Shimla Municipal Corporation is one of the oldest municipalities of India and dates back to 1851. This was the first municipality in pre-Independence Punjab.

Today, the Shimla Municipal Corporation has three authorities - the House, the House Committees and the Municipal Commissioner.

The House is the legislative wing and consists of Councillors who are directly elected by the people. The House also has a few nominated persons with knowledge or experience of municipal administration. The House is headed by a Mayor and assisted by a Deputy Mayor.

The House Committees are created to facilitate the working of the House.

The Municipal Commissioner is the administrative head of the Corporation. All executive and administrative powers for the purpose of carrying out day to day functions are vested in the Commissioner. The Commissioner is appointed by the State Government for a designated period of time and is assisted by a Joint or Assistant Commissioner who is also appointed by the State Government to head the administrative staff of the municipal corporation, implement the decisions of the corporation, and prepare its annual budget.

The Municipal Corporation carries out its functions through its well-organised divisions or departments, which are headed by the concerned HoDs.

Elected Body

The elected body of Shimla Municipal Corporation has 39 councillors of which 34 are elected, while 5 are nominated by the Government of Himachal Pradesh. The tenure of the elected corporation is five years. Councillors elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor from amongst themselves for a tenure of two and half years.

The House, comprising of elected and nominated Members, takes all policy decisions and meets at least once every month. The Corporation has several statutory and non-statutory functional committees which are represented by Councillors. These set out the obligatory and discretionary functions bestowed upon the Corporation by the 74th CAA. Each committee consists of not less than three and not more than five Councillors including the Mayor or Deputy Mayor.