ગુજરાતી
English
BJP’s Politics of Creating Metropolitan Cities
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, September 26, 2025
Ahead of the new delimitation of assembly seats in 2026, the BJP is working out the political calculations by creating new metropolitan cities, districts, talukas, and municipalities.
Farmers and rural residents did not vote for the BJP government in 2017, so this strategy has been devised to re-establish its government in the assembly.
To increase the dominance of urban voters in the eight new metropolitan cities and reduce the dominance of rural voters, there is a plan to merge 1,000 more villages into these megacities.
If Congress loses again, the Assembly seat calculations:
There are 53 seats in the eight metropolitan cities and 27 seats in cities and villages, for a total of 80 seats. In the 53 pure urban seats, Congress has a total of 7 MLAs compared to the BJP. Thus, combining the existing metropolitan cities and the new metropolitan cities could create 100 seats. The BJP has become the left-wing party of urban voters. Out of 100 seats, Congress or Aam Aadmi Party barely manage to win 20-25 seats, not more. The BJP is also dominating the municipal corporation seats.
In the 2012 assembly elections, the BJP won 40 out of 45 assembly seats in eight municipal corporations, while the Congress won only five.
The BJP dominates the eight municipal corporations in the state.
2025
Nine municipalities were granted the status of Maha Nagar Palika. This increased the number of municipal corporations in the state to 17.
On January 1, 2025, the Gujarat government held a cabinet meeting. In the meeting, the state government approved the creation of one new district, Vav-Thrad, and the conversion of nine municipalities into municipal corporations.
Municipalities
Mehsana, Gandhidham, Vapi, Navsari, Anand, Surendranagar, Nadiad, Morbi, and Porbandar municipalities have been granted municipal corporation status. A long-standing demand of the people of these cities has now been fulfilled, bringing joy to the residents.
Gujarat now has a total of 17 municipal corporations.
Currently, the state has eight municipal corporations: Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and Gandhinagar. However, with the formation of nine new municipal corporations by the state government, the total number of municipal corporations has now increased to 17.
Official Announcement
The cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel approved the decision to create nine new municipal corporations in the state. The current Chief Minister-led government made a significant announcement in the 2024-25 budget to convert nine municipalities into municipal corporations: Navsari, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Surendranagar/Vadhwan, Morbi, Porbandar/Chhaya, and Gandhidham.
Following the “Do as you say” policy adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has approved the formation of these nine municipal corporations and made them operational with immediate effect.
Explaining the role of this decision of the State Cabinet meeting, Minister spokesperson Rishikesh Patel said that Gujarat, the “engine of development,” currently has a total of eight municipal corporations operating in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Jamnagar, and Gandhinagar. Of these, Junagadh Municipal Corporation was formed in 2002, and Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation in 2010.
After nearly 14 years, these nine new municipal corporations are being formed. As a result, the state now has 17 municipal corporations, double the existing number. The spokesperson, the Minister, highlighted this as a historic event in Gujarat’s urban development.
To implement NITI Aayog’s concept of “Cities as Engines of Growth,” future planning for larger urban areas, and establishing a smooth governance system, the state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has formed municipal corporations and ensured effectiveness and transparency in development work and administration.
With the elevation of these nine municipal corporations to municipal corporation status, the number of municipal corporations in the state will now increase to 17 and the total number of municipal corporations to 149.
According to the State Cabinet decision, the Navsari Municipality along with the Dantej, Dharagiri, Eru, and Hansapur Gram Panchayats will be merged to form the Navsari Maha Nagar Palika.
The Gandhidham Municipality along with the Kidana, Galpadar, Antarjal, Shinay, Meghpar-Borichi, and Meghpar-Kumbhardi Gram Panchayats will be merged to form the Gandhidham Maha Nagar Palika.
The Morbi Municipality along with the Shaktisanala, Ravapara, Lilapar, Amreli, Nani Vavdi, Bhadiyad (Jawahar), Trajpar (Malia Vanaliya), Mahendranagar (Indiranagar), and Madhapar/Vajepar OG Gram Panchayats will be merged to form the Morbi Maha Nagar Palika.
The Vapi Municipality along with the Balitha, Salvav, Chiri, Charwada, Chanod, Karvad, Namdha, Chandor, Morai, Watar, and Kunta Gram Panchayats will be merged to form the Vapi Maha Nagar Palika.
Anand, Vallabhvidyanagar, and Karamsad Municipalities, along with Mogri, Jitodia, Gamdi, and Lambhvel Gram Panchayats, will be merged to form Anand Maha Nagar Palika.
