Days after Firhad Hakim exit, Bengal govt dissolves Kolkata muncipal corporation | Kolkata (original) (raw)

Three days after Firhad Hakim stepped down as Kolkata mayor, the West Bengal government on Monday dissolved the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) board and appointed municipal commissioner Smita Pandey as its administrator.

Former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim leaves after a meeting with West Bengal assembly LoP Ritabrata Banerjee, at state Assembly, in Kolkata, Monday. (PTI)

The order comes on the day Firhad Hakim met rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Ritabrata Banerjee in his chamber in the West Bengal assembly. However, the details of the interaction were not immediately known.

All councillors, members of the mayor-in-council, committee members and the chairperson would have to vacate their offices in accordance with the provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, the municipal affairs department said in an order, according to PTI.

PTI said the decision to dissolve the KMC board came after the mandatory 72-hour period following Hakim’s resignation ended without the TMC electing a successor.

The municipal commissioner was appointed the administrator for six months or till the new mayor and the mayor-in-council take charge,” the official said.

Hakim announced his decision to step down from the post last week following the TMC’s defeat in the state elections. To be sure, the TMC enjoyed an overwhelming majority in the civic body, with 136 councillors in the 144-member corporation.

“When I was the municipal affairs minister and the mayor, I ran it (KMC) well. I used to provide relief to the people. That’s no longer possible now. I can’t disrespect the chair. I can’t cling to the chair while being a soldier with arms and armour. It would be disrespecting those revered personalities. That’s why I decided to resign,” the four-time lawmaker told reporters on Friday.

More than two dozen civic body boards have been dissolved over the past few weeks after several TMC councillors, borough heads, vice chairpersons and chairpersons of various municipalities resigned.