Question

Briefly discuss the meaning and significance of local self-government. Name the local self- governing body for urban areas. List its sources of income.

Answer 1

Instructions:

• Begin by giving a brief description and advantages of local self-government.
• And in the second part of our answer, mention the name and briefly discuss the local self-governing body of the urban area and its sources of income.

Solution:

Introduction
Both urban and rural communities need public services such as water supply, power, roads, schools, and healthcare facilities.
The government is in charge of managing and supervising such public facilities/amenities.

Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by local bodies that the local people have elected.
In other words, the community is governed themselves, through the people through their elected representatives. We refer to this system as local self-government.

Significance or importance of local self government:

• Local people can best solve the problems of their area.
• It makes people self-reliant and responsible.
• It reduces the work of the central and state governments.

In India, the municipality is the local self-government body for an urban area.
In India, there are three main types of municipality.
These are Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation.

• Semi-urban areas, that is, areas that are gradually changing from rural to urban and have a population of 20,000 to 40,000 people, have Nagar Panchayats.
• Next is the Municipal Council, established in small cities with a population between 40,000 and 3,00,000 people.
• And finally, we have the highest level of urban local government, the Municipal Corporation. It is established in large cities which have a population of more than 3,00,000 people.

Sources of income of municipalities

• As a source of funds, municipalities levy several taxes – like taxes on house and property, water and street lights, taxes on shops, film tickets, and more.
• However, the income from these taxes is not enough for the municipalities' work and depends upon grants from the government. The government allocates funds for different projects like construction of roads, development programs and the municipalities' regular work.