Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of 206.08 km2. Its motto, Purosri Bibôrd̪ʰon, is inscribed on its emblem in Bengali script. It is headed by a mayor, who presides over 144 councillors, each of whom represents one of the 144 wards of the city.

History

Under the guidance of the first Minister of Local Self-Government in Bengal, Sir Surendranath Banerjee, the Calcutta Municipal Act of 1923 made provision for the enfranchisement of women and the election of a Mayor of Kolkata annually. Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das was the first Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation with Subhas Chandra Bose as his Chief Executive Officer. Later mayors include Deshapriya Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, Subhas Chandra Bose, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque, Triguna Sen, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya.

Structure

The city is divided into 144 administrative wards that are grouped into 16 boroughs. Each of these wards elects a councillor to the KMC. Each borough has a committee consisting of the councillors elected from the respective wards of the boroughs. The Corporation, through the borough committees, maintains government-aided schools, hospitals and municipal markets and partakes in urban planning and road maintenance.<ref name=Metropolis> The corporation as the apex body discharges its function through the Mayor-in-Council, consisting of a mayor, assisted by a deputy mayor, and ten other elected members of the KMC. The mayor is responsible for the overall functioning of the KMC and has a tenure of five years. At present, the All India Trinamool Congress holds the power in the KMC.

Budget

As of 2024-25, the city government's budget is inr 51667900000, out of which inr 3200000000 was earmarked for roads and transport infrastructure, inr 6921400000 is to be spent on solid waste management, inr 4080000000 on water supply and inr 1630000000 on health services.

Criticism

Recently the KMC has faced a lot of criticism for legalising unauthorized construction largely responsible for a number of deaths because of fire. This was also responsible of the unplanned growth in the city.

The Sheriff of Kolkata and The KMDA

The city also has an apolitical titular post, that of the Sheriff of Kolkata. The Sheriff presides over various city-related functions and conferences. Another ancillary civic body is the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) responsible for the statutory planning and development of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA). The KMA includes a large suburban hinterland around the urban centre of Kolkata.

Area of jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the KMC covers the area covered by the Kolkata Police (which in turn includes the area of Kolkata District / KMC) In 2011, it was announced that Kolkata Police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation area will be coterminous. Kolkata Postal District however extends right up to Barrackpur in the North, Barasat in the North-East, Rajarhat in the East, up to Baruipur in South-East and Pailan in South and up to Pujali in South-West. The Postal code in this entire area starts with 700, indicating Postal Sorting Division of Kolkata. Thus Kolkata Postal Division is much bigger than the area of KMC (Kolkata District) and Kolkata Police.

Services

The KMC is responsible for administering and providing basic infrastructure to the city. Control Room of Kolkata Municipal Corporation can be contacted at (033) 2286-1212.

Department