# Yangon City Development Committee

Yangon City Development Committee (Burmese: ရန်ကုန်မြို့တော် စည်ပင်သာယာရေး ကော်မတီ, abbreviated YCDC) is the administrative body of Yangon, the largest city and former capital of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 18 departments, with headquarters in the Yangon City Hall. The committee's chairman also acts as the city's mayor.
The YCDC is technically independent of the government, and raises its own revenues through tax collection, fees, licenses and property development. In the 2011-2012 budget year, YCDC had an estimated deficit of Ks.5 billion, because of high spending on road construction and purchase of waste collection vehicles.

## List of mayors of Yangon

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Political party |
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Political party |
| 1 | Tin Pe | 1 April 1985 | 15 August 1986 | 1 year, 136 days | Burma Socialist Programme Party |
| 2 | Aung Khin | 15 August 1986 | 18 September 1988 | 2 years, 34 days | Burma Socialist Programme Party |
| 3 | Ko Lay | 18 September 1988 | 26 August 2003 | 14 years, 342 days | Myanmar Military |
| 4 | Aung Thein Lin | 26 August 2003 | 1 April 2011 | 7 years, 218 days | Myanmar Military |
| 5 | Hla Myint | 1 April 2011 | 1 April 2016 | 5 years | Union Solidarity and Development Party |
| 6 | Maung Maung Soe | 1 April 2016 | 10 February 2021 | 5 years | Independent |
| 7 | Bo Htay | 11 February 2021 | 1 April 2024 | 3 years | State Administration Council |

## History

On 14 May 1990, the Yangon City Development Law formally established the present incarnation of YCDC, delegating wide responsibilities to this body, including city planning, land administration, tax collection, and development. However, the YCDC is also responsible for duties stipulated in the 1922 Rangoon Municipal Act.

### e-Government initiative

In 2003, YCDC was organized to provide e-Government for Yangon City. The main purposes of the city's e-Government program are to provide seamless access between the government and the city's citizens via the Internet, to reduce paper usage, to reduce the city budget, to build the city's fiber ring, to provide timely public information, to store public data and to develop and expand G2G, G2C, G2B, and G2E programs.
In January 2013 responsibility for e-Government was divided into two Committees;e-Government Administration Committee and e-Government Work Committee. The e-Government Administration Committee includes the Deputy-mayor of Yangon City as patron, the secretary of YCDC as chairman, and the other 18 head of departments are as members.At first, e-Government Work Committee Chairman is the head of public relations and information department. But Nowadays e-Government Work Committee chairman is the head of Committee Office at 2018 and later.

## Responsibilities

The YCDC is responsible for the city's:
* waste management (including collection and treatment)
* business licenses and registries
* water supply
* roads and bridges
* environmental regulations
* maintenance of public property (including parks, heritage sites)
* street lighting
* firefighting

### Cemetery maintenance

YCDC's environmental maintenance department maintains 8 cemeteries in Yangon:
* Yayway Cemetery, North Okkalapa Township
* Hteinbin Cemetery, Hlaingthaya Township
* Kyizu Cemetery (ကျီစုသုသာန်), Dagon Seikkan Township
* Daweigyaung Cemetery (ထားဝယ်ချောင်သုသာန်), North Dagon Township
* Kyugyaung Cemetery (ကျူချောင်သုသာန်), Shwepyitha Township
* Dala Cemetery (ဒလသုသာန်), Dala Township
* Seikkan Khanaungto Cemetery (ဆိပ်ကမ်းခနောင်တိုသုသာန်), Seikkyi Kanaungto Township
* Seikgyi Cemetery (ဆိပ်ကြီးသုသာန်), Kyimyindaing Township.

## Organization

The YCDC is organized as follows:
* Cabinet
** Mayor
** Secretary
** Joint-Secretary
** Committee Members No.(4) to No.(9)

### YCDC organization chart

* Committee Office
* Administration Department
* Finance and Accounts Department
* Assessor' Department
* Engineering Department (Roads & Bridges)
* Engineering Department(Buildings)
* Engineering Department (Water & Sanitation)
* Engineering Department (Drainage Management)
* Urban Environmental Conservation and Cleaning Department
* Markets and Commodities Center Department
* Veterinary and Production Department
* Vehicle Management and Maintenance Department
* Urban Lan Administration Department
* Playground, Parks and Gardens Department
* Public Relations and Informations Department
* Public Health Department
* Urban Planning Department
* Security and Disciplinary Department
* Yangon City Golf Club
* Yangon City Bank

## Controversy

YCDC's construction permit system has been criticized for its inefficiency; the average construction time is 2–3 years, because permissions are required from at least 6 YCDC bodies.
In 2015, the YCDC suspended a massive development project called Dagon City, to be built near Shwedagon Pagoda, for failing to adhere to regulations stipulating the building height limits in the vicinity of the pagoda, which is a heritage site. In 2015, YCDC's tender selection process for the construction of the Mindhamma Secondary Central Business District in Mayangon Township was called into question by non-selected bidders.
In April 2018, Zaykabar Company demolished a Yangon heritage site, the Mayor's Residence, which is listed on the YCDC's Yangon City Heritage List. The demolition sparked controversy over YCDC's oversight from watchdog groups like the Yangon Heritage Trust. YCDC subsequently granted approval for Zaykabar to construct a $500 million development project, the Myayeiknyo Royal Project, on the site of the former heritage building. The project has also been opposed by locals for its proximity to other heritage sites like Shwedagon Pagoda, and for concerns that the development may impact the adjacent Kokkine reservoir, which distributes water to eight townships. In June 2018, due to ongoing controversy, the Burmese military ordered Zaykabar to reconstruct the Mayor's Residence "in the original style." Later that year, in October 2018, the military terminated its lease contract with Zaykabar, over contractual breaches, as Zaykabar had signed a joint venture agreement with a Chinese company.
In 2018, Yangon Region Hluttaw lawmakers criticized YCDC's US$80 million loan from the French Development Agency to dredge Pazundaung Creek to develop a waterfront corridor. In October 2019, YCDC courted controversy from the Yangon Region Hluttaw over the purchase of 80 vehicles at a cost of US$1.37 million for city officials.
YCDC sits on the board of directors of the New Yangon City Development Company, which is the developer of a controversial development project, the Yangon New City Project. YCDC has overseen infrastructure tenders for the project.