The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL 
LAW DEPARTMENT 
Legislative 
West Ben. 
Act LIX of 
1980. 
West Ben. 
Act LVIII of 
1980. 
West Ben. 
Act XIII of 
1988. 
West Bengal Act XXII of 1993 
THE WEST BENGAL MUNICIPAL ACT, 1993. 
[Passed by the West Bengal Legislature.] 
[Assent of the President of India was first published in the Calcutta 
Gazette, Extraordinary, of the 31st May, 1994.] 
[31st May, 1994.] 
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to urban municipal 
affairs in .  West Bengal. 
WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating 
to urban municipal affairs in West Bengal; 
It is hereby enacted in the Forty-fourth Year of the Republic of India, 
by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows:— 
PART I 
CHAPTER I 
Preliminary 
1. (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Municipal Act, Short title, 
1993. 	 extent and 
commence- 
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal, except Calcutta as ment. 
defined in clause (9) of section 2 of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation 
Act, 1980, and Howrah as defined in clause (15) of section 2 of the 
Howrah Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, and such other area as may 
constitute the territorial jurisdiction of a municipal corporation established 
by any law for the time being in force. 
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government 
may, by notification, appoint. 
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), it shall 
not take effect in any cantonment or part of a cantonment without the 
consent of the Central Government previously obtained. 
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the 
provisions of this Act shall apply to the district of Darjeeling or any part 
thereof subject to such exceptions and modifications as the State 
Government may, by notification, direct: 
Provided that nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the 
powers of the Council for the hill areas under sub-section (1) of 
section 31 of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act, 1988. 
209 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Pan 1.—Chapter 1.—Preliminaty.—Section 2.) 
Definitions. 	 2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or 
context,— 
(1) "Auditor" means an Auditor appointed under section 86, 
and includes any officer authorised by him to perform all 
or any of the functions of an Auditor under this Act; 
(2) "bridge" includes a culvert; 
(3) "building" means a structure constructed for whatsoever 
purpose or of whatsoever materials, and includes the 
foundation, plinth, wall, floor, roof, chimney, fixed platform, 
verandah, balcony, cornice, or projection or part of a building 
or anything affixed thereto or any wall (other than boundary 
wall of less than three metres in height) enclosing or intended 
to enclose any land, sign or outdoor display structure, but 
does not include a tent, samiana or tarpaulin shelter; 
(4) "building line" means the line up to which the main wall 
of a building abutting on a street or a projected public street 
may lawfully extend; 
(5) "bustee" means an area containing land occupied by, or for 
the purposes of, any collection of huts or other structures 
used or intended to be used for human habitation; 
Explanation.—If any question arises as to whether any 
particular area is or is not a "bustee" , the Board of Councillors 
shall decide the question and such decision shall be final; 
(6) "bye-law" means a set of regulations made by the 
municipality under this Act; 
(7) "carriage" means any wheeled vehicle, with springs or other 
appliances acting as springs, which is used for the conveyance 
of human beings or goods, and includes a jin-rickshaw, a 
van-rickshaw and a cycle-rickshaw, but does not include a 
motor vehicle or a bicycle or a tricycle or a perambulator 
or other form of vehicle designed for the conveyance of 
small children; 
(8) "cart" means any cart, hackery or wheeled vehicle with or 
without springs, which is not a carriage or a motor vehicle 
as defined is this section, and includes a handcart, but does 
not include the traitor of a motor vehicle, a bicycle or a 
tricycle or a perambulator or other form of vehicle designed 
for the conveyance of small children; 
(9) "Chairman" means the Chairman elected under section 17; 
(10) "connected-privy" means a privy which is directly connected 
with a sewer; 
210 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXII of 1993.] 
(Part 1.—Chapter 1.—Preliminary.—Section 2.) 
West Ben. 
Act XIII of 
1988. 
23 of 1940. 
