Functions: the Twelfth Schedule and city services

Detail

1. Article 243W: the state decides what a city body may do

• Article 243W is in Part IXA of the Constitution, which covers municipalities (elected local governments of towns and cities). The 74th Amendment (1992) added it [2].
• Exact text, in simple words. The state legislature may, by law, give powers [2]:
• (a) to municipalities, so they can work as "institutions of self-government" (bodies that govern themselves, not just offices that carry out state orders). The law may hand them powers and duties for:
  • (i) preparing plans for economic development and social justice;
  • (ii) carrying out functions and schemes given to them, including the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule.

• (b) to Committees, such as Wards Committees, so they can do their assigned work, including Twelfth Schedule matters [2].

• Key word: "may". The Constitution does not force any state to transfer a single function.

• So the state decides how much power to give and when.
• This is why the powers of city bodies differ widely from one state to another.

• The Constitution has no "municipal list" of its own. Twelfth Schedule items are only suggestions that a state law turns into real powers.

• Rural parallel: the 73rd Amendment (1992) gives panchayats similar powers through Art. 243G, with 29 items in the Eleventh Schedule. The urban list in the Twelfth Schedule has 18 items.

2. The Twelfth Schedule: all 18 items

Twelfth Schedule: the list of 18 subjects that a state may transfer to municipalities under Art. 243W. The 74th Amendment added it [2][3].

Group	No.	Item (as worded in the Schedule)
Planning	1	Urban planning, including town planning [3]
	2	Regulation of land use and construction of buildings [3]
	3	Planning for economic and social development [3]
Core infrastructure	4	Roads and bridges [3]
	5	Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes [3]
	6	Public health, sanitation, conservancy (keeping streets and drains clean) and solid waste management [3]
	7	Fire services [3]
Environment	8	Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects
Welfare and equity	9	Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the handicapped (persons with disabilities) and the mentally retarded (outdated wording that is still in the text)
	10	Slum improvement and upgradation
	11	Urban poverty alleviation
Civic life	12	Urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens and playgrounds
	13	Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects
	14	Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoriums
	15	Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals
Records and regulation	16	Vital statistics, including registration of births and deaths
	17	Public amenities, including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences
	18	Regulation of slaughterhouses and tanneries

• Memory hook: the list moves from planning (1–3) → pipes and roads (4–7) → green city (8) → the poor (9–11) → public spaces and rites (12–15) → records and rules (16–18).
• Item 3 ties back to Art. 243W(a)(i). Cities are meant to plan for economic development and social justice, not only to run services.

3. Obligatory and discretionary functions

• Each state municipal Act (for example, a state's Municipal Corporation Act) divides the transferred work into two kinds:
• Obligatory functions: the body must do these. Typical examples are water supply, sanitation and drainage, garbage collection, street lighting, registration of births and deaths, and fire services where they have been transferred.

• Discretionary functions: the body may do these if it has money. Typical examples are parks, libraries, cultural activities, low-cost housing and tree planting.

• Result: two cities in different states can have very different real powers, even though the Twelfth Schedule is the same for both.

4. Common gaps: what usually stays with the state

• School education: mostly run by the state education department. Item 13 covers only "cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects".
• Health care beyond public health: hospitals usually stay with the state. Cities mainly handle sanitation, disease control and dispensaries (item 6).
• Urban transport: metro and city bus systems are often run by state corporations. City bodies keep bus stops and parking (item 17).
• Policing: "Police" and "public order" are state subjects in the Seventh Schedule, State List, and are not in the Twelfth Schedule.
• Parastatals: water boards and development authorities set up by the state often do Twelfth Schedule work, especially items 1, 2 and 5. This leaves the elected council with less control.

5. Functions in practice: what a city body actually does

• The working list (NCERT, Class 6). Urban local bodies:
• maintain infrastructure such as roads, drains and street lights;
• keep up burial and cremation grounds;
• collect and dispose of garbage;
• check how government schemes are carried out;
• collect local taxes and fines, such as property tax and penalties for littering;

• plan for economic and social development.

• Indore Municipal Corporation (NCERT figure). Its services include:

• water supply and sanitation;
• property tax collection;
• licences for trade and building;

• a CRM (Citizen/Customer Relationship Management) grievance system, where residents file complaints and track them online.

• Some services are paid, through user charges such as water fees or garbage-collection fees. This leads into how cities raise money (§9: municipal finance).

