Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya

Jan. 8: A five-member delegation of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) councillors today held discussions with their counterparts in Calcutta to take tips on how to improve services.

A source in the corporation said the GMC team led by deputy mayor Kamal Dey called on Calcutta mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya and discussed different issues related to civic amenities and municipal governance.

The councillors of both corporations also held a meeting.

“The councillors visited the CMC’s dumping ground at Dhapa to get a first-hand experience of different methods of garbage disposal adopted in Calcutta,” the source said.

“The mayor also presented the GMC delegation with a flag of the Calcutta corporation,” he added.

Besides the deputy mayor, the other members of the delegation are Congress councillors Kushal Sarmah and Ronen Sen, AGP councillor Prabhat Kumar Das and BJP councillor Gopal Patowary.

At Dhapa, the GMC team visited the composite fertiliser-manufacturing unit, which is one of the very first public-private partnership ventures in the eastern metropolis.

“The fertiliser manufacturing unit in Dhapa has been closed for the past three-and-a-half years. We discussed the reasons for the closure of the unit and the Calcutta corporation’s plans to revive it,” the source said.

He said the delegation took interest in different ways and means of garbage disposal because the GMC is going to launch a modern and integrated municipal waste management system for Guwahati.

“The experience of the Calcutta corporation will help us decide whether to set up a plant to manufacture fertiliser or generate electricity from garbage,” the source added.

The GMC intends to set up the project in public-private partnership mode.

Kamal Dey

“It was a good experience for the GMC delegation as the Calcutta corporation is serving the third largest city in the country and providing a range of quality urban services to more than 4.5 million static and another 6 million floating population. The Calcutta corporation has made significant achievements in water generation, solid waste disposal, road development and drainage management, which can be replicated in Guwahati,” he said.

“Some of the problems which the people face in Guwahati are similar to those in Calcutta. For instance, the Calcutta corporation is concerned about the improvement of slums. Guwahati has a similar concern,” he added.

Before Calcutta, the GMC delegation also visited Bhubaneswar and held discussions with the office bearers of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.

The GMC delegation embarked on the study tour to the two neighbouring cities after they were advised by chief minister Tarun Gogoi to learn from the experiences of other municipalities to improve civic services in the city.