Question

Who is the executive head of the Municipal Corporation?
A.Mayor
B.Secretary
C.Commissioner
D.Deputy Mayor

Answer 1

Hint: The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 strengthened existing urban local bodies as institutions of self-governance by reorganising them into three categories—Municipal Corporations/Mahanagar Palika, Municipal Councils/Nagar Palika, Nagar Panchayat/Notified Area Council. The Act provided for the constitution of such bodies through direct elections of representatives and their powers and functions inserted in Part IXA and the XII Schedule of the Constitution.

Complete answer: Option A: is incorrect. In India, the Mayor is the ceremonial head of the Municipal Corporation as they are chosen through indirect election by the Councillors from among themselves for a term of one year. However, in nine states namely Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand, the Mayor is directly elected.
Option B: is incorrect. In certain states, the department heads in the Municipal Corporations are known as secretaries but they do not head the Municipal Corporation.
Option C: is correct. The Municipal Commissioner is the chief executive head of the Municipal Corporation in India. They are appointed by the state government from the Indian Administrative Service and are responsible for heading the administrative staff of the municipal corporation, implementing the decisions, and preparing its annual budget.
Option D: is incorrect. The office of the Deputy Mayor was a part of the erstwhile Municipal Corporations Act.

Hence, Option C is correct.

Note: The Census of India in 2011 describes an urban area as having a minimum population of 5000, at least 75% of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural activities and a density of population of at least 4000 people per sq. km. The total number of urban local bodies in India is around 3700.