During twentieth century, especially in later half, India witnessed rapid urban growth. Urban population has shown higher growth than its rural counterpart. Strangely, this tremendous urban growth has not resulted into proportional increase in urban centres and urbanisation level. The urban content is found hovering around one-third mark Many estimates suggest that the country may touch half way mark in next fifty years. This steady growth has posed numerous challenges before the urban planners and managers. These consequential challenges include concentration of population in larger urban centres (metropolitanisation), haphazard and unplanned growth of bigger cities, mushrooming of un-served human settlements (slums and shanties), informalisation of urban economy (increase in street vending), emerging incidence of poverty (conversion of rural poverty into urban one), increasing shelter-less population, inefficient provision and delivery of civic services necessary for dignified human living. insufficient urban traffic and transportation facility, filthy cities, worsening sanitary conditions, unchecked pollution and deteriorating environment, etc. The desire of efficient and quality services by vocal and ambitious civil society and the incapacity of civic administration complicate the state of affairs. The Indian urban local government is in a piquant situation and thus has shown its unwillingness in managing the growing urbanisation.
The trace of local government mechanism in India may be found since time immemorial. Our grand old socio-religio-historic books like Vedas, Puranas, Satpatha Brahmana, Samhitas indicate existence of some kind of mechanism of local administration in those olden days. There is mention of "Sabha" (village conclave), and 'Samiti" (village assembly) in Rigveda. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata also point to the existence of several forms of local administration such as "Paura' (guild), Nigama (corporation) and 'Gana' (assembly), performing various administrative and legislative functions and raising levies from different sources. Local administration continued during the succeeding period of Hindu rule in the form of 'Gosthis'(conference) and "Mahajan Samitis (committees of nobles). The archaeological excavations and remnants confirm the existence of local administration system in later periods as well. Thus the institutions of local government have flourished in India since Vedic Age. The village governments were ancient institutions and were themselves small republics. It is evident from the scriptures that self-governing village communities existed in India from the earliest times in different forms. In course of time, these village bodies took the shape of 'Panchayat" (an assembly of five persons) and these "Panchayats' resolved issues at the village level. Their role and functions kept on changing at different points of time. Generally, this arrangement was in place for resolving social issues, maintain law and order, internal security, provisioning of certain civic services, people's welfare, collection of king's share etc.
Megasthenes (a Greek historian, ethnographer and explorer) elaborately describes in his book "Indica" (a book on ancient India), the working of Mauryan municipal administration. He calls the town officials "Atynomio. Kautilya in his treatise "Arthasastra" mentions that every village during those days was self-governing and there was union of villages and self-governing federations. He mentions a royal official called 'Gopa', who looked after 5 or 10 villages. Another official called "Sthanika" supervised one quarter of 'Janapada. The chief executive officer of the village administration was called 'Gramani' or 'Gramika, who carried the village administration with the help of village elders. Kautilya gives a vivid account of urban administration as well. In Mauryan period, the direct control and participation of state officials was felt in town administration under "Nagarka' or 'Nagar-vyaharka', who was also called 'Puramukhya' and was in the rank of a minister or Mahamatya'. "Samaharta' was the authority of Janapada' and 'Nagarka' was subordinate to him. He performed the city administration with the assistance of Gopa' or 'Sthanika". During Gupta Empire, village was the basic unit of administration, and "Gramika' was the village-in-charge. The whole empire was divided into groups of villages, such as 'Sangrahana" (group of 10 villages), "Kharwatik" (group of 200 villages), 'Dronmukha (group of 400 villages) and, at the apex was 'Mahagram (group of 800 villages). Each group of villages was put into one officer (by any name), which was made responsible for administering the area under his jurisdiction. It was a well-knit system of village administration in the country side.
During Maratha rules, at the head of each village was a headman called 'Patel'. He was helped by Kulkarni', a village-clerk and record keeper. The 'Mahar' was another important functionary of the community. He was the watchman of the village and the messenger.
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