Krishna Chakraborty resigned as mayor of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday morning, reportedly citing personal reasons. She handed her resignation letter to the new commissioner Ravi Agarwal who she met for the first time in the 10 days since he has joined. As she did not take calls on Thursday, there was no way to know if Calcutta Municipal Corporation mayor Firhad Hakim’s decision to step down influenced her.
But there was no hint of such plans when The Telegraph Salt Lake spoke to her on Wednesday morning. Krishna Chakraborty was still the mayor though she cut a rather solitary figure.
On attending office at the Corporation...
I go to Poura Bhavan every day. There are no new projects. I collect my mail and speak to people who come to meet me. I guide people to relevant departments. I do this much.
On the new MLA holding meetings directly with the municipal commissioner, bypassing her…
Our (party’s) government is not there any more. Our job is the development of our municipal area. I have no problems that he is taking on the responsibility and trying to pursue issues. He did meet me and the other councillors formally one day.
On the Corporation’s resources…
Our municipal finances are under strain due to poor property tax collection. There are so many three or four-storeyed houses (which are yet to pay up taxes). Amra ekta chithi pathiei khanto hoye jai. We don’t have the manpower to pursue non-compliants. There are only 76 permanent employees. The rest are all casual staffers who get paid on a daily basis. I have sent piles of letters seeking more manpower but did not get any.
On the poor condition of Salt Lake’s roads…
Where will we get the money to repair roads? We are dependent on the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). KMDA had started repairs under the Pathashree (urban road development scheme). But our government fell after the elections. So the work remained incomplete. We don’t have the funds to dig up and relay the roads. The township has come up on marshy land. Roads cave in from time to time. All we could do was undertake emergency repairs. When we need any roads to be repaired, we write to the KMDA. They do a survey and sanction the funds on that basis. It takes time to get a road repaired. They also have to go through a tender process.
On whether she has met the new urban development minister as the BMC is dependent on funds from UD...
No, I have not met her (Agnimitra Paul). Amader board ta bhenge gyachhe. The councillors are not coming. Only Banibrata (Banerjee, who stays in FD Block where Poura Bhavan is located) comes sometimes, Aratrika (Bhattacharya, mayoral council member and daughter of former Rajarhat New Town MLA Tapash Chatterjee who lost this time) comes once a week. I sit here alone.
On the absent councillors…
Tulsi (Sinha Roy, another mayoral council member) is not here. Her phone is switched off. Most of the councillors cannot be reached. Even I cannot reach them. Phones are all switched off.
On the possibility of a mayor-in-council meeting…
We are supposed to hold an MMIC meeting, especially before monsoon sets in. I have written to the new commissioner (Ravi Agarwal) seeking to meet him — first, as a courtesy and second, to discuss preparations for the monsoon. But no such meeting has taken place. He has not given his time. I have not seen his face as yet. I have heard he is very busy. Even the officers don’t come much to my chamber.
On whether the civic board can be said to be dissolved…
Why should I say that? Legally, it has not. The Corporation is there. The commissioner is looking after everything. The MLA said he was trying to get some roads repaired. As for the other point (he raised) — sewerage — I have tried to clean the canals and got them dredged. But there were so many slums along the canal banks and they litter and defaecate in the canal. It was not possible for me to stop that. I have fought to stop new encroachments.
On the allegations of lack of political will of the earlier government to clear encroachments…
I have not heard of any such allegation. Why did they not speak up before? This is opportunism to say so now. I did not take up any other employment. I devoted all my time to the service of the people.
On the future of the BMC board…
Our term is till next February. But if no one comes and no meetings take place, the board will have no function. How will the Corporation run then? In that case, those who have come to power in the government will surely think of some way out. But public services are not being hampered. It is not as if councillors stand and supervise every work. Garbage is being collected, there is supply in the taps, the streetlights are functioning, the roads are being cleaned. When there was a storm the other day and trees fell, the roads were cleared. I was out in the streets myself.
On the possibility of the civic body being headed by an administrator till the next election…
I am not a legal expert. But there must be some provisions since such things have happened elsewhere before.
On whether people should approach her or the commissioner to seek redressal…
It is up to people to decide whom they would approach. I am still the mayor. But I cannot work for others’ departments. Most staff members have suddenly gone on leave. I, too, am a resident of Salt Lake. I want the best for people here. A new government has come. They deserve to get a chance to work. I will not oppose them.
On whether she is still with Mamata Banerjee…
This has nothing to do with politics. I was there to bring back Abhishek (Banerjee) from the hospital. Her family is my second family. Whether or not her government falls, I will always maintain a didi-bon relation with her. I know her from a time when she had nothing to give. My relationship with her is not of give and take.
