Salt Lake civic body in bulldoze mode

Suman Chakraborti | TNN

Kolkata: After years of inaction, Bidhannagar Municipality has begun a drive to demolish unauthorised buildings in Salt Lake, a move undertaken by the new Trinamool-run civic board.
    Weeks ago, an illegal garage beside a building near the City Centre mall was demolished after locals complained that it was a nuisance in their locality. The civic authorities found that the structure had been built after bypassing building rules.
    “We are receiving numerous complaints of such buildings mushrooming in the township, flouting prescribed building rules. We are conducting surveys and preparing a list of such buildings and will carry out demolition drives,” said chairperson Anita Mandal. Mandal herself has taken up the responsibility of sanctioning building plans.
    The new board has taken up the issue of illegal buildings quite seriously. Complaints about illegal extensions in commercial highrise complexes are pouring in from areas surrounding Karunamoyee and City Centre mall, which have both residential and commercial plots.
    The civic authorities have also found that drainage and sewer lines of residential houses have been illegally connected to each other at many places. The authorities are sending notices to all households of the township, asking houseowners to disconnect drainage and sewer lines that are connected to those of other houses. The civic authorities will themselves take action if the instruction is not carried out, said sources.
    Biswajiban Majumder, who was chairman of the previous Left Front-run municipality, had earlier come out with allegations that building rules had been flouted while constructing several hundred buildings in the township and that party bigwigs had ensured that the municipality did nothing to stop such illegal acts.
    Though illegal transfer of plots and buildings violating rules is another issue, in most cases the houses that have been built violating rules are those that have been illegally transferred more than once. The civic body had received numerous complaints in the past of building plans being violated after being transferred to a new lessee. In many cases, violations in building rules have been made by constructing additional rooms or structures on top or behind a building.
    In some cases, underground spaces have been constructed. According to civic estimates, more than 100 buildings in the township have been constructed in violation of building rules. In many cases, no action could be taken against the offenders as many of them moved court after receiving notices from the municipality.

A part of a building that was demolished by the civic body

Helpline for Salt Lake senior citizens

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Here’s some good news for elderly citizens living alone in Salt Lake. The Bidhannagar municipality is planning to introduce a 24-hour helpline for them. The system will include round-the-clock medical support and assistance for bill payments. The Bidhannagar police has also introduced a helpline for this vulnerable residents and is currently collecting their names and addresses to feed into their database.
    Salt Lake has a large population of elderly citizens living alone with children studying or working in other cities of the country or abroad. In fact, there are several blocks with very few young residents. The elderly men and women are completely dependant on the daily help for chores like bill payments or emergencies like illness.
    “We plan to come up with a support system for the elderly who live alone in the township. Apart from 24-hour medical help, there are needs like paying electricity and telephone bills, shopping for essential goods of daily needs and buying medicine from the pharmacy. These may appear insignificant chores but for the elderly living alone, it is a big deal. We are looking at whether an agency can be engaged to do these jobs. We will discuss the matter with civic officials,” said a member of the advisory committee that has been formed for the betterment of Salt Lake.
    Bidhannagar municipality chairperson Anita Mandal said a draft plan for services to elderly citizens had been prepared. The plan includes round-the-clock medical service provided by a dedicated medical team that will have an ambulance at its disposal.
    Salt Lake Citizens Welfare Society secretary Bhupendranath Chatterjee welcomed the proposal. “There are many elderly people who have no one to look after them. They can do with such a service. But first, a proper survey is required to identify the number of elderly people live in the township. The agency that is given the contract should have the phone numbers of everyone and contact them regularly to find out what service is required when,” he said.
    Police are also concerned about the elderly as they are vulnerable to crime. North 24-Parganas police have started a helpline for the elderly people of the township. The latter can call the number in an emergency and police will respond to the call at the earliest. The police is now collecting names of everyone above 65 years and alone in the township. The police is also considering a free ambulance service for them.
    “The police has introduced this helpline. If civic authorities join the initiative and provide peripheral services, it will be of immense help to the elderly,” said MK Pathak, secretary of Bidhannagar Senior Citizens Association.

