Bengal forms high-power panels for KMC ward delimitation exercise
Kolkata, July 12 (IANS) The West Bengal Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Department has announced the formation of two separate high-power committees for the delimitation of wards under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the oldest municipal corporation in the state, which is slated to go to the polls later this year.
As per a notification issued by the Additional Chief Secretary of the state Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Department, a copy of which is available with IANS, one of the two committees constituted for the exercise is the Central Delimitation Committee, which is expected to provide a broader framework on how civic services can be improved by bifurcating wards covering larger geographical areas into two separate wards.
Currently, the KMC, which has the legacy of having iconic Indian personalities such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, who also served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, as its Mayors during the pre-Independence era, has a total of 144 wards.
As per the proposals of the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government, following the delimitation exercise, the total number of wards under the KMC will be increased to 200. The stated objective of increasing the number of wards is to ensure better civic amenities for citizens.
According to the notification issued by the state Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Department, the second committee constituted for the delimitation exercise is the Borough Delimitation Committee, which will determine which wards will fall under the jurisdiction of each borough.
“A few days ago, the Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari attended a KMC function. During the programme, he announced that the KMC elections would be held by November this year, immediately after the festive season beginning with Durga Puja in October. He also announced that the KMC wards would be redrawn before the elections. These two committees have now been constituted for that purpose,” an official of the Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Department said.
–IANS
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