(11) "Council" means the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council 
constituted under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act, 
1988; 
(12) "cubical extent", with reference to the measurement of a 
building, means the space contained within the external 
surfaces of its walls and roof and the upper surface of the 
floor of its lowest or only storey; 
(13) "dairy" includes any farm, cattle-shed, cow-house, milk-
store, milk-shop or other place— 
(a) from which milk is supplied on, or for, sale, or 
(b) in which milk is kept for the purposes of sale or used 
for manufacture or preparation for sale of— 
(i) butter, or 
(ii) ghee, or 
(iii) cheese, or 
(iv) curds, or 
(v) dried, sterilized, condensed or toned milk, 
but does not include— 
(a) a shop or other place in which milk is sold for 
consumption on the premises only, or 
(b) a shop or other place from which milk is sold or supplied 
in hermetically closed and unopened receptacles in the 
same original condition in which it was first received 
in such shop or other place; 
(14) "dairyman" includes any occupier of a dairy, or any cow-
keeper who trades in milk, or any wholesale or retail seller 
of milk; 
(15) "dangerous disease" means— 
(a) cholera, plague, small-pox, cerebro-spinal meningitis, 
diphtheria, tuberculosis, leprosy, influenza, encephalitis, 
poliomyelitis and syphilis; and 
(b) any other epidemic, endemic, or infectious disease which 
the State Government may, by notification, declare to 
be a dangerous disease for the purposes of this Act; 
(16) "drain" includes a sewer, a house-drain, a drain of any other 
description, a tunnel, a culvert, a ditch, a channel and any 
other device for carrying off sullage, sewage, offensive 
matter, polluted water, rain-water or subsoil water; 
(17) "drug" means any substance used as medicine or in the 
composition or preparation of medicines, whether for internal 
or external use, but does not include a drug within the 
meaning of clause (b) of section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics 
Act, 1940; 
211 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Part [—Chapter 1. Preliminary.—Section 2.) 
(18) "dwelling house" means a masonry building constructed, 
used or adapted to be used wholly or principally for human 
habitation; 
(19) "electoral roll" means the electoral roll prepared, revised or 
corrected under section 29 by the State Election Commission; 
(20) "food" includes every article used for food or drink by man, 
other than drugs or water, and any article which ordinarily 
enters into or is used in the composition or preparation of 
human food, and also includes confectionery, flavouring 
and colouring matters, spices and condiments; 
(21) "footpath" or "footway" means pavement at the side of road 
for pedestrians; 
(22) "habitable room" means a room constructed or adapted for 
human habitation; 
(23) "hill areas" has the same meaning as in the Darjeeling 
Gorkha Hill Council Act, 1988; 
(24) "holding" means land held under one title or agreement and 
surrounded by one set of boundaries: 
Provided that where two or more adjoining holdings form 
part and parcel of the site or premises of a dwelling house, 
manufactory, warehouse or place of trade or business, such 
holdings shall be deemed to be one holding for the purpose 
of this Act. 
Explanation.—Holdings separated by a street or other 
means of communication shall be deemed to be adjoining 
within the meaning of this proviso; 
(25) "house-drain" means any drain of one or more premises 
used for the drainage of such premises; 
(26) "house-gully" means a passage or strip of land constructed, 
set apart or utilised for the purpose of serving as a drain or 
of affording access to a privy, urinal, cesspool or other 
receptacle for filthy or polluted matter to municipal 
employees or to persons employed in the cleansing thereof 
or in the removal of such matter therefrom, and includes the 
air space above such passage or land; 
(27) "hut" means any building, no substantial part of which 
excluding the walls up to a height of fifty centimetres above 
the floor or floor level is constructed of masonry, reinforced 
concrete, steel, iron or other metal; 
(28) "infectious disease" or "communicable disease" means any 
disease which may be transmitted from one person to another 
and declared as such by the State Government by notification; 
West Ben. 
Act XIII of 
1988. 
212 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXII of 1993.] 
(Part 1.—Chapter 1.—Preliminary.—Section 2.) 
(29) "inhabitated room" means a room in which some person 
passes the night or which is used as a living room, and 
includes a room with respect to which there is a reasonable 
presumption (until the contrary is shown) that some person 
passes the night therein or that it is used as a living room; 
(30) "land"includes benefits arising out of land, and things 
attached to the earth; 
(31) "market" includes any place, by whatever name called, 
where persons assemble for the sale of meat, fish, fruit, 
vegetables, live stock, or any other article of food of a 
perishable nature, or any other article for which there is a 
collection of shops or warehouses or stalls, declared and 
licensed by the Municipality as a market; 
(32) "masonry building" means any building other than a hut, 
and includes any structure, a substantial part of which is 
made of masonry, reinforced concrete, steel, iron or other 
metal; 
(33) "milk" includes cream, skimmed milk, separated milk and 
condensed, sterilized, desiccated or toned milk; 
(34) all drugs or articles of food which enter into the composition 
of food, the package or mark or label of which bears any 
statement, design or device regarding such drugs or articles 
of food or the ingredients or substances contained therein 
as may be false or may mislead in any particular, shall be 
deemed to be "misbranded" and a drug or an article of food 
shall also be deemed to be misbranded if it is offered for 
sale under the name of another drug or article of food; 
(35) "municipal area" means any place in which this Act, or any 
part thereof, is in force; 
(36) "municipal drain" means a drain vested in the Municipality; 
(37) "municipal market" means a market belonging to or 
maintained by the Municipality; 
(38) "municipal slaughter house" means a slaughter house 
belonging. to or maintained by the Municipality; 
(39) "trw.,  building" means and includes— 
(a) any building constructed or in the process of construction 
after the commencement of this Act, 
(b) any building which, having collapsed or having been 
demolished or burnt down for more than one-half of its 
cubical extent, is reconstructed wholly or partially after 
the commencement of this Act, whether the dimensions 
of the reconstructed building are the same as those of 
the original building or not, 
213 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Pan L—Chapter 1.—Preliminary.—Section 2.) 