Trinamool board sets clean, green goals for Salt Lake

Suman Chakraborti | TNN 

Kolkata: Salt Lake’s residents can look forward to improved water supply, better roads, well-lit streets at night and more regular garbage clearance in the year ahead. 
These are the areas Bidhannagar Municipality’s new Trinamool Congress board will emphasise in its first budget which it will place before the civic body’s newly-elected councillors on Tuesday. Municipality officials saidSalt Lake’s civic budget for 2010-2011, the first ever by a Trinamool Congress board in the history of the township, will have an outlay of around Rs 53 crore. A vote-on-account budget was passed by the previous Left-run board before this year’s civic elections. 
Salt Lake’s civic development was paralysed during the tenure of the Left board ever since the Supreme court scrapped the Bidhannagar Municipality’s new property tax structure way back in the mid-2007. 
Now, the new Trinamool civic board earnestly wants to take up and solve this long issue. 
    Till the property tax dispute gets solved, the main areas to earn revenues for the civic body will be hoardings, parking fees and amusement tax. 
    “One of the main issue that we are going to stress on is providing adequate water supply. Residents of the town have been made to put up with inadequate water supply for a long time. We are in touch with the KMC authorities to provide us 10 million gallon water from Tallah. Also, we have decided not to introduce water tax. For all these reasons, a major allocation from the budget will be given to this sector,” said a civic official. The civic authorities are planning to set up a water treatment plant at the added area of Mahisbathan and for this, there will be an allocation of about Rs one crore. 
    The second most important area that the authorities have identified is the upkeep of roads. “Maintenance of roads have been an area of concern for the civic body over the years,” an official said. The authorities are planning to buy a hot-mix plant somewhere in the added areas that will be beneficial for road repairs and for this, there will be an allocation of about 50 lakh. The total allocation for road repair and maintenance will be around Rs 4 crore. 

 The civic authorities pay around Rs 35 lakh each year for streetlights. There are plans to switch over streetlights to solar and for this there will be an allocation of around 40 lakh. “We will be giving much importance on our clean and green city programme, that includes keeping the township clean and proper waste disposal. For this, we will increase our budgetary allocations on this sector,” an official said. Also, there will be allocations for preparing a map of the township’s existing sewer and drainage lines. 
    “The civic authorities will be trying to improve and develop civic infrastructure of the township and for this and the budget will have proper allocations,” said senior Trinamool councillor and former accounts committee chairman Ashes Mukherjee, who had suggested such proposals in the previous Left run civic board.

Woman civic boss for Salt Lake?

Choice Between Anita Mandal & Sabyasachi Dutta For Top Civic Post

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata: Salt Lake Municipality may get its first woman chairperson. The two names doing the rounds are those of Anita Mandal and Sabyasachi Dutta, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee announced in Kolkata on Friday after a meeting with the newly elected councillors of the municipality. 
    Mandal’s name came as a surprise, as three names — that of Anupam Dutta, Krishna Chakraborty and Sudhir Saha — had been doing the rounds for the post of Bidhannagar Municipality chairperson. 
    There was some confusion over the matter, as the Trinamool chief did not clearly announce Mandal’s name as chairperson. “Sabyasachi Dutta has been elected the leader of the councillors, but we will have to check out a rule under which we may have to chose a woman councillor to be the chairman of Bidhannagar Municipality. In that case, Anita Mandal will be the chairperson and Sabyasachi Dutta the vice-chairman,” Mamata announced. Anupam Dutta and Debasis Jana were named chairman-in-council members. 
    When contacted, however, Mandal claimed that Mamata had given her the chairperson’s post. “My leader Mamata Banerjee told me she wanted me as chairperson of Bidhannnagar Municipality. I am honoured and will give my best. My aim would be to improve the civic condition of the township,” Mandal said. Sabyasachi Dutta, the other candidate, could not be contacted. 
    Mandal is the daughter of Monoranjan Bhakta, who was a former MP in the Andaman islands. Mandal was also twotime councillor from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2000 to 2005, after which she lost to CPM’s Dilip Ghosh in 2005. This time, she managed to take sweet revenge, edging out Ghosh by a margin of 78 votes. 
    Gaigatha Trinamool MLA Jyotipriya Mullick said Mandal is hardworking and has been in active politics for many years with Trinamool, right from the party’s beginning. “Salt Lake has finally got the right person as chairperson,” Mullick said. 
    Mamata also announced a 20-member expert committee, which would advise the municipal council in the running of the municipality. The committee is chaired by former land reforms commissioner of the West Bengal government, Debabrata Bandyopadhyay, and comprise representatives from bureaucracy, police, judiciary, industry doctors, artists, intellectuals and sportsmen. Among the members are singer Dwijen Mukherjee, footballer Sailen Manna, retired justice G N Roy, former CBI director Upen Biswas and retired IPS officers Rachpal Singh, Sultan Singh and H A Safwi. 
    While Debabrata Banerjee has been a member of Mamata’s Krishi Jami Raksha Committee for a long time, the team also includes members of Mamata’s thinktank — Sunanda Sanyal and Suvaprasanna. Kalyan Kar would represent the IT industry while Bharat Chamber of Commerce president Shyam Sundar Beriwal would represent the Marwari community. Local MLA Kakali Ghosh Dastidar and local MP Sujit Bose are also members of the committee. A few others could be included in the committee, Mamata said. 
    The municipal board would be sworn in on June 15, but Mamata said she had announced the composition in advance “so that the councillors can understand their responsibilities and start functioning”. The composition of the KMC board would be announced on Sunday. “After that, all councillors would start a cleanliness drive in Kolkata and Salt Lake.”

