Kolkata Municipal Corporation has begun correcting booth and part-number errors identified during hearings on its proposed ward delimitation, after receiving 285 written complaints from political parties and residents. The corrections are expected to clarify which electoral booths and parts fall within each proposed ward before the material is sent to the State Election Commission for finalisation.
The hearings were held at the corporation headquarters on 5, 7, 8 and 9 September. Ten hearing officers deputed by the state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department recorded the objections, with 207 of the 285 complainants attending the hearings, according to a report by Anandabazar – Kolkata.
Most complaints concerned the allocation of booths and parts in the proposed ward maps. Residents and political parties reportedly questioned cases where part numbers appeared to be incorrect, where a booth had been placed in a different ward from the area it serves, and where the same road was shown in two separate wards.
The complaints have exposed an administrative distinction at the centre of the process: the proposed ward boundaries and the electoral mapping of booths and parts are being handled as related but separate exercises. A municipal official involved in the hearings said the ward maps had been prepared using reports from local-level borough committees after area surveys. However, the official said the corporation could not determine during that exercise which booth would ultimately fall within each ward.
The official said the documents submitted during the hearings would be consolidated and forwarded to the Election Commission. The commission will take the final decision on the ward-wise allocation of booths and part numbers, according to the report.
The corporation has maintained that errors in booth or part numbers will not require changes to the proposed ward boundaries. Its stated approach is to retain the ward limits and correct the electoral details so that the booth or part corresponding to each area is placed in the appropriate ward. The revised material will be sent to the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department and the State Election Commission.
The process is taking place alongside preparations for Kolkata’s major festive season. Municipal officials are seeking to complete the corporation’s part of the delimitation exercise before administrative attention shifts to arrangements for Durga Puja and the festivals that follow.
The timing is also linked to the proposed return of an elected board to the corporation. The report said municipal elections in Kolkata and Howrah could be held after Kali Puja and Diwali, potentially towards the end of November. It also referred to a public statement by Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari that the Kolkata corporation would be handed over to an elected board by 7 December. The next formal step is for the corporation to complete the corrections and forward the consolidated records to the state election authorities.