(c) any hut which is converted into a masonry building 
after the commencement of this Act, and 
(d) any building not originally constructed for human 
habitation which is converted into a place for human 
habitation after the Commencement of this Act. 
Explanation.—Sub-clause (b) applies where more 
than one-half of the cubical extent of any building has 
collapsed or been demolished or burnt down at the 
same time or at different times; 
(40) "notification" means a notification published in the Official 
Gazette; 
(41) "notified area" means an area constituted as a notified area 
under section 378; 
(42) "nuisance" includes any act, omission, place or thing which 
causes or is likely to cause injury, danger, annoyance or 
offence to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or disturbance 
to rest or sleep, or which is or may be dangerous to life or 
injurious to health or property; 
(43) "occupier" includes any person for the time being paying 
or liable to pay to the owner the rent or fee or contractual 
payment of adjustment of rent or fee or any portion thereof 
or damages on account of the occupation of any land or 
building, and also includes a rent-free tenant; 
Provided that an owner living in or otherwise using his 
own land or building shall be deemed to be the occupier 
thereof; 
(44) "offensive matter" means kitchen or stable refuse, dung, 
dirt, putrid or putrefying substance and filth of any kind 
which is not included in "sewage"; 
(45) "owner" includes the person for the time being receiving 
the rent of any land or building or of any part of any land 
or building, whether on his own account or as agent or 
trustee for any person or society or for any religious or 
charitable purpose, or as a receiver who would receive such 
rent if the land or building or any part of the land or building 
were let to a tenant; 
(46) "premises" means any land or building or part of a building 
or any hut or part of a hut, and includes— 
(a) the garden, ground and out-houses, if any, appertaining 
thereto; and 
(b) any fittings or fixtures affixed to a building or part of 
a building or hut or part of a hut for the more beneficial 
enjoyment thereof; 
214 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXII.of 1993.] 
(Part L—Chapter 1.—Preliminary.—Section 2.) 
(47) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this 
Act; 
(48) "private drain" means any drain which is not a municipal 
drain as defined in this section; 
(49) "private street" means any street, road, lane, gully, alley, 
passage or square which is not a public street as defined in 
this section, and includes any passage securing access to 
three or more premises belonging to the same or different 
owners; 
(50) "public building" means a building constructed, used or 
adapted to be used— 
(a) as a place of public worship or as a school, college or 
other place of instruction (not being a dwelling house 
so used) or as a hospital, nursing home, maternity home, 
factory, work house, public theatre, public cinema, 
public hall, public concert-room, public lecture-room, 
public library or public exhibition-room or as a public 
place of assembly, or 
(b) as a hotel, eating-house, lodging-house, home, hostel, 
refuge or shelter, or 
(c) for any other public purpose; 
(51) "public street" means any street, road, lane, gully, alley, 
passage, pathway, square or courtyard, whether a thorough 
fare or not, over which the public have a right of way, and 
includes— 
(a) the access or approach to a public ferry, 
(b) the roadway over any public bridge or causeway, 
(c) the footway attached to any such street, public bridge 
or causeway, 
(d) the passage connecting two public streets, and 
(e) the drains attached to any such street, public bridge or 
causeway, and, where there is no drain attached to any 
such street, shall be deemed to include also, unless the 
contrary is shown, all land up to the boundary wall, ail, 
hedge or pillar of the premises, if any, abutting on the 
street, or if a street alignment has been fixed, then up 
to such alignment; 
(52) "one-third of the total number of Councillors holding office 
for the time being shall be a "quorum" for a meeting; 
(53) "ratepayer" means a person liable to pay any rate, tax or 
fee under this Act; 
215 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Part IL—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter IL—The Constitution of 
Municipal Areas.—Section 3.) 
Declaration 
of intention 
to constitute 
a municipal 
area. 
