The Kolkata Municipal Act, 1951, came into force on this day. According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation website, the corporation was “envisaged as policy-making, directive and rule-making body, the executive side being left as much as possible in the hands of the commissioner” and 76 councillors were returned from the general territorial constituencies.
Adult franchise was introduced to the municipal elections in 1962.The number of wards were later increased to 100. The 1951 Act provided for an elected mayor, a deputy mayor and five aldermen elected by the councillors.But it was felt that the 1951 Act was not effective in the governance of the city.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act of 1980, which came into effect in January, 1984, intended to create a corporation that was autonomous and directly responsible to the electorate.