Municipal corporation

A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. Often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter.

With the notable exception of the City of London Corporation, the term has fallen out of favour in the United Kingdom, but the concept remains central to local government in the United Kingdom.

In India a Municipal Corporation is a local government body that administers a city of population 200,000 or more. Under the Panchayati Raj system, it interacts directly with the state government, though it is administratively part of the district it is located in. The largest Municipal Corporations in India currently are Mumbai, followed by Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

The Municipal Corporation consists of members elected from the wards of the city. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected by the members among themselves. A Municipal Commissioner, who is from the Indian Administrative Service is appointed to head the administrative staff of the Municipal Corporation, implement the decisions of the Corporation and prepare its annual budget.

The Municipal Corporation is responsible for water supply, records of births and deaths (delegated from Central Govt Birth and Death Registration Act), drainage, sewage removal, fire brigade service, gardens and maintenance of buildings. The sources of income of the Corporation are taxes on water, house-tax, entertainment tax and octroi (now abolished from many cities).

• Incorporation (business)
• Municipal charter
• Unincorporated area