Bengal Assembly passes twin Bills to raise Kolkata wards to 209, Howrah to 68

Kolkata: A special one-day session of the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday passed twin legislations proposing to increase the number of civic body wards in Kolkata from 144 to 209 and in the adjacent city of Howrah from 50 to 68.

Elections at the municipal corporations of both Kolkata and Howrah are likely to take place after the festive season at the end of this year.

The separate amendment Bills of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the Howrah Municipal Corporation were tabled in the House, discussed and passed by voice vote.


Tabling the two Bills, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul said the restructuring of wards was aimed at ensuring faster delivery of civic services to residents.

Paul announced that the state government has prepared a special master plan for Howrah, focusing on repairing roads, improving the supply of treated drinking water and creating a permanent drainage system. The plan, she said, would help address the city's recurring waterlogging problem.

She said the decision to restructure the wards was also prompted by changes in population distribution.

"The decision to increase the number of wards has been taken because of variations in population. Once the wards are reorganised, citizens will receive civic services more effectively," Paul said.

During the discussion on the Bills, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari clarified to the Opposition members that the Bills weren't being passed by setting aside established rules or procedures.

The Assembly also discussed the determination of the number of seats in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

"The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has its own law. The Election Commission will undertake the process of redrawing or delimiting ward boundaries. Once the draft notification is published, there will be a 60-day period for completing the procedure. Two all-party meetings will also be convened - the first before publication of the draft and the second, before the final list is released," Adhikari said.

Shortly after taking over as chief minister in May, Adhikari had promised the reorganisation of the seats of KMC and HMC areas and said that both civic bodies would go for polls by the end of this year.

Last month, the state Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department announced the formation of two high-power committees for the delimitation of the wards under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the oldest and most prestigious municipal corporation in the state.

Currently, KMC, which has a legacy of iconic Indian personalities like Subhas Chandra Bose, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy (also former West Bengal Chief Minister) as its Mayors during the pre-independence era, has a total of 144 wards.

Paul alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress government had deliberately delayed civic polls in Howrah out of fear of losing elections.

She also alleged that Howrah had been deprived of Rs 200 crore in municipal financial allocations during the erstwhile TMC regime.

"Political considerations of the previous regime led to Howrah getting deprived of Rs 200 crore in municipal allocations by the Centre," she said, adding that the civic body has unpaid dues of over Rs 400 crore for its employees and civic contractors.

The minister said the governor had returned the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed by the Assembly on February 7, to the department seeking additional information, and the current BJP government subsequently withdrew the earlier Bill with the intent of expanding the number of wards.

Speaking on the occasion, Adhikari also announced financial assistance for flood victims in Assam, an increase in medical allowance of former MLAs, and the launch of service centres in every legislative constituency of the state.

Expressing his concern over the severe flood situation in Assam, the CM announced a financial assistance of Rs 10 crore for those affected.

In a major step towards providing financial security and dignity to former MLAs, Adhikari proposed increasing the monthly medical allowance for former legislators from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000.

"It's our responsibility. No such measure had been taken during the previous government's tenure," Adhikari alleged, recalling having witnessed many elderly former legislators who had worked with dedication and honesty.

The chief minister also announced the opening of one 'Seva Kendra' (service centre) in each Assembly constituency, an initiative to facilitate the work of sitting MLAs and help them reach the public more closely.

"The centres must be named 'Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Seva Kendra', and a photograph of Netaji dressed in a dhoti and kurta must be displayed at the centre," Adhikari said, setting these as preconditions to receive a monthly grant of Rs 30,000 each to operate the centres.

The CM said more than 100 legislators from the ruling party were already running such centres across the state.

Adhikari's announcement came in the aftermath of a controversial comment from BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Nagendranath Roy, popularly known as Ananta Maharaj, in which he described Netaji as a "war criminal", questioned his leadership and the role of the Azad Hind Fauj in India's freedom struggle.