The Trinamul Congress swept the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) elections on Tuesday, winning 134 of the 144 wards. Metro spoke to some of the more prominent councillors to check what their priorities were and if they matched with those of ordinary Calcuttans

Name: Firhad Hakim (Outgoing mayor and chairperson of the board of administrators of the CMC)

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 63

Ward: 82

Area: Chetla

Priorities: For the past 10 years, I have been trying to build a footbridge connecting the route No. 7 bus terminus with New Alipore railway station, but could not succeed because the railways did not cooperate. I want to pursue it. This will benefit a large number of people in my ward.

For the city as a whole, I want to focus on the construction of drainage lines, which is being funded by the Asian Development Bank. This has to be completed. (The project is dragging on in many parts of Calcutta.)

I also want all councilors to publish a report card every year. The card should have details of what they had promised, how much they could achieve, why they couldn’t achieve the rest and what are their plans for the coming year.

Name: Atin Ghosh (Outgoing deputy mayor and member of the board of administrators of the CMC. Headed the civic health department)

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 63

Ward: 11

Area: Hatibagan

Priorities: Over 35 per cent of the population of my ward lives in slums. I will focus on developing the slums.

There is a large volume of thika land in this ward. The state government has amended rules to facilitate construction on thika land, which was earlier not allowed. Those who live in old, dilapidated buildings on thika land deserve a better life. Most of such houses have a tin or tile roof. I want to act as a facilitator so that these people can build new homes on thika land making use of schemes floated by the state government for low-income groups.

(Post-Independence, the government had abolished the zamindari system and acquired land from zamindars. The government subsequently allowed tenants of the zamindars to live on these lands, which came to be known as thika tenancy land. Calcutta has about 2,000 acres of such land. In 2019, an amendment to the West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquisition and Regulation) Act enabled the tenants to become the lessees with rights to develop their homes on thika land.)

Also, as someone who headed the health department, I have plans to install ECG, USG and digital X-ray machines in at least one centre in each borough. This will help a lot of people, especially from low-income groups.

Name: Debasish Kumar (Outgoing member of the board of administrators of the CMC. Headed the civic parks and squares, and environment departments)

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 61

Ward: 85

Area: Deshapriya Park, Dover Lane, Dover Terrace, Hazra Road and portions of Sarat Bose Road.

Priorities: My ward has to be environment friendly. I want to make the street lights in my ward solar-powered. We have to gradually move towards renewable energy to cut down on carbon emissions.

I want to increase the green cover of Calcutta by taking plantation drives.

I want to help those living on thika plots to build their own houses using the state government’s Aamar Bari scheme.

Name: Mala Roy

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 63

Ward: 88

Area: Rashbehari, Pratapaditya Road and neighbouring areas

Priorities: This ward is more or less well developed with good amenities. My aim is to ensure that there is seamless delivery of services like waste management, water supply, cleaning of sewer lines and others.

I want to streamline the hawkers on pavements. There should be a stipulated period when they will hawk, after which they will have to leave with their carts carrying their wares. After they leave, the footpaths will have no encroachments and people can walk without facing any obstruction.

Name: Sushanta Ghosh

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 49

Ward: 108

Area: Bantala to Ruby

Priorities: The road leading to Urbana is lined with many makeshift shops. Without removing them, I will try to create as much free space as possible. I will improve the condition of the road so that cars, buses, cycles and other modes of transport can move without hindrance.

Many areas in the ward do not have underground drains and depend on surface drains. I want to replace surface drains with an underground network. My other priority is to replace kutcha roads with metalled ones.

Name: Sandipan Saha

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 43

Ward: 58

Area: Tangra

Priorities: The water pressure in places like Gholpara and Chinapara has increased but is still quite low. I will try to ensure that the duration of water supply and the water pressure both increase.

Waterlogging is a problem in the Baishali area. I am not promising that the problem will be entirely solved but something will be done to ensure that water recedes faster.

Name: Arup Chakraborty

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 43

Ward: 98

Area: Gandhi Colony, Netaji Nagar, Pallisree, Khanpur, Suryanagar and Raipur Sanghati Colony (all in Tollygunge)

Priorities: Most areas in the ward still do not receive potable water. Residents depend on underground water extracted through deep tube wells. My topmost priority is to bring potable water to all areas in the ward.

There is only one compactor station for such a large ward. We need another station. I have seen waste lying along roads in some places. I want to streamline the waste collection system so that no waste remains on the road.

Name: Tarak Singh (Headed the sewerage and drainage department of the last CMC board)

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 71

Ward: 118

Area: Parts of New Alipore and Behala

Priorities: Finish the project of laying underground sewer lines, which is part of the Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP), especially in wards 122 and 124. The wards are between Tollygunge Karunamoyee and Behala Chowrasta. The main drainage lines of KEIP have been laid in most places but the connecting drainage lines are yet to be completed. I want to expedite the remaining work.

Name: Meena Devi Purohit (She was deputy mayor from 2000 to 2005)

Party: BJP

Age: 61

Ward: 22

Area: Parts of Posta and Burrabazar.

Priorities: I want to keep the parks in my wards clean because religious programmes are held there and expand the green cover. I also want to increase the capacity of the civic health centre on MG Road so the poor can be provided with better facilities.

Name: Madhuchanda Deb

Party: CPI

Age: 68

Ward: 92

Area: Parts of Dhakuria, Babu Bagan, Selimpur

Priorities: I will work to build a civic market on Dhakuria Station Road. The existing makeshift market creates massive congestion. The other priorities are to ensure that the second phase of the booster pumping station in Babubagan is completed at the earliest, beautification of the Palbazar Jheel and setting up of a swimming pool.

Name: Santosh Pathak

Party: Congress

Age: 56

Ward: 45

Area: Parts of Esplanade West, Babughat and Millenium Park.

Priorities: I will build community halls in my ward for underprivileged families. I will also take up the matter of unregulated parking with the CMC.

Name: Baiswanor Chattopadhyay

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 58

Ward: 91

Area: Parts of Kasba and Dhakuria

Priorities: I will work to provide drinking water to residents of Jagannath Ghosh Road, Kumor Para and Banerjee Para. Desilting sewer lines and cleaning ponds are other priorities.

Name: Jui Biswas

Party: Trinamul Congress

Age: 40

Ward: 81

Area: New Alipore

Priorities: Desilting the underground sewer line entering New Alipore from Taratala is one of my priorities.