What is the History of the MCGM?
Bombay was the first British Indian possession, which came as a part of the royal dowry in 1661 to King Charles II of England on his marriage to the Portuguese princess, Infanta Catherine de Braganza.
Ironically enough, Bombay also set the stage for the birth of the country’s historic freedom movement, as well as for some of its major landmarks, including Gandhiji’s 1942 call to the British to “Quit India”. It was in Bombay that the Indian National Congress was born in 1885. It led the country’s struggle for political independence and indirectly to the liquidation of the British Empire.
The name “Bombay” was changed to “Mumbai” by the Corporation Resolution No.512 dated August 12, 1996, Maharashtra Act, XXV of 1996
During the period between the rise and fall of the British Empire, Bombay gradually developed into a town, a city and a metropolis of world renown.
Today, the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika covers an area of 480.24 sq.kms. with a population of 1,19,14,378 as per the census of 2001. The metropolis accounts major portion of India’s international trade and government revenue, from being one of the foremost centres of education, science and technological research and advancement
It is also pertinent to note that Mumbai’s all-round growth owed a lot to the early development of the system of local government under British rule.
The Mumbai Metropolis has a historic tradition of strong civic activism dedicated to the cause of a better life for all its citizens. And it’s the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), that is the primary agency responsible for urban governance in Greater Mumbai.
From the time of its establishment in 1882 as India’s first Municipal Corporation, numerous non-political groups, NGO’s and organizations of citizens have worked closely with the civic body in the fields of education, public health, creation of urban amenities, art and culture, heritage conservation, etc.
The following table shows the evolution of the MCGM till the year 2007:
Year |
Description |
---|---|
1807 | Court of Petty Sessions – Two Magistrates and a Justice of Peace.
|
1845
|
Board of Conservancy – Civic Heptarchy. |
1858
|
Board of three Commissioners. |
1865
|
Corporate Body with one Municipal Commissioner and Justices of Peace. |
1872
|
Regular Corporation formed with 64 Members, Rate (tax) Payers having right of voting (vide Bombay Act No.III of 1872).
|
1873
|
First Meeting of the democratic civic body held on 4th September 1873. |
1907
|
The full responsibility of Primary Education was entrusted to the Corporation. |
1922
|
Instead of rate (tax) payers only, rent payers were also given right of voting (Vide Bombay Act No. IV).
|
1931 | Designation of ‘President’ was changed to that of ‘Mayor’ (vide Bombay Act No. XXI).
|
1933 | Improvements Trust was merged with the Corporation on 1st October 1933 (vide Bombay Act No. XIII of 1933).
|
1947
|
B. E. S. & T. Co. Ltd. was municipalized on 7th August 1947. |
1948
|
Elections on adult franchise basis were held for the first time. |
1950
|
Suburbs were merged with the Corporation (vide Bombay Act No. VII of 1950). |
1952 | Hitherto there was some ex-officio membership (i.e. Police Commissioner, Chairman, B. P. T., Executive Engineer, Presidency Division, P. W. D. Govt. of Bombay etc). All such special representations were done away with and the Corporation became a fully elected body. (Vide Bombay Act No. XLVIII of 1950).
|
1957
|
Extended Suburbs were merged with the Corporation (Vide Bombay Act No. LVIII of 1956).
|
1963
|
140 Single member constituencies were introduced. |
1968
|
Elections were, accordingly, held for the first time (Vide Maharashtra Act No. XXXIII of 1966)
|
1972
|
Marathi (the State Language) adopted as the official language of the Corporation (Vide C. R. No. 1959 of 30-3-1972).
|
1973
|
Corporation’s Centenary Celebrations. |
1976
|
Provisions for reservation of seats for Councillors belonging to Scheduled Castes, (Vide Maharashtra Act No. XLII of 1976).
|
1982 |
|
1983 |
|
1984 | Appointment of Administrator (Vide Maharashtra Act No. VII of 1984) with effect from 1st April 1984.
|
1985 |
|
1987
|
Mumbai Fire Brigade’s Centenary Celebrations.
|
1989 |
|
1990 |
|
1991 |
|
1992 |
|
1993 |
|
1994 | In pursuance of the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India, the following vital amendments to the B.M.C. Act made by Maharashtra Act No. XLI of 1994
|
1996 |
|
1997 |
|
1998 | Introduction of ‘Mayor-In-Council system’ in the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika with effect from 19th April 1998, by amending the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 (Vide Maharashtra Act No. X of 1998 and No. XIII of 1998).
|
1999 |
|
2000 |
|
2002 |
|
2007 |
|
Source: This information was obtained from the website of the MCGM – http://www.mcgm.gov.in/
Tags: Civic Services
All our articles are periodically updated.
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