Mehsana Maha Nagar Palika will be formed by incorporating the areas of Fatepura, Ramosana, Ramosana NA, Vishra, Dediasan, Palvasna, Heduwa Rajgar, Heduwa Hanumant, Taleti, and Lakhwad Gram Panchayats, and some survey numbered areas of Palodar, Panchot, Gilosan, Nugar, Sakhpurda, and Lakhwad Gram Panchayats, along with Mehsana Municipality.
Surendranagar/Dudhrej/V
Dhavan Municipality will be merged with Khamisna, Kherali, Malod, Mulchand, and Chamraj Gram Panchayats.
Porbandar/Chhaya Municipality will be merged with Vanana (Virpur), Digvijaygarh, Ratanpar, and Jhawar Gram Panchayats to form the Porbandar Maha Nagar Palika.
Nadiad Municipality
Nadiad-Karmsad Municipal Corporation will consist of Yoginagar, Pipalag, Dumral, Fatepura, Kamala, Manjipura, Dabhan, Bilodara, Uttarsanda, and Tundel Gram Panchayats.
Municipal Commissioners in 9 Municipal Corporations
Nadiad – Meerant Parikh
Porbandar – H.J. Prajapati
Mehsana – Ravindra Khatale
Vapi – Yogesh Chaudhary
Surendranagar – G.H. Solanki
Anand – Milind Bapna
Navsari – Dev Chaudhary
Gandhidham – M.P. Pandya
Morbi – Swapnil Khare
₹1,000 crore approved for municipal corporations and municipalities
A total of ₹1,000.86 crore was approved in a single day for urban life improvement projects in the state’s seven municipal corporations, three urban area development authorities, and 17 municipalities, including ‘A’ and ‘D’ category small municipalities.
Merger of 60 villages into the city
With the formation of nine new municipal corporations, 60 surrounding gram panchayats were merged into the municipal corporation, effective January 1, 2025. These were merged into the municipal corporation. The BJP government had adopted a new political strategy through urbanization ahead of the upcoming local body elections. This included merging 60 villages and 12 municipalities into the larger city, effective January 1, 2025. Records from all 60 villages were acquired.
Thus, there is talk that the government has adopted a new urbanization strategy ahead of the upcoming local self-government elections. Because urban areas have supported the BJP. Now, 51 percent of the population lives in cities. Thus, villages have been sacrificed in urban politics. Villagers were not consulted before proposals were sent to villages to oppose the ongoing urbanization.
17 Municipalities
Eight municipalities have been expanded to 17. These included Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and Gandhinagar municipalities. With the approval of nine new municipalities, the total number of municipalities has now increased to 17.
The number of municipalities had increased to 149. 165 municipalities were under the Municipal Corporation Act.
Nine municipalities were formed as municipalities. Of these, Mehsana, Gandhidham, Vapi, Navsari, Anand, Surendranagar, Nadiad, Morbi, and Porbandar were given municipal corporation status. However, Bharuch Municipality was not made a municipal corporation, which was an injustice to it. Thus, Sanand and Bopal in Ahmedabad district were not granted municipal corporation status.
After 15 years,
In Gujarat, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was formed in 1951 under the BPMC Act under the Bombay State.
In the state, Ahmedabad and Vadodara were declared municipal corporations in 1950.
Bhavnagar was declared a metropolitan city in 1962,
Surat in 1966,
Rajkot in 1973,
Jamnagar in 1981,
Junagadh in 2002,
Gandhinagar in 2010.
Junagadh Municipal Corporation was formed in 2002, and Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation in 2010. After that, 9 new municipal corporations were formed after 23 years and 15 years.
The Urban Development Authorities under the Town Planning Act, 1976 are: AUDA, SUDA, VUDA, GUDA, BADA, JADA.
Navsari: 4 villages and 1 municipality
The Navsari Municipality, along with the Dantej, Dharagiri, Eru, and Hanspur Gram Panchayats, were incorporated and merged into the Navsari Municipal Corporation.
Gandhidham: 7 villages and 1 municipality
The Gandhidham Municipality, along with the Kidana, Galpadar, Antarjal, Shinay, Meghpar-Borichi, and Meghpar-Kumbhardi Gram Panchayats, were incorporated into the Gandhidham Municipal Corporation.
