Councillors in jail, under FIR shadow, in quit mode; civic boards in limbo

Kolkata/Howrah: Arrests, FIRs, resignations and administrative flux across several municipal corporations and municipalities in Bengal have triggered concerns over the functioning of civic bodies and delivery of services.

The strain is most evident in the Trinamool Congress-run KMC, where the civic board has nearly turned “defunct” because mayor-in-council meetings are not being held. The crisis began with the resignation of Debalina Biswas, Borough IX chairperson, and intensified after Susanta Ghosh and Arup Chakraborty stepped down as borough chairman (Borough XII) and KMC accounts committee member, respectively.

It worsened on Tuesday when Tarak Singh, the MMiC in charge of KMC’s sewerage and drainage, resigned and submitted his letter to municipal commissioner Smita Pandey. Though KMC rules require MMiCs to send resignation letters to the mayor, Singh said the municipal commissioner asked him to reconsider ahead of the monsoon. Singh alleged he could not function independently and said he was “feeling bad” for failing to take “effective” steps before the rainy season.

Deputy mayor Atin Ghosh flagged that KMC’s health department needs a comprehensive pre-monsoon plan to tackle dengue and malaria. At the ward level, councillors have largely stopped working, alleging they are not being “helped” by civic officials. A senior Trinamool functionary said fear of arrests had kept several councillors indoors, adding that the arrests of borough chairman Sudip Polley and councillor Sachin Singh “have sent a message to others”. FIRs have been lodged against at least six other councillors — Baiswanor Chattopadhyay (ward 91), Mala Roy (ward 88), Susanta Ghosh (ward 108), Shanti Ranjan Kundu (ward 32), Jui Biswas (ward 81) and Ashutosh Das (ward 35).

In Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), legal cases have ensnared councillors and civic functionaries. Four of the 41 councillors have been arrested on charges including extortion and intimidation. An MMIC and his wife, a former MLA, have secured interim protection from arrest till June 19. The husband of another MMIC and the brother-in-law — who was a former councillor in the Baguiati area — have also been arrested.

BMC’s monthly MMIC and board meetings have not been held since the formation of the new BJP govt in the state. Bidhannagar MLA Sharadwat Mukherjee described the situation as “Laapataa (missing) councillors”.

South Dum Dum Municipality has not seen resignations, but civic functioning has been jolted by the death of councillor and chairman-in-council member Sanjay Das, who was found hanging in his apartment on May 23. Two other councillors — Mrinmoy Das and former chairman-in-council member Partha Verma — were recently arrested on allegations of extortion, assault and criminal intimidation.

In North Dum Dum Municipality, civic services were disrupted after hundreds of temporary workers held a week-long sit-in demanding equal pay for equal work, timely salaries and regular EPF deposits.

The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC), the state’s second-largest civic body, continues without an elected board. The last election was held in 2013 and the board’s tenure ended in 2018. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari appointed a chief administrator to oversee both HMC and Bally Municipality, which has also been without an elected civic body since 2018.

Residents of Howrah and Bally have repeatedly complained of inadequate civic services, alleging that the prolonged absence of elected representatives has weakened accountability and affected service delivery.

The disruption is most visible across the Barrackpore industrial belt, where mass resignations in Bhatpara, Kanchrapara, Halisahar, Garulia and North Barrackpore have collapsed civic boards. Around 115 councillors, including five municipal chairpersons, have resigned.