Kolkata, Oct. 27 -- The Bengal government's move to expand the number of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) wards from 144 to 209 has landed in the Calcutta High Court, with a city resident alleging procedural lapses in the proposed delimitation exercise.
The petitioner has questioned the manner in which the boundaries are being redrawn, alleging that the addition of 65 wards is being carried out without following the prescribed legal procedure and adopting a scientific approach.
The matter came before a vacation bench of Justice Aryak Dutt on Monday, when the petitioner's counsel, Samim Ahmed, sought permission to institute the case.
The court granted permission for the petition to be filed. According to Ahmed, the matter is likely to come up for hearing before Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya on Wednesday.
The challenge comes amid the state government's efforts to redraw the city's municipal map before the next civic elections, expected to be held by the end of November.
In August, the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department had issued a notice stating that the final list of the reconstituted wards would be published following an amendment to the relevant provision of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980.
The proposed expansion would be the first delimitation of KMC wards since 1984. The government intends to complete the exercise before the civic polls, with a new municipal board expected to take charge before the current administrator-run arrangement ends on December 7.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.