Mamata Banerjee with Trinamool councillors at her home on Friday. On the extreme right is Anita Mandal. Sabyasachi Dutta is standing in the second row

Salt Lake Shakes Off Violent Poll History

Suman Chakraborti & Debamoy Ghosh | TNN 

2000 municipal election, Salt Lake FD Block: CPM men beat up Trinamool Congress supporters and hurl bombs to capture Ward 16. 
2005 municipal election, Salt Lake, BK Block: Jyoti Basu’s confidential assistant Joykrisna Ghosh and former CPM MP Amitava Nandy heckled by Trinamool supporters and police. 
2010 municipal election, Salt Lake: No clash, no rigging, no booth jamming. Only police ‘excesses’. 
    Contrary to the fears of many that elections in Salt Lake will be violent this time, too, the entire polling process from 7am to 3pm was so peaceful that even police seemed apparently confused. After all they have been at the receiving end for years. 
    Even places where bombings were a common affair — Duttabad, Mahisbathan and the bheris — were unnaturally calm. Many voters, elderly and the young, came out freely to cast their votes. Polling in the township was as high as 70%. And this time, it was genuine voting. 
    “I did not have any trouble casting my vote,” said Kamalika Das of Duttabad, who walked the 3km from Purbachal with her three-month-old baby. 
    In most of the 126 booths of the township, voters preferred the early hours. There were long queues from 7am to 9 am, but booths were almost empty after 11am. Only a small section of people preferred to cast their vote in the latter half of the day. 
    With the state election commission (SEC) issuing tough prohibitory orders — any outsider was liable to be arrested and private buses and taxis were barred from entering the township — not many outsiders were seen in Salt Lake, a welcome change compared to previous occasions. The central forces ensured that those who had entered into the township in the past few days could not create any trouble. 
    What was also surprising was the bonhomie between contesting candidates at some places — a rare sight in Salt Lake. In Ward 8, CPM candidate Chandra Sarkar, Trinamool candidate Swati Banerjee and Congress candidate Arpita Chowdhury were seen chatting with each other. And in Ward 3, CPM candidate Sharmila Das and Trinamool candidate Anindya Chatterjee were having a pleasant talk. 
    The SEC had provided 60 companies of central forces in four layers of security. The Bengal police apparently did not have much to do after this. 
    The state police seemed to act overzealously on the administration’s directive to arrest outsiders. At many places, police tried to nab every person they suspected to be an outsider, and ended up harassing many innocent locals. 
    Samir Kumar Dutta, a resident of AB-278, was on his way to market when he was accosted by a few police officers. They demanded to know who he was and where he was going. Dutta explained that he had cast his vote in the morning and was out to buy groceries but one of the cops asked him to leave the place. Dutta kept insisting that his rights were being violated. One of the senior Bidhannagar officers allegedly caught him by the neck and dumped him in a police van. 