Morbi: 9 villages, 1 municipality
Morbi Municipality, along with the Shaktasnala, Ravapara, Lilapar, Amreli, Nani Vavdi, Bhadiyad (Jawahar), Trajpar (Malia Vanaliya), Mahendranagar (Indiranagar), and Madhapar/Vajpar OG gram panchayats, were merged into the Morbi Municipal Corporation.
Vapi: 11 villages and 1 municipality
Vapi Municipality, along with the Balitha, Salvav, Chiri, Charwada, Chanod, Karvad, Namdha, Chandor, Morai, Watar, Kunta gram panchayats, were merged into the Vapi Municipal Corporation.
Anand: 4 villages and 3 municipalities
Anand, Vallabhvidyanagar, and Karamsad municipalities, along with the Mogri, Jitodia, Gamdi, and Lambhvel gram panchayats, were merged into the Anand Municipal Corporation.
Mehsana: 10 villages and 1 municipality
The Mehsana Municipal Corporation will be formed by including the Mehsana Municipal Corporation along with the Fatepura, Ramosana, Ramosana N.A. area, Dediasan, Palvasna, Heduwa Rajgar, Heduwa Hanumant, Taleti, and Lakhwad Gram Panchayats, as well as some survey numbered areas of Palodar, Panchot, Gilosan, Nugar, Sakhpurda, and Lakhwad Gram Panchayats.
Surendranagar: 5 villages and 2 municipalities
Surendranagar/Dudhrej/Wadhwana Municipality along with Khamisana, Kherali, Malod, Mulchand, and Chamraj Gram Panchayats were merged into the Surendranagar Municipal Corporation.
Porbandar: 4 villages and 1 municipality
Porbandar/Chhaya Municipality along with Vanna (Virpur), Digvijaygarh, Ratanpur, and Jhawar Gram Panchayats were merged into the Porbandar Municipal Corporation.
Nadiad: 10 villages and 1 municipality
The Nadiad Municipality, along with the Yoginagar, Pipalag, Dumral, Fatepura, Kamala, Manjipura, Dabhan, Bilodara, Uttarsanda, and Tundel Gram Panchayats, were merged into the Nadiad Municipal Corporation.
Tax Increase
Within six months of Porbandar becoming a municipal corporation, property taxes were increased. The allocation of the house tax bill resulted in an unbearable increase in taxes.
Protest
Many villages say, “Don’t turn villages into cities.” Municipalities or municipal corporations are formed without taking the villagers into confidence. This is opposed.
This is happening, but the government ignores it.
Karamsad
Since January, there has been opposition to the inclusion of Karamsad in the Anand Municipal Corporation. Therefore, the government was forced to add the name Karamsad to Anand. A petition was submitted to the Collector demanding that the name Karamsad, named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, be retained and that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s land be granted special status. Karamsad is the land of Sardar Patel, Vithalbhai, Maniben, Bhikha Kaka, and many other freedom fighters. Karamsad’s name was removed from the map.
An attempt has been made to include Karamsad. Karamsad will become an area of Anand. Keep Karamsad independent.
Vapi
People from 11 villages that were to be included in the Vapi Municipal Corporation opposed this. Balitha, Salvav, Chiri, Chharwada, Chanod, Karvad, Namdha, Chandor, Morai, Watar, and Kunta villages were protesting the inclusion. Late at night, a crowd of 2,000 people from the Morai Gram Panchayat staged a sit-in outside the Gram Panchayat throughout the night. They declared that even if they lose their lives, they will continue their protest if their village is not included in the Municipal Corporation.
The demand was to include the notified area of the Vapi GIDC into the Vapi Municipal Corporation. Villages like Dungra, Chanod, Chiri, and Chharwada in Vapi share boundaries with some areas of the notified area. If all these villages are included, the notified area should also be included.
Vadodara
Residents of villages or municipalities that are not permitted to be included in the city protested. Residents of Vemali village near Vadodara demanded that the village remain a village. They protested by beating drums and plates.
Khambhalia
There was opposition to the merger of villages surrounding Khambhalia into the municipal corporation. Khambhalia is the headquarters of the Devbhoomi Dwarka district. There was opposition to expanding the municipal corporation’s area and merging the areas, land, and population of surrounding gram panchayats into Khambhalia. Four gram panchayats, Dharampur, Ramnagar, Shaktinagar, and Harshadpur, protested. When a village has one street in the gram panchayat and another in the municipality, the situation is such that gram panchayats receive only a small amount of grants per year for a very large area.