(54) "registered medical practitioner" means a medical 
practitioner registered under the Bengal Medical Act, 1914; 
(55) "rubbish" means dust, ashes, broken bricks, mortar, broken 
glass and refuse of any kind which is not offensive matter; 
(56) "rules" means the rules made by the State Government 
under this Act; 
(57) "service privy" means a fixed privy which is cleansed by 
hand daily or periodically, but does not include a movable 
commode; 
(58) "sewage" means night-soil and other contents of privies, 
urinals, cesspools or drains, and includes trade effluents and 
discharges from manufactories of all kinds; 
(59) "slaughterhouse" means any place used for the slaughter of 
cattle, sheep, goats, kids or pigs, or hens, fowls, chicken, 
ducks, turkeys or any other eatable birds for the purpose of 
selling the flesh thereof as meat; 
(60) "State Election Commission" means the State Election 
Commission constituted in the manner referred to in sub-
section (1) of section 28; 
(61) "street" means a public or private street; 
(62) "street alignment" means the line dividing the land comprised 
in, and forming part of, a street from the adjoining land; 
(63) "watercourse" includes any river, stream or channel, whether 
natural or artificial; 
(64) "year" means a financial year beginning on the first day of 
April. 
PART H 
MUNICIPAL AREAS 
CHAPTER II 
The Constitution of Municipal Areas 
3. Whenever it appears to the State Government that any town, 
together with, or exclusive of, any railway station, village, land or 
building in the vicinity of any such town— 
(i) contains a population of not less than 20,000 inhabitants, 
(ii) has a density of population of not less than seven hundred 
and fifty inhabitants per square kilometre of area, and 
Ben. Act VI 
of 1914. 
216 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 993. 
XXII of 1993.] 
(Part IL—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter IL—The Constitution of 
Municipal Areas.—Sections 4-7.) 
(iii) has an occupational pattern in which more than one-half 
of the adult population are chiefly engaged in pursuits other 
than agriculture, and 
if the State Government is satisfied that if such town is constituted a 
municipal area, the municipal income from taxation and other sources 
is likely to be adeq tate for the discharge of municipal function under 
this Act, the State Government may, by notification, declare its intension 
to constitute such town a municipal area under this Act. 
4. (1) The notification about the constitution of a municipal area 
shall be published in the Official Gazette and in at least two leading 
newspapers, one of which shall be in vernacular intelligible to the 
inhabitants of the local area concerned. 
(2) A copy of the notification shall also be pasted up in a conspicuous 
place in the office of the District Magistrate, and in such other public 
places as the State Government may direct. 
(3) A public proclamation about the constitution of a municipal area 
shall be made either by beating of drum throughout the local area 
concerned or though any other publicity media. 
5. Any inhabitant of the town or local area in respect of which the 
notification has been published under section 4 may, if he objects to 
anything contained in the notification, submit his objection in writing 
to the State Government within three months from the date of publication 
in the Official Gazette, and the State Government shall take his objection 
into consideration. 
6. On the expiry of three months from the date of publication of 
the notification in the Official Gazette and after consideration of all or 
any of the objections which may be submitted, the State Government 
may, by notification, constitute such town or any specified part thereof 
a municipal area under this Act. 
7. The State Government may, for the purpose of application of 
the provisions of this Act, classify the municipal areas into the following 
groups on the basis of the population as ascertained at the last preceding 
census of which the relevant figures have been published:— 
Group A—municipal areas having population above 2,00,000. 
Group B—municipal areas having population above 1,50,000 but not 
exceeding 2,00,000. 
Group C—municipal areas having population above 75,000 but not 
exceeding 1,50,000. 
Group D—municipal areas having population above 25,000 but not 
exceeding 75,000. 
Group E—municipal areas having population not exceeding. 25,000. 
Publication 
of 
declaration. 
Considera-
tion of 
objection. 
Constitution 
of municipal 
area. 
Power to 
classify 
municipal 
areas. 
217 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Part 11.—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter H.—The Constitution of 
Municipal Areas.—Sections 8-10.) 
Power to 
divide 
municipal 
areas into 
wards. 
Power to 
abolish or 
alter the 
limits of a 
municipal 
area. 
Power to 
include 
certain 
dwelling-
house, 
manufactory, 
etc., within a 
particular 
municipal 
area. 
8. The State Government may, by notification, divide any municipal 
area into a number of wards, having regard to population, dwelling 
pattern, geographical condition and economic considerations of the area 
included in each ward: 
Provided that the number of wards in any municipal area shall not 
be less than nine and shall not exceed, in the case of a municipal area 
included in Group A, thirty-five, in the case of a municipal area included 
in Group B, thirty, in the case of a municipal area included in 
Group C, twenty-five, in the case of a municipal area included in 
Group D, twenty, and in the case of a municipal area included in 
Group E, fifteen. 
