Mayor sets Dec deadline for KEIIP drainage projects
Times of India | 19 November 2024
Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim on Monday set a Dec deadline for drainage development projects that had started in several parts of Tollygunge, including Garia, Bansdroni, Kudghat and in some Behala neighbourhoods like Sakherbazar and vast areas between Shakuntala Park to Oxytown.
According to the mayor, the drainage development work under the Kolkata Environment and Infrastructure Development Project (KEIIP) that had started in 2015 was being prolonged unnecessarily, depriving citizens of an underground drainage system.
"Contractors engaged in the KEIIP cannot take us for granted. A particular contractor who was supposed to complete drainage development work in large parts of Tollygunge by 2019 has missed several deadlines. We have resolved to direct the contractors to finish its work by Dec, failing which we shall reserve the right to blacklist them," said Hakim.
Hakim on Monday conducted a high-level assessment meeting regarding the progress of the KEIIP work in the Tollygunge-Behela belt, where he expressed his displeasure over missed deadlines. To address this issue, the mayor on Monday decided to establish a committee comprising senior officials from sewerage and drainage, water supply and civic engineering departments that will operate in close coordination with the KEIIP officials.
"On numerous occasions, the quality of drainage development work under KEIIP has been compromised due to insufficient supervision. The KEIIP authority transfers the newly constructed infrastructure to us after completion of a project. However, we have observed that frequently the quality of work has been substandard," said a KMC official.
Following instructions from the mayor's office, the KMC officials will henceforth have the authority to advise KEIIP to rectify shortcomings in the construction process.