RAS question
The 74th Amendment provides for three types of municipalities:
Correct answer: (D) Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, and Municipal Corporation.
Article 243Q, inserted by the 74th Amendment, provides for Nagar Panchayats in transitional areas, Municipal Councils in smaller urban areas, and Municipal Corporations in larger urban areas.
Explanation
The 74th Amendment classifies urban local bodies by the character and scale of the urban area. Article 243Q says that every State shall have a Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area, meaning an area moving from rural to urban; a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area; and a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area. The logic is functional: a settlement that is still urbanising does not need the same municipal form as a large city, while a larger urban area requires the stronger corporation model. This is why the three names in option D are not interchangeable labels but constitutionally matched categories.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 243Q does not provide only for Municipal Corporations; it also lists Nagar Panchayats and Municipal Councils for other types of urban areas.
- (B) Village Board, Town Committee, and City Committee are not the three municipal categories named in Article 243Q.
- (C) Town Board, City Council, and Metro Corporation do not match the constitutional terms used in Article 243Q.
Concept
This tests the constitutional framework for urban local self-government under the 74th Amendment. It recurs in RAS because local bodies, decentralisation, and Article 243Q are core governance topics.