The administrative responsibilities of the city of Shimla and the surrounding planning areas of Dhalli, Tutu, and New Shimla reside with the Shimla Municipal corporation.
Established in 1851, the Shimla municipal corporation is an elected body comprising 27 councilors 3 of which are nominated by the government of Himachal Pradesh[7]. The nominations are based on prominence in the fields of social service, academics and other activities. 33% seats are reserved for women. The elections take place every five years and the mayor and deputy mayor are elected by and amongst the councilors themselves. As of June 2007, the two major political parties are the Indian National Congress (in power) and BJP (opposition)[18]. The administrative head of the corporation is the commissioner who is appointed by the state government.
The city contributes one seat to the state assembly (Vidhan Sabha), and one seat to the lower house of parliament (Lok Sabha)[19]. Law and order in the city is collectively maintained by the Police department, Vigilance Department, Enforcement directorate, Forensics, Fire department, department of prisons, and Home Guard department. There are five police stations and three fire stations in Shimla[20]. The Superintendent of Police, Shimla heads the police department. The First Armed Police Battalion, one of the four armed police battalions in the state, is also available for assistance to the local police for assistance[21]. There are eleven courts in the district including a fast-track court.
Demographics
Shimla city consists of the Shimla municipal corporation and Shimla planning areas(SPA). The SPAs are Dhalli, Tutu, and New Shimla urban agglomerations. As per the 2001 India Census[23], the city has a population of 1,42,161 spread over an area of 19.55 sq km[7]. A floating population of 75,000 is attributed to service industries such as tourism[7]. The largest demographic, 55%, is 16-45 years of age. A further 28% of the population are younger than 15 years. The low sex ratio - 930 girls for every 1000 boys in 2001[24] - is cause for concern, even though it is not atypical of the region.
The unemployment rate in the city has come down from 36% in 1992 to 22.6% in 2006. This drop is attributed to recent industrialization, the growth of service industries, and knowledge development[25]. 84% of the population of Shimla city is literate, compared to 80% in Shimla district and 77% in the entire state%[26]. The majority of Shimla's population consists of natives of Himachal Pradesh. A large minority is composed of Partition-era migrants from Pakistan. Hindi, Punjabi and Pahari are the main languages. The major religion is Hinduism, followed by Sikhism. Other religious groups include Christians and Tibetan Buddhists.
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