Tech Savvy KMC Looks Past Waterlogged Roads, Skirts Potholed Pavements
By Unregistered Visitors, Section Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Posted on Sat Jun 23, 2007 at 04:49:56 AM EST
The population of the city jumped by 13 lakh between 1981 and 2007. With the civic authorities in the city, catering to 46 lakh residents (45,80,554 as per Census 2001) apart from the 60 lakh people floating in and out of the city daily, the pressure is palpable.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), responsible for the city's upkeep, has been a Leftist domain too, ever since the KMC Act, 1980 was enforced in 1984-85. A report card.
The success stories Expansion of KMC and setting up of Mayor in Council
*The Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act 1980 brought a revolutionary change in civic administration. Residents in the fringes of the city were extended services by the inclusion of South Suburban, Garden Reach and Jadavpur municipalities in the list of areas under the jurisdiction of the KMC. The mayor and other elected representatives were empowered to take decisions. The KMC Act is now referred to as a model act and is drawn upon by other civic bodies.
Roads
*The process of repairing the roads, initiated by the Left Front, was also taken up Subrata Mukherjee-led municipal board.
Heritage
*The Left-led board in 1996 came up with the blueprint for restoring heritage properties. To begin with, the Town Hall underwent renovation.
Computerisation of services
*In the mid-90s, computers were introduced at KMC. "Old-timers know how difficult it was to have records searched for obtaining birth and death certificates. Death certificates are now issued at the burning ghats and burial grounds. The process for obtaining birth certificates has also simplified. In due time it will be possible to locate any record at the stroke of a key. All municipal offices are being networked," said a senior official of the civic health department.
City planning
*The municipal body substantially benefited from the state government's reforms. Funding for developmental work in the city is now available not only from Union government but also from international agencies and private concerns.
The bouncers Waterlogging
*The drainage and sewerage in the city are still in shambles. Residents of municipalities that were included in KMC in the 1980s, is yet to get a proper drainage system.
Skyline
*Despite several public declarations made about protecting the city's skyline, billboards seem to just grow in number. Though the civic body had taken to moral policing and pulled down hoardings which it considered `obscene', billboards in the Dalhousie area ( a heritage zone ) and the East Kolkata Wetlands are yet to be pulled down.
Markets
*No new markets have been constructed or developed by the municipal body for years now. The has led to `spill over' of vegetable sellers onto the streets.
Pedestrian space
*While roads remained a priority, pavements are being eaten up by potholes due to the lack of maintenance. While some of the pavements have shrunk in width due to widening of roads, hawkers have monopolised others. There's no policy in place for encroachers.
`Stagnant' localities
*Every third person in the city (around 15 lakh out of the 45 lakh population) lives in a slum. Besides slums, the older parts of the city are already overcrowded. While on one hand open spaces are witnessing a real-estate boom, there's hardly any developmental work in the old city parts and slums. Absence of a hassle-free building sanction policy has produced a a jungle of illegal buildings in the underdeveloped localities.
Source:Indian Express,23-06-07
