Showpiece settlement to troubled township to doomed district — the New Town nightmare just got worse.

Rising resistance from villagers to infrastructure development in Rajarhat in the wake of the Vedic Village flare-up has forced Hidco to indefinitely postpone handing over plots in action areas II and III to their owners.

Hidco, which had failed to set up facilities even when the going was good, recently wrote to the plot owners to say that they would have to wait longer for possession because basic amenities like electricity, drinking water and drainage had been delayed by circumstances beyond its control.

A notice put up on the corporation’s website said infrastructure development had been “retarded to a considerable extent” by “most unavoidable circumstances tantamount to force majeure condition (situation caused by superior force)”.

Hidco officials said they were unaware of any such notice but admitted that the custodian of New Town was in no position to hand over booked plots to their owners anytime soon.

“Wherever and whenever our people have gone for work, villagers have harassed and chased them away. We don’t have the infrastructure needed to make this township operational,” said a senior official.

Action areas II and III, which constitute 2,435 of the 3,075 hectares in the New Town layout, have borne the brunt of the backlash from villagers after the Vedic Village incident, but infrastructure in action area I isn’t ready either.

“We have been facing problems in taking electricity to many parts of the township. We are not being allowed to set up transmission towers at some places,” said Pranab Dasgupta, Hidco’s officer-on-special duty.

Residents of Chhapna mouza, around 8km from Salt Lake, have resisted the installation of three towers meant to transmit power from a station in the neighbouring mouza of Akandakeshari to a sub-station in the township.

“As of now, there is no electricity in action areas II and III. Action area I is illuminated by power borrowed from Salt Lake. Continuous efforts to convene an all-party meeting to resolve the issue have not yielded any result,” said Prodyut Kumar Biswas, the general manager (administration) of Hidco.

The residents of Rajarhat are a frustrated lot, their dream homes slowly but steadily turning into nightmare.

Rajan Advani, who purchased a flat at Hiland Woods in action area II three years ago at the rate of Rs 1,100 per sq ft, said: “While purchasing the flat three years ago, I had no inkling of the problems I would face here. The developer of our housing complex charges Rs 1,550 every month for electricity supplied through two large generators. When will this be sorted out?”

Another resident, Shubhojyoti Sinha, added: “The properties that have come up are very good but not fit to be inhabited because the authorities haven’t done their job.”

The Rs 18,000 crore township was conceived in 1994, and land acquisition began in 1998. Hidco officials have no answer as to why infrastructure development progressed at a snail’s pace even before the Vedic Village flare-up or the Chhapna protests.

“Villagers have begun putting up hurdles only now because what happened at Vedic Village opened their eyes to the ways of realtors and land sharks. But what were Hidco and other agencies doing all these years when there was no pocket of resistance to infrastructure development in the area?” asked a plot owner awaiting possession.

According to Hidco, 5 to 6 lakh people have been “affected” by the delay in installing electricity towers.

Housing minister Gautam Deb blamed Trinamul Congress leaders for the lack of infrastructure development. “It is my request to them to stop playing destructive politics. They should allow our people to work because the delay in completing the township is affecting lakhs of people.”

What problems are you facing living/working in Rajarhat? ttmetro@abpmail.com