9. The State Government may, by notification,— 
(a) withdraw any municipal area from the operation of this 
Act; or 
(b) exclude from a municipal area any local area comprised 
therein and defined in the notification; or 
(c) include within a municipal area any local area contiguous 
to the same and defined in the notification; or 
(d) divide any municipal area into two or more municipal 
areas; or 
(e) unite two or more municipal areas so as to form one municipal 
area; or 
(f) revise the boundary of two or more contiguous municipal 
areas; or 
(g) re-define the boundaries or limits of a municipal area; or 
(h) revise the number of boundaries of wards comprised in a 
municipal area: 
Provided that the procedure laid down for the constitution of a 
municipal area under this Act shall be followed mutatis mutandis in each 
such case: 
Provided further that the views of the Municipality affected by any 
such order shall be taken into consideration before a final declaration 
is made. 
10. Where a dwelling-house, manufactory, warehouse, or place of 
industry or business is situated within the limits of two or more adjacent 
municipal areas, the State Government may, notwithstanding anything 
contained in this Act, by notification, declare within which of these 
municipal areas such dwelling-house, manufactory, warehouse, or place 
of industry or business shall be deemed to be included for the purposes 
of this Act. 
218 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXXII of 1993.] 
(Part IL—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter IL—The Constitution of 
Municipal Areas.—Section 11.—Chapter III —The Municipal 
Authorities.—Sections 12-14.) 
11. (1) The State Government may, by notification and for reasons Power to 
to be recorded in writing, exempt any municipal area or municipal areas exempt 
municipal 
of any group from the operation of any of the provisions of this Act area from 
considered unsuited thereto, and thereupon the said provisions shall not operation of 
any 
apply to such municipal area or municipal areas until such provisions provisions of 
are applied thereto by notification. 	 the Act 
unsuited 
(2) While the exemption as aforesaid remains in force, the State thereto. 
Government may make rules consistent with the provisions of this Act 
in respect of any matter within the purview of such provisions of this 
Act from the operation of which the municipal area or municipal areas 
as aforesaid are exempted. 
CHAPTER III 
The Municipal Authorities 
12. The municipal authorities charged with the responsibility of 
carrying out the provisions of this Act shall, for each municipal area, 
be as follows:— 
(a) the Municipality, 
(b) the Chairman-in-Council, and 
(c) the Chairman. 
13. (1) The Municipality established for a town shall mean the 
Board of Councillors consisting of such number of members as there 
are wards within the municipal area, charged with the authority of 
municipal government of the town. 
(2) The Municipality shall be a body corporate with perpetual 
succession and a common seal, and may, by the name of the Municipality 
of the town by reference to which the Municipality is known, sue and 
be sued. 
(3) All executive actions of the Chairman-in-Council shall be 
expressed to be taken in the name of the Municipality. 
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Municipality shall be 
entitled to acquire, hold and dispose of properties. 
14. (1) The Councillors elected in a general election of a Municipality 
shall constitute the Board of Councillors. 
(2) The Board of Councillors shall hold office for a period of five 
years from the date of its first meeting after the general election at which 
a quorum is present, unless dissolved or superseded earlier: 
Municipal 
authorities. 
The 
Municipa-
lity. 
Constitution 
of Board of 
Councillors. 
219 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Part 11.—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter 111.—The Municipal 
Authorities.—Sections 15, 16.) 
Chairman-
in-Council. 
Chairman. 
Provided that the Board of Councillors shall continue in office till 
the next Board of Councillors assumes office, unless dissolved or 
superseded earlier. 
(3) In a municipal area newly constituted, the State Government 
may appoint all the members of the Board of Councillors for a period 
not exceeding six months from the date of the notification under which 
such municipal area is constituted and the general election shall follow 
thereafter. 
(4) K for any reason, it is not possible to hold the general election 
of a Municipality before the expiry of the period of five years spcified 
in sub-section (2), the Board of Councillors shall stand dissolved pn the 
expiration of the said period and thereupon the provisions of section 431 
shall apply =ileitis mutandis. 
15. (1) There shall be a Chairman-in-Council consisting of the 
Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and other members not exceeding, in the 
case of a municipal area included in Group A, five, in the case of a 
municipal area included in Group B, four, in the case of a municipal area 
included in Group C, three, in the case of a municipal area included 
in Group D, two, and in the case of a municipal area included in 
Group E, one. 
(2) The Vice-Chairman and the other members referred to in sub-
section (1) shall be nominated by the Chairman from amongst the 
Councillors of the Municipality as soon as possible after he enters into 
office, and shall assume office after taking such oath of secrecy as may 
be prescribed. 
(3) All executive powers of the Municipality shall vest in the 
Chairman-in-Council. 
(4) The manner of transaction of business of the Chairman-in-Council 
shall be such as may be prescribed. 
(5) The Chairman-in-Council shall be collectively responsible to the 
Municipality. 
