Elections to the Howrah Municipal Corporation, pending since 2018, are likely to be held in December after the completion of delimitation and other pending work, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Thursday.
“We have instructed the administration to start the delimitation and other allied work. We are a political party that believes in democracy. People can’t get a taste of the real services of the corporation without an election and without the participation of the masses,” Suvendu said.
“So we believe that if everything is in place, we will be able to hold the elections by December and hand over a democratically elected board to the Howrah Municipal Corporation and Bally.”
Elections to the civic body have not been held since 2013. After the elected board’s term expired in 2018, the corporation has been run by an appointed administrator.
Three years before the board’s term ended, the Bengal government merged the Bally Municipality with the Howrah Municipal Corporation in 2015, increasing the number of wards from 50 to 66.
In 2021, the state government decided to separate Bally from the corporation, reducing the number of wards back to 50.
However, legislative bills related to the separation were delayed amid standoffs with former governors. In early 2026, the Bengal Assembly passed a bill retaining all 66 wards under the Howrah Municipal Corporation, citing population growth.
“There are four immediate priorities for the corporation, including providing clean drinking water, sanitation, sewage and other civic amenities, and running health centres and educational institutions run by the corporation,” Suvendu said.
He held a coordination meeting in Howrah with senior officials of the corporation, the district magistrate, the commissioner of Howrah City Police, the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and railway officials.
The meeting was Suvendu’s first with officials after taking charge as chief minister.
He said a coordination committee had been formed under the leadership of the district magistrate of Howrah, while the secretary of municipal affairs and urban development would oversee its functioning.
A fact-finding team would also be set up to probe allegations of illegal construction by a section of developers in Howrah, he added.
“We will draw up a list of works on our part and on the part of the railways. Four elected MLAs will advise the district magistrate and the police,” Suvendu said.
“We will prepare an urgent plan for the next three months, and for the future till the
elections are held, in coordination with the railways,” he added.
Suvendu alleged that nearly 500 of the 1,700 casual workers employed by the corporation under different categories drew salaries without rendering services.
“Forget eight hours, they do not even spend eight minutes because they enjoy the blessings of political heavyweights,” he alleged.
“It is not about which political party you are affiliated to. You get your salaries, and you will have to work,” Suvendu said. “Change your mindset. This government has a policy of zero tolerance.”