SMC to now have 30 wards, 120 councillors

Surat: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will now have 30 wards and 120 councillors, a month after the state government issuing a notification regarding expansion of municipal corporations areas.
The civic elections are due this year. At present, Surat has 29 wards and 116 councillors. Out of the 120 seats, three will be reserved for scheduled castes, four seats for scheduled tribes and twelve for the other backward classes.“Sixty seats will be reserved for women which includes the number of seats reserved for SC, ST and OBC,” according to the the notification.
SMC’s limit was expanded after two municipalities, Sachin and Kansad, and 27 villages were merged with the state’s second largest city which has a population of over 60 lakh and spreads over 326 sq km. After the merger of these villages and towns, 1.76 lakh population and an area of 146 sq km have been added to the city. The city limit has been expanded where civic body elections are due later this year.
Surat city’s limit was expanded almost after a 14 year gap.