16. (1) The Chairman shall be the executive head of the Municipality, 
and the municipal administration shall be under his control. 
(2) The Chairman shall allocate the business among the members 
of the Chairman-in-Council. 
(3) The Chairman shall preside over the meetings of the Chairman-
in-Council as well as the Board of Councillors. 
(4) The Chairman may transact any business or make any order 
authorised by any law for the time being in force, unless it is otherwise 
expressly provided in such law: 
Provided that the Chairman shall not act in opposition to or in 
contravention of any decision of the Board of Councillors. 
220 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXII of 1993.] 
(Pan 11.—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter 111.—The Municipal 
Authorities.—Sections 17, 18.) 
17. (1) The Board of Councillors, whether elected or appointed, Election of 
shall elect in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed, one Chairman.  
of its members to be the Chairman who shall assume office forthwith. 
(2) If the Board of Councillors fails to elect a Chairman in the 
manner prescribed, the State Government shall appoint by name one of 
the Councillors to be the Chairman. 
(3) In the case of any casual vacancy in the office of the Chairman 
caused by death, resignation, removal or otherwise, the Board of 
Councillors shall, in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed, 
elect one of the Councillors to fill up the vacancy. 
(4) In the case of casual vacancies in the offices of both the 
Chairman and the Vice-Chairman caused by death, resignation, 
removal or otherwise, the State Government may appoint by name one 
of the Councillors to be the Chairman who shall hold office until a 
Chairman, elected under the provisions of sub-section (3), enters upon 
his office. 
18. (1) The Chairman shall cease to hold office as such if he ceases 
to be a Councillor of the municipal area. 
(2) The Chairman may, at any time, by giving a notice in writing 
to the Board of Councillors, resign his office, and the procedure for 
acceptance or otherwise of the resignation shall be such as may be 
prescribed. 
(3) The Chairman may be removed from office by a resolution 
carried by a majority of the total number of members of the Board of 
Councillors holding office for the time being at a special meeting 
to be called for this purpose in the manner prescribed upon a 
requisition made in writing by not less than one-third of the total 
number of members of the Board of Councillors, and the procedure for 
the conduct of business in the special meeting shall be such as may be 
prescribed: 
Provided that no such resolution shall be moved before the expiry 
of six months from the date of assumption of office by a Chairman, and 
if such resolution is not carried by a majority of the total number of 
members, no further resolution for such purpose shall be moved before 
the expiry of a period of six months from the date on which the former 
resolution was moved. 
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the 
Chairman, whose office becomes vacant under any of the provisions 
of this section, shall continue to hold office as Chairman until his 
successor elected under the provisions of this Chapter enters upon his 
office. 
• 
Terms of 
office of 
Chairman. 
221 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Pan IL—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter 11L—The Municipal 
Authorities.—Sections 19-23.) 
Vice-
Chairman. 
Members of 
Chairman-
in-Council. 
Term of 
office of 
Vice-
Chairman 
and other 
members of 
Chairman-
in-Council. 
Wards 
Committee. 
Borough 
Committee. 
19. (1) The Vice-Chairman shall, in the absence of the Chairman, 
preside over the meetings of the Chairman-in-Council as well as the 
Board of Councillors. 
(2) The Vice-Chairman shall, during the absence of the Chairman 
for any reasons whatsoever, discharge all the duties, and exercise all the 
powers, of the Chairman unless otherwise expressly directed by the 
Chairman. 
(3) The Vice-Chairman shall, at any time, perform such other duty 
or exercise such other power as may be delegated to him under the 
provisions of this Act. 
20. The members of the Chairman-in-Council shall exercise such 
powers and perform such functions as may be assigned to them from 
time to time by the Chairman. 
21. The Vice-Chairman or any other member of the Chairman-in-
Council shall hold office until— 
(a) he ceases to be a Councillor, or 
(b) he resigns his office by writing under his hand addressed 
to the Chairman in which case the resignation shall take 
effect from the date of its acceptance, or 
(c) he is removed from office by a written order of the 
Chairman, or 
(d) the Chairman ceases to hold office, or 
(e) in the case of the death of the Chairman, a newly elected 
Chairman enters upon his office. 
22. (1) There shall be constituted Wards Committees, consisting of 
one or more wards within the territorial area of a Municipality having 
a population of three laths or more. 
(2) The composition and the territorial area of a Wards Committee, 
and the manner in which the seats in a Wards Committee shall be filled, 
shall be such as may be prescribed. 
(3) Where a Wards Committee consists of— 	 • 
(a) one ward, the member representing that ward in the 
Municipality; or 
(b) two or more wards, one of the members representing such 
wards in the Municipality elected by the members of the 
Wards Committee, 
shall be the Chairperson of that Committee. 
