West Bengal's Chanchal Demands Municipality Status After Years of Unfulfilled Promises

Speaking to ANI, a resident of Chanchal said a municipality would help improve development in the area by increasing access to government funds.

"Everyone knows if a municipality is established, government funding will be provided, and the grants will increase... In 2011, when the left front government was in power, Chanchal was declared a subdivision. At that time, it was also announced that a municipality would be set up here. However, the left government lost power, and that promise was never fulfilled," he said.

Earlier, advocate Jahangir Alam said the demand for municipality status has been a long-standing issue for the people of the area, along with earlier demands for a subdivision and a court in Chanchal.

"The town had three major issues for a long time--one was the demand for a subdivision, and the other was for a court in Chanchal. The third demand was the municipality," Alam told ANI.

He also highlighted the need for a girls' college in the town, stating that land has been identified for it, but no work has started yet.

"There is also a need for a girls' college in the town. The government has even identified land for it, but no work or project has started yet... The main issue--the demand for a municipality, which people have been asking for--has not been fulfilled," he said.

Alam further said that the demand for municipality status was raised during previous elections as well, and assurances were given by leaders, but no progress has been made so far.

"Even during the previous election, we raised this demand, and the leaders had assured that a municipality would be granted. But five years have passed, and nothing has been done so far," he said.

He claimed that a proposal was earlier submitted through the local MLA but was rejected, despite the issue being taken up during earlier governments.

"An attempt was made to approach the government regarding this issue earlier by the MLA, but that proposal was completely rejected. The then Chief Minister had also taken it up earlier, and even during the Left Front government, a bill was passed in the Assembly approving the municipality. However, it has still not been implemented to this day... We hope that whoever wins (in the Assembly elections) will fulfil our demand," he added.

Chanchal, a key constituency in the Malda district, has been demanding a municipality since 2009. Despite housing important administrative offices such as the Sub-Divisional Office, SDPO office and a court, the town continues to function under a panchayat system, leaving residents grappling with issues like inadequate drainage, poor roads, and faulty street lighting.

The Chanchal subdivision was established on April 1, 2001, and a court followed in 2012. While the left front government had reportedly initiated steps to declare a municipality in 2011, the proposal never materialised after a change in power.

Subsequent announcements by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2014 and 2021 also failed to translate into action as claimed by locals.

- ANI