The Bengal government has decided to identify buildings and other infrastructure constructed in the past 13 years that require urgent renovation in an apparent bid to undertake repair and maintenance of structures in bad shape.
This comes amid questions of whether the cash-strapped government would be able to shoulder the additional burden of renovation.
However, to make this first-of-its-kind effort successful, the Trinamool-led government will launch a mobile application to prepare a list of government infrastructure with details of their present condition. Block, subdivision and district-level officials will visit each of these buildings and update their present condition on the mobile app.
Sources in the state administration said that complaints were coming up that many of the school buildings, hospitals and ICDS centres were in a pathetic state with no repair work after construction.
“It does not send a good message. The ruling establishment does not want to face such questions ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. This is why the condition of all the buildings constructed over the past 13 years will be audited,” said an official, adding that any decision on repair or maintenance work would be taken after the detailed report through the mobile app.
According to an order issued by finance secretary Prabhat Mishra, officials concerned in districts, subdivisions and blocks will have to pay surprise visits to at least one such building in their jurisdiction in a week and upload reports on the mobile app.
The officials would have to divide the buildings into three categories — green (buildings that don’t require any action), yellow (buildings that will require some repair) and red (buildings that require immediate maintenance).
The officials will also have to specify the action needed to repair the building. Once the data is uploaded on the app, senior government officials can check the details.
“Once the state government gets a detailed list of buildings that need urgent attention, a comprehensive plan could be prepared on how to repair and maintain these buildings,” said an official.
Sources said hundreds of school buildings, hospitals, ICDS centres and other public structures were constructed over the past decade or so. However, the state never focused on the maintenance of these buildings. As a result, many of these buildings are in bad shape due to several reasons including natural disasters like cyclones.
While lauding the effort by the state to ensure proper maintenance of these buildings, some officials questioned if the cash-strapped state government would be able to spend a handsome amount to repair all the damaged buildings.
According to sources in the districts, a few hundred buildings, including schools and ICDS centres, require immediate repairs. In some cases, reconstruction is a must. These will require the government to spend a few thousand crores.
“I am not sure if the state will be able to spend a handsome amount for repairing purposes particularly as it did not take up any new construction project in the past three years or so due to cash constraints,” said a senior state government official.
Officials said the state would have to release more than ₹8,000 crore this December for the first instalment of the rural housing scheme to 12 lakh beneficiaries. The state has decided to pay from its coffers after the Centre stopped funds under the scheme to Bengal, citing irregularities.
“Right now, releasing adequate funds to repair old buildings seems tough, but the state can do it before the 2026 Assembly polls to avoid facing the ire of villagers,” said a bureaucrat.
