The West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday passed an amendment bill proposing a significant expansion of the number of wards in the Howrah Municipal Corporation, taking the total from the existing 50 to 68.
The legislation, introduced under the Howrah Municipal Act, 2026, also seeks to withdraw an earlier amendment bill passed by the Assembly on February 7.
Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul said the proposed restructuring was driven by changes in population patterns and was aimed at improving the delivery of civic services across Howrah.
“The decision to increase the number of wards has been taken because of variations in population. Once the wards are reorganised, citizens will receive civic services more effectively,” Paul said, according to PTI.
The minister also launched a political attack on the previous Trinamool Congress government, alleging that civic elections had been delayed because of fears of an adverse electoral outcome.
“Trinamool did not allow civic elections to be held for so long because it feared losing to the people’s mandate,” Paul alleged.
Paul further claimed that Howrah had suffered financially, alleging that the city had been deprived of Rs 200 crore in municipal allocations.
“Howrah has been deprived of Rs 200 crore in municipal financial allocations,” she said.
Explaining the legislative basis for the move, Paul said the government had prepared the amendment in accordance with the existing municipal law.
“A bill titled the Howrah Municipal Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026, has been prepared in accordance with the Howrah Municipal Act,” Paul said.
The ward expansion comes as the state government considers a much larger restructuring of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The state Cabinet has already cleared an initial proposal to increase Kolkata’s wards from 144 to 209.
If the Kolkata proposal is implemented, the city will gain 65 additional wards. In Howrah, the proposed expansion would add 18 wards, taking the total from 50 to 68.
The changes are expected to reshape the administrative boundaries of the two major municipal corporations and come against the backdrop of continuing political debate over civic administration and municipal elections in West Bengal.
