Calcutta, Feb. 23: Toeing the government line on utilising land and properties of closed and sick industrial units in the state, the Asansol-Durgapur Development Authority has decided to take over the entire township of the Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation, a Central public sector undertaking in Durgapur.

After MAMC was declared closed on January 2001, several employees vacated their quarters and many left the township post retirement. More than 1,000 residential units are lying vacant now. Supply of drinking water and electricity in the township became irregular after the MAMC authorities failed to clear the water and power dues.

Of late, fans and other equipment were being stolen from the abandoned quarters.

The development authority has drawn up a plan to take over the township that includes 4,326 residential quarters, a hospital, two school buildings, guest-houses, an auditorium, hostels, a swimming pool and football fields.

A committee has been constituted with the district magistrate of Burdwan as its chairman to look into the process. The other members of the committee are the mayor of the Durgapur Municipal Corporation, the managing director of Durgapur Projects Limited (DPL), the joint secretaries of the urban development and finance departments and the chief executive officer of the development authority.

“In the first years after takeover, the municipal corporation will purchase drinking water from DPL for the township. Once its own water works come up, it will be the corporation’s responsibility,” said the authority’s chairman, Manjunath Prasad.