Ahmedabad
In January 2020, there was a tussle between the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Municipal Corporations over the merger of six villages into the municipal corporation limits.
Jhundal, Koteshwar, Bhat, Amiyapur, Sughad, and Kharoj were on the list for inclusion in both Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar municipal corporations.
There was hesitation about merging the Bopal-Ghuma Municipality and 17 villages, all or part of their survey numbers, into the Ahmedabad Municipality. The dispute has led to the matter being entangled and brought before the state government.
Gandhinagar villages like Jhundal, Khoraj, Bhat, Sughad, Amiyapura, Ranasan, Nana Chiloda, and Koteshwar, among others, objected to their inclusion within the Ahmedabad Municipality limits.
Since many warehouses in Aslali were rented out, this area objected to their inclusion within the municipal limits.
There was strong opposition to the inclusion of the surrounding rural area within the Ahmedabad limits.
Proposed villages within the Ahmedabad limits:
1 – The entire area of Bopal and Ghuma Municipalities.
2 – The areas of six Gram Panchayats: Jhundal, Koteshwar, Bhat, Chiloda, Naroda, Kathwada, and Amiyapura.
3 – Survey numbers of nine villages, such as Sanathal, Visalpur, Aslali, Geratpur, Bilasiya, Ranasan, Sughad, Khoraj Khodiyar, falling within the Ring Road.
Villages in the Gandhinagar Resolution
1 – Area of Pethapur Municipality
2 – Area of 11 Gram Panchayats: Kudasan, Raisan, Randesan, Sargasan, Koba, Vasna, Hardmatia, Vavol, Kolwada, Por, Ambapur.
3 – Some survey numbers of Dholkuwa, Indroda, Tarapur, Uvarsad, Shahpur, Vasan, and Lavanpur.
4 – Some survey numbers of Tarapur, Uvarsad, and Dholkuwa.
Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar
In Ahmedabad, 30 new areas were last included in the municipal corporation in 2007. Areas outside Gandhinagar, such as Pethapur, Kudasan, Raisan, and Sargasan, will be brought under the municipal corporation’s jurisdiction.
Morbi
At the time of the formation of Morbi district, Amran Chovisi was separated from Jamnagar and merged with Morbi. Amran village in Morbi taluka is 500 years old. Its population was 5,000.
Kanjari
In 2014, there was opposition to the merger of Vadtal, Narsanda, and Rajnagar into the Kanjari municipality.
Rajkot
Villagers opposed the merger of Shapar Veraval with Rajkot into a combined municipality. A demand was made to allocate Veraval as an independent municipality in 2025. The merger of Shapar Veraval into a combined municipality was initiated without taking the villagers into confidence.
Kheda – Nadiad
The merger of Kheda into five municipalities is being opposed in 30 villages. Gram Sabhas were held and resolutions were passed. All villages have called this decision arbitrary and unfair. There was a movement against the decision to merge villages into Thasra, Dakor, Kheda, Kanjari, and Mahudha municipalities.
There is opposition to the merger of 30 villages into five municipalities in Kheda district.
At this time, Gram Sabhas are being held in every village to express their opposition. Villages are also making decisions by making resolutions in Gram Sabhas to maintain their identity.
There is a plan to merge the Sewalia and Matar Gram Panchayats of Kheda into municipalities. A survey was conducted to include six villages in Sewalia and five villages in Matar. The formation of the municipalities has been opposed.
Mahudha
Six villages, namely Toraniya, Finav, Bhumas, Nandgam, Mangalpur, and Sindhali, have protested the decision to merge them into the Mahudha Municipality of Kheda district.
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Vijapur
Eight villages have protested the merger of villages into the Bijapur Municipality. Villagers and residents from over 100 societies held a rally and filed a petition. The state government and local leadership have repeatedly attempted to merge the villages included in the Govindpura Group Panchayat into the Bijapur Municipality area. However, due to opposition from local villagers, the merger of these areas into the municipal area has been stalled.
Tankara
A rally was held to protest the conversion of Tankara into a municipality from September 2024.
Protests erupted after the conversion of the Tankara Gram Panchayat into a municipality.
Tankara, two and a half decades after becoming a taluka, remains a village government. Instead of development, chaos prevails here. There is neither dirt nor cleanliness. Youth do not get adequate employment opportunities. Therefore, the formation of a municipality is not possible.
Yanpar village had filed a petition against the merger into the municipality. A rally was held demanding the repeal of this municipal decision.
