Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday promised additional funds for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation from the state exchequer and also asked the civic body to explore funding under central government schemes.
Suvendu said the KMC, which had a Trinamool-run board until recently, had not utilised the Centre’s Namami Gange scheme.
“The state government can provide ₹600 crore more for additional development this year from our tentative provision, if you place a proposal,” Suvendu said. “We can also give another ₹500 crore under the Centre’s AMRUT scheme in a 60:40 ratio, where 60% is the Centre’s share and 40% the state’s.”
“You did not utilise Namami Gange properly. You did not build the STPs (sewage treatment plants) properly. We are trying to increase the number of STPs and take up projects worth ₹500 crore under Namami Gange. We, the state government and the Centre, can also extend help to the KMC under the Urban Challenge Fund and Swachh Bharat,” he said.
“I have opened these opportunities. The administrator is here. I have named these schemes for her. She has to do the work. The KMC has an excellent engineering team,” he said.
Sources in the KMC said additional funds from the state government would help the civic body, which has in recent years been facing a financial crunch. An official said the problem was acute.
Former mayor Firhad Hakim had often spoken publicly about the stressed finances of the civic body.
KMC officials, however, said work such as water treatment plants and drainage projects had not been held up due to fund constraints. “Special projects were rarely held up due to scarcity. We have received funding under several central schemes with shared contributions from the state and the Centre. A rejuvenation project of Adi Ganga is underway under such a scheme. Some sewage treatment plants are also being built under a scheme where the majority funding comes from the Centre,” an official said.
A project to construct a lock gate at the confluence of Adi Ganga and the Hooghly is also being implemented with funds from a centrally sponsored scheme, the official added.
Suvendu said he had instructed the state municipal affairs secretary to ensure that the KMC does not face difficulties in the absence of an elected board, adding that the state would extend full support to the civic body.