What happened in the West Bengal Assembly (special session)
The West Bengal Assembly passed two municipal amendment bills in a special session. One bill amended arrangements for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the other bill amended arrangements for the Howrah Municipal Corporation. These bills provide the legal basis for increasing the number of municipal wards in both municipal areas.
Reported ward increases set by the bills are:
Kolkata municipal area ward count: 144 to 209.Howrah municipal area ward count: 50 to 68.
Stakeholder positions during the Assembly debate
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari defended the government’s decision on ward expansion as an intended measure to improve civic services. Former mayor Firhad Hakim and other legislators stated they were not opposing ward reorganisation in principle, but they asked for clarification of the criteria or policy that will govern the delimitation process (fixing ward boundaries and voter distribution for municipal elections).
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