The decision to keep the village in the dark is unacceptable. It was described as a dirty political game and anger was vented. The Municipal Corporation has been imposed on the people.
Dayanand Janmabhoomi Tankara was made a taluka, but to no avail. There is no sign of development. There are no basic amenities. There is no business or employment. Youth are languishing in unemployment.
An immature decision has been made. Water comes only after five days.
Kalyanpar strongly opposed the merger of the village into the municipality and sent a petition to the Chief Minister, Governor, and others demanding that their village be excluded from the municipality and remain a Gram Panchayat. Tax slabs will be increased in the name of the municipality and this was described as a political ploy to harass the people and exploit dirty tricks in the name of facilities.
The myth is false
The myth that better facilities are available after merger into the municipality is false. Previously, villages merged into the municipality were not provided any additional facilities. When the villages were merged into the municipal limits, many dreams of development were promised to the local people, but these have not yet been fulfilled. Such villages are administered by the Gram Panchayat.
Navsari
There was opposition to the inclusion of three more villages, Eru, Hanspur, and Dharagiri, into the Navsari-Vijalpur Municipality.
NITI Aayog believes that cities are engines of development.
Amenities
When cities are formed, villages receive basic amenities such as urban planning, roads, sewerage systems, sanitation, clean drinking water, sewage treatment plants, health services, education, streetlights, gardens, community halls, and transportation.
It was announced that special projects such as BRTS, Metro Rail, and the Riverfront would be implemented upon the formation of the nine new municipalities. But this will take decades.
Injustice
Why 11 Cities Haven’t Become Metropolitan Cities
Patan, Palanpur, Himmatnagar, Dahod, Godhra, Khambhat, Chhota Udaipur, Bharuch, Valsad, Bhuj, and Amreli are eligible to become municipalities. However, they haven’t been designated as municipalities. The sole reason for this is that they can’t help the BJP politically.
Lower-level officials in municipalities are infiltrated, which prevents each city from developing as much as possible. If they were converted into municipal corporations, the city’s income could improve.
Injustice to 13 Cities
Generally, cities with a population of over 100,000 are declared metropolitan cities. In Gujarat, there are 13 cities with a population of up to 1.5 lakh, yet they haven’t been granted metropolitan status.
Porbandar has a population of 279,245. Bharuch and Patan have higher populations, yet they haven’t been declared metropolitan cities. This clearly demonstrates the government’s discriminatory policy. If everyone gets equal justice, 17 metropolitan cities should be declared, and if the other 13 are declared metropolitan cities, 30 metropolitan cities should be created.
Cities Affected by This
Bharuch – 290,000
Patan – 283,000
Bhuj – 244,000
Veraval – 241,000
Valsad – 221,000
Godhra – 211,000
Palanpur – 184,000
Himmatnagar – 181,000
Kalol – 174,000
Botad – 169,000
Amreli – 153,000
Gondal – 145,000
Jetpur – 153,000
60 percent of Gujarat’s population lives in cities and towns. Talukas, district headquarters, municipalities, or metropolitan cities.
Urban Population and Area
The total area of 31 major cities is 3,037 square kilometers. The estimated population in 2021 is 27.65 million.
Estimated Population of Cities in 2021
Area and Population
City Square Kilometers Population in Lakhs 2021
Ahmedabad – 530 – 8253,000
Surat – 461.6 – 7490,000
Vadodara – 220.33 – 2233,000
Rajkot – 170 – 1934,000
Bhavnagar – 108.27 – 771,000
Jamnagar – 125.67 – 623,000
Junagadh – 160 – 415,000
Gandhinagar – 326 – 410,000
Anand – 47.89 – 374,000
Navsari – 43.71 – 367,000
Surendranagar – 58.6 – 329,000
Morbi – 46.58 – 327,000
Gandhidham – 63.49 – 322,000
Nadiad – 78.55 – 292,000
Bharuch – 43.8 – 290,000
Patan – 43.89 – 283,000
Porbandar – 38.43 – 282,000
Mehsana – 31.08 – 247,000
Bhuj – 56 – 244,000
Veraval – 39.95 – 241,000
Vapi – 22.44 – 223,000
Valsad – 24.1 – 221,000
Godhra – 20.16 – 211,000
Palanpur – 39.5 – 182,000
Himmatnagar – 21.01 – 181,000
Kalol – 25.42 – 174,000
Botad – 10.36 – 169,000
Amreli – 65 – 153,000
Gondal – 74.48 – 145,000
Jetpur – 23.27 – 153,000
Deesa – 20.08 – 111,160
Total – 3,037 – 27,650,000
What happened before?
