The urban councils of Kerala date back to the 17th century when the Dutch Malabar established the municipality of Fort Kochi.
Kannur, Thalassery, Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Fort Kochi, which were parts of Malabar District until 1956, were made the first modern municipalities of Kerala on 1 November 1866, according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850)[4][5][6][7] of the British Indian Empire.
The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 provided for a national framework for municipal governance in the country, and Kerala has been following that pattern since 1994.
The 74th amendment[10] to the Constitution of India resulted in increased roles for the municipalities in every state in India, where they have been perceived to be great contributors to the social and economic development of the country, as they are the level of government that is closest to the citizens.
[9] In case the municipality has less than one lakh population, then every person from the ward on the electoral roll becomes a member of the committee.
[11] Ward committees have been set up in Kerala and are regularly cited as a good example of functioning micro level urban governance in India.