The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has proposed to allocate Rs 720 crore to the solid waste management department in its budget for 2024-25, the highest allocation to any department this year.
Mayor Firhad Hakim tabled the budget on Saturday.
The KMC has decided to take back 73 hectares of land from farmers in Dhapa, where it plans to set up waste processing facilities.
The National Green Tribunal had in 2022 asked the state government to keep aside
Rs 3,500 crore after the tribunal found that waste processing in the state was in a
poor state. The majority of 4,500 tonnes of solid waste generated in Kolkata goes untreated.
The estimated allocation to the water supply department was Rs 453 crore.
“We are augmenting the water production capacity in the Dhapa water treatment plant and setting up a plant in New Garia. We have also set up many booster pumping stations,” said a KMC official.
Hakim later requested all councillors to inform him if they were facing water shortages in their wards.
The budget estimate for the roads department was Rs 318 crore. The budget estimate for 2023-24 was Rs 340 crore.
The budget proposed to raise Rs 1,555 crore as property tax in 2024-25. The revised estimate for property tax in 2023-24 is Rs 1,237 crore.