The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has begun a preliminary survey to create space for 209 councillors at its headquarters after a proposal to increase the number of municipal wards from 144 to 209. The civic body has set a target of completing the exercise by the first week of December, according to a senior KMC official quoted by Sanmarg.
The proposed increase follows the passage of the KMC (Amendment) Bill, 2026, by the West Bengal Assembly in August. If implemented, the change would add 65 wards and require the municipal corporation to accommodate a significantly larger elected council within its headquarters.
KMC engineers and senior officials are inspecting available space on the first floor of the headquarters, where the council chamber is located. The chamber currently has seating for 146 people. The civic body will therefore have to create room for 63 additional councillors in the chamber.
The council chamber is used for monthly House meetings attended by elected councillors, the mayor, the deputy mayor and members of the mayor-in-council. Important civic issues are discussed there, policies are debated and the annual municipal budget is approved. Any expansion will therefore need to provide at least basic tables and chairs for the additional councillors while retaining the chamber’s capacity to conduct official proceedings.
A cost estimate for the additional furniture and related arrangements is being prepared, according to the report. The survey is intended to determine how much space is available and how it can be reorganised to accommodate the larger council. The report did not provide an estimated expenditure or details of any structural modification planned for the chamber.
A senior KMC official said the exercise was necessary because the change would represent the first time in the history of Bengal’s municipal administration that more than 200 councillors would need to be accommodated together at a corporation headquarters. The immediate administrative challenge is to ensure that the council chamber can function with the expanded membership.
The chamber also has historical significance. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is among the country’s oldest urban local bodies, and the chamber has been associated with former civic leaders, including Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Chittaranjan Das, both of whom served as KMC mayors.
The proposed ward expansion will consequently affect not only the number of elected representatives but also the physical and operational arrangements through which Kolkata’s municipal decisions are taken. KMC officials are expected to complete the space assessment and prepare the required arrangements by the first week of December.