23. (1) There may be Borough Committees constituted in a municipal 
area in accordance with such rules as may be made by the State 
Government in this behalf. 
222 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXII of 1993] 
(Part IL—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter 111—The Municipal 
Authorities.—Sections 24, 25.—Chapter 1V—Election of 
Councillors.—Section 26.) 
(2) The Borough Committees shall perform such functions and 
transact such business in such manner as may be prescribed. 
24. (1) The Board of Councillors may, from time to time, appoint 
a Special Committee to perform such specified functions, or conduct 
such enquiries, or undertake such studies including reports thereon, as 
may be contained in a resolution in this behalf. 
(2) Any person who is not a Councillor but possesses special 
qualifications useful for the purpose of a committee as aforesaid may 
be associated therewith as its member. 
(3) The manner of transaction of business in a Special Committee 
shall be such as may be laid down by the Board of Councillors. 
25. (1) The State Government may, if it considers necessary so to 
do, constitute a Joint Committee for more than one Municipality, or for 
one or more Municipalities with other local authority or local authorities 
for any purpose in which they are jointly interested or for delegating to 
it any power or function which calls for joint action. 
(2) The Joint Committee shall consist of the following members:— 
(i) two nominees of each constituent Municipality or local 
authority, 
(ii) one nominee of each of the concerned departments of the 
State Government or of the concerned local authorities, 
(iii) such expert or experts as the State Government may 
nominate, 
(iv) Director of Local Bodies or his representative who shall 
also act as the convener of the committee. 
(3) The procedure of transaction of business by a Joint Committee 
shall be such as may be prescribed. 
CHAPTER IV 
Election of Councillors. 
26. (1) The first general election of the Board of Councillors of a 
municipal area newly constituted shall be held at such time as the State 
Government may prescribe. 
(2) The general election in a municipal area to constitute the Board 
of Councillors shall be held before the expiration of the term of office 
of the existing Board of Councillors on such date as the State Government 
may fix for the purpose. 
Formation of 
Special 
Committee. 
Constitution 
of Joint 
Committee. 
Holding of 
general 
election. 
223 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Part II—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter IV—Election of 
Councillors.—Sections 27, 28.) 
(3) Each ward of a municipal area shall elect a Councillor during 
the general election in accordance with the provisions of this Act and 
the rules made thereunder. 
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, there shall 
be no bar to the constitution of a Board of Councillors after a general 
election on account of election not being held in a ward or in a number 
of wards not exceeding one-fourth of the total number of wards constituting 
the municipal area. 
Reservation 
of seats for 
Scheduled 
Castes, 
Scheduled 
Tribes and 
Women. 
Elections to 
the 
Municipa-
lities. 
27. (1) Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the 
Scheduled Tribes in every Municipality, and the number of seats so 
reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total 
number of seats to be filled by direct election to that Municipality as 
the population of the Scheduled Castes in the municipal area or of the 
Scheduled Tribes in the municipal area, as the case may be, bears to the 
total population of that municipal area and such seats may be allotted 
by rotation to different constituencies of that Municipality. 
(2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved 
under sub-section (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the 
Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes. 
(3) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats, including 
the seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the 
Scheduled Tribes, to be filled by direct election to a Municipality shall 
be reserved for women, and such seats may be allotted by rotation to 
different constituencies of that Municipality. 
(4) The office of Chairpersons of a Municipality shall be reserved 
for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such 
manner as may be notified by the State Government from time to time. 
(5) The reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the 
Scheduled Tribes under sub-sections (I) and (2) and the reservation of 
the office of Chairpersons for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled 
Tribes under sub-section (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration 
of the period specified in article 334 of the Constitution of India. 
28. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the 
superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral 
rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the municipalities shall be 
vested in the State Election Commission constituted by the State 
Government by law made by the State Legislature in this behalf. 
(2) The State Election Commission shall perform its functions in 
accordance with such rules as the State Government may make from 
time to time. 
224 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXII of 1993.] 
(Part IL—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter IV.—Election of 
Councillors.—Sections 29-31.) 
29. (1) For every municipal area, there shall be an electoral roll 
showing the names of persons qualified to vote. 
(2) The electoral roll for every municipal area shall be divided into 
several parts, one for each ward of a municipal area. 
(3) The electoral roll for a municipal area shall be prepared, 
revised or corrected by the State Election Commission in accordance 
with such rules as may be made by the State Government in this 
behalf: 
Provided that there shall be a preliminary publication of such electoral 
roll after preparation or revision to be followed by final publication after 
hearing of objections in the manner prescribed. 
