City’s Municipality Corporation and Urban Development Authority: Meaning and Differences Explained

Several authorities are associated with the urban area like Municipality, Municipal Corporation, Urban Development Authority, etc. Every authority has been formed by targeting the fulfilment of different purposes. Therefore, they differ from each other significantly. Many of us are confused regarding the function of these authorities. We often make mistakes while using the terms.

Thus, in this blog, we are going to discuss the difference between a city’s Municipality Corporation and Urban Development Authority in detail. Read this article to gain true insight into the terms and avoid unwanted mistakes.

City’s Municipality Corporation

A city’s Municipal Corporation is a local government body that is set up to ensure the availability as well as the accessibility of various amenities and services like water supply, sewerage, electricity, management of transport system, fire and safety, etc. to the people of the city.

Urban Development Authority

Urban Development Authority is developed to control the growth of the city in a systematic way, that includes infrastructure development, commercial projects, residential schemes, amenities, rehabilitation of slums, preparation and implementation of master plans, eco-friendly schemes and transport, systems etc.

City’s Municipality Corporation v/s Urban Development Authority

A city’s Municipal Corporation is bigger than a Municipality. When the size of the urban area increases much and it goes beyond the control of the Municipality then the Municipality Corporation is developed in place of the Municipality. The size of the area, the complexity of economic activities and the population volume of a Municipal Corporation are generally higher than a Municipality.

Now, after the development of Municipal Corporation, in many cases, especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries like India and unplanned growth is seen in the cities, especially in the suburban areas which make the availability of amenities and services poor. To overcome this situation a separate body, namely Urban Development Authority, is developed.

The main purposes behind the formation of the urban development authority are the omission of the problem of housing, infrastructural development of the city, growth of the city with a proper plan, increasing the amount and quality of various city amenities and services, controlling the growth of commercial properties, ensuring better living opportunities, rehabilitation of slums, preparation and implementation of master plans, sustainable development of the city, controlling the level of population, increasing the green cover in the city, etc.

Based on the above discussion many differences between City’s Municipality Corporation and Urban Development Authority have been observed, such as

The operation area of the Urban Development Authority is bigger than a City’s Municipality Corporation.
The city’s Municipality Corporation plays the role of local governmental authority to the common people which is not applicable for Urban Development Authority.
One of the main targets of the Urban Development Authority is to develop the city with a proper plan and to check the unplanned growth of the city. On the other hand, the application of a proper plan in the city is not the purpose of the City’s Municipality Corporation.
Urban Development Authority tries to improve the overall infrastructural development of the city whereas City’s Municipality Corporation tries to ensure the flow of basic amenities and services to the city people.
Urban Development Authority generally works with long term tenure targets. On the other hand, City’s Municipality Corporation generally works with a short-term tenure target.
Urban Development Authority controls the growth of all commercial projects within the city so that it does not create any problems in the future. Controlling the growth of commercial projects is not a duty of the City’s Municipality Corporation.
Urban Development Authority tries to ensure housing for all in the city area. Therefore, the rehabilitation of slums is an important duty of the Urban Development Authority. On the other hand, rehabilitation of slums is not a duty of the City’s Municipality Corporation.
It is the role of the Urban Development Authority to develop infrastructure within the city and the role of the City’s Municipality Corporation is to manage this infrastructure appropriately.
Preparation and implementation of master plans for the city is an important aspect behind the formation of the Urban Development Authority. On the other hand, there is no role of a City’s Municipality Corporation in the preparation and implementation of master plans for the city.
Urban areas and adjacent rural areas are the focus area for Urban Development Authority but City’s Municipality Corporation only works in the city areas. The adjacent rural areas of a city do not fall within the administrative function of the City’s Municipality Corporation.
Urban Development Authority focuses on the sustainable development of the city. On the other hand, achieving the target of sustainable development goals is not a prime target of the City’s Municipality Corporation.

In Summary

Although the term city’s Municipality Corporation and Urban Development Authority sounds like there are significant differences between them. It is advisable to choose the term carefully before using it for various purposes.

I hope that you have understood the difference between Municipality Corporation and Urban Development Authority. Nevertheless, you might drop your concerns at info@roodland.com. We have a dedicated team of professionals who can guide you in the best way.