Slum sanitation in the wings under Centre's aid

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Jan. 1: The state government has planned to develop sanitation system in slum areas, with financial help from the Centre, under the Urban Infrastructure Development for Small and Medium town (UDSMT) project. In a recent meeting held in Siliguri with the civic body officials, the principal secretary of urban development, Mr T Pradhan, informed the civic body officials about the project. The officials also said that the government would not disburse funds under the Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS) programme because the government has dissolved the project and introduced UIDSMT. The English Bazaar municipality had completed sanitation project for 500 heads of beneficiaries in slum areas last year, and sought to complete 1,000 more sanitation project under ILCS. But this year, the municipality could not complete the project due to lack of funds under ILCS. The chairman of the English Bazaar civic body, Mr Narendranath Tiwari, said: “We are waiting for funds which would be released by the government under UDSMT for implementation of the sanitation project. At a recent meeting, the principal secretary of the urban development department told us that funds from UDSMT would be released soon." Under the new project, the cost of sanitation project (latrine for slum area people) will be nearly Rs 9,000. But under the ILCS, the unit cost has been estimated to be Rs 4,900. If no fund is allotted from UDSMT within March, we have planned to utilise the Backward Region Development Fund. The English Bazaar municipality (EBM) has received Rs 41 lakh for the development of infrastructure in the slum areas. This civic body would receive the amount for the next three years. It may be noted that the EBM had to reduce its expenses estimated at Rs 70 lakh for the development of sanitation in the slum areas in its revised budget placed yesterday. The amount estimated was based on the ILCS programme.