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The city is administered by the Kochi Corporation, headed by a mayor. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into 70 wards, from which the members of the corporation council are elected for a period of five years. Earlier; Fort Cochin, Mattancherry and Ernakulam were the three Municipalities in Cochin area, which was later merged to form the Cochin Corporation. The Corporation has its headquarters in
Ernakulam, and zonal offices at Fort Kochi, Mattancherry,
Palluruthy, Edappally, Vaduthala and Vyttila.
The general administration of the city is handled by the Personnel Department and the Council Section. Other departments include that of town planning, health, engineering, revenue and
accounts. The corporation is also responsible for waste disposal, sewage management and the supply of potable water, sourced from the Periyar
River. Electricity is provided by the Kerala State Electricity Board.
The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) is the government agency overseeing the development of Kochi. The Kochi City Police is headed by a Police Commissioner, an Indian Police Service
(IPS) officer. It comprises the traffic police, Narcotics Cell, Armed Reserve Camps, District Crime Records Bureau, Senior citizen's Cell, and a Women's
Cell. It operates 19 police stations functioning under the Home Ministry of State Government.
An anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation also operates out of the city. Kochi is the seat of the High Court of
Kerala, the highest judicial body in the state.
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