In another case, 70-year-old N C Pal, a resident of BE-29, was left floundering as a relative he had called for help in an emergency was blocked by an election official. The College Street resident had reached Salt Lake Tank No 4 when a police jeep intercepted him. He managed to convince the police but an officer on election duty stepped in, and asked him to leave. Pal contacted police over phone and offered his voter’s ID card for verification but the poll official refused to budge. Pal had to go all the way to Ultadanga. “I was disappointed,” he said. 

    Another 70-year-old, Dilip Majumder, who had come from Dum Dum to Salt Lake on a ‘personal matter’ said he was harassed by police and Trinamool Congress men. “I did not go anywhere near a booth. I pleaded that I had some work but they did not listen,” he said. The CRPF finally defused the situation. 
    Police even stopped maids and vegetable and fruit vendors from entering Salt Lake.

Beware Of Bullets On V-Day

Salt Lake, no stranger to poll bloodshed, is bracing for its fiercest political showdown. It’s a war where no quarter is given, none taken. The stakes have never been higher here 

Ward 13 (previously Ward 16): Blocks FC, FD, FE, FF 

This ward was the deciding factor in 2000. Re-polling was ordered with CPM and Trinamool Congress tied at 11 wards each. With a lot of heavyweights from both parties being local residents, all-out violence ensued. Several Trinamool leaders were attacked. Bombs were hurled to keep voters away and CPM candidate Gita Biswas emerged the winner. She retained her seat in 2005. 

This time, too, CPM will try everything within its power to hold on 

Ward 3 (previously Ward 12): Blocks AJ, BJ, AK, BK, CJ, DJ 
• In 2005, police caned CPM supporters who were trying to force their way into a polling booth. Trinamool men got into the fray. Amitava Nandy, former MP from Dum Dum, and Jyoti Basu’s confidential assistant Joykrisna Ghosh were injured. Sitting Trinamool councillor Tulshi Sinha Roy won the seat 
Ward 5 (previously Ward 9): Blocks AF and AG 
• In the 2005 elections, MMiC Nandogopal Bhattacharya’s followers allegedly roamed the streets, forcing residents to vote for him. Trinamool complained its polling agents were beaten up and thrown out of booths. Even locals alleged CPM cadres did not let them votes freely 
Ward 17 (previously parts of Ward 23): Bheri areas 
• Trinamool has never succeeded in gaining a toehold in this ward. Ever since Bidhannagar Municipality came into being in 1995, this has been retained by present MMiC Ila Nandy, wife of former CPM MP Amitava Nandy. The opposition has always cried foul here. This ward has witnessed severe violence, especially in Mollarbheri and Munshirbheri. With things not exactly looking up for CPM this time round, Trinamool is going flat out to upset the Left applecart. 
Ward 18 (previously parts of ward 23): Bheri areas 
• High chance of trouble on poll day as CPM will try its best to retain the seat while Trinamool will do everything to oust it. 
Wards 23, 24 and 25 (previously parts of Wards 19, 4 and 1): Duttabad 
• These areas of Bidhannagar along EM Bypass have always witnessed poll-related violence. Notorious criminals, many allegedly backed by CPM, have sought shelter in these slums. This is where bombs and guns are stored for poll-day violence. The opposition has always complained of violence and rigging in this CPM stronghold. 
Ward 19 (previously Ward 22): Sukantanagar 
• A Left bastion, CPM has always ensured that it retains this ward, which is slightly detached from the main township. Complaints of rigging and violence have been common here. 

