On March 30, when KN Nehru, the minister for municipal administration, requested funding for his division in the Assembly, he mentioned upgrading the municipality. "In our municipal council meeting, we adopted a resolution for the upgrade, and we sent a request to the government to take the necessary steps to upgrade the municipality from 'selection-grade' to 'special-grade'.

Municipality Chairman N Selvaraj stated that an order is forthcoming. The municipality, one of the earliest in the state, was founded in 1866 and has been operating as a "selection-grade municipality" since 1984. Before joining the newly created Mayiladuthurai district a few years ago, the municipality had over the years been a part of the formerly integrated Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts. The municipality, which has 36 wards and 27,000 households, generates about 220 million in income each year.

According to a 2019 order, those municipalities that generate over Rs 150 million in revenue can be upgraded into 'special-grade municipality'. Based on this, Mayiladuthurai municipality’s upgrade was proposed. Municipality Commissioner S Selva Balaji said that by becoming a 'special-grade municipality', we will receive additional funds for various means of development. They can set up a larger office for administrative functioning, and employ additional staff. The commissioner has sent the proposal to the additional chief secretary in charge of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department.