Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority

KMDA, established in 1970 under presidential ordinance and later sanctified under the KMDA Act of 1972, functioned essentially as a development agency with the specific purpose of carrying out major infrastructure development in KMA.Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), the largest urban agglomeration in eastern India, extends over 1851.41 sq. km. and e... nvelopes 3 Municipal Corporations including Kolkata Municipal Corporation, 38 Municipalities and 24 Panchayat Samitis. KMA holds a population of 14.72 million, according to 2001 Census, as against the total urban population of West Bengal of 22.5 million. The population of KMA is projected at 17 million in 2011, 20 million in 2021 and 21.1 million in 2025. Between 1970 and 1981 KMDA functioned as an overarching development authority in KMA, as most of the units of local self-government in KMA were under suspension with no elected representation in place. It is only with the State Government's avowed policy of decentralized planning and development across the urban and rural areas of the State that elected representation was installed in all the urban local bodies of the State including those in KMA. KMDA has been working in tandem with the elected ULBs towards the overall development of KMA. The process of decentralized planning and development had taken a further stride following the enactment of West Bengal Metropolitan Planning Committee (WBMPC) Act in 1994 in line with the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. Following the provisions of WBMPC Act of 1994, Kolkata Metropolitan Planning Committee (KMPC) had been established in KMA towards the end of 2000. Of the 60-member KMPC, 40 are elected from amongst the local elected representatives. The WBMPC Act provides for preparation of a Draft Development Plan for KMA by KMPC having regard to the plans prepared by the individual units of local self-government. The Act further mandates that KMPC should co-ordinate all the development activities undertaken by the different agencies of the State and Central ...Read More