21 KMC wards face multiple splits to take total to 200
Times of India | 23 July 2026
Kolkata: The Central Delimitation Committee set up for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area is considering a proposal to split 21 wards to increase the total number of civic wards from 144 to 200, sources said.
The Bengal govt has asked the 10-member committee to create 56 additional wards before the civic body, now under an administrator, goes to the polls towards the end of this year. Post-delimitation, each of the 200 wards is likely to have between 16,000 and 18,000 voters.
According to the proposal before CDC, Ward 58 will be split into eight wards. The ward, which exceeds 10sq km and includes Tangra, Dhapa and parts of East Kolkata Wetlands, has a population of 88,465 (according to the 2011 census).
Wards 66 (Topsia, Tiljala and Paschim Chowbhaga), 108 (Madurdaha to Sonarpur), 109 (Mukundapur to areas bordering Sonarpur) and 142 (large parts of Joka) have been proposed to be split into six to eight wards. Wards 78 (Ekbalpore, Mominpore and parts of Kidderpore) and 80 (SP Mookerjee Port zone) are likely to be split into four or less wards.
According to the 2011 Census , wards 66 and 78 have 98,024 and 54,090 residents, respectively. The population of ward 108 is 64,777, and that of ward 109, 64,567.
A KMC official said that while the standard practice is to keep a ward’s area under 1 sq km, several wards targeted for restructuring exceed 8 sq km. Most of the big wards — such as 58 (Tangra to Dhapa), 66 and 108 — are off EM Bypass.
A KMC official on the delimitation committee said the vast expanse of these wards has created persistent administrative problems. “If the state accepts the committee’s recommendations, some of the targeted wards will yield six to eight new wards,” he said.
Apart from the area, the committee is taking population density into account while identifying the wards to be split. “We have proposed splitting wards based on a combination of land area and population density,” a KMC official said.
“We’ve been asked to keep the voter strength between 16,000 and 18,000 per ward. The figures may change under special circumstances,” an official said.
Currently, demographic disparities are stark. “Some wards have as many as 85,000 voters, while several have as few as 10,000. We need to narrow this gap as far as practicable,” said KMC administrator and municipal commissioner Smita Pandey.
KMC sources said the Borough Delimitation Committees, which started work on July 14, have been asked to submit draft reports by July 27. The Central Delimitation Committee will consider the borough committees’ recommendations before sending its proposals to the urban development and municipal affairs department.