Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026
Why in News?
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 is in the news because it proposes a major overhaul of India’s Lok Sabha structure and delimitation framework, it is being framed as a step to advance women’s political participation and enable early delimitation.
Empowerment of Urban Local Bodies
- Directly Elected Mayors: A core proposal is the mandatory direct election of Mayors with a fixed 5-year tenure in cities with populations exceeding 10 lakhs (1 million).
- Executive Powers: It seeks to transfer executive powers from state-appointed Municipal Commissioners to the elected Mayor to ensure "political accountability."
- Unified Metropolitan Authorities: Provisions for creating statutory bodies to manage transport, water, and waste across sprawling metropolitan areas that cross municipal boundaries.
Financial Autonomy
- Direct Funding: Proposes a mechanism for the Union Finance Commission to directly devolve a specific percentage of the divisible pool of taxes to ULBs, bypassing state delays.
- Revenue Generation: Mandates states to empower municipalities to levy specific local taxes (like professional tax and property tax) without frequent state government interference.
Delimitation & Representation
- Urban Weightage: As India becomes more urbanised, the Bill provides a framework for the Delimitation Commission to ensure that urban constituencies are not under-represented compared to rural ones.
- Reservation Policy: It seeks to standardise the 33% reservation for women in urban local bodies across all states, aligning with the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
Relationship with the 74th Amendment
- Structural Upgrade: The 131st Amendment acts as an "upgrade" to the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (1992), which many experts feel has failed to truly empower cities over the last three decades.
- Constitutional Status: By including these provisions in the Constitution, the Union government aims to make it mandatory for states to follow, as urban governance is currently a State Subject under the 7th Schedule.
Recent Status & Challenges
- Federal Concerns: Several states have raised objections, claiming the Bill encroaches upon the "State List" and undermines federalism.
- Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC): The Bill has been referred to a JPC for detailed scrutiny and to build consensus among various political parties.
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