A newly formed residents’ body has sent a mail to the chief minister asking for Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation to be split, such that Salt Lake once again has a civic body entirely to itself instead of sharing one with residents of Rajarhat-Gopalpur and beyond.

The very first task undertaken by BK Block-based Bidhannagar Residents Forum has been to draft and send this letter. “Our objective is the township’s development,” said Ashes Mukherjee, convenor of the group who is also a former councillor of the erstwhile Bidhannagar Municipality. Mukherjee had briefly joined BJP before the 2021 Assembly elections but then returned to Trinamul Congress.

“Our forum is apolitical and we are taking this step as many residents have approached us and expressed dismay that the glamour of Salt Lake has waned. And this has happened since the municipality got turned into a Corporation in 2015 by forcefully merging it with Rajarhat-Gopalpur Municipality,” said Mukherjee.

Modern history

Salt Lake was the brainchild of chief minister Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy who saw it as an answer to the population explosion from East Pakistan after Partition. Early residents started moving in by 1970 and in 1989 the Notified Area Authority took charge of civic services from the state government. The first elected municipal board, led by the Left Front, assumed office in 1995.

The first Trinamul-led board was formed in 2010 and Bidhannagar Municipality got converted to Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation in 2015. For this, they merged our municipality with that of Rajarhat-Gopalpur and the panchayat areas of Mahishbathan-II Gram Panchayat.

“Under the new arrangement, out of the total 41 wards, 27 are in and around Rajarhat and only 14 are in Salt Lake. So naturally, the lion’s share of funds is going to them while our township is lagging behind,” said Ashes.

The letter cites multiple ways in which the characteristics of Salt Lake and Rajarhat are different and hence have different requirements from their civic administration. Plots in Salt Lake are leasehold property whereas Rajarhat has freehold property, transfer of which does not require sanction from any government body.

The township follows separate acts and rules for sanctioning, planning, and constructing buildings, whereas Rajarhat is governed under the Bengal Municipal Act. The township has overhead tanks for water supply and a covered sewerage system, while Rajarhat depends on underground water, deep tube wells, and in some areas has open drains. Above all, the letter claims, there are cultural differences between the people of the two localities.

“Since the merger, development in Salt Lake has waned. Roads are perennially broken, and water tanks, sewerage pipes, parks, and block markets are desperately in need of repairs,” added Chandra Sekhar Bag, an advocate who is managing the legalities of the matter on behalf of the forum. “Empty plots have turned into garbage vats and there is no check on the uncontrolled traffic that pours in from the bridges and footbridges over the Kestopur Canal.”

The chaos that is Rajarhat Road on Wednesday afternoon. Picture by Sudeshna Banerjee

The letter has been sent to the chief minister, the chief secretary, the urban development authorities, besides the Corporation’s mayor, chairperson, and others. “We will now send this letter across blocks, hold meetings and involve them in our dealings. And if the mail receives no response, we shall file a public interest litigation (PIL),” added Bag.

Their demand has precedent, he added, mentioning how Bally Municipality, that was dissolved in 2015 and merged with Howrah Municipal Corporation, was again re-established as Bally Municipality in 2021. “We seek the same autonomy for the betterment of Salt Lake,” Bag said.

Point-counterpoint

When asked by The Telegraph Salt Lake, civic chief Krishna Chakraborty would not hear of this proposal. “Ashes Mukherjee is no longer a councillor but he has the right to voice his opinion as an ordinary citizen. A Corporation has advantages and I will not entertain any other thoughts,” she said.

But across the board opinions are mixed.

“A corporation such as ours suffers the problems of a large joint family, where five children have five unique requirements,” said Devashis Jana, former mayoral council member who had left Trinamul to join the BJP. “But now that the merger is done, they won’t undo it. But then, Rajarhat isn’t all that backward anymore. The buildings on Rajarhat Road from Chinar Park are swanky multistoried ones. It would make more sense if they added New Town to this jurisdiction.”

But he also asked residents to act responsibly. “Before pointing at Rajarhat, we must realise that the middle-class characteristic of Salt Lake itself is wearing off as original residents are transferring plots to the rich business class. Moreover, residents live lavish lifestyles here but refuse to pay property tax, claiming it is too expensive. How will any civic body — corporation or municipality — provide services then?” he asked.

