Vijayawada Municipal Corporation

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Vijayavāḍa nagara pālaka Sanstha విజయవాడ నగర పాలక సంస్థ
Type
Type	Municipal Corporation
History
Founded	1888 (136 years ago) (1888) [1]
Leadership
Mayor	Rayana Bhagya Lakshmi (YSRCP)
Deputy Mayor	Bellam Durga (YSRCP) Avuthu Sailaja Reddy (YSRCP)
Municipal commissioner	Swapnil Dinakar Pundakar, IAS [2]
Structure
Political groups	Government (50)   YSRCP (49)   IND (1) Opposition (14)   TDP (14)
Elections
Last election	10 March 2021
Next election	2026
Website
vmc.ap.gov.in

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is the civic body that governs the city of Vijayawada, second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

History

The Vijayawada Municipality was created on 1 April 1888. It was named as a selection grade municipality in 1960 and to corporation in 1981. In 1985 Gunadala, Patamata and Bhavanipuram village panchayats, Payakapuram, Kundavari Kandrika were merged in the corporation. ^{[3] [4]}

Administration

The area of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is 61.88 km² (23.89 sq mi). The city constitutes 64 political wards. ^[5]

The Corporation is administered by an elected body headed by the Mayor. The corporation population as per the 2011 census was 1,039,518 with 527,307 males and a female population of 512,211. ^[3] The present mayor is Rayana Bhagyalakshmi ^[6] and the municipal commissioner is Swapnil Dinakar Pundakar. ^[7]

Civic services

The corporation provides protected drinking water to its public and is the forerunner in the state with every day supply of 39 million US gallons (150 megalitres) water to the city residents. The other services undertaken by the corporation authorities are: Internal roads extension; under ground drainage project with JNNURM; solid waste management which is recycled at waste to energy plants for power production; Health centers; Maternity hospitals; schools from elementary to high schools and even providing midday meals to students. ^[3]

The Krishna River, groundwater and overhead tanks are the source of drinking water for the city residents. The underground and open draining systems are implemented for wastewater. There are also sewage treatment plants and the Budameru, Gundutippa, Islampeta and HB drains are utilized for draining out waste water. The Railway dumping yard is utilized for solid waste dumping and some of the solid waste produced is made useful by converting them into manures. ^[8]

Functions

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is created for the following functions: ^{[9] [10]}

• Planning for the town including its surroundings which are covered under its Department's Urban Planning Authority .

• Approving construction of new buildings and authorising use of land for various purposes.

• 

  Meeting Place of VMC

  Improvement of the town's economic and Social status.

• Arrangements of water supply towards commercial,residential and industrial purposes.

• Planning for fire contingencies through Fire Service Departments.

• Creation of solid waste management,public health system and sanitary services.

• Working for the development of ecological aspect like development of Urban Forestry and making guidelines for environmental protection.

• Working for the development of weaker sections of the society like mentally and physically handicapped,old age and gender biased people.

• Making efforts for improvement of slums and poverty removal in the town.

Revenue sources

The following are the Income sources for the Corporation from the Central and State Government. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

Revenue from taxes

Following is the Tax related revenue for the corporation.

• Property tax.

• Profession tax.

• Entertainment tax.

• Grants from Central and State Government like Goods and Services Tax.

• Advertisement tax.

Revenue from non-tax sources

Following is the Non Tax related revenue for the corporation.

• Water usage charges.

• Fees from Documentation services.

• Rent received from municipal property.

• Funds from municipal bonds.

Infrastructure

Certain municipal sporting infrastructure in the city are maintained by the corporation, which includes, Indira Gandhi Stadium, indoor stadiums, swimming pools and Gymnasiums. There are parks and open spaces as part of city greenery projects. ^[3]

Awards and achievements

Accolades and awards won by VMC include:

• National Urban Water Award (2009) ^{[14] [15]}
• CRISIL Best Practices Award for the "Siti e-Governance" Project ^[15]
• CSI Nihilent runner-up award was conferred by Ministry of Information and Technology
• Stockholm Challenge Award finalist ^[15]
• ISO 9001 Certified for Quality Management System ^[15]

List of Mayors

Main article: List of mayors of Vijayawada

Elections

2021 VMC election

Five wards were added, taking the total count of wards to 64.

No.	Party		Symbol	Won	+/-
1		YSR Congress Party		49	30
2		Telugu Desam Party		14	24
3		Communist Party of India (Marxist)		1
4		Independent		1

2014 VMC election

In 2014, there were 59 wards in the corporation. ^[16]

No.	Party		Symbol	Won	+/-
1		Telugu Desam Party		38	28
2		YSR Congress Party		19	new
3		Communist Party of India (Marxist)		1
4		Bharatiya Janata Party		1	1
5		Communist Party of India		0	1

2005 VMC election

Elections were held to the 59 wards in the corporation. ^[17]

No.	Party		Symbol	Won	+/-
1		Indian National Congress		29
2		Telugu Desam Party		10
3		Communist Party of India (Marxist)		14
4		Communist Party of India
5		Independents		3

Expansion

There are numerous proposals to expand the city limits over decades into Greater Municipal Corporation.

Enikepadu, Gollapudi, Ibrahimpatnam, Kondapalli, Guntupalli, Poranki, Yanamalakuduru, Nunna, Kanuru, Tadigadapa and Tadepalli are some of the many major urban commercial areas still lies beyond the corporation borders. ^[18]

See also

• List of municipal corporations in Andhra Pradesh

References

1. "Vijayawada Municipal Corporation | Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration". cdma.ap.gov.in. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
2. "IAS officer Swapnil Dinakar assumes charge as new Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner". The New Indian Express. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
3. "Corporation details". Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
4. "Vijayawada corporation". VGTM Urban Development Authority. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
5. "Vijayawada Municipal Corporation".
6. "Mayor's Profile". Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
7. Boda, Tharun (5 June 2022). "Who's who of Vijayawada hit the road for VMC's cyclothon". The Hindu . ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
8. "Chapter III : Findings: Metro-Cities of India" (PDF). Central Pollution Control Board. National Informatics Centre. p. 55. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
9. "Municipal Corporation - Functions, Roles, Members Qualification and Term". www.elections.in. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
10. "Good municipal governance key to improve quality of life | Pune News - Times of India". The Times of India. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
11. Jadhav, Radheshyam (3 December 2020). "Why civic bodies in India need municipal bonds". www.thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
12. "Municipal corporations under severe strain as revenues sink: RBI Report". Business Today. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
13. "If cities are to deliver better quality life, need to have business models which are sustainable". Financialexpress. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
14. "Water and sanitation Award". National Urban Water and Sanitation Awards. Ministry of Urban Development. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
15. "Water Scada" (PDF). The Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
16. Venu Lanka (17 February 2020). "Vijayawada corporation tackles ward reservation rigmarole as door-to-door poll campaigns begin | Vijayawada News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
17. "Cong wins Vijayawada; sweeps civic polls". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
18. "Vijayawada set to become 'Greater' with GVMC". The Hindu. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.