What is the full form of BMC?

BMC: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

BMC stands for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. It is also referred to as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). Formerly, until 1966, it was known as Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay (MCGB). BMC is the richest municipal corporation in India as the annual budget of MCGM's is more than the annual budget of some smaller states in India. Currently as of July 2022, the Administrator of BMC is I. S. Chahal (IAS). There are total of 227 seats in BMC.

It was set up under the Bombay Municipal Act 1888. Its work involves administration of the city, civic infrastructure and outer territory of Mumbai. The first female corporator of this corporation was Trushna Vishwasrao, she assumed the office in 2015. Corporators are selected through elections. They are authorized to enforce duty and basic civic infrastructure and act as facilitators between the BMC and people of the city.

Corporators are authorized to evaluate functions of the corporation and to control the matter related to finance and budget such as determining tax, approving contracts, distributing funds, etc.

BMC is headed by an Indian Administration Officer (IAS) who holds the designation of Municipal Commissioner. The legislature of BMC is also known as the Corporation Council. In 2017, for the first time, there were over 30 contestants from a single ward.

Functions of BMC:

Construction and maintenance of streets, roads, subway and flyovers
Cleaning and lighting of roadways, streets, and subways
To work aggressively to prevent the epidemics
To register births and deaths and to hold the power over all cremation and graveyards under its jurisdiction area
To manage the garbage collection and disposal, water supply and the disposal and treatment of sewerage in order to maintain health and sanitation throughout the city
To maintain records of urban property and enforce building norms if required
To create and maintain the parks and public spaces and to ensure coastal safety by providing lifeguards and other facilities at beaches

Legislature

The Corporation Council, the BMC's legislative body, had 227 members as of 2017. For the first time, 31 candidates contested from one ward no. 164 in 2017. The youngest independent candidate, Raghvendra Singh, was 21 years old. One of Asia's wealthiest municipal corporations is BMC.

Administration

An IAS officer acts as Municipal Commissioner and is in charge of the BMC, exercising executive authority. Corporators, who are in charge of maintaining the fundamental civic infrastructure and upholding the law, are chosen in a deliberative assembly election. The mayor, who typically belongs to the dominant party, is in charge of the house. All administrative business in the BMC was conducted in Marathi as of June 2008, which caused controversy. In response, the BMC softened its stance and started accepting forms in English.