Allahabad - Civic Administration

Civic Administration

Allahabad is administered by several government agencies. The Allahabad Nagar Nigam (ANN), also called Allahabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city. The corporation came into existence in 1864, when Lucknow Municipal Act was passed by the Government of India. City municipal area is divided into 80 wards, and a member (the Corporator) from each ward is elected to form the Municipal Committee. The Corporators elect the Mayor of city. The chief executive is the Commissioner of Allahabad, who is appointed by the state government. Allahabad's rapid growth has created several problems relating to traffic congestion and infrastructural obsolescence that the Allahabad Nagar Nigam has found challenging to address. The unplanned nature of growth in the city has resulted in massive traffic gridlocks, which the municipality attempted to ease by constructing a flyover system and by imposing one-way traffic systems.

As of 2012, the Samajwadi Party controls the AMC. The city has an apolitical titular ruler, who presides over various city-related functions and conferences. As the seat of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad is home to not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly: the state secretariat, which is situated in the premises of Allahabad High Court. The Allahabad Police, headed by a police commissioner, is overseen by the Uttar Pradesh Ministry of Home Affairs. The Allahabad district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the Lok Sabha, and 9 representatives to the state legislative assembly.