KMC Wards to Jump to 209, HMC to 68, as West Bengal Passes delimitation bills

The West Bengal Assembly, on Wednesday, passed two delimitation bills related to the state’s municipal corporations. The first is the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the second is the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The bills were introduced during a special one-day Assembly session.

The government issued a notification stating the need to amend the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, and the Howrah Municipal Corporation Act, 1980. KMC is set to increase from 144 to 209 wards, while HMC will increase from 50 to 68 wards.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the concept of delimitation is unclear to many and that the goal is to increase the number of wards, while hitting out at Opposition MLAs Javed Khan and former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim of the Ritabrata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). “From what you (Hakim and Khan) said about delimitation, it appears that your understanding is not clear. The bill introduced today is for increasing the number of wards. After this, the State Election Commission will determine the boundaries of the wards, the number of voters, population and other details,” said Adhikari.

After the draft notification is issued, the public will be given a week to raise objections. This period could also be extended to a fortnight.

The rationale behind amending the Acts is to take into account the recent ward-wise population, dwelling patterns, geographical conditions and economic considerations of each corporation. “The decision to increase the number of wards has been taken because of variations in population,” said Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul in the Assembly.

Speaking specifically about Howrah, Paul said delimitation will help modernise the city and improve civic amenities, including roads and drainage, for residents. She said an estimated Rs 462-crore master plan has been drawn up for the project, with work expected to begin in 2027.

Paul said the date for HMC elections will be finalised in accordance with legal procedures after discussions between the state government and the State Election Commission (SEC).

Speaking about Howrah’s lost heritage as one of the first municipal corporations in the state, Paul criticised the former TMC administration for the prolonged delay in holding civic polls, which she said resulted in residents being deprived of efficient civic amenities due to the prolonged absence of an elected board. HMC also lost Rs 200 crore in grants from the 15th Finance Commission of India, resulting in several development projects being stalled.

Firhad Hakim spoke about improvements in HMC after the erstwhile Trinamool Congress (TMC) government took charge in 2011. Hakim, however, blamed former governors of West Bengal for delays caused by legal complications in holding HMC elections, which have not been conducted since 2018.

Civic elections are slated to be held in the first week of December. After Hakim resigned as Kolkata Mayor in June, the state government dissolved the KMC board under Section 117 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980. IAS officer Smita Pandey was appointed administrator and municipal commissioner.