Who runs the city: mayor, commissioner and councillors

Detail

1. Two wings of a city government

• Every municipality has two wings:
• Deliberative wing (the body that debates and decides): the council of elected ward councillors. The mayor leads it in a corporation. A chairperson leads it in a smaller municipality. Standing committees and subject committees (small groups of councillors who look after one area, such as finance, works or health) help the council.

• Executive wing (the body that carries out decisions): led by the municipal commissioner in a corporation, or the chief officer in a smaller municipality.

• The Constitution does not say which wing holds executive power. Part IXA (Arts. 243P–243ZG, added by the 74th Amendment, 1992) leaves this to state municipal laws. That is why states follow different models.

2. Three models of city executive

Feature	Municipal commissioner system	Mayor-in-council system	Committee system
Who holds executive power	State-appointed commissioner (usually IAS)	Mayor + a cabinet of councillors	Standing committees of the council
Role of council/mayor	Deliberates only; mayor is mostly a ceremonial head	Mayor is the real executive head	Committees run departments
Commissioner's position	Statutory executive head, gets power directly from the Act	Works under the mayor-in-council	Carries out committee decisions
Example	Mumbai (Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888); Delhi and Chennai are similar	Kolkata (Kolkata, then Calcutta, Municipal Corporation Act, 1980); Madhya Pradesh corporations (verify)	Older councils

• Municipal commissioner system: a commissioner holds executive power by law (statutory power: power given directly by the Act, not handed down by the council).
• The council and mayor make policy and pass the budget.
• The commissioner runs day-to-day administration, staff and spending.

• Criticism: the real power lies with a state officer, not with elected people. This weakens local democracy.

• Mayor-in-council system: like a small parliamentary cabinet.

• The mayor picks a group of councillors (the mayor-in-council). Each one looks after a department.
• The commissioner reports to them.

• Benefit: clear political accountability. Voters know who to blame.

• Committee system: executive work is shared among standing committees. The result is spread-out responsibility and slower decisions.

3. The mayor

• Mayor: the head of a municipal corporation and the "first citizen" of the city. State law decides how the mayor is chosen:
• indirectly, by the councillors (the most common method), or

• directly, by the city's voters.

• Short terms in indirect systems:

• Delhi: one-year term. The first year is reserved for a woman councillor. The third year is reserved for a Scheduled Caste (SC) councillor.
• Mumbai: two and a half years.

• Effect: the mayor changes often. Policy does not stay the same, and real power moves to the commissioner.

• Reservation of the post: Art. 243T(4) lets the state legislature reserve chairperson/mayor offices for SCs, STs and women by law. The reserved posts rotate (move to a different category in turn).

• Class 11 NCERT ("Local Governments") notes that because of reservation, many cities now have women mayors.

4. Directly elected mayor

• Directly elected mayor: a mayor elected by all the city's voters, not by councillors.
• Used in some states, e.g. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana. Several states have switched between direct and indirect election over time (verify current).
• Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2nd ARC): set up on 31 August 2005 under M. Veerappa Moily [2]. Its 6th Report, "Local Governance" (2007), recommended a directly elected mayor with a five-year term as the executive head of the city.
• The debate:
• For: a fixed term gives continuity. A mandate from the whole city gives the mayor more authority. Citizens can hold one person accountable.
• Against: if the mayor and the council majority come from different parties, they can deadlock (block each other, so nothing moves). A directly elected mayor may also clash with the commissioner appointed by the state.

5. Nominated members (aldermen) and voting

• Aldermen: nominated members with special knowledge or experience of municipal administration.
• Art. 243R(2)(a) lets the state law add such persons to the municipality. Its proviso says they shall not have the right to vote in municipal meetings.
• Delhi:
• MCD elections were held on 4 December 2022.
• The Lt. Governor nominated ten persons on 3 January 2023 under Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the DMC Act, 1957.
• These nominated persons are represented on the Corporation but have no right to vote in its meetings [3].

6. Supreme Court cases on city politics

Case (year)	Issue	Principle
Shelly Oberoi v. Office of the LG (Feb 2023)	Could aldermen vote in Delhi's mayoral election?	No. Nominated members cannot vote in the mayor's election (Art. 243R(2)(a) proviso + DMC Act)
Kuldeep Kumar v. U.T. Chandigarh (20 Feb 2024)	The presiding officer tampered with ballots in the mayoral count	SC used Art. 142 to set aside the result and declare the rightful mayor
Govt. of NCT of Delhi v. Office of the LG (5 Aug 2024)	Who decides on the ten aldermen?	The LG nominates them under a statutory power (a power given by an Act). The LG does not need the aid and advice (formal advice that must normally be followed) of the Delhi Council of Ministers [3]

• Kuldeep Kumar in detail:
• The Chandigarh mayoral election was held on 30 January 2024. Presiding officer Anil Masih declared eight ballots invalid [4].
• The marking was caught on camera. The Court found that the eight ballots had been validly cast for the appellant. Added to his 12 recorded votes, this made 20 votes [4].
• Instead of ordering a fresh poll, the Court used Art. 142 (its special power to pass any order needed to do "complete justice"). It quashed (cancelled) the declared result and declared Kuldeep Kumar (AAP–Congress alliance candidate) the elected mayor. Its stated aim was to make sure electoral democracy was not defeated [4].

7. Delhi: unification of corporations

• 2011: the Delhi Legislative Assembly trifurcated (split into three) the MCD into North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations [5].
• Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act No. 10 of 2022):
• Introduced in Lok Sabha on 25 March 2022 [5].
• Put back a single Municipal Corporation of Delhi [5].
• Cut the total seats from not more than 272 (three bodies together) to not more than 250 [5].
• Merged the staff of the three corporations into the new MCD [5].
• Parliament could do this because Delhi is a Union Territory, and the DMC Act, 1957 is a central law.

8. Ward councillors at work

• Ward councillor: the elected member for one ward (an area of the city).
• Main tasks:
• handle citizens' grievances (complaints) about water, garbage, drains and streetlights;
• use ward funds for local works;

• take part in the ward committee. Art. 243S requires ward committees in municipalities with a population of 3 lakh or more.

• Class 6 NCERT (Ch 12) shows a resident, Anita, taking a problem to elected representatives. Its exercises ask students to invite a councillor to class and list the traits of a good urban local body.

Prelims Hooks

• Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 → model for the municipal commissioner system, where the commissioner holds statutory executive power.
• Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 → mayor-in-council system.
• Art. 243T(4) → reservation of chairperson/mayor posts for SC/ST/women, as state law provides.
• Art. 243R(2)(a) proviso → nominated members (aldermen) have no right to vote in municipal meetings.
• Shelly Oberoi (2023) → aldermen cannot vote in the Delhi mayor's election.
• Kuldeep Kumar v. U.T. Chandigarh (2024) → Art. 142 used to declare the rightful mayor. Trap: the Court did not order a re-poll.
• Govt. of NCT of Delhi v. Office of the LG (Aug 2024) → the LG nominates 10 aldermen under a statutory power, without aid and advice.
• DMC (Amendment) Act, 2022 → reunified three corporations. Seat cap is 250 (earlier 272).
• Delhi mayor: one-year term, 1st year for a woman, 3rd year for an SC. Mumbai: 2½ years.
• 2nd ARC, 6th Report (2007) → directly elected mayor, five-year term, executive head. Trap: this is not a constitutional requirement. Part IXA is silent on how the mayor is chosen.

Mains Points

• Weak mayor, strong commissioner: in the commissioner model, elected people make policy while a state-appointed officer holds real power. Add short mayoral terms (1 year in Delhi), and accountability to voters suffers. The 74th Amendment's promise of "institutions of self-government" (Art. 243W) stays partly unmet.
• Directly elected mayor, for and against: it brings a mandate, continuity and a clear face for city governance, as the 2nd ARC (2007) argued. But it risks a split between mayor and council and conflict with the state. Possible safeguards: a five-year term, a mayor-in-council, and a commissioner who reports to the mayor.
• The state controls city politics: LG nominations, presiding officers' conduct (Kuldeep Kumar), and Parliament redrawing the MCD (2022) show how much higher authorities control city government. Courts have protected the elected majority (Shelly Oberoi, Kuldeep Kumar) but upheld statutory nominating powers (NCT of Delhi, 2024).
• Reform agenda: one uniform executive model or a minimum standard in Part IXA, longer mayoral terms, strong ward committees (Art. 243S), and independent conduct of mayoral elections.