KMC ward delimitation hearing begins, about 52 people appear; TMC questions timing, alleges BJP advantage

New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- The hearing on the proposed delimitation of wards in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) began on Saturday, with 52 people appearing before the authorities at the KMC headquarters. The exercise proposes increasing the number of wards from the existing 144 to 209.

Representatives of the BJP, CPM, TMC and Congress also attended the hearing. The TMC raised objections to the proposed delimitation and pointed out what it claimed were discrepancies in the exercise.

The hearing, conducted by 10 officers deputed by the state municipal affairs and urban development department, began at 11 am and continued till 5 pm, with nine officers present.

It will resume on Monday and continue till Wednesday. KMC commissioner and administrator Smita Pandey inspected the arrangements and said the administration was prepared to hear all those who had filed objections.

Political parties scrutinised the proposed ward boundaries and voter distribution, with BJP legal cell coordinator Ashok Sinha flagging considerable variations in voter numbers across wards.

"Everything is happening correctly, but the number of voters is much more in many wards and less in some. I have come to inform the authorities about some portions that have changed here and there," Sinha said.

Former CPM councillor Nandita Roy also appeared before the hearing officers and raised objections concerning certain part numbers of her former ward in Santoshpur. She, however, expressed satisfaction with the manner in which the hearing was being conducted and said the officials had listened to the objections.

However, TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh raised objections to the intent of this delimitation and claimed it was done to give an advantage to BJP.

Ghosh said the delimitation exercise should have been undertaken after the Census. He questioned the rationale behind carrying it out while the Census is underway, arguing that the population and number of voters in each ward would become clear once the exercise is completed.

He alleged that voters were being shifted between wards on religious lines to benefit the BJP.

The hearing will provide political parties' inputs before the civic administration finalises the next stage of ward delimitation.

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