Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992
"The amendment that gave urban local bodies constitutional status, inserting Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule into the Constitution."
The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, often called the Nagarpalika Act, inserted Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) into the Constitution, giving municipalities constitutional recognition for the first time, mirroring the 73rd Amendment's treatment of panchayats. Article 243W is the operative provision: it empowers a State legislature to endow municipalities, by law, with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government, including in relation to the functions listed in the newly inserted Twelfth Schedule. The Amendment also mandated regular municipal elections through State Election Commissions, reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women, and the constitution of District Planning Committees and Metropolitan Planning Committees. A recurring theme in commentary on the Amendment, echoed in the Supreme Court's 2026 footpath jurisprudence, is that constitutional recognition did not automatically deliver financial or administrative capacity. The Amendment assigns functions; it does not guarantee the revenue base or staffing to discharge them, which is why courts enforcing municipal duties, such as maintaining encroachment-free footpaths, often run into the gap between constitutional obligation and municipal capacity.
Prelims tests the Amendment's number, year, the Articles and Schedule it inserted; Mains uses it to discuss the state of urban local self-government and the gap between constitutional design and administrative capacity.
- 1 Enacted 1992; also known as the Nagarpalika Act.
- 2 Inserted Part IXA, Articles 243P to 243ZG, into the Constitution.
- 3 Inserted the Twelfth Schedule, listing 18 functional items for municipalities.
- 4 Article 243W allows State legislatures to endow municipalities with self-government powers and functions.
- 5 Mandates regular elections through State Election Commissions and reservation for SCs, STs and women.
- 6 Provides for District Planning Committees and Metropolitan Planning Committees.
- 7 Parallels the 73rd Amendment, which did the same for panchayats via Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule.
In its 2026 footpath judgment, the Supreme Court named urban development authorities, municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats as duty-bearers, mapping the obligation directly onto functions already assigned to them under the 74th Amendment's Article 243W and Twelfth Schedule.