22 metropolitan cities were to be created.
In April 2024, the government was secretly planning to declare metropolitan cities.
According to this, if 8 new metropolitan cities were added after the previous announcement, Gujarat would have a total of 22 metropolitan cities, along with 14 municipal corporations.
5 metropolitan cities were to be created.
On June 29, 2023, the cabinet decided to create 5 municipalities: Navsari, Gandhidham, Surendranagar, Vapi, and Morbi.
Suddenly, two more were added.
In the March 2024 budget, the Gujarat government had asked for 7 municipalities to be declared. These included Mehsana, Gandhidham, Anand, Morbi, Navsari, Vapi, and Surendranagar-Dudhrej municipalities. However, something happened within 10 months, and on January 1, 2025, instead of 7, only 2 cities were suddenly declared municipal corporations. These include Porbandar and Nadiad.
Political Mathematics
What Happened Before
So, new cities were to be created starting in March 2020. Departments were given instructions regarding this. But later, Vijay Rupani received orders from Delhi not to do so.
The state’s urban government had begun considering expanding the boundaries of Gujarat’s eight metropolitan cities to make them larger. The Urban Development Department will issue a gazette notification.
In the 2027 assembly elections, the 80 urban seats have been increased from approximately 96 to 100.
2020 Orders
In 2020, the state’s urban department
The Department of Rural Development (KSR) wrote to eight municipal corporations, directing them to submit proposals for the merger of municipalities and gram panchayats. Following this, the department was asked to quickly prepare a list of how many gram panchayats or municipalities could be merged into the metropolis.
Proposals were invited for the merger of villages and towns, as well as areas outside the city.
In Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Junagadh, and Bhavnagar, proposals were also given to merge areas outside the city into the municipal corporation.
8 Other Municipal Corporations
There are eight municipal corporations in total, and eight other municipalities were sought to be converted into municipal corporations. These municipalities were Bharuch, Nadiad, Anand, Amreli, Mehsana, Porbandar, Surendranagar, Valsad, and Navsari. This would increase the urban area, which is currently 43 percent, to 50 percent by 2022. Therefore, by combining the surrounding villages into one assembly constituency, the BJP could get 100 assembly seats, easily winning 85 of them. Vijay Rupani could form the government again in 2022.
No
Garico believes that life is similar to living in a village. Most villages have internet connectivity and everything a city offers.
Junk food like pizza, burgers, or soft drinks is not available in villages. Cabbage Manchurian, Gol Gappa, and the like are available. The biggest advantage for children in villages is fresh air and the freedom to walk.
Villages have plenty of space, both in the backyard and outside. There are no problems with congestion and traffic jams. Help is available quickly in case of health emergencies. Cities have multi-specialty hospitals. The distance between city hospitals and homes is also roughly the same in cities and villages.
Living in a village is great. Cities are depressing. No one wants to be a farmer anymore. The beauty of the village and the purity of nature experienced in childhood have been lost.
As cities grow, the old form of the village is missed.
What the Law Says
For good governance of cities in Gujarat, a “common urban cadre” needs to be created. A system is needed that ensures accountability of urban rulers.
The Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1948 (GPMC Act) applies to municipal corporations.
The Municipal Act applies to municipalities.
Until 2002, as autonomous bodies, octroi was the main source of revenue. Now, they depend on state government grants, property taxes, commercial taxes, and taxes levied by them.
Until 1975, in Gujarat’s municipal corporations, elected rulers or councilors—the city fathers—served as moneylenders.
Elected councilors are not provided services on a predictable basis.
The GPMC Act creates three authorities in municipalities: the Mayor, the General Board, the Standing Committee Chairperson, and the Municipal Commissioner.
The powers of these three authorities are very clear in this law. The mandatory and optional duties are detailed under Sections 66 and 67 of the Act.
The Municipal Commissioner is an implementing authority; elected officials have no power over them. However, due to political interference, administrative officials are unable to perform their duties efficiently.
There is a decline in the provision of essential services to citizens.
Municipal Corporation Rules
Cities with a population of more than 100,000 are municipal corporations.
According to the law, the government can form a municipal corporation if the population exceeds 300,000. In some cases, a municipal corporation can be formed by merging surrounding villages.
Three municipal acts are in force in Gujarat:
Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949
Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963
Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993 – Gram Panchayats and Taluka Panchayats (Google translation from Gujarati)
