| Calcutta, May 21: Calcutta will officially grow after 27 years but not to the full extent possible because the Mamata Banerjee government has truncated a plan to merge Salt Lake with the city. Sector V, the infotech hub in Salt Lake, and parts of Joka where the IIM is located will be brought under the jurisdiction of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC). Sources said the original plan was to bring the whole of Salt Lake under CMC but the government denied such a proposal was mooted. "We have decided to bring Sector V in the east and two gram panchayats which come under Joka in the south under the CMC. The chief minister has approved the decision. We will pass the necessary legislation in the Assembly soon," state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim said. Hakim met senior officials of his department before deciding on a string of measures to "streamline" the administration of Calcutta. (See chart) The last time the civic authority's jurisdiction was expanded was in 1984 when 41 wards were added to the CMC area, taking the number of wards to the present 141. Once the new changes are made, the number of wards is expected to go up by 12 to 15. According to an official, the government is also considering a proposal to bring under CMC Baishnabghata-Patuli and some areas under the South Dum Dum Municipality in the "near future". Sources in Writers' said the new government backed out of the plan to include the entire Salt Lake in CMC following resistance from "influential residents" of the township who did not want an upward revision in tax. "They said that if the entire Salt Lake is brought under CMC, the residents would have to pay at least four times higher taxes," said an official. Sector V, home to several infotech firms, pays commercial tax rates and the rest of Salt Lake the lower residential rate. However, minister Hakim said: "I am not aware of any plan to include the entire Salt Lake in CMC. I became a minister yesterday and Mamata Banerjee conveyed to me her desire to include only Sector V under the Calcutta civic body." Hakim said the government's primary concern was to provide improved amenities and not generate higher tax revenue for CMC. "The inclusion of these areas will help us provide better civic infrastructure… improved drainage, roads and water supply. That's our prime concern," he said. Building rules in CMC areas and Salt Lake differ. An architect's sanction is required to construct buildings in Salt Lake while a chartered engineer's approval is sufficient in Calcutta. Hakim, after consulting Mamata, also decided to hand over the charge of maintaining all roads within the city to CMC. Many city roads are now maintained by the public works department. Officials said Mamata wanted a sole custodian for all city roads and picked the CMC as it has more funds at its disposal to spend on roads. La Nuit Bengal, leading article on Page 10 Singur's big question: How | | SANJAY MANDAL AND UTTAM DUTTA |  |  |  | | Singur residents Susanta Ghosh and Manashi Manna, whose plots had been acquired; the abandoned Nano plant. Pictures by Sanat Kumar Sinha | Singur, May 21: The initial euphoria over the chance of getting back their land over, clouds of apprehension and confusion now hang over Singur. The farmers whose land was acquired for the Tata Nano project celebrated on May 13 when Mamata Banerjee's Trinamul Congress won the elections. They were glued to their TV sets when the chief minister announced yesterday that she would make good her promise of returning 400 acres to "unwilling" farmers. But gradually, the "reality" that the process may not be simple started sinking in. "We will be very happy if we get back our land but we are simple farmers and don't understand legal issues. The only thing we know is that such complicated legal matters take years to get resolved," said Joydeb Ghosh, 65, of Singur's Gopalnagar village. Joydeb, whose 12.5-bigha plot was acquired, said the compensation of Rs 35 lakh was "too paltry". Susanta Ghosh, who lives in the same village, said he was "confused" over a lot of issues. "Many of us used to own small patches of land scattered over the entire area. How can we get back all the fragmented patches?" he asked. Susanta's 13-bigha land was acquired for the project but he had refused to accept compensation. Several of the unwilling farmers said they wanted back the same plots that had been taken and "not just any random plot". Susanta said those who owned land beside the Durgapur Expressway "would not settle for a plot away from the highway and in the interiors". According to land dealers, a bigha of land near the expressway costs about Rs 30 lakh while a bigha in the interiors of Singur costs about Rs 15 lakh. "We did not protest the previous government's move to forcibly acquire our land only to settle for something that will hurt our interests," said Sourav Ghosh, another "unwilling" farmer. His five plots, all of which had been acquired, lie in the area where the abandoned small car plant now stands. Manashi Manna of Beraberi village demanded that her three-bigha plot be returned in its "original fertile state". "A warehouse has been built on my land. Even if I get back my land, I won't be able to grow crops on it," she said. "The produce from the land was enough to sustain our family. But now, I have been forced to bind bidis while my husband works as a labourer on somebody else's field," Manashi added. Dwarka Ghosh, who lives in the same village, said: "It is impossible for poor farmers like us to bear the cost of removing the layers of concrete from our land and make it arable again. Even if we do that, the land won't be fit for cultivation for at least five to seven years." "Now if I get back my land, I'll sell it off to promoters," Dwarka, whose 2.5-bigha plot had been acquired, said. Many villagers said they had "faith" in Mamata. "She will sort out all our problems," said Krishna Bag, whose three-bigha plot was taken away. | |
| 39 years on, same seat | | KINSUK BASU |  | | Subrata Mukherjee in his office on Saturday. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta | Calcutta, May 21: One little thing was left unchanged on Poriborton's big day, but Subrata Mukherjee wasn't complaining. The gale of change that has knocked over many a chair of privilege at Writers' Buildings has spared the seat Mukherjee had occupied 39 years ago at his first cabinet meeting, as a Congress minister. Barely 25 then, Mukherjee, who had just won the first Assembly election of his life from Ballygunge, had sat down a couple of places to the right of chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray. Last evening, when he walked into the cabinet room at Writers' as minister of public health engineering, he pulled up a chair exactly at the same spot, this time to Mamata Banerjee's right. He cannot be sure if it was the same chair, but as he sat down, a flood of memories came rushing back. "It was a very nostalgic moment for me. It was the same spot where I would sit during all the cabinet meetings between 1972 and 1977. Manuda (Ray) had made me minister of state for information and cultural affairs, and home and youth services," Mukherjee recalled. "I was the youngest minister then. Today I am probably the oldest. Most of my then ministry colleagues, such as Bhola Sen, Barkatda (A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury), Sitaram Mahato and even Manuda, have passed away." Mukherjee had fought the 1972 elections as an archaeology student of Calcutta University, while waiting for his graduation results. As minister, he had overseen the establishment of the city's first Doordarshan Kendra on the compound of Radha Studios in Tollygunge. In 1973, as panchayati raj minister, he had helped frame the rules for the three-tier panchayat system that the Left Front later implemented to wide acclaim. So, what next? Mukherjee is out of Writers' now: his office is on the seventh floor of the New Secretariat Building on Strand Road. A nameplate is yet to be affixed to his door. But he has no qualms. "Priyada (Priya Ranjan Das Munshi) had taught me that no ministry is less important than another, and that there is no such thing as a lighter workload. If you have the will, you can deliver," Mukherjee said, rolling up one of the sleeves of his white cotton kurta out of habit. His PHE department's job is to provide clean drinking water to people outside Calcutta. He says he knows how crucial water is to people — his stint as Calcutta mayor had taught him that. "Besides, I know how it feels to go thirsty," Mukherjee warms up, ready to recount an anecdote. "It was 1978. Indira Gandhi was fighting an election from Chikmagalur in Karnataka and I was with her. One day she asked me to get some money from Delhi. On my way back, I flew to Mumbai but found that there was no flight to Bangalore. So I had to travel by bus for 26 hours carrying the money in a bag. I couldn't leave my seat even for a sip of water in case the money got stolen." Mukherjee volunteers that he is "extremely emotional" about two people in particular: Indira Gandhi and Das Munshi. "In 1971, while filing my candidature, I would share a room with Priyada at Mahajati Sadan. He would cook meals for the two of us, and I would have my afternoon snacks at Rakhalda's canteen on the Calcutta University campus." Mitra on rice and potato diet in hospital | | OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT |  | | Amit Mitra | Calcutta, May 21: Amit Mitra, admitted to hospital with acute abdominal pain hours after taking oath as finance minister, is better, doctors said today. "His pain has reduced significantly and is stable now," said Subrata Maitra, critical care expert at Belle Vue Clinic. Mitra is suffering from acute colitis and has been given antibiotics, the doctor said. He had soft rice and mashed potatoes this evening. During the day, he only had coconut water. The minister underwent ultrasonography of the abdomen and blood tests after being admitted at 1.15am. Doctors said Mitra had been suffering from indigestion on Thursday and did not eat anything yesterday, triggering the colitis pain. Hospital sources said he would be under observation for the next few days. "He was suffering from severe pain when he was admitted and was immediately administered painkillers and other medicines. Later in the day, his condition improved and he was talking to people," a hospital official said. "Although he is keen to join work soon, we want the medicine course to be complete and the colitis pain should subside completely," a doctor said. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee enquired about Mitra's condition while mayor Sovan Chatterjee and Únion minister of state for urban development Saugata Ray went to see him in hospital. | |
| THE FIRST THING I WANT... | | ... Mamata Banerjee to do for my city is everything, from creating jobs to recycling garbage | | Tania Bhardwaj 20 student I WANT MAMATA TO take a concrete step towards removing student politics from campus. Though we do not have a strong TMC presence in our college (Presidency) now, there is already talk of them increasing their base. But rather than making their presence felt through the unions on campus, the Trinamul leadership should concentrate on taking some specific steps in the field of education. Bonani and Pradeep Kakkar Founder-members of PUBLIC, a voluntary action group with focus on environment WE WANT MAMATA TO make a strong declaration that the city's greens and open spaces are not available for commercial or cultural exploitation. That is non-negotiable. By greens we also mean wetlands and water bodies, which have been encroached upon heavily by the fisheries department of the last government, and the parks. Rawdon Park in the heart of the city has been closed for over 20 years, we want it to be reopened. We want the greens to be open spaces for public use. They should make a commitment that Green is not for Sale. Raunak Singh Roy18 student and state-level badminton player I WANT MAMATA TO improve the roads and the condition of traffic. The pavements are all taken over by hawkers, forcing pedestrians to take to the road. I would like the chief minister to improve educational facilities and infrastructure. Many of my friends have had to move out because of limited options. Sports infrastructure should also be improved. Debarshi Chowdhury20 Student I WANT MAMATA TO improve the state of education and increase employment opportunities. I'd like to stay on in West Bengal and so I hope the new government addresses these issues, otherwise more and more students will migrate from this state. Given the present state of Bengal, the promise of paribartan will be very difficult to fulfil, but I hope she tries her best. Anindita Ray 53 School administrator I WANT MAMATA TO follow the Bangalore model of recycling garbage and collecting them in three different categories. Street children have been trained to do this, giving them employment and at least some form of income and protection. Also, our city desperately needs to be cleaned up, so Mamata Banerjee, if you are reading this, please do that! Riju Ghosh27 IT services I WANT MAMATA TO end the autocracy of the autorickshaws and taxis on the roads. There needs to be a way to discipline them or else they would keep blocking roads, parking their vehicles in the middle of the road and causing traffic jams. They need to understand that they cannot hold the city to ransom just because they enjoy the patronage of a political union. Roli Roy 20 Student I WANT MAMATA TO ensure that academic credentials are the sole determining factor for the recruitment of teachers. Being a student of Presidency College that is now a university, this is of vital importance. Framing a good syllabus and introducing a proper evaluation system for Presidency University is an urgent need. I want the scope for higher education to improve in the state in order to prevent the brain drain from Bengal. Samudranil Gupta 19 Student I WANT MAMATA TO try her best to improve the future of students like me. Since I will be passing out of college soon and stepping into the world of jobs and career plans, I really hope that the new government makes proper plans to better the education system and increase the scope for employment. The state needs more industries to create jobs. I really hope Mamata Banerjee takes immediate steps to improve the economic growth of the state. Indrani Guha Thakurta 52 Homemaker I WANT MAMATA TO bring in more industries. There are so many unemployed youths in the state. More industries would mean more jobs for them and development of the entire state. If the Nano had happened, the entire Hooghly region would have been transformed. She should also look into the roads and traffic situation. Subir Das 53 Senior executive of a private firm I WANT MAMATA TO improve the traffic situation. The government needs to ensure that drivers are actually trained properly to begin with! Autos, minibuses and taxis need to be driven as per the rules, or licences need to be cancelled. Secondly, water is going to be a huge problem and neither the corporation nor the government seems to be doing anything about it. Steps like rainwater harvesting must be taken before there is a full-blown scarcity. Guneet Singh Chadha 21 Student I WANT MAMATA TO focus on the infrastructure needs of our city. The present situation is precarious. Our infrastructure is lagging behind all other cities. Everything from roads to government buildings to markets and transportation should be lifted to a basic standard so that we, the citizens, don't suffer from basic problems in our day-to-day life. Rahul Banerjee 23 Archer I WANT MAMATA TO take initiatives to promote sports, just as she has been doing as the minister of railways. This was the first time that I cast my vote and it feels good to be a witness to history being made in Bengal. As a sportsman, I hope that she ensures that the infrastructure for sports in the state develops. There is a lot of talent in Bengal; working right from the school stage is very important. | | COMPILED BY POULOMI BANERJEE, CHANDREYEE CHATTERJEE, JHINUK MAZUMDAR, MADHURIMA CHATTERJEE AND MEGHNA NAYAK | |
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