Doctors, Zonal Health Officers etc.

Engineering Department

Engineering Department is headed by Chief Engineer (CE) who is assisted by three Executive Engineers, one Assistant Engineer and eight Junior Engineers. Department also has many supervisors, clerks, mates and peons.

Water Works Department

This department is headed by Senior Engineer (SE). Two Executive Engineers, one Assistant Engineer and one supervisor usually manages water related problems in the city.

Sanitation Department

Sanitation Department is headed by Chief Sanitary Inspector (CSI) who is assisted by many Sanitary Inspectors, Safai Nayak, sweepers.

Street Lighting Department

This department is headed by Inspector, Street Lighting (ISL). Solar Lights, LED lights are used in major parts of the city.

Taxation Department

Taxation Department is headed by Chief Tax Assessment Officer (CTAO). There are two Tax Assessment Officer and four Tax Superintendents in the department. Department also has many Assistant Tax Superintendents, Revenue Inspectors, clerks and peons.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BJP's Harikant Ahluwalia Wins Mayoral Polls in Meerut. Jagran English. 22 May 2023.
  2. Web site: Amit Pal to be new Meerut Municipal Commissioner. Live Hindustan. 22 May 2023.
  3. Web site: BJP wins 32 out of 70 wards of Firozabad. ETV Bharat. 22 May 2023.
  4. Web site: 2023 UP Municipal Election results. ECI Uttar Pradesh. 22 May 2023.
  5. Web site: Meerut City.
  6. Web site: Meerut smart city drive gets locals' boost - ET RealEstate.
  7. Web site: Meerut Municipal Corporation begins fogging drive in city | Meerut NYOOOZ.
  8. Web site: Welcome to the National Capital Region(U.P). https://web.archive.org/web/20120511011402/http://ncrup.up.nic.in/. 11 May 2012 .
  9. Web site: NCR – DelhiLive. 7 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002053117/http://www.delhilive.com/ncr. 2 October 2013. dead.
  10. Web site: A to Z of world's largest cities and urban areas – Largest cities and urban areas M to R.
  11. http://www.meerutnagarnigam.com/downloads/buget-2017-2018.pdf
  12. Web site: Muslim councillors in Meerut walk out during Vande Mataram, membership terminated. 30 March 2017.
  13. News: Meerut Muslim councillors stay out during Vande Mataram, return later . 11 April 2017 . Sandeep . Rai . The Times of India . 8 August 2018 .