Friday, June 27, 2014

UD Budget Passed in Assembly

The budget of Urban Development Department was passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly last Wednesday. Minister Firhad Hakim placed the budget after a 3 hour debate. Members of the Legislative Assembly spoke highly of New Town, Eco Park and other initiatives of UD Department. One member even called for a visit of the MLAs to Eco Park.
Here is a photo of the discussions in progress:


The red light indicates that the time allotted
to the MLA has expired.
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Anandabazar dated 26 June 2014
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Here is a video link for a clipping in Tara News TV Channel that was telecast on 25 June 2014:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0IXfAX1NME

4 comments:

  1. Dear Sir,
    Property Tax is a good idea. Not to play a Devil's Advocate here, but I do hope that WBHIDCO/NKDA comes up quickly with provision of basic infrastructure such as markets, playgrounds, libraries, provisions for bank, post office, police outpost etc. for the residents. Last time I checked, these were missing in AA-IIC.
    All of us have spent considerable money in getting an apartment in a planned township like NewTown. While significant work has been done over the past 3 years, I feel that AA-IIC is kind of lagging behind. I feel kind of deprived and I assume many of fellow residents might feel the same. So, while I support taxation wholeheartedly, I do hope that the authorities come up to speed and complete the setup of basic infrastructure soon.

    Best Regards,
    Sowmik

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  2. Clean drinking water supply is what NKDA should focus first. Currently the water in AA-I has high iron content and also bacteria (this was found by a lab analyzing water samples from one of the housing complexes). Also, the filters of water purifiers such as Aquaguard or Kent RO get clogged very frequently. This should not be the case in a "state of the art" planned township.

    Fixing this should not really be rocket science - the Brits were able to accomplish this more than 100 years ago. The water quality of Tala tank is so good that most people of N Kolkata can have it straight from the tap.

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    Replies
    1. We do regular laboratory tests of water samples. PHED is in charge. I am told that the water quality is perfectly safe and clean. However, iron elimination plants sometimes cause problems which are attended to promptly. This issue will be eliminated once surface water from Hoogly (already 5 km out of 10.5 km laid) is brought in.

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    2. Yes, we are all hoping for that project to resolve the water quality issues, especially the iron content. It is a really good initiative of the current administration. Regarding water quality - its possible that it's safe and clean at the source, but some cross contamination is happening in the distribution system.

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