Kolkata | September 10, 2026
Hearings on the proposed revision of Kolkata Municipal Corporation ward boundaries ended on Wednesday, with around 300 suggestions and objections received from political parties and individuals. The delimitation exercise will increase the number of KMC wards from 144 to 209, while the State Election Commission will decide which wards are reserved for women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates.
A KMC official said political functionaries and individual residents submitted objections during the hearing process. Several political representatives appeared before hearing officers more than once to raise separate grievances. “We treated each complaint individually and sent out invitations to appear before hearing officers,” the official said.
Ten state officials were deputed as hearing officers for the process. Their reports will now be submitted to the state municipal affairs and urban development department, which will determine whether changes should be made to the draft boundaries based on the objections and suggestions received.
A state official said the final ward-wise boundaries would be published after the government examines the submissions. The final document will set out the boundaries of each ward and will be made available as a public document.
“The final ward-wise boundary, after factoring in the objections and suggestions, will be published. It will be a public document,” the official said.
The next stage will involve sending the final ward boundaries to the State Election Commission. The commission will then publish the areas included in each ward and determine the reservation of seats for women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates.
Officials said the responsibility for deciding reserved wards does not lie with either the state government or the KMC. “The state or the KMC is not the authority to decide on the wards to be reserved for SC, ST and woman candidates. It is the prerogative of the SEC,” an official said.
The proposed increase from 144 to 209 wards will alter the administrative map used for elections to Kolkata’s civic body. However, the final ward boundaries have not yet been published, and the reservation schedule remains to be determined by the election commission.
The immediate administrative step is for the hearing officers to submit their reports to the state municipal affairs and urban development department. The department will decide how much of the proposed delimitation should be modified before publishing the final ward-wise boundary and forwarding it to the State Election Commission.
