Make poll arrangements in HMC and 111 municipalities : HC

A division bench of Kolkata High Court consisting of Justice I P Mukherjee and Justice Nizamuddin today ordered the State Election Commission to complete poll preparations for Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) and 111 Municipalities of the state. The five-year tenure of Howrah Corporation and 111 municipalities had ended in 2018 and thereafter but no polls were held in the last 2 years. The issue of polls to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) presently before Supreme Court. At present Howrah and other 111 municipalities are governed by state appointed administrators or co-ordinators. There are no elected councillors or commissioners in these municipalities. In the absence of full elected boards there hasn’t been any audit of accounts. Welfare activities in these municipalities have virtually come to halt. A CPM organized and one another PIL was submitted before the High Court for holding polls to KMC and HMC and 111 municipalities. The High Court today gave its ruling on the HMC and other municipalities. The state government had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court expressing its wish to hold polls to KMC within March 2021. The apex court judgment is awaited.