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War of words over civic dues

By Rajesh Kumar, Section Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Posted on Wed Mar 23, 2005 at 04:35:02 AM EST

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's government on Tuesday was on yet another collision course with the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), this time over pending electricity and water bills.

After a not-so-friendly discussion between mayor Subrata Mukherjee and municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya at Writers' Buildings on Tuesday morning, the two exchanged letters later.

Minister Bhattacharya wrote to the mayor, reminding him to square up the CMC dues to private power utility CESC. "Since June 2003, the responsibility of payment of electricity bills for various urban water supply schemes has been taken over by our urban local bodies. As such, it does not seem fair that the CMC be treated on a different footing," the minister said.

Bhattacharya mentioned that the schemes taken up over the past five years by the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) in the CMC area out of megacity funds involved a total outlay of around Rs 550 crore.

The schemes covered different sectors, like water supply, traffic and transportation, sewerage and drainage, slum improvement, environment improvement and hawker rehabilitation.

Minister Bhattacharya said: "The issue here is not who implements the megacity project, but whether people are benefiting from the programme."

Bhattacharya's letter also had the mention of the heads under which the state is offering grants to the CMC.

Mayor Mukherjee, during the Writers' meeting, demanded that the state release filtered water for the Kalighat booster pumping station from the Garden Reach waterworks. The Kalighat booster station is scheduled to be inaugurated later this month.

"But I told him the CMC must pay for the water. For the additional 10 million gallons of water, we have to spend Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore annually. That's why we want the CMC to get into an agreement with us, but the mayor doesn't agree," the minister pointed out.

Bhattacharya said he hoped to settle the matter in a meeting soon.

The mayor in his letter to the minister called for a meeting on April 2 with other municipalities to discuss settling dues on getting water supply from the government.

He claimed that the Bidhannagar and South Dum Dum municipalities also get water from the CMC without paying anything to the latter.

"I have no problem in discussing the matter," minister Bhattacharya said to the mayor's proposal.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050323/asp/calcutta/story_4525660.asp

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