Abducted by pool car driver, 6-yr-old charts great escape

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

A spunky six-year-old schoolgirl used her guts and wits to escape from her kidnappers — her pool car driver and a rickshawpuller — in Salt Lake on Monday. Notwithstanding little Satwiki Chakraborty’s bravery, the incident will send a shudder through every parent that has a child travelling by pool car.
    Satwiki was not only tied up and gagged, but also slapped repeatedly while being held hostage in a shop in Falguni Market. After a half hour in complete darkness, she managed to undo the knots, rip the plaster off her mouth and banged on the locked shutters until someone heard her. Both the suspects are in custody and have confessed to kidnapping her for ransom, say police.
    For two years, Satwiki, a Class-I student of Loreto House on Middleton Street, took the same pool car to school, driven by 22-year-old Vinod Singh Rathore alias Bunty. Her classes got over by 1pm and she would be home within the hour. She was always the first to board and last to get off.
    On Monday, Bunty dropped off all the other students and stopped the car in AJ Block, saying the vehicle had run out of fuel. He then walked up to Kartick Mondal, a rickshawpuller.
    The child thought he had arranged for her to reach home and climbed into the rickshaw. But instead of pedalling towards her house, Mondal rode out of AJ Block. When Satwiki asked him why, Mondal said he was taking a shortcut. Instead, he took her to Falguni Market, where Bunty has a building materials shop by the name of Rathore Enterprises. The rickshawpuller dragged little Satwiki inside and tied her arms behind her back with a ‘gamchha’. There was no one around in that deserted hour to help her. Mondal thrashed the child when she shouted for help and gagged her with sticking plaster. He then pushed her into the shop and pulled down the shutters.
    By then, Satwiki’s parents — mother Mithu and father Saurav Chakraborty, a zoology professor at Hooghly Mahasweta Devi College — had called up Bunty, who told them that he had dropped her near the house as usual. The parents panicked and called Bidhannagar East police. Parents shocked at trusted pool car driver’s betrayal
Kolkata: As her parents panicked, little Satwiki Chakraborty was making plans to free herself from the Falguni Market shop. Bruised from being beaten by rickshawpuller Kartick Mondal, the six-yearold flexed and unflexed her wrists to loosen the knot.
    In the darkness and stifling heat, the six-year-old kept her wits and started looking for a way to draw attention. A thin sliver of light told her there was a small window, but it was locked and barred. Satwiki kept pushing till the window opened a little and then she screamed. But no one heard her. Then, she turned to the shutter and started banging on it.
    Sailendra Chowdhury, a local resident, and veterinarian Pankaj Banerjee, who has a chamber in the market, heard the noise and went to inquire. They were stunned to hear a little girl’s voice. They broke down the lock and rescued Satwiki. She seemed unruffled. After applying first-aid, they took her to Bidhannagar South police station, where police got in touch with her parents.
    Satwiki told police every detail of the ordeal and then the hunt started for her pool car driver Vinod Singh Rathore alias Bunty. Police got his address from her parents and arrested Bunty. He initially claimed a white car had picked up the girl after he dropped her near the Chakrabortys’ residence. Grilled further, he confessed that he had hatched the kidnap plot with Mondal. The rickshaw-puller was arrested.
    “The two are not history sheeters. It seems that they hatched the plot to make some quick money. Had they been hardened criminals, it may have been difficult to track down the girl,” said Rahul Srivastava, SP, North 24-Parganas.
    The shocked parents have asked police to find out if the pool car agency was also involved. “We could never have believed that Bunty would do something like this. We had lost all hope when Satwiki did not return home. Fortunately for us, she was smart enough to free herself,” the child’s mother said. 

Greenpeace to celebrate Earth Day fest

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Environmental crusaders Greenpeace, supported by The Times of India, will celebrate World Earth Day fest on May 1 at City Centre, Salt Lake. 

A host of activities has been planned for students by Greenpeace, which believes that children are the ones who would replenish our natural resources. The programme will begin with a painting workshop, where students are expected to paint a big scroll on the theme of the environment, under the able guidance of an artist. The painted scroll would form the backdrop when the bands perform later in the evening. 

Poster-making, photography and recycling are some of the other activities in the pipeline. In the ‘recycling’ section, students will be taught how to make paper bags from newspapers. 

Activists Ekta Kothari and Subhash Datta will address the students. Next up is a mesmerising musical evening with some of the hottest acts in town: Five Little Indians, Ibn Batuta O Tatar and Cassini’s Division. 

Some of the participating schools are La Martiniere For Girls, Birla High School, MP Birla School (Behala), Frank Anthony Public School, DPS Megacity, Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan, Salt Lake School and Calcutta international School. Participants are expected to be from classes V to XII.

