Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution of India specifies ______.

Concept

A constitutional Schedule attached to a Part of the Constitution enumerates the subjects entrusted to a particular tier of governance. The two local-government Schedules were inserted by the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts of 1992: one lists the functions of rural local bodies, the other lists the functions of urban local bodies. Matching each Schedule to its tier is the governing principle here.

Application

The Twelfth Schedule was added by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, and is read with Article 243W. It enumerates the powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities (urban local bodies) and contains 18 functional items such as urban planning, regulation of land use, water supply, public health and slum improvement.

Contrast

• Functions of Gram Panchayats (rural local bodies) belong to the Eleventh Schedule, inserted by the 73rd Amendment and read with Article 243G — not the Twelfth.

• The Constitution does not place the powers of the State Government in a Schedule of municipal functions; State legislative subjects are in the State List of the Seventh Schedule.

Therefore the Twelfth Schedule specifies the powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities.