Trinamul Congress veteran and Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb and Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista have resorted to a verbal battle to claim credit for the ongoing mega Siliguri drinking water project.

The project, taken up to meet the demand for drinking water across the Siliguri civic area, is a major infrastructural scheme which both the BJP and the TMC are determined to leverage ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.

On Tuesday, the BJP MP stated the Centre has approved projects worth ₹1,503 crore for Darjeeling district to enhance water supply, improve sewerage and rejuvenate water bodies under Amrut 2.0 (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation).

According to the MP, in the SMC, a sum of ₹785 crore was allocated of which ₹511.08 crore was earmarked to augment the water supply scheme and another ₹274.19 crore to upgrade the existing waste stabilisation pond (WSP) at the drinking water plant in Fulbari on the southern outskirts of Siliguri.

Reacting to the MP's statement, Deb pointed out that while the drinking water project was under Amrut 2.0, under the Union ministry, the BJP MP had omitted to mention who was sharing the bulk of the project cost.

Deb said that the state government was bearing 61.67 per cent of the project cost and the local urban body (the Siliguri Municipal Corporation in this case) was sharing five per cent, which overall accounted for 66.67 per cent.

"Only the rest of the project cost is paid by the Centre,” said the mayor. "But the BJP MP, who is serving a second term, is distorting facts and trying to prove that the Centre alone has taken up the project. This is not true,” Deb added.

The mayor’s reaction prompted the MP to raise questions about Deb’s prior performance as a minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet.

“Deb had been a state minister for two terms, but could not address major problems of Siliguri like paucity in drinking water supply and the traffic congestion. In the city, a flyover, which was supposed to be built by the state PWD, has been under construction for almost 10 years now. On the other hand, work on central road projects, including flyovers and bridges, is progressing fast,” said the MP.