Number of Kolkata wards likely to exceed draft delimitation plan

Kolkata, Aug 27 (IANS) The number of wards under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) may be increased by two more, higher than the number in the draft delimitation list, which was released by the West Bengal Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department earlier this week.

As per the draft delimitation list, the number of wards in the KMC will be increased from the current 144 to 209. However, said an official from the Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department, even after the proposed increase, the main target of the state government to maintain a balance in the numbers of voters in each ward and also limit the maximum number of voters in each ward to 16,000 could not be achieved in the case of 45 wards.

“Despite the directive to maintain a balance in the numbers of voters in each ward and also limit the maximum number of voters in each ward to 16,000, the guideline could not be followed in the case of 45 wards even after proposing to increase the number of wards from 144 to 209 in the draft delimitation list. Maintaining a balance in the number of voters in all the wards is necessary for equitable distribution of development funds in each ward. So, keeping that target in mind, there is a high possibility that the number of wards in KMC might have to be increased further to 211, that is two more than what had been proposed in the draft delimitation list,” said an official from the Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department.

KMC, the oldest municipal corporation of the country, is scheduled to go for polls in November this year. However, several complaints have been filed, saying that the exercise of preparing the draft delimitation list was done hurriedly, and the balance in the number of voters in each ward was not maintained for 45 wards.

It is learnt that in case of one particular ward in central Kolkata, the number of voters was maintained at 32,000 as per the draft delimitation list. Similarly, in 12 wards, the average number of voters was maintained at 18,000. On the other hand, in 32 wards, the average number of voters was drastically reduced to 13,000. There lay the question of how the state government’s target for equal distribution of development funds can be maintained in these 45 wards with disproportionate voter numbers.

Besides, KMC, the adjacent Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) is also going for polls in November this year. As per the draft delimitation list, the number of wards in HMC will also be increased to 68 from the current figure of 50

–IANS

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