Kolkata Community Portal || Kolkata Community Portal - News, Reviews, Comments & Discussion

Sewer Project Heat On Civic Board

By ugesh sarkar, Section Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Posted on Fri Jan 29, 2010 at 01:54:58 AM EST

Trinamool Congress councillors slammed the Left Front-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation board over a move to hand the second phase of the sewerage upgrade project under the JNNURM scheme to two foreign firms without floating fresh tenders.

The track record of the Austrian and the German firms that are presently engaged in executing the first phase of sewerage upgrade work in prominent north and central Kolkata areas has been criticized by the Opposition and civic officials alike.

The mayor tabled a resolution during Thursday's monthly meeting of the KMC House to push through the policy.

The Trinamool Congress had described the first Rs 184-crore package for the sewerage upgrade work as "complete wastage". KMC officials went a step further and described the second Rs 316-crore package as a non-starter.

Source: Times Of India Sewer project heat on civic board

Click On "Full Story" For More...

KMC officials said the slow pace of work by the foreign contractors was impeding desiltation work on Rashbehari Avenue, Beadon Street, Canning Street and Hazra Road.

Officials of KMC's sewerage department said the civic planning and development department that is executing the desiltation work should be more vigilant.

The mayor told the House that the civic body had no option but to re-distribute work assigned to some contractors to the two foreign firms. He, however, contended that floating fresh tenders would delay the entire process and escalate the project cost. "In the interest of citizens, we have decided to hand over the unfinished work to the two firms," Bhattacharya said.

According to a senior KMC sewerage department official, the pace of desiltation work under the second Rs 316-crore package, currently on in major thoroughfares such as APC Road, AJC Bose Road, Nimtolla Ghat Street and Lenin Sarani has been very slow. "Going by the pace of work by the foreign firms, I feel it will be a sheer wastage of public money," KMC opposition leader Javed Khan said on Thursday.

< Indefinite Taxi Strike In Kolkata From Feb 2 Deferred