West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday, 13 October 2025, alleged that around 5,000 water bodies in and around Kolkata were illegally filled up for real estate promotion during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. The claim was made at a function organised by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), where Adhikari squarely blamed a section of former TMC councillors of the now-disbanded KMC board for orchestrating what he described as systematic environmental destruction.

The Allegation in Detail

Referring to the accused councillors as 'square feet councillors' — a pointed dig at their alleged proximity to real estate interests — Adhikari said the illegal filling of water bodies stretched across multiple zones under the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). The affected areas reportedly ranged from Joka and Haridebpur on the southern outskirts of the city to Barasat and Madhyamgram in the north.

'These square feet councillors have done everything that needed to be done to destroy the environment of Kolkata,' Adhikari said at the event. The allegations remain unverified and were not immediately contested by Trinamool Congress.

Praise for Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul

Adhikari also used the occasion to publicly commend state Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul, a fashion designer-turned-politician, calling her highly active both in office and on the field. 'The people who have done nothing troll her on social media. I have advised her to totally ignore them,' he said. The remarks are seen as a signal of the Chief Minister's confidence in Paul's ongoing civic reform push.

12,000 Police Constables Handed Appointment Letters

In a back-to-back programme on the same day, Adhikari handed over appointment letters to 12,000 police constables — recruited across both the West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police. He announced that 9,000 additional recruitments in the police department are expected soon.

The Chief Minister stated that these appointments had been stalled due to what he called a flawed Other Backward Classes (OBC) policy of the previous administration. 'Now we have corrected those flaws, cleared the appointment process, and appointment letters have been handed over to the successful candidates,' he said.

Police-to-Public Ratio Target

Adhikari set an ambitious benchmark, pledging that West Bengal would surpass Uttar Pradesh's current ratio of 200 police personnel per one lakh population. He also noted that police stations under the previous regime were overly reliant on civic volunteers who, he argued, were recruited without proper procedures, training, or eligibility checks. 'I do not blame the civic volunteers. They were exploited,' he said.

Political Context

The allegations come as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government under Adhikari continues to mount political pressure on the TMC through institutional forums and public events. The water-body filling charge, if substantiated, could have significant legal and environmental consequences, given that Kolkata's wetland ecosystem — part of the East Kolkata Wetlands, a Ramsar-designated site — has long faced encroachment pressures. Whether these claims will lead to formal investigations or judicial action remains to be seen.