FROM THE CORE OF THE HEART

Nabadiganta’s chief SA Ahmed is going whole hog to step up the infrastructure at Sector V

In 2006, West Bengal government had segregated Salt Lake Sector V from Bidhannagar Municipality and had formed Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) for better management of infrastructure and other related activities there. The government has formed a 14-member committee which comprises representatives of the state IT department, KMDA, urban development and IT companies for running NDITA. In a freewheeling interview with ET’s Sutanuka Ghosal NDITA chairman SA Ahmed unveils the initiatives that the authority plans to undertake to improve the quality of infrastructure at Sector V. Excerpts:
How many units are now working at Salt Lake Sector V?
There are 603 units working at Salt Lake Sector V, which are spread over an area of 432 acres. Of these 603 units, 250 are IT facilities, both big and small. There are manufacturing units embracing Videocon, Areva and Godrej at Sector V as well. These 603 units also include schools, colleges and healthcare facilities that have come up in the area. Sector V has generated 70,000 direct jobs and an additional 30,000 indirect jobs over the years.
What is the role of NDITA in improving the infrastructure of Sector V?
    NDITA’s role is to provide modern infrastructure at the Sector V which includes roads, bridges, a water supply network, developing underground sewer lines and a drainage system. We have opted for a public-private partnership model for developing infrastructure at Sector V. Along with this, we are also involved in the traffic movement in the area. Apart from our usual exercise of maintaining infrastructure at Sector V, we are also responsible for collecting taxes, renewing trade licences and assessing property taxes.
IT companies, time-and-again, have complained about the poor internal infrastructure and water supply linkages at Sector V. What steps are you taking to address these twin issues?
    We are adopting a multi-pronged approach to address these issues. One should always remember that Sector V was set up initially for SSI units. No one had ever thought that it would turn out to be the IT hub of West Bengal. Therefore, the internal infrastructure, particularly roads, are not so broad as one can find in places like Bangalore or Hyderabad. To ease traffic movement in the area, we have come up with a new flyover near the Wipro building. Two new bridges have come up to help easy movement of cars from Kolkata to the airport and from Salt Lake to other parts of Kolkata. We are also in the process of appointing a consultant to suggest ways of managing the internal traffic, which is constantly increasing. We are also planning to introduce a one-way traffic system within the Sector V area to ease the movement of cars. We know that laying of water supply lines by Jusco, a Tata Group company, has compounded the road problem in Sector V. Jusco is slated to complete their work within March 31, 2010 and we are hopeful that traffic movement will become smoother after that. You will be surprised to know that some 8,000 vehicles ply in Sector V everyday, which include cars hired by IT companies like TCS, Wipro, IBM and others. If there are further problems, we are always open to the idea of discussing with the IT companies to sort them out.
Waterlogging and illegal parking are two major problems faced by the companies working at Sector V. How do you plan to curb these problems?
    Till last year, waterlogging had remained a problem. But not any more. We have taken adequate measures to prevent waterlogging at Sector V. From 2010, there will be no waterlogging at Salt Lake. Illegal parking is another problem area, where we are taking tough measures. If we find any cars parked illegally, we will tow away the car immediately. We have urged the Sector V units to create more parking space within their office premises, so that employees can park their vehicles there. We have come up with five parking lots in Sector V which can accommodate some 1,800-2,000 cars.
Barring a few big retail food chains, Sector V lacks good eateries that can provide quality food at affordable prices. Are you taking any initiative to address this?
    Unauthorised eateries have mushroomed in the sector along the roadside. We have decided to replace them with food kiosks which will provide affordable and quality food. We have allocated some 92 food kiosks in the area. KMDA is also planning to come up with a food park, where small eateries will come up.
Security at Sector V is probably a matter of concern to you as it also employs a large number of women. How are you addressing this issue?
    Unlike Bangalore, Sector V has not witnessed any major security problem. We are taking adequate steps to address this crucial issue. We have asked the IT companies to step up security arrangements at their premises. From our end, we have posted two patrolling vehicles, which move around Sector V on a 24x7 basis. Moreover, we have put up a surveillance system at NDITA, which is connected with the Bidhannagar (east) police station, so that we can keep a constant watch to avoid any untoward incident

