Overview
- The Assembly on Wednesday, Aug. 12, passed two bills raising Kolkata’s wards from 144 to 209 and Howrah’s from 50 to 68 to change the number of elected local seats.
- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and the municipal minister said the legislative change is meant to reflect population shifts and improve delivery of civic services.
- The bills only set ward numbers; the State Election Commission will carry out technical delimitation, publish draft maps and accept public objections in a formal notification process.
- Civic officials have published a basic list of 209 Kolkata wards with road-based boundary descriptions but say only hand-drawn maps exist and detailed digital maps and ward-level voter data are not yet ready.
- Opposition leaders demanded clearer criteria, ward-level hearings and elected-representative involvement and warned the exercise could alter community representation while the SEC schedules all-party meetings and objection windows before finalising boundaries.