Bills for delimitation of Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporation passed in West Bengal Assembly

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed two bills on August 12, 2026, to delimit the wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah Municipal Corporation. This amendment will increase the number of wards in Kolkata from 144 to 209 and in Howrah from 50 to 68, according to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2026.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that the bills only addressed the increase in the number of wards, and the actual delimitation would be carried out by the State Election Commission (SEC) later. He also mentioned that people would have an opportunity to express their grievances and that there would be at least two all-party meetings.

Former Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim, a rebel Trinamool Congress MLA, expressed concerns about the criteria used for delimitation and raising questions about potential political motives behind the process. He questioned whether the boundaries of new wards were being altered to target specific communities.

Another Kolkata MLA, Javed Khan, also belonging to the Trinamool Congress and part of the rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee, shared similar concerns. Both MPs raised questions about the political motivations behind the delimitation exercise, which would increase the number of wards by 65 in Kolkata.

Minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Agnimitra Paul defended the government's decision to increase the number of wards, stating that the move aimed to improve civic services. She criticized the previous governments for not prioritizing the improvement of civic facilities.

The passage of the bills comes at a time when most civic bodies in the state are defunct. Following the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the West Bengal elections in May 2026, there have been mass resignations of councillors across all civic bodies, with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation being the largest to be administered by a civil servant. The West Bengal government aims to complete the delimitation process before the civic elections, scheduled for the end of the year.