Save-wetland plan ready, finally

Save-wetland plan ready, finally
Local Experts & Residents Miffed At Not Being Consulted For Govt’s Grand Wetland Project
Suman Chakraborti | TNN

Kolkata: Seven years after declaring the East Kolkata Wetlands a Ramsar site, the state has finally come up with an action plan to protect it.
To ensure effective management, the plan proposes dividing the 12,500-hectare wetland area into four sections — substantial waterbodies, agricultural land, productive farming plots and rural settlements. “Detailed plans for each part have been chalked out and sent to the Centre. We had also sought an initial fund of Rs 3 crore, of which Rs 60 lakh has been sanctioned,” said East Kolkata Wetland Management Authority (EKWMA) chief technical officer Nitai Kundu.
To conserve only the waterbodies — that spread over 5,852.14 hectares — the authorities have decided that no conversion of wetlands, waterbodies and bheries or fish farms will be allowed. “This is ecologically the most important area of the Ramsar site. A sizeable local population depends on the sewage-fed pisciculture that is extensively done here. The waterbodies are also known to act as a carbon sink and the area a natural habitat of several aquatic flora and fauna species,” Kundu pointed out.
However, it may consider some activities to manage land parcels adjacent to these waterbodies, like desiltation programme, environment monitoring of sewage and conservation of bio-diversity as well as promotion of eco-tourism through setting up of zoological and botanical gardens, nature heritage parks, bird sanctuaries and animal rescue centres.
For managing agricultural areas spread over 4,718.56 hectares, the authorities will permit development of eco-tourism projects, like medicinal gardens, horticulture, floriculture and similar activities. It also suggests setting up of research and environmentrelated educational institutions.
The management plan also mentions measures for productive farming area spread over 602.78 hectares. This section is one of biggest challenges that EKWMA faces. It was way back in 1860 that KMC acquired this area for disposal of solid waste. Known as Dhapa now, nearly 150 tonnes of vegetables are produced daily in this zone.
Noting that the solid waste dump has reached its saturation, the management plan has suggested development of community-based facilities, including waste recycling and solid waste management programmes. The management plan has called for proper demarcation and effective control of the garbage dump to prevent leaching from contaminating groundwater. Pollution arising out of the site is to be monitored. No spatial expansion of existing habitation shall be allowed.
A part of the urban settlements of Bidhannagar Municipality and nearly 40 rural ones — spread over 1,326.52 hectares — are located in the East Kolkata Wetlands. Conversion of the existing habitation to more eco-friendly forms will be allowed. “In added areas, the environment department will examine proposals, but no waterbody will be allowed to be converted. For development proposals, prior permission of the environment department or its delegated authorities like EKWMA will be required,” Kundu said.
The EKWMA official said three projects — desilting of canals, planting of trees and desilting of ponds will be taken up soon. “We will start work to desilt 100 km of canal from January. Another 100 km stretch will be desilted under KEIP project for which the Asian Development Bank has approved Rs 32 crore,” Kundu said.
Simultaneously, an afforestation programme will be kicked off to plant 20,000 trees over three years. “We have planted 5,000 trees like teak and mahogany. We plan to plant coconut trees along the bheris,” Kundu said.
Significantly, the blueprint has neither been discussed with locals, nor experts from the region consulted. The EKWMA official argues the proposal is based on the report of Wetlands International, a consultancy firm based in the Netherlands that has considerable expertise on wetlands. But scientists here, who have worked in the wetlands for years, are livid that the government did not even consider them worthy of consultation. “Why is the wetland not in the public domain? And why have local stakeholders not been consulted?” questioned former ASI director AK Ghosh.
Environment biologist and toxicology expert Pulak Lahiri, who has worked extensively in the region, felt interaction with local residents would have helped in adding valuable inputs. “There are a lot of suggestions that only local experts can offer because they know the conditions,” he said.
That the plan is ready is itself an achievement given the constraints under which the Institute of Wetland Management & Ecological Design functions. Housed in only two flats in Salt Lake, there is neither adequate space nor infrastructure to manage something as vital as the East Kolkata Wetlands from this cubbyhole.