The West Bengal state cabinet has made a crucial decision regarding the administrative structure of the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC). In a meeting held on Wednesday, the cabinet approved a proposal to retain the civic body's current strength of 66 wards, setting aside earlier plans to reduce the number to 50.
Legislative Amendment on the Horizon
To formalize this administrative decision, the state government will introduce a bill in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. This bill aims to amend the Howrah Municipal Corporation Act of 1980, the foundational legislation governing the civic body. The bill is expected to be tabled in the Assembly soon, paving the way for the new ward structure to be legally implemented.
The decision comes against the backdrop of long-overdue civic elections in Howrah. The last polls for the HMC were held back in 2013, and elections have been pending since their scheduled date in 2018. In the absence of an elected body, the corporation has been run by administrators appointed by the state. Minister Arup Roy served as administrator after 2018, followed by Dr. Sujay Chakraborty from 2021 until October 2025. Currently, the civic body is under the charge of the municipal commissioner.
Rationale Behind Retaining 66 Wards
Government sources from Nabanna, the state secretariat, have cited compelling reasons for maintaining the higher number of wards. A primary justification is the near doubling of the population within the HMC area over the past decade. Officials argue that a larger number of wards is necessary to ensure efficient administration and better public service delivery in line with this significant population growth.
Furthermore, retaining 66 wards is expected to reduce administrative pressure on individual ward representatives and improve the overall quality of civic services provided to residents. The location of Nabanna itself within the HMC limits underscores the importance of a robust and responsive municipal administration in the area.
A History of Merger and Separation
The current ward count of 66 has its roots in a 2015 decision by the Trinamool Congress government to merge the neighboring Bally Municipality with the Howrah Municipal Corporation. This merger increased the number of wards from the original 50 to 66. However, the amalgamation led to a series of administrative challenges.
In response to these problems, the state government decided in 2021 to separate Bally from the HMC once again. This move, however, was not approved by the then Governor of West Bengal, Jagdeep Dhankhar. The separation was finally sanctioned in 2025 by the current Governor, C.V. Ananda Bose.
Following this de-merger, it was widely expected that the number of wards in the HMC would revert to the pre-2015 figure of 50. The cabinet's latest approval to keep 66 wards marks a significant shift from that expectation, aiming to create a ward structure that reflects the current demographic reality of Howrah.
In a related political development from Malda district, civic volunteer Mustera Biwi was dismissed from her duties at the Baishnabnagar Police Station on Wednesday. This action came after she was named as the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) candidate for the Baishnabnagar assembly constituency by party leader Humayun Kabir on Monday. Mustera Biwi stated she had no regrets about the dismissal, as she was not willing to continue as a civic volunteer. Asserting her loyalty to Kabir, she expressed confidence in not just contesting but winning the election. Reacting to the candidature, Trinamool Congress district spokesperson Ashis Kundu accused Kabir of acting as a BJP agent and predicted the candidate would not secure more votes than the NOTA option.
