Kolkata, May 12 -- The newly formed BJP government in Bengal has initiated steps to conduct the long-pending elections to the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC), which have not been held for nearly eight years.

According to sources, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who assumed office on Saturday and began official work on Monday, discussed the issue with newly appointed Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul.

The Howrah civic body last went to polls in 2013, two years after the Trinamool Congress came to power in the state in 2011. Although the corporation's tenure ended in 2018, elections were not conducted thereafter. Critics alleged that despite two opportunities to hold elections during the intervening years, the previous government repeatedly postponed the process and continued running the civic body through administrators.

According to Paul, HMC elections have become a priority as the Chief Minister is keen to ensure that residents receive proper civic services. She has instructed officials of the concerned department to take steps to expedite the election process.

The controversy surrounding the civic administration deepened after the former state government dissolved the Bally Municipality in 2015 and merged it with the Howrah Municipal Corporation, creating 16 additional wards. The Trinamool Congress won all the seats in the subsequent bypolls. However, Bally was later separated again and restored as an independent municipality through another legislative amendment.

The matter reportedly became entangled in administrative and constitutional issues after former Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar sought clarification regarding financial allocations and expenditure related to the HMC. According to sources, the state government failed to provide satisfactory answers at the time.

Residents claimed that civic services, including drainage, water supply, waste management and street lighting, have deteriorated over the past few years.

Ajay Manna, vice-president of the Howrah BJP unit and a resident of central Howrah, alleged that residents had almost forgotten what proper municipal services looked like. He expressed hope that the new government would expedite the elections and restore normal civic administration.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.