Sanjay Pathak, the Trinamool councillor of ward I of Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), was sworn in as a new member, mayor-in-council (MMIC), at the civic body on Tuesday.

Pathak took the oath of office from mayor Gautam Deb at an event held at the conference hall of the SMC. Following the swearing-in, he assumed charge of the departments of trade licence, housing for all, and sports.

After taking charge, Pathak said: “I have been entrusted with the responsibility of certain departments. There is much scope for work."

Trinamool ward 46 councillor Dilip Barman previously oversaw these three departments.

Barman had held the portfolios for the past four years. However, the departments were left without an active MMIC for nearly 10 months after Barman stopped attending departmental meetings and official events since last August, following his differences with Deb and deputy mayor Ranjan Sarkar.

Without an MMIC, Deb had been supervising the day-to-day functioning of the departments.

After the recent Assembly elections, the mayor officially relieved Barman of his responsibilities and reassigned the portfolios.

Pathak acknowledged the limited time left in the current civic board's tenure and pledged to make the most of the opportunity. “We have around eight months left in the present term of the SMC. I will try my best to deliver effective results during this period,” he said.