Kolkata’s New Town map to be redrawn, residents wait for New Year’s gift – Times of India

KOLKATA: The state has started the process to shed the panchayat tag of the mouzas, which have been shown to be falling in New Town Action Area I and II.
Sources said a memorandum on the amendment or rectification may be issued by this month-end or by the first week of January.
It has been learned from sources that the office of the local BLRO, along with the North 24 Parganas district administration and the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), was working to come up with a rectification to exclude areas from the panchayat’s jurisdiction. A request for an amendment is being forwarded to the panchayat and rural development department.
“The DM’s office has already held a meeting with the BLRO and NKDA and reviewed the matter,” said a government official.
TOI had on Saturday reported that the state was considering to come up with some rectification on the issue which had led to a lot of protests, including mass signature campaigns, with residents demanding they be excluded from their panchayat status.
As per the records with the Rajarhat Development Block, North 24 Parganas, eight mouzas falling in different areas like Action Area IA, IB, IC, ID, IIB, IIE and pockets of Action Area III have been mentioned to be included in Jyangra Hatiara II gram panchayat area. Residents started protesting against the inclusion after it was noticed.
A senior government official, who did not want to be named, said the inclusion of large parts of New Town into Jyangra-Hatiara II Gram Panchayat was a mistake due to overlapping jurisdiction. “Several ramifications may occur in case of such dual administration between an independent authority and panchayat for New Town which is being developed as a green smart city,” an official said.
Officials said as per the existing land records, a large part of New Town was already included in the panchayat during the last panchayat election in 2018 but there were only two seats then. After delimitation it has been increased to eight seats, with 12 booths, as the number of voters residing in the New Town part of the panchayat has increased. The basic civic services are, however, being provided by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA).
Recently, 9,500 residents responded to a mass signature campaign that was conducted by New Town Forum and News (NTFN) – an umbrella organisation of resident forums in New Town.
Most residents are against panchayat inclusion and said New Town can only come under either a municipality or municipal corporation.