The West Bengal government on Monday dissolved the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) board and appointed municipal commissioner Smita Pandey as the administrator of the civic body. This move formalizes the authority she has effectively exercised since the assembly election results were declared on May 4.
Legal Basis and Immediate Effects
The board was dissolved under subsection (1) of Section 117 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980. All councillors and committee members were directed to vacate their offices immediately. All powers and duties previously exercised by the municipal board, mayor, and mayoral council have been vested in the administrator.
Political Context
The dissolution comes amid significant turmoil within the civic body after Firhad Hakim resigned as mayor on Friday, citing Bengal's "changed political situation." TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had earlier stated that the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had rendered the civic body "ineffective."
The TMC, which won the 2021 KMC polls by an overwhelming majority, briefly considered nominating a new mayor. However, the plan failed because most party councillors reportedly expressed their inability to attend a meeting convened by KMC chairperson Mala Roy on Sunday.
Recent Disruptions and Arrests
In recent weeks, the KMC has experienced heightened disruption, including a failed attempt to convene the House. The corporation's buildings and assessment department issued notices to properties linked to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and carried out demolition drives against properties linked to Faiz Ahmed, Raju Naskar, and Sona Pappu, all considered close to the former governing party. The arrests of multiple councillors on extortion charges, along with political uncertainty triggered by two councillor-MLAs—Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha—turning rebels in the assembly, further destabilized the KMC set-up.
Interim Arrangement
The government order dissolving the KMC board, signed by the additional chief secretary in the state municipal affairs department, specifies that the arrangement is interim. The administrator can remain in charge for up to six months, or until a new board is formed through an election, whichever comes first.
Councillors' Reactions
Sources indicated that the KMC authorities waited until late afternoon on Monday for news from the Trinamool municipal party on whether it wanted to field a candidate to succeed Hakim as mayor. A survey by the Times of India at the KMC headquarters on Monday revealed that most Trinamool councillors were absent. The few who were present had come to find out whether the government had dissolved the board. A section of Trinamool councillors expressed surprise over the leadership's silence during such a crisis and a shift from the earlier stance of nominating a successor whenever a party functionary stepped down from the post of mayor.
"Firhad Hakim has left us in the lurch by resigning at a time when several councillors have been arrested and many others are fearing the same fate," said a councillor from south Kolkata.
