Kolkata, 12 August (H.S.) : The West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday passed two amendment bills proposing an increase in the number of wards in the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporations during a special one-day session. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is proposed to have 209 wards, up from the existing 144, while the number of wards in the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) will increase from 50 to 68.

Both bills were passed by voice vote after discussions in the House.

The elections to the two municipal corporations are likely to be held towards the end of this year after the festive season. The state government intends to complete the delimitation of wards before the elections. Under the proposed changes, Bally will once again be separated from the Howrah Municipal Corporation.

Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Pal, who introduced the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Amendment Bill and the Howrah Municipal Corporation Amendment Bill, said the restructuring was aimed at ensuring faster and more effective delivery of civic services.

Pal said demographic patterns had changed significantly in the concerned areas and that the number of wards needed to be increased in accordance with the changing population distribution. She said administrative structures also needed to be reorganised to reflect these changes.

On Howrah's development, Pal informed the House about a special master plan prepared by the state government. The plan focuses on road repairs, improvement in the supply of treated drinking water and the creation of a permanent drainage system. According to the minister, a permanent drainage network would help address Howrah's recurring waterlogging problem.

During the debate on the bills, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari rejected opposition allegations that the government had bypassed established rules and procedures to pass the legislation. He also explained the proposed process for determining the number of seats and redrawing ward boundaries in Kolkata.

Adhikari said the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has its own legislation and that the delimitation of ward boundaries would be carried out by the Election Commission. Once the draft notification is published, 60 days would be available to complete the process.

He said two all-party meetings would also be held as part of the exercise , the first before publication of the draft notification and the second before the final list is issued.

Adhikari had promised to restructure the wards and seats in the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporation areas soon after taking charge as Chief Minister. He had also said that elections to both civic bodies would be held by the end of this year. The government is now planning to conduct the polls after the October-November festive season, beginning with Durga Puja, once the delimitation process is completed.

The state Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department had last month announced the formation of two high-level committees for the delimitation of wards in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

The KMC, the oldest and one of the most prominent municipal corporations in the state, currently has 144 wards. The proposed legislation will increase the number by 65 to 209.

The civic body has also had a close association with several prominent figures in Bengal's history, including Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, all of whom served as mayors of Kolkata during the pre-Independence period. Roy later became the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

The proposed restructuring of the Howrah Municipal Corporation was also discussed at length in the Assembly. Howrah currently has 50 wards, and the amendment will increase the number by 18 to 68. The legislation also provides for the separation of Bally from the Howrah civic body.

Officials said the move could clear the way for the long-pending Howrah municipal elections, which have remained stalled for nearly eight years.

The last Howrah Municipal Corporation election was held in 2013. In 2015, the Bally Municipality was dissolved and merged with the Howrah Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, 16 wards were created for the Bally area and bypolls were held, with Trinamool Congress candidates winning all 16 seats.

The then state government had passed legislation to facilitate the merger of Bally with the Howrah Municipal Corporation. Bally was later separated from the civic body again and restored as a separate municipality. A bill to this effect was also passed and sent to the Governor for approval.

The financial condition of the Howrah Municipal Corporation also triggered allegations and counter-allegations in the Assembly. Pal alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress government deliberately delayed the civic elections in Howrah for fear of losing them.

She further alleged that political considerations resulted in Howrah being deprived of nearly Rs 200 crore in central financial allocations meant for urban local bodies.

Pal also claimed that the Howrah Municipal Corporation had outstanding dues of more than Rs 400 crore to its employees and civic contractors. She alleged that the civic body had faced a shortage of financial resources for political reasons during the previous government's tenure.

Former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had also sought information from the state government regarding the financial affairs of the Howrah Municipal Corporation. He had sought details of funds allocated to the civic body and their utilisation. The state government was accused of failing to provide satisfactory answers to his queries.

Pal said the present BJP government had withdrawn the earlier legislation relating to Howrah and brought forward a fresh bill to increase the number of wards. The government has maintained that restructuring is necessary in view of population changes and administrative requirements.

The special Assembly session also witnessed several other major announcements.

Adhikari announced financial assistance of Rs 10 crore for people affected by the severe flood situation in Assam.

He also announced an increase in the monthly medical allowance for former legislators from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000. The Chief Minister said it was the government's responsibility to provide financial security and dignity to former legislators.

Adhikari said he had come across several elderly former legislators who had served with honesty and dedication for long periods. He alleged that the previous government had not taken similar steps for their welfare.

The Chief Minister also announced that a service centre would be established in every Assembly constituency to facilitate the work of sitting legislators and help them maintain closer contact with the public.

He said all such centres would be named 'Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Seva Kendra' and would be required to display a photograph of Netaji dressed in a dhoti and kurta. Each centre would receive a monthly grant of Rs 30,000 for its operation.

Adhikari claimed that more than 100 legislators from the ruling party were already running similar service centres in different parts of the state.

The announcement came amid a controversy surrounding a recent remark by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Nagendranath Roy, popularly known as Ananta Maharaj, who had allegedly described Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as a war criminal. He had also questioned Netaji's leadership and the role of the Indian National Army in India's freedom struggle.

Against this backdrop, the Chief Minister's decision to name all the proposed service centres after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and mandate the display of his dhoti-and-kurta-clad photograph assumes added significance.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh