Municipalities of Kerala: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}

{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}

In 1664, the municipality of [[Fort Kochi]] was established by [[Dutch Malabar]], making it the first municipality in [[Indian subcontinent]], which got dissolved when the Dutch authority got weaker in 18th century.<ref>{{Cite news|title=50 years on, Kochi still has a long way to go|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/50-years-on-kochi-still-has-a-long-way-to-go/articleshow/60835311.cms|last=M K Sunil Kumar|date=26 September 2017|access-date=1 June 2021|work=The Times of India}}</ref> However, the first modern kind of municipalities were formed in the state in 1866 in [[Malabar District]]. In 1866, [[Fort Kochi]] municipality was reestablished. [[Kannur]], [[Thalassery]], [[Kozhikode]], [[Palakkad]], and [[Fort Kochi]], which were parts of [[Malabar District]] until 1956, were made the first modern municipalities of Kerala on 1 November 1866, according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850)<ref name="Ref1">{{cite web|url=http://www.lawmin.nic.in/chronology.doc |title=CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF CENTRAL ACTS (Updated up to 17-10-2014) |website=Lawmin.nic.in |access-date=2016-08-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewis McIver |first1=G. Stokes |title=Imperial Census of 1881 Operations and Results in the Presidency of Madras |date=1883 |publisher=E.Keys at the Government Press |location=Madras |page=444 |edition=(Vol II) |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Imperial_Census_of_1881/b_YIAAAAQAAJ?hl=en |access-date=5 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="google.co.in">{{cite book |last1=Presidency |first1=Madras (India |title=Madras District Gazetteers, Statistical Appendix For Malabar District. |date=1915 |publisher=The Superintendent, Government Press |location=Madras |page=20 |edition=Vol.2 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Madras_district_gazetteers_Malabar_distr/aUEwnQEACAAJ?hl=en |access-date=2 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=HENRY FROWDE, M.A. |first1=Imperial Gazetteer of India |title=Imperial Gazetteer of India |date=1908-1909 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |edition=New |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> of the [[British Indian Empire]].

Chairperson is the executive authority of the municipalities. Elected councillors and officers are the other functionaries. Two types of officers now exist - officers belonging to the municipality as full-time officers and officers transferred to the municipality from the state government.

In both cases, the local Councillor is the chairperson of the Ward Committee. The Kerala Municipality (Constitution of Ward Committee and Procedure for Meeting) Rules, 1995 provides further rules for the setting up and functioning of these committees.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Kerala Municipality (Constitution of Ward Committee and Procedure for Meeting) Rules, 1995 {{!}} Sanchitha|url=http://www.sanchitha.ikm.in/node/2411|access-date=2020-09-18|website=www.sanchitha.ikm.in}}</ref> Ward Committees have been set up in Kerala and are regularly cited as a good example of functioning micro level urban governance in India.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Natarajan|first=Aruna|date=6 May 2019|title=What can Chennai learn from Kerala and Bengaluru on citizen participation in urban governance?|url=https://chennai.citizenmatters.in/chennai-citizen-participation-ward-committees-kerala-bengaluru-10075|access-date=19 September 2020|website=Citizens Matter}}</ref> Ward Committees played an important role in combating the spread of [[COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala|COVID19 in Kerala]].<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Information Public Relations Department, Government of Kerala | title=Ward level committees in the State to be strengthened: Kerala CM|url=http://prdlive.kerala.gov.in/news/85645|date=1 July 2020|language=en|access-date=2020-09-18}}</ref>

!'''Kozhikode District