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, 
the electoral roll for the time being in force for the election of members 
of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, so far as it relates to 
the area comprised in a municipal area, may be adopted as the 
electoral roll for that municipal area for the purposes of preliminary 
publication. 
30. (1) Every person who— 	 condition 
for 
(a) is not less than 18 years of age on the qualifying date, and registration 
as a voter. 
(b) is ordinarily resident in a municipal area, 
shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that municipal 
area. 
(2) No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll 
for any municipal area in more than one place. 
(3) No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll 
for any municipal area if his name has already been registered as a voter 
in the. electoral roll of any other municipal area, municipal corporation 
or panchayat area. 
Explanation L—The expression "qualifying date" shall mean such 
date as the State Government may by notification specify for the purposes 
of this Act. 
Explanation IL—The expression "ordinarily resident" shall have the 
same meaning as assigned to it in section 20 of the Representation of 43 of 1950. 
the People Act, 1950. 
31. The disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll for a 
municipal area shall be the same as provided in section 16 of the 
Representation of the People Act, 1950. 
Disqualifica-
tion for 
registration 
in an 
electoral 
roll. 
Electoral roll 
for a 
municipal 
area. 
225 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Part IL—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter IV.—Election of 
Councillors—Sections 32-34.) 
Appeal. 	
32. Any person aggrieved by any entry in, or omission from, the 
electoral roll or by the order or decision of the State Election Commission, 
may, within fifteen days from the date of final publication of the electoral 
roll or from the date of the decision or the order of the State Election 
Commission, as the case may be, appeal to such appellate authority as 
the State Government may by notification appoint and if, on such appeal, 
the said appellate authority directs any modification or addition to be 
made in the electoral roll or the decision or the order of the State Election 
Commission, the electoral roll shall accordingly be corrected or the 
decision or the order shall be modified, as the case may be. Such decision 
on appeal shall be published in the manner provided for final publication 
of an electoral roll. 
Offences in 
respect of 
electoral 
roll. 
Right to 
vote. 
33. (1) Every person who by claiming a qualification, which he 
knows that he does not possess, to vote at a municipal election or by 
using a false document or by a false declaration or by any other deceitful 
means, procures or attempts to procure the improper entry of the name, 
whether of himself or of any other person, in the electoral roll or the 
improper omission of any name therefrom, shall be punished with 
imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine 
which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both. 
(2) Every municipal officer or employee or polling officer who 
wilfully makes or procures or attempts to make or procure any 
improper entry in the electoral roll or any improper omission therefrom 
shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 
one year or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or 
with both. 
34. Save as otherwise provided in this Act, every person whose 
name is included in the electoral roll which is in force after final 
publication, shall be entitled to vote at an election for the ward where 
his name is so included: 
Provided that no person shall vote at an election of Councillors of 
a municipal area if he— 
(a) has been adjudged to be of unsound mind, or 
(b) has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, 
OF 
(c) has been sentenced by a criminal court for an electoral 
offence punishable under this Act or has been disqualified 
under any other law for the time in force from exercising 
any electoral right on account of corrupt practices in 
connection with an election, and six years have not elapsed 
from the date of such sentence or disqualification: 
226 
The West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 
XXII of 1993.] 
(Part 11.—The Municipal Areas.—Chapter 1V.—Election of 
Councillors.—Sections 35, 36.) 
Provided that the disqualification under this clause may 
at any time be removed by the State Government if it thinks 
fit. 
35. No person whose name is not included in the electoral roll for Qualifica-
tions for • the election of Councillors of a municipal area, shall be qualified to be election as a 
elected a Councillor of that municipal area. 	 Councillor. 
36. (1) A person shall not be eligible for election or appointment General 
as a Councillor if such person— 	 ti 
f
isquliftea- 
or a 
(a) has been adjudged by a competent court to be of unsound Councillor. 
mnd; or 
(b) is under twenty-one years of age; or 
(c) is an undischarged insolvent; or 
(d) being a discharged insolvent, has not obtained from the 
court a certificate that his insolvency was caused by 
misfortune without any misconduct on his part; or 
(e) holds any office of profit under the Municipalily; or 
(f) has, directly or indirectly by himself or by his partner or 
employer or any employee, any share or interest in any 
contract or employment with, by, or on behalf of, the 
Municipality; or 
(g) is in the service of, or receives remuneration from, the 
Central or the State Government or the Municipality; 
or 
(h) has been elected to, or appointed under, any other 
Municipality or any Municipal Corporation or any Gram 
Panchayat or Panchayat Samiti or Zilla Parishad or the 
Council: 
Povided that notwithstanding anything contained in clause (f), no 
person shall be deemed to be disqualified thereunder by reason only of 
his having a shar

Excerpt shown. Open the full act in Lexace.

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