Poll math

Many residents, who wanted to stay anonymous, felt that the extra areas had been added to the Corporation as the ruling party has been performing poorly from Salt Lake proper. But votes from Rajarhat, where they have a stronghold, would balance off the total and allow them to win the civic election.

Tapas Sengupta, secretary of the AE (Part 2) residents’ association, said they had higher expectations when the Corporation was formed. “The impression at the time was that the larger civic body would get more funds. We can’t see the effect of those funds now,” he said. “It’s good if Rajarhat is developing, but it cannot be at the cost of Salt Lake.”

Samares Bandyopadhyay, a resident of DL Block and former vice-president, the Institution of Public Health Engineers, agrees that small is beautiful.

“There’s an optimal size for a civic body and even otherwise, Rajarhat-Gopalpur isn’t adjacent to Salt Lake so governing two disjoint areas is like governing east and west Pakistan. Problems are bound to arise,” said Bandyopadhyay.

Ashes Mukherjee (centre) with members of Bidhannagar Residents Forum share their views at BK Block. The Telegraph

A merger with the Sector V authority, NDITA, would be more logical, he feels.

But like many others, he felt the most important factor was not jurisdiction but competent leadership. “Good leadership can overcome logistical challenges. Previously there have been IAS cadre municipal commissioners here who would consult us residents for our suggestions and observations. All that has stopped now,” he said.

Samir Dasgupta, a resident of CF Block and former president of Bidhannagar House Owners Association, believes splitting the corporation is unnecessary. “Rajarhat councillors are not taking advantage of the situation so it’s not like funds and attention are getting diverted there. What is more important is leadership. Councillors must be capable and municipal services must be headed by a competent official,” he said.

“The state of roads is so bad that it is clear the civic authorities neither have the funds nor expertise to manage them,” continued Dasgupta. “Maintenance of roads would be best handed over to the state public works department.”

Market matter

Rajesh Chirimar, a mayoral council member, refuses to accept that joining with Rajarhat has been detrimental for Salt Lake. “Since Rajarhat is seeing development, they are also generating revenue for us. Funds have come and some work has definitely taken place. There is no scarcity of water. There are streetlights everywhere. But residents have become intolerant and impatient. Earlier when they had bulbs and neon lights in the streets, to report a damaged lamp they had to walk over to the ward office during office hours. So it was often after several days that a complaint about an unlit stretch would get lodged. Now they shoot off a message reporting the complaint over a mobile phone and wait for action from that moment. A lot of services have gone online. The problem is Salt Lake is seeing a spurt in day population,” he said.

A councillor, who did not want to be named, pointed out that it was not Rajarhat which was eating awayfunds that Salt Lake could have used.“Ideally, the funds allotted by thegovernment should have been evenlydistributed among the wards. But thepowerful councillors are corneringthe lion’s share of the allocation. Sowhile their own wards are being welllooked after, other wards are suffering,” he said.

Rule-change ruin

Several councilors agreed thatrampant commercialisation wasthe biggest challenge for Salt Lake.“Over the last nine years, ever sincethere was a change in rules in 2015,allowing residents to use 45 per centof the built-up area for non-residential purposes, Salt Lake’s residentialcharacter has got ruined. The changein the rule was meant to encourageunemployed youth in a house to starta business venture, in accordancewith an approved list of businessesand services. But residents simplystarted renting out entire floors notto families as tenants but to commercial establishments, earning inlakhs in place of thousands. Shopsand offices bring in employees as wellas customers, who would park theircars on the road, leading to parkingcomplaints. This is also putting pressure on civic services as eateries arelittering roads with their disposablecutlery and clogging drains with foodwaste. The rampant constructionmeans seepage of building materialsinto the drainage system. The risein vehicle load is taking a toll on theroads too,” a councillors explained.

So don’t blame Rajarhat, theypoint out. Instead, they advocate getting that 45 per cent rule scrappedso that the township does not haveto pay the price for the way our ownneighbours are milking their property by taking advantage of the change.“The civic infrastructure of Salt Lakewas meant for residential use. Such rampant commercialisation is boundto make it crumble,” the councillorsummed up.