The state's north Bengal development department will spend around Rs 20 crore to develop infrastructure in Siliguri.

The decision was made at a meeting held on Tuesday between Udayan Guha, the north Bengal development minister, and Gautam Deb, the mayor of Siliguri, at Uttarkanya, the branch secretariat of the state located on the southern outskirts of the city.

Among the projects which would be taken up include the construction of small bridges, the construction and repair of certain roads and the development of a college building.

“I discussed with the north Bengal development minister about some development work in the Siliguri civic area and proposals were also submitted to the department. After the meeting, the minister said that his department will spend around Rs 20 crore for the projects,” Deb told the newsmen after the meeting.

According to him, one of the major projects would be the construction of the administrative block building of Munshi Premchand Mahavidyalaya, a state-aided college that was established in 2008 at Janata Nagar, off Sevoke Road, in ward 44 of the city. The college is affiliated to North Bengal University.

A sum of Rs 5 crore would be spent on it.

“The rest of the amount will be spent on the construction of a bridge at Bhaktinagar in ward 34, and a couple of roads and culverts in the SMC area,” the mayor added.

In the current fiscal, around Rs 600 crore was allocated by the state to the north Bengal development department for projects in eight north Bengal districts.

Minister Guha said work on some projects was on and tenders were floated for some others.

“We are working to improve connectivity through roads and bridges and focusing on illumination in the rural areas by installing solar panels. We have also decided to install small joist bridges, especially in rural areas,” said Guha.