Civic administration of Kolkata

Jurisdictions of civic authorities, as of 2010

The civic administration of Kolkata (the metropolitan city and the capital of the West Bengal state of India) is executed by several government agencies, and consists of overlapping structural divisions. Kolkata's administrative agencies have areas of jurisdiction that do not coincide.

Governing bodies

At least four administrative definitions of the city are available; listed in ascending order of area, those are:

  1. Kolkata District,
  2. the Kolkata Police area and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area ("Kolkata city"),
  3. "Greater Kolkata", which adds to the KMC area a few areas just adjacent to it,[1]
  4. the Kolkata Metropolitan Area.

The area within which the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) functions also has the following authorities involved in administration: the KMC itself, the Kolkata Collector (see Kolkata District), the Kolkata Police, the Collector / District Magistrate (DM) of South 24 Parganas District, and the Superintendent of Police (SP) of South 24 Parganas District.

The Kolkata Collector collects land revenues within Kolkata district, a part of the area within which the KMC functions;[2] In those KMC wards that are outside Kolkata district, revenue collection is performed by the Collector/DM of South 24 Parganas District. In 2011, Kolkata Police underwent restructuring, and as of 2012, the Kolkata Police area and Kolkata Municipal Area are same.[3]

It may seem paradoxical that the area of a district should be a subset of one urban area, since normally a district contains numerous urban areas as well as rural areas. This and the various other complications of Kolkata's government are mostly explained by the fact that Kolkata's gradual urban sprawl had somehow to be accommodated to existing political boundaries.

The KMC's entire area comprises all 144 wards of the KMC. "City" in relation to Kolkata is not an official term; when used, it normally refers to the KMC area.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation

Kolkata Municipal Corporation

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, or KMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 15 boroughs, which together encompass 144 wards.[4] Each ward elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee of councillors, each of whom is elected to represent a ward. By means of the borough committees, the corporation undertakes urban planning and maintains roads, government-aided schools, hospitals, and municipal markets.[5] As Kolkata's apex body, the corporation discharges its functions through the mayor-in-council, which comprises a mayor, a deputy mayor, and ten other elected members of the KMC.[6] The functions of the KMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation.[5]

The city also has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata.[7] The Sheriff presides over various city-related functions and conferences.

According to KMC website, erstwhile Joka-I & Joka-II Gram Panchayats were added to municipal limits, although information on their distribution into wards was not available.[8] This addition increases the area of KMC to 200.71 square kilometres (77.49 sq mi).[8] In 2011, it was announced that Kolkata Police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation area will be coterminous.[9][10]

Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority

Another ancillary civic body is the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) responsible for the statutory planning and development of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA).[11] The KMA includes a large suburban hinterland around the urban centres of Kolkata.

State government

Writers' Building
Calcutta High Court

As the capital of the state and the seat of the Government of West Bengal, Kolkata houses not only the various offices of local government listed above, but also, for the state level, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the Secretariat (Writers' Building) and the Calcutta High Court. Kolkata also has lower courts; the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases.

Assembly and parliamentary constituencies

The parliamentary constituencies and assembly constituencies in West Bengal, as defined by Election Commission of India, underwent delimitation in 2008 according to the report of the Delimitation Commission.[12] Kolkata district is divided into 11 assembly constituencies — Kolkata Port, Bhabanipur, Rashbehari, Ballygunge, Chowringhee, Entally, Beleghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Kashipur-Belgachhia.

There are two parliamentary constituencies—Kolkata South and Kolkata North—that have the name Kolkata associated with them. Chowringhee, Entally, Beliaghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Kashipur-Belgachhia assembly constituencies form the Kolkata Uttar (Lok Sabha constituency). Along with three assembly constituencies (Kasba, Behala Purba, and Behala Paschim) from South 24 Parganas district, Kolkata Port, Bhabanipur, Rashbehari, and Ballygunje constituencies form the Kolkata Dakshin (Lok Sabha constituency).[12]

Several wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation area constitute parts of following 6 assembly constituencies which are recently included in Kolkata district — Metiaburuz (ward number 136 to 141 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation), Behala Paschim (wards 118 to 119 and 125 to 132), Behala Purba (Ward 115 to 117 and 120 to 124 ), Tollyganj (wards 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 111 to 114), Jadavpur (wards 96, 99, 101 to 106, 109 and 110), Kasba (wards 66, 67, 91, 92, 107 and 108).[12] Among these 6 assembly constituencies, 3 (Kasba, Behala Paschim and Behala Purba) are within Kolkata Dakshin parliamentary constituency. Jadavpur and Tollyganj assembly constituencies are within Jadavpur parliamentary constituency, while Metiaburuz assembly constituency lies within Diamond Harbour parliamentary constituency.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Neighbourhoods in Kolkata
  2. ↑ National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation, Dept. of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, Administrative Map of Calcutta, Plate 15, 2nd Edition, 1988, Reg. No. 2844 E/57 – 5002'SS.
  3. ↑ "Change of guard brings welcome relief". Times of India. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "Basic statistics of Kolkata". Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  5. 1 2 "KMC functions". Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "Legislative structure" (PDF). Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "New sheriff of Kolkata". The Telegraph. 28 December 2005. Retrieved 1 September 2007.
  8. 1 2 "Incorporation of erstwhile Joka-I & Joka-II Gram Panchayats under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Municipal Corporation". Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "City police chief visits added areas". The Times of India. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Bandyopadhyay, Krishnendu (30 August 2011). "People will see the change: Kolkata police chief". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "About Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority". Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. Retrieved 1 September 2007.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Delimitation Commission (15 February 2006). "Notification: order no. 18" (PDF). New Delhi: Election Commission of India. pp. 12–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
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