Kolkata, 20 May (H.S.) : The West Bengal government on Tuesday night appointed S. Ponnamballam as the new administrator of Durgapur Municipal Corporation, according to an official notification issued by the state administration.

The appointment comes after former chairperson Anindita Mukherjee resigned following the change in government in the state. Anindita Mukherjee, wife of former mayor and former MLA Apurba Mukherjee, had earlier been appointed chairperson of the Board of Administrators by the previous All India Trinamool Congress government after civic elections could not be conducted.

According to the notification, Lakhsman Ghorui and Chandrashekar Bandopadhyay will assist the administrator in the functioning of the civic body until municipal elections are held.

The last elections to the Durgapur Municipal Corporation were conducted in 2017, when the Trinamool Congress secured all 43 seats in the civic body. Fresh elections have remained pending since 2022.

Political developments in the industrial town have remained under focus in recent years following the BJP’s electoral gains in the region during the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, controversy surrounding the functioning of the Asansol Durgapur Development Authority has also resurfaced. Before the Assembly elections, former ADDA chairman Kavi Dutta resigned after being nominated as a Trinamool Congress candidate from Durgapur West. Opposition parties had then alleged conflict of interest over his business operations in the Durgapur and Asansol areas, which fall under ADDA’s jurisdiction.

State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul has said that civic body elections in the state would be conducted soon.

Durgapur East MLA Chandrashekar Bandopadhyay also indicated that alleged land scams and file theft incidents linked to ADDA would be investigated afresh. He said a probe panel would soon be constituted to reopen corruption-related cases and examine alleged irregularities in land transactions under the authority’s jurisdiction.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh