Sabyasachi Dutta of the Trinamul Congress will be the first mayor of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. Metro spoke to Dutta, the councillor of Ward 31 in Salt Lake and MLA of Rajarhat-New Town, minutes after chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced his name.

On water scarcity

I want to eradicate the water crisis in Salt Lake and Rajarhat at the earliest. We will work in co-ordination with the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, which has promised to supply us adequate filtered water.

On garbage disposal

I have pleaded with (Calcutta mayor) Sovan Chatterjee to help us install compactor stations in Salt Lake and Rajarhat, like they have in Calcutta. Improving the sewerage and drainage of Rajarhat and Salt Lake, along with solving the water problem, tops my agenda.

On syndicates

I was never involved in any syndicate business. All these allegations are baseless. (MLA Dutta had earlier told the Assembly: "Yes, there are syndicates operating in New Town. I am the local MLA and I am saying so.") The corporation will never act against those who are engaged in a legal business following all legal norms. But illegal businesses and criminal activities will be dealt with strongly.

On rivals

I never had any rivalry with Tapas Chatterjee (the deputy mayor-designate, who switched from the CPM ahead of the polls and was a contender for the mayor's post) as a person. I used to differ with his ideologies when he was in the CPM. But since the day he joined our party, he has been my dear colleague.

Krishna (Chakraborty, the last chairperson of the erstwhile Bidhannagar Municipality) and I have worked closely for five years and will continue to do so in the next five years.

Sabyasachi who?

Age: 48

Education: BCom, LLB

Family: Wife Indrani and mother Eva

Won: Ward 31 (covering BF, CF, CE, DE, DF, AE and BE blocks and Central Park) by 3,104 votes

Political career: Was a Chhatra Parishad activist before joining Trinamul. Has been winning the Bidhannagar municipal elections since 1995. Wife Indrani became a councillor in 2005

Owns: Mercedes C class, Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Scorpio, Honda City and Maruti Versa

Never leaves home without: iPhone 5s and wallet

Crazy for: Biryani

Famous for: Organising big-budget Kali Puja and Ganesh Pujas in Salt Lake's BF-CF blocks

Infamous for: Allegedly running one of the largest syndicate rackets in the state. Dutta has denied the allegation

Left the party red-faced: When he spoke about the existence of syndicates in New Town in the Assembly in June 2015