The Trinamool-run Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Monday announced an ambitious infrastructure and beautification drive as part of its ₹647 crore budget for the 2026–27 fiscal.
The focus is on upgrading the city’s arterial roads, keeping an eye on the Assembly elections.
The budget was passed in the civic body on Monday. Mayor Gautam Deb had, on February 13, tabled the civic budget, amounting to around ₹647 crore, for the next fiscal.
On Monday, councillors from the treasury bench as well as the Opposition, including members of the BJP and the Left Front, took part in the budget discussion.
Mayor Deb said that a key stretch of Hill Cart Road — from Hashmi Chowk to Mallaguri — would be developed into a “model road” in collaboration with the state public works department (PWD). The PWD will widen the thoroughfare to improve traffic flow, while the civic body will focus on beautification.
The stretch from Mainak, a property of the state tourism department, to Mallaguri, will see illumination upgrades, installation of high mast lights and decorative enhancements along the central divider.
“The portion of Hill Cart Road from Hashmi Chowk to Mallaguri will be developed as a model road. We will jointly execute the project with the PWD, which will give a facelift to the road through widening. The civic body will carry out beautification work on one of its stretches,” Deb said.
Apart from the model road project, the mayor outlined several other development initiatives. These included the widening of the Nivedita Road at an estimated ₹2.18 crore, and development of Chhath Ghat and adjoining roads near the Mahananda river with a proposed outlay of ₹10 crore.
In addition, the civic body approved a proposal to dedicate one of the stands at the Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das SMC Indoor Stadium at Deshbanshupara in memory of the late table tennis coach Bharati Ghosh, a recipient of the state’s Bangaratna award.
The proposal was moved by Left councillor Saradindu Chakraborty.
“We are accepting the proposal of the Left councillor to dedicate one of the stands of the indoor stadium to the late Bharati Ghosh,” Deb said.
The mayor also announced plans to install a statue of Chittaranjan Das, popularly known as Deshbandhu, at the Tikiapara crossing that connects the DBRCD flyover with Deshbandhupara and the New Jalpaiguri railway station.
Those in the Opposition criticised the budget. During the discussion, Amit Jain, a BJP councillor and leader of the Opposition in the SMC, said the budget lacked vision.
“There is no vision in the budget, as it only reflected major projects for which the Centre has allocated funds to the SMC,” Jain said.
Chakraborty, a CPM councillor, spoke in a similar vein. “The commitments made by the mayor in the budget are far from reality. Also, there is no clear indication as to how funds would be arranged for these projects,” he said.
CPM home salve
The Darjeeling district committee of CPM will build seven houses for families who lost their homes in the devastating landslide that struck Mirik and Darjeeling on October 4 last year.
The move comes as part of efforts to assist landslide-hit families in the hills, many of whom continue to face housing insecurity months after the natural disaster.
Saman Pathak, the district CPM secretary, said rebuilding work would be done in two phases. In the first, four houses will be built at the Thurbo tea estate in Mirik. Three more houses will be built during the second phase in other locations. The state committee of the CPM has allocated ₹25 lakh to the Darjeeling district unit for this reconstruction project.