The West Bengal government onWednesday appointed a 14-member board of administrators with Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim as chairman to run the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.The board of administrators was formed following the postponement of the civic elections in the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The board of administrators would look after the operations of KMC from May 8 and to ensure unhindered essential services to the common people.The Kolkata Municipal Corporation election was last held on May 8, 2015 and a five year term of the office of the councillors is going to expire on May 7, 2020.The first meeting of the board of administrators of the KMC will be held on Friday, a notification issued by the state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department said."It would be expedient in the public interest to constitute and appoint a board of administrators to ensure municipal administration in Kolkata in the manner contained in the said (Epidemic Diseases Act 1897) Act not only for containing infections and taking measures to combat COVID-19, like insulating the community from transmission of the disease, but also for rendering essential services ...," the order said."The constitution and appointment of the Board of Administrators is also necessitated for effective implementation of the orders and directions issued by the government under the Disas"ter Management Act 2005 and Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897," it added."We are grateful that chief minister Mamata Banerjee entrusted her confidence on us. Hopefully, we will be able to keep up to her expectations," Hakim said.
