West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed two amendment Bills
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed two amendment Bills aimed at restructuring the municipal ward framework of Kolkata and Howrah. The legislation seeks to facilitate ward delimitation, rationalise civic representation and strengthen the institutional framework for urban governance.
Under the amendments, the number of elected wards in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is proposed to increase from 144 to 209, while the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) will increase from 50 to 68 wards. The changes are intended to provide a revised administrative and representative structure for the two major urban local bodies.
The delimitation exercise will involve the redrawing and rationalisation of ward boundaries, with the objective of aligning municipal constituencies with changing urban conditions and population distribution. A larger number of wards is expected to create a more granular framework for civic administration, public service delivery and local representation.
From a governance perspective, the move has implications for urban planning, municipal accountability, electoral administration and delivery of civic services. The revised ward structure is also expected to provide the institutional basis for subsequent municipal electoral processes.
The Bills were passed during a special one-day session of the Assembly. Their implementation will require the prescribed administrative and delimitation processes before the revised ward configuration becomes operational.
