The Bengal Assembly passed two bills on Thursday to enable the state government to run municipalities through an administrator or a board of administrators by one more year.

The rules were changed as elections could not be held on time in a number of civic bodies after the tenure of the elected boards either ended or they were dissolved by the state.

With the Assembly passing the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and the West Bengal Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the government can extend the tenure of administrators in municipalities from six months to 18 months.

Sources said the amendments were required as elections were due in next few weeks in at least 17 civic bodies, including Howrah and Chandernagar.

The decision, the sources said, clearly suggests the ruling establishment was not in a mood to hold polls to the civic bodies at this moment apparently because the Trinamul Congress was trailing behind the BJP in majority of the 128 civic body areas across the state in the Lok Sabha polls.

“Elected bodies of majority of the civic bodies had completed their tenure between December last year and February this year. Elected board of Chandernagar civic body was dissolved by the government prematurely citing irregularities. Elections to these civic bodies were due between June and August this year,” said a government official.