Chandannagar and Asansol to become mega cities

The West Bengal Government today announced the extended jurisdiction of the Chandannagar and Asansol Municipal Corporations with a population size of over 10 lakh to bring them under mega city projects.
"The decision has been taken at the state cabinet meeting. It will help the residents of these extended municipal corporations to access benefits of the mega cities," state Urban Development and Municipal Affair Minister Firhad Hakim said here.
With this decision there would be a merger of the municipalities of Bansberia, Hooghly-Chinsurah, Bhadreswar, Champdani, Baidyabati, Serampore, Rishra and Uttarpara-Kotrang with Chandannagar Municipal Corporation and Chandannagar would be its headquarter.

Similarly, municipalities like Raniganj, Jamuria and Kulti would merge with Asansol Municipal Corporation with its headquarter at Asansol.
Fund constraints of small civic bodies often become a barrier for many development projects, but in case of mega cities these extended civic bodies would be immensely benefited with more funds and aids, Hakim said.
State's Higher Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, who was also briefing the outcome of the cabinet meeting, said the decision would help total development programmes in the adjacent areas of the Kolkata Metropolis transforming suburbs into new cities.
The cabinet has also approved a new Municipality at Mallarpur in Birbhum district, Chatterjee said.