• Citizens co-produce services. This means people share the work of making a service succeed:
• segregating waste (keeping wet and dry waste apart) at home makes collection and processing easier;
• reporting a leaking pipe saves water;
• paying taxes and fees on time keeps services running.

6. Swachh Survekshan: ranking cities on cleanliness

• Swachh Survekshan: the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) runs this yearly survey that ranks cities on cleanliness. It is part of the Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban (SBM-U) and has run since 2016.
• Growth of the survey: it started with 73 ULBs (urban local bodies) in 2016. The 2024-25 edition covered 4,500+ cities [5][6].
• 2024-25 edition (the 9th edition) [8]:
• Theme: "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" [6].
• Scale: over 3,000 assessors inspected every ward over 45 days. About 14 crore citizens took part through face-to-face talks, the Swachhata App, MyGov and social media [6].

• Awards: the President gave them on 17 July 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in an event hosted by MoHUA. In total, 78 awards were given across 4 categories [5][6]:

  • (a) Super Swachh League cities;
  • (b) top 3 clean cities in 5 population categories;
  • (c) special categories: Ganga towns, Cantonment Boards, SafaiMitra Suraksha (safety of sanitation workers) and Mahakumbh;
  • (d) state-level "Promising Clean City" awards.

• Super Swachh League (new in 2024-25): a separate league for cities that have topped the survey before. It keeps repeat winners in their own group so that other cities get a fair chance at the top ranks.

• 23 Super Swachh League cities were honoured [5].

• 10-lakh-plus population category: Indore (Madhya Pradesh) came first, then Surat (Gujarat) and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [5].

• Top new "Swachh Shehar" (cleanest city) awards in 2024-25: Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Lucknow [6]. Ahmedabad ranked first among the cleanest big cities [7].

• Indore's record: it was the cleanest city seven years in a row, 2017–2023. In 2023 it shared the title with Surat.

7. What Indore shows (NCERT's "Think About It")

• Door-to-door collection of segregated waste: waste is already sorted at the source, so it is easier to process.
• Citizen buy-in: residents segregate waste, avoid littering and use the grievance app. NCERT asks students what role Indore's citizens played. The answer is that cleanliness was co-produced by residents and the city body.
• User charges: households pay a small fee for collection. This gives the service a steady income.
• Processing wet waste: kitchen and wet waste is turned into compost or biogas instead of being dumped in landfills.
• Lesson: a city body with clear functions (items 6 and 17), some money of its own and active citizens can deliver results. Function, funds and people's participation work together.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 243W → powers, authority and responsibilities of municipalities. It applies to Committees (such as Wards Committees) too [2].
• Twelfth Schedule = 18 items (urban, 74th Amendment); Eleventh Schedule = 29 items (rural, 73rd Amendment, Art. 243G).
• Art. 243W uses "may". Transferring Twelfth Schedule functions is at the state's discretion, not compulsory.
• Trap: "Police", "school education" and "hospitals" are NOT in the Twelfth Schedule. Fire services (item 7), registration of births and deaths (item 16) and regulation of slaughterhouses and tanneries (item 18) ARE in it.
• The Twelfth Schedule covers water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial use, not just drinking water [3].
• Swachh Survekshan: MoHUA, under SBM-U, run since 2016. It started with 73 ULBs and covered 4,500+ cities in 2024-25 [5][6].
• Super Swachh League (2024-25), 10-lakh-plus category: Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai [5].
• 2024-25 theme: "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". The President gave the awards on 17 July 2025 [5][6].

Mains Points

• Devolution on paper, not in practice.
• Art. 243W only permits states to transfer functions.
• Many states hold back planning (items 1–2) and water (item 5), or give them to parastatals such as development authorities and water boards.

• So elected councils answer to voters for services they do not control. This weakens accountability.

• The "3Fs" problem: functions, funds, functionaries.

• Transferring a function means little without its own funds (property tax, user charges) and functionaries (staff the city itself controls).

• Indore's success links clear functions to user charges and staff on the ground.

• Gaps in the Schedule itself.

• Urban transport, school education, health care and policing shape city life most, yet they stay with the state.

• Reform ideas: make core items obligatory, bring metropolitan planning under elected bodies, and give mayors a real say over transport.

• Competitive and cooperative federalism at the city level.

• Rankings such as Swachh Survekshan push cities to compete and to bring citizens in (14 crore participants in 2024-25 [6]).
• The Super Swachh League keeps past winners in a separate league so the rankings stay competitive [5].
• Risk: cities may chase